Hello hello all!
Holy cow... Only a few of these novels left for y'all to read! (; 2 weeks and I'm home! And it sounds like Oregon is trying to welcome me with snow... Hopefully that clears out before I arrive😂
This week was super busy! Monday was fun, for pday we had a fun nerf war with our district. I battled it out with this one elder, and after defeating him, Sister Taylor came up behind me and killed me with a cheap shot. We got Kainoas that day, and WOW. That stuff is amazing.. Kainoas is a Hawaiian grill in AZ that Sister Taylor worked at. A family she worked with recently opened one up in Rexburg and brought some down for us. It was incredible. Later that evening we taught the Lish family, a less active older couple who are caring for their grand-kids right now. They haven't been to church since I was here last year. Someone got offended and they stopped going. (the usual cause) We were really bold with them and taught about honoring the sabbath day. We committed them to come to church with us... Stay tuned!
Tuesday we started off strong by getting yelled at by an old man. There's a guy Sister Thomas and I met last time I was here... And I don't think he remembered me. That or he was high. (caught a string whiff of somethin when Sister Taylor opened the screen door to knock lol) He can be pretty grumpy anyways, but was pretty clear about not wanting us back. Not his time I guess. Sister Taylor was a little shook by it, you don't get a lot of rude rejections from people in Star Valley. But by the end of the day we met a girl named Jessica that had moved into the area recently with her husband and kids. She basically said she was lonely and would love for us to come back. She goes, "i don't know much about missionaries, so I guess we'll have something to talk about!" They're renovating their house so we may get to help with that!
Wednesday we went to the FHC with Nate, and got him started of family history work! He loved it, we may have gotten him hooked haha. Saturday he was baptized, (woohoo!!!) so later this week we'll go to the temple to do baptisms for his family. Wednesday was also cool, because I GOT PANTS! Hahaha, I know I only have 2 weeks left, but I had to be able to say I wore pants on my mission. Life goals met.
On Thursday we went to the temple as a zone, even President came. It was cool to see the changes and nice to be in the temple again. That evening we reconnected with some people I knew from last year. They never had time to have us over, but they seemed like they might be interested. We caught them home and chatted with them for a whole. We brought up the Book of Mormon, and Jamie goes "I haven't been reading it as much as I should" She isn't even a member of the church and she knows we gotta be reading our scriptures! I thought it was great. We asked if we could come back to read with her some and explain more about it. She said yes, but she has been incredibly busy lately. She works as a vet and has been working longer hours lately. I think we'll be bale to get in before I leave though so I'm excited(:
I'm skipping to Saturday because this is getting long. Nate was baptized on Saturday!!!! It was awesome! Kinda stressful, but everything went well. So many people came, I counted 62 at one point and people were still sneaking in. Nate seemed to feel loved and happy that so many people showed for his special day. The whole service was very sweet and carried over to Sunday, where Nate was confirmed and received the priesthood. He and his wife are looking forward to being sealed in the temple in a year. We had the opportunity to make Nate's baptismal programs and on the back we printed the scripture 3 Nephi 9:14-
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."
It has been so cool to come back to this area and see how well it is doing. There are people everywhere for us to teach, we have been so busy lately. People are being prepared for us to find and teach, and it's been incredible to reconnect with some of the people I taught before and see their progress now. I'm excited to see what the next two weeks will bring. I love you all, have a wonderful week!!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 25, 2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
V-Day as a Single Lady of the Lord
Hello all!
Our week was off to a solid start when we were trying to find better arrangements to workout in the mornings and Sister Thompson, (what a saint) informed us that the high school is open in the mornings. They have an indoor track and a weight room, so we're basically set. Sister Taylor may be able to leave this area ripped, I on the other hand, only have a few weeks left. So maybe I'll kinda-sorta be in shape again. I do have to say, the elevation changed killed Sister T the first run around the track😂 I'm more adjusted, so at least I got that going for me.
Tuesday night we got to eat with Sister Elliott at the Seafood place here in town. Basically my favorite place to eat with a favorite lady in the ward. That evening we visited the Davis family to follow up with Nate, someone I helped baptize when I was here last year. We had a good discussion with them and established what more we could do to help them back to church. We'll be teaching them in the future. After discussing that we played a game with them where you place headphones on your head and try to guess what your teammate is saying. Nate's facial expressions were the best. I wish I had gotten pictures😂
Wednesday we planned to go out to Bedford. I think the Lord was testing me. I had said I never want to drive in Bedford during a whiteout, and Wednesday, (sure enough) was a whiteout. We had made plans to go out with our ward mission leader's wife already, so we went. Surprisingly, no one was home so it was sort of a wash.. We saw a huge mansion though, I'll include pics!
Thursday was surprisingly awesome. Valentines Day has never been a real favorite for me, but last year it was made sweet when some members had us over for dinner and insisted that "every girl deserves a rose on Valentines day." Well their philosophy proved true this year too. We did some service in the morning for Sister Reinhart, had a correlation meeting with the Elliotts, made v-day cookies for folks, and after our first dinner appointment, we were given roses. And yes, I did say first dinner appointment, meaning we had two. Nate and his wife were sweet enough to offer to feed us on Valentines Day as well as have a lesson, so we had to book a second dinner with them haha. We were stuffed, but it was a full day which isn't always the case on holidays as a missionary.
Friday, holy heckanoly what a blessed Friday. On Friday we heard the news that missionaries can now call or video-chat home every week, instead of just twice a year. It's crazy, I started my mission without a smartphone, and now we can call home each week! I think it'll be a wonderful change, and though I'll only enjoy it for 3 more pdays, I know future missionaries will benefit from it for sure.
Friday was also the day of the worst blizzard/whiteout I've experienced while in Wyoming. I took a video at one point, but I don't know that it did it justice. The thing hit right before we headed to our dinner appointment. The family we were eating with was off the highway and I was scared for my life because you could hardly see 3 feet in front of you. Definitely expected to get rear ended, but we didn't so everything's good! Some sisters and elders were headed back from Pocatello that night. Cool experience with the spirit actually, I didn't realize it was a prompting but I guess it was! After seeing how bad the blizzard still was once we were out of dinner, I suddenly felt a wave of concern for the missionaries driving back and felt very strongly that they should not attempt going through the pass. We called to see where they were, and they hadn't even hit Montpelier yet. So, we told them to stay with missionaries out there.
When we saw them the next day, they told us that as they were driving, they were trying to decide if they should go through the pass or not because the roads were pretty bad coming from Poky. They were split about it, and decided to say a prayer. After they prayed, the Elder driving said he didn't feel any sort of way, and unless anyone else felt strongly, he would continue on until told otherwise. After a moment of driving, we called, telling them not to go through the pass. I don't know what would have happened to them had they gone through, but it was pretty cool to hear the other end of the story and know we were following the spirit without even realizing it. Moral of the story: if it's a good thought out of love, do it. The spirit speaks through simple means.
Saturday we helped with a quilting activity one of the wards was putting on. We helped pick out fabrics and I started to warm up my sewing skills on some test scraps, but we had to leave before they were ready for me to start sewing any squares together. Hopefully we'll get to see some pictures of the finished products. We also had district council that day and made a dish called "Poutine" that was introduced to us by our canadian elder. It was alright, basically fries with gravy and cheese. Later that evening we made up for it with round two of Sister Elliott, who took us too Agave!
Lastly, yesterday we had a fun dinner with Jake and his family, who we're teaching. We got pretty real with him earlier in the week asking him and his wife to set a date to be sealed in the temple. There's still no word on that, but he is making progress with his own smaller goals. He had asked us about keeping the sabbath day, and what activities are appropriate for the sabbath. Well on Sunday the High Councilmen both ended up speaking about keeping the sabbath day, and he definitely noticed. He told us some of the goals he had already thought of, from what they talked about. He'll make it to the temple eventually, and I'm excited for it.
After dinner we went to visit a family I have been thinking of all throughout my mission. We tried contacting them the night before, and even made it up their treacherous driveway, but they weren't home. Sunday evening they were home and they had plowed! It was good to reconnect with them, and hopefully we'll be teaching them soon.. It's hard to say because the husband is heavily involved in the hill climbs that go on this time of year. We'll get something worked out though!
Congrats if you made it to the bottom, this was quite the novel. It's been a great week though and I am excited for the next one. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
Our week was off to a solid start when we were trying to find better arrangements to workout in the mornings and Sister Thompson, (what a saint) informed us that the high school is open in the mornings. They have an indoor track and a weight room, so we're basically set. Sister Taylor may be able to leave this area ripped, I on the other hand, only have a few weeks left. So maybe I'll kinda-sorta be in shape again. I do have to say, the elevation changed killed Sister T the first run around the track😂 I'm more adjusted, so at least I got that going for me.
Tuesday night we got to eat with Sister Elliott at the Seafood place here in town. Basically my favorite place to eat with a favorite lady in the ward. That evening we visited the Davis family to follow up with Nate, someone I helped baptize when I was here last year. We had a good discussion with them and established what more we could do to help them back to church. We'll be teaching them in the future. After discussing that we played a game with them where you place headphones on your head and try to guess what your teammate is saying. Nate's facial expressions were the best. I wish I had gotten pictures😂
Wednesday we planned to go out to Bedford. I think the Lord was testing me. I had said I never want to drive in Bedford during a whiteout, and Wednesday, (sure enough) was a whiteout. We had made plans to go out with our ward mission leader's wife already, so we went. Surprisingly, no one was home so it was sort of a wash.. We saw a huge mansion though, I'll include pics!
Thursday was surprisingly awesome. Valentines Day has never been a real favorite for me, but last year it was made sweet when some members had us over for dinner and insisted that "every girl deserves a rose on Valentines day." Well their philosophy proved true this year too. We did some service in the morning for Sister Reinhart, had a correlation meeting with the Elliotts, made v-day cookies for folks, and after our first dinner appointment, we were given roses. And yes, I did say first dinner appointment, meaning we had two. Nate and his wife were sweet enough to offer to feed us on Valentines Day as well as have a lesson, so we had to book a second dinner with them haha. We were stuffed, but it was a full day which isn't always the case on holidays as a missionary.
Friday, holy heckanoly what a blessed Friday. On Friday we heard the news that missionaries can now call or video-chat home every week, instead of just twice a year. It's crazy, I started my mission without a smartphone, and now we can call home each week! I think it'll be a wonderful change, and though I'll only enjoy it for 3 more pdays, I know future missionaries will benefit from it for sure.
Friday was also the day of the worst blizzard/whiteout I've experienced while in Wyoming. I took a video at one point, but I don't know that it did it justice. The thing hit right before we headed to our dinner appointment. The family we were eating with was off the highway and I was scared for my life because you could hardly see 3 feet in front of you. Definitely expected to get rear ended, but we didn't so everything's good! Some sisters and elders were headed back from Pocatello that night. Cool experience with the spirit actually, I didn't realize it was a prompting but I guess it was! After seeing how bad the blizzard still was once we were out of dinner, I suddenly felt a wave of concern for the missionaries driving back and felt very strongly that they should not attempt going through the pass. We called to see where they were, and they hadn't even hit Montpelier yet. So, we told them to stay with missionaries out there.
When we saw them the next day, they told us that as they were driving, they were trying to decide if they should go through the pass or not because the roads were pretty bad coming from Poky. They were split about it, and decided to say a prayer. After they prayed, the Elder driving said he didn't feel any sort of way, and unless anyone else felt strongly, he would continue on until told otherwise. After a moment of driving, we called, telling them not to go through the pass. I don't know what would have happened to them had they gone through, but it was pretty cool to hear the other end of the story and know we were following the spirit without even realizing it. Moral of the story: if it's a good thought out of love, do it. The spirit speaks through simple means.
Saturday we helped with a quilting activity one of the wards was putting on. We helped pick out fabrics and I started to warm up my sewing skills on some test scraps, but we had to leave before they were ready for me to start sewing any squares together. Hopefully we'll get to see some pictures of the finished products. We also had district council that day and made a dish called "Poutine" that was introduced to us by our canadian elder. It was alright, basically fries with gravy and cheese. Later that evening we made up for it with round two of Sister Elliott, who took us too Agave!
Lastly, yesterday we had a fun dinner with Jake and his family, who we're teaching. We got pretty real with him earlier in the week asking him and his wife to set a date to be sealed in the temple. There's still no word on that, but he is making progress with his own smaller goals. He had asked us about keeping the sabbath day, and what activities are appropriate for the sabbath. Well on Sunday the High Councilmen both ended up speaking about keeping the sabbath day, and he definitely noticed. He told us some of the goals he had already thought of, from what they talked about. He'll make it to the temple eventually, and I'm excited for it.
After dinner we went to visit a family I have been thinking of all throughout my mission. We tried contacting them the night before, and even made it up their treacherous driveway, but they weren't home. Sunday evening they were home and they had plowed! It was good to reconnect with them, and hopefully we'll be teaching them soon.. It's hard to say because the husband is heavily involved in the hill climbs that go on this time of year. We'll get something worked out though!
Congrats if you made it to the bottom, this was quite the novel. It's been a great week though and I am excited for the next one. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week!!
Love ya,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 11, 2019
"Sister Jensen, I love the ukulele"
Hello hello all!
Wow, it feels like pday was two days ago! The weeks are flying by too fast.
Last Monday we went out to Montpelier for a Zone Activity and musical number practice. We were supposed to have Zone Conference on Tuesday, so we headed to Montpelier for pday. Sister Wilson was able to come into Montpelier and we figured the music out! I was asked to sing "Lamb to the Slaughter" by the Nashville Tribute band. It's a beautiful song about the sacrifice Joseph Smith made in not denying what he knew to be true. (I'll attach it so y'all can hear) It was sort of tricky because it's written for a tenor, but we figured it out...I basically just sing parts up the octave when it got to low and switch back into the written octave when I can hit it haha. I think it went well, the video isn't us performing it, which is unfortunate because I think i messed up less when we recorded it but oh well. But what will ya do when you only have a weeks notice and the people performing with you were out in Paris and Soda Springs? Oh well lol.
Zone Conference actually got cancelled for Tuesday morning, but we did have it later that week on Friday. (sorry this email is getting so out of order day-wise, but bear with me!) It was a wonderful Zone Conference, we talked about tsunamis! In Japan, there are many stones with writing on them, warning future generations not to build below a certain point, or to "find higher ground" so when tsunamis come, they won't get caught in the waves. President related that to the important message we have to share, and the love that is shown in warning those around us. In all, I felt very motivated and excited to continue working in Star Valley for my last transfer. I feel like I have a unique opportunity for sure.
We had 2 lessons with Nate this week, and he during the first, he said he wants to get baptized!! During the second lesson he set his date for February 23rd!! I'm excited for him, he and his wife are ready for a change. He really seems to want to put his life behind him and be better! They came to church this Sunday and it was sweet to see how much they seemed to enjoy being there. We're hoping to do some family history work with him later this week so he can have a name to take to the temple.
We got to stop by a lot of people this week, of course I don't have time to put them all in. Some funny experiences I gotta say a bit about tho-
We stopped by Tina's just in time to help her figure out her Netflix account. She was happy to see me haha. We had dinner with some sweet members, and the husband had to jet 10 minutes into dinner. He had a meeting to get too. I knew them well from my time in SV before, and planned to play them a song on my ukulele, but I was surprised he was leaving so quick and forgot to say anything. I played for his wife and later he called and left a voicemail saying "Sister Jensen, i love the ukulele..." I inspired him to pick the uke back up, so he bought one! We'll be jamming sometimex) Sister Wilson came back to SV with me after Zone Conference for an exchange! Sadly, the top people she wanted to reconnect and follow up with weren't home. we'll have to plan it better next time. It was still fun to be with her for a short bit though(:
Lastly, we had a wonderful lesson with 2 recent converts on Sunday. We focused mostly on the love that God has for us. I could feel the spirit throughout the lesson and I hope the girls both internalized the message we shared. Towards the end, as I was bearing my testimony I got choked up because it hit me again how much I love this work and how sweet it is to share my testimony with those I love. I got emotional a bit because I realized again that my time is short, but I am so grateful to be here. I love this gospel and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a wonderful week and can feel his love strengthening you.
Love,
Sister Jensen
Wow, it feels like pday was two days ago! The weeks are flying by too fast.
Last Monday we went out to Montpelier for a Zone Activity and musical number practice. We were supposed to have Zone Conference on Tuesday, so we headed to Montpelier for pday. Sister Wilson was able to come into Montpelier and we figured the music out! I was asked to sing "Lamb to the Slaughter" by the Nashville Tribute band. It's a beautiful song about the sacrifice Joseph Smith made in not denying what he knew to be true. (I'll attach it so y'all can hear) It was sort of tricky because it's written for a tenor, but we figured it out...I basically just sing parts up the octave when it got to low and switch back into the written octave when I can hit it haha. I think it went well, the video isn't us performing it, which is unfortunate because I think i messed up less when we recorded it but oh well. But what will ya do when you only have a weeks notice and the people performing with you were out in Paris and Soda Springs? Oh well lol.
Zone Conference actually got cancelled for Tuesday morning, but we did have it later that week on Friday. (sorry this email is getting so out of order day-wise, but bear with me!) It was a wonderful Zone Conference, we talked about tsunamis! In Japan, there are many stones with writing on them, warning future generations not to build below a certain point, or to "find higher ground" so when tsunamis come, they won't get caught in the waves. President related that to the important message we have to share, and the love that is shown in warning those around us. In all, I felt very motivated and excited to continue working in Star Valley for my last transfer. I feel like I have a unique opportunity for sure.
We had 2 lessons with Nate this week, and he during the first, he said he wants to get baptized!! During the second lesson he set his date for February 23rd!! I'm excited for him, he and his wife are ready for a change. He really seems to want to put his life behind him and be better! They came to church this Sunday and it was sweet to see how much they seemed to enjoy being there. We're hoping to do some family history work with him later this week so he can have a name to take to the temple.
We got to stop by a lot of people this week, of course I don't have time to put them all in. Some funny experiences I gotta say a bit about tho-
We stopped by Tina's just in time to help her figure out her Netflix account. She was happy to see me haha. We had dinner with some sweet members, and the husband had to jet 10 minutes into dinner. He had a meeting to get too. I knew them well from my time in SV before, and planned to play them a song on my ukulele, but I was surprised he was leaving so quick and forgot to say anything. I played for his wife and later he called and left a voicemail saying "Sister Jensen, i love the ukulele..." I inspired him to pick the uke back up, so he bought one! We'll be jamming sometimex) Sister Wilson came back to SV with me after Zone Conference for an exchange! Sadly, the top people she wanted to reconnect and follow up with weren't home. we'll have to plan it better next time. It was still fun to be with her for a short bit though(:
Lastly, we had a wonderful lesson with 2 recent converts on Sunday. We focused mostly on the love that God has for us. I could feel the spirit throughout the lesson and I hope the girls both internalized the message we shared. Towards the end, as I was bearing my testimony I got choked up because it hit me again how much I love this work and how sweet it is to share my testimony with those I love. I got emotional a bit because I realized again that my time is short, but I am so grateful to be here. I love this gospel and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a wonderful week and can feel his love strengthening you.
Love,
Sister Jensen
Monday, February 4, 2019
Have Miracles Ceased?
Hello hello!!
Holy cow folks, I am back! I'm already getting ahead of myself, I'm too excited.
Monday and Tuesday were full of last time visits with Sister Miller. It was bittersweet, especially recognizing that I would be leaving too. There are so many wonderful people in Chubbuck, and I was sad to leave. Once we dropped Sister Miller off to the mission home, the day became a mess of packing and preparing the area for the Elders. Holy cow stressful. Note to self, procrastination is always bad.
Thursday was transfers. My new companion is Sister Taylor and she is awesome! She's been out for 2 transfers so far, just out of training. She's from Arizona and absolutely loves stickers,she puts them on everything haha. She's fun and it's going to be a blast. Before heading off we had to figure out how to fit all the luggage into our car...It was my stuff, as well as another Sisters stuff and wow there was a lot. (I tried to downsize I promise, I had less!!) Anyway, we all crammed into the car with stuff everywhere and headed off to Star Valley. It still didn't really feel like I was being transferred there, but sometimes I'm slow.
We got into the valley and dropped the other sisters off, then headed to our house. Part of me was incredibly sick of packing/unpacking, and the other part of me was incredibly excited now that we were actually in Afton, so we went to visit some people! On our way we decided to stop by the post office, and wow miracles do occur. As we walked in, a man was walking out and it just happened to be someone who came immediately to mind when I was told I'd be coming back to this area. I chatted with him a bit and we planned to meet with them later that week.
We went to his family's home on Sunday and had a powerful lesson with them. When I was around last year we were working with them to get them to the temple. I followed up on those goals they had talked about and from there, we testified of repenting now, and not procrastinating such wonderful blessings. I was able to testify that I knew it wasn't a coincidence I was sent back to the valley and that they were among the first to come to mind. He and his wife both recognized the truth of what we discussed and we challenged them to set a date to go to the temple, for them to work towards and visualize. He saw the importance of doing something about the goals his family has and agreed that they would discuss a date.
The last 5 days have been such a blessing to me. I feel like Heavenly Father has shown me again how much each of us matter to him. Sister Taylor and I are hitting it off well with each other and it is so sweet being back in Star Valley. I absolutely love the people here and I am so happy to get to work with so many again. There were more that we got to see, but I just don't have room or time to share! I can testify that Heavenly Father is aware of every detail in our lives. He loves us and is quietly showing his hand in our lives, it is up to us to see it. He sent his son to this earth to walk our hard paths and overcome them. Whats even more amazing, Christ is there to walk them with us again, offering his hand to guide us.
I love this gospel and I hope you all take the time to notice the blessings in your lives!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Holy cow folks, I am back! I'm already getting ahead of myself, I'm too excited.
Monday and Tuesday were full of last time visits with Sister Miller. It was bittersweet, especially recognizing that I would be leaving too. There are so many wonderful people in Chubbuck, and I was sad to leave. Once we dropped Sister Miller off to the mission home, the day became a mess of packing and preparing the area for the Elders. Holy cow stressful. Note to self, procrastination is always bad.
Thursday was transfers. My new companion is Sister Taylor and she is awesome! She's been out for 2 transfers so far, just out of training. She's from Arizona and absolutely loves stickers,she puts them on everything haha. She's fun and it's going to be a blast. Before heading off we had to figure out how to fit all the luggage into our car...It was my stuff, as well as another Sisters stuff and wow there was a lot. (I tried to downsize I promise, I had less!!) Anyway, we all crammed into the car with stuff everywhere and headed off to Star Valley. It still didn't really feel like I was being transferred there, but sometimes I'm slow.
We got into the valley and dropped the other sisters off, then headed to our house. Part of me was incredibly sick of packing/unpacking, and the other part of me was incredibly excited now that we were actually in Afton, so we went to visit some people! On our way we decided to stop by the post office, and wow miracles do occur. As we walked in, a man was walking out and it just happened to be someone who came immediately to mind when I was told I'd be coming back to this area. I chatted with him a bit and we planned to meet with them later that week.
We went to his family's home on Sunday and had a powerful lesson with them. When I was around last year we were working with them to get them to the temple. I followed up on those goals they had talked about and from there, we testified of repenting now, and not procrastinating such wonderful blessings. I was able to testify that I knew it wasn't a coincidence I was sent back to the valley and that they were among the first to come to mind. He and his wife both recognized the truth of what we discussed and we challenged them to set a date to go to the temple, for them to work towards and visualize. He saw the importance of doing something about the goals his family has and agreed that they would discuss a date.
The last 5 days have been such a blessing to me. I feel like Heavenly Father has shown me again how much each of us matter to him. Sister Taylor and I are hitting it off well with each other and it is so sweet being back in Star Valley. I absolutely love the people here and I am so happy to get to work with so many again. There were more that we got to see, but I just don't have room or time to share! I can testify that Heavenly Father is aware of every detail in our lives. He loves us and is quietly showing his hand in our lives, it is up to us to see it. He sent his son to this earth to walk our hard paths and overcome them. Whats even more amazing, Christ is there to walk them with us again, offering his hand to guide us.
I love this gospel and I hope you all take the time to notice the blessings in your lives!
Love,
Sister Jensen
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