Thats All Folks

Hello all(:

Well, this is it. Thank you all for supporting me throughout my mission and following along with my journey. This is probably all going to sound incredibly cheesy, but hold tight.

I'd like to take some time to reflect on all of my areas, and things I've learned from each of them.

When I first came to Star Valley, I learned how real this all is. The gospel, the prophet, even Jesus Christ. I started to see it all. We walking into different homes everyday and it became apparent to me when someone was living without the gospel in their life. I was blown away by the reality of it all, and the incredible difference the gospel could make in people's lives. I had never seen it so clearly, and I understood how important this work is.

As I came to the end of my first few transfers in Star Valley, I was sent out to the Pocatello YSA. Completely different area. We were surrounded by students, our peers all day, and it was hard at first to "preach" to them. I'd like to say I learned to forget myself, but I still had my moments. I did try everyday though, to put aside what people might think and be confident in the message we had.

After the YSA I was sent out to Chubbuck, and holy cow. I learned patience, trust, charity and acceptance of God's plans, not ours. Trials will hit in everyone's lives. We can't control what other people do, but we can at least control what we do.

I thought I would end my mission in Chubbuck, but as transfers came up, President had other ideas. A while ago, when I was in Pocatello YSA with Sister Wilson, we had been talking about past areas. She talked about how she would love to go back to Bear Lake and have another opportunity to work in that area. I told her how cool I thought it would be to go back to Star Valley, just for my last transfer. To see people I loved, and get to continue working with the people I had met. It wasn't and idea that stuck around very long, we sort of talked about it and there it went.

Well transfers came up while I was in Chubbuck, and President called to talk about our area. He started the conversation by saying how he needed to close some sister areas, and we discussed what Chubbuck would look like with elders. After a bit, he asked, "Do you have any unfinished business in Thayne?" I was shocked, and literally started to cry I was so happy.

I think that was the moment I realized just how much Heavenly Father cares for each and every one of us. I didn't pray to come back, I didn't think to ask anyone, yet Heavenly Father knew my desire and had a need for me to come back to Star Valley. The whole transfer has been a mix of emotions. It's sad to come back and see people you love and taught, going back to their old ways and struggling with the gospel. But it's also been so wonderful to see how much some have improved.

I've loved my time spent as a missionary. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know my Savior lives, and sacrificed himself for us. I know that through him, we can live again. We can change our lives and become new people through his atoning power-

(3 Nephi 9:13-15)
   13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
   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.
   15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Jesus Christ performed the atonement so he could offer the promise in the verses above. No matter what we've done, and how far gone we thing we may be, he can "heal" us and is waiting, with his arms extended towards us, to do so.

I love you all so much, and I hope you were able to be inspired as you read my updates and all I learned as I served.

Love,
Sister Aubrilyn Jensen

Blessings of the Temple

Hello Hello everybody!!

Holy cow, the countdown is real. I just realized I have 9 days left. This week has flown by! I'll share the highlights...

On Wednesday we went to the Family History Center to enter in Nate's membership number and find him some family names to take to the temple! We did baptisms in the Star Valley temple the next evening with them and it was such a neat experience! At first Nate wasn't too sure about being the one to baptize us, but after he was baptized and saw how simple it was, he was willing to stay and baptize his wife and us. It was so sweet to see MaKendra and Nate in the temple together. Going to the temple excited them for the day they can come back to be sealed for time and all eternity to one another.

We also had a girl we're working with attend mutual this week, which was huge!! She has been hard to meet with, but we are hoping this gets her excited to be taught and attend church. We also found 2 new people to work with this week. The area is really getting started and it is so cool to see!

This one is short today, there's been lots to do and figure out today! I love you all and I'm excited to see what the last few days of my mission entail. Have a great week!!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

His Hand Is Stretched Out Still

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

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

"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

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

Returning to The Promised Land

Hello everybody!!!

This week has flown by way too fast! Spoiler alert though- we got transfer calls!! I have to share now because I am way to happy about this to wait untill the end. Usually, we get transfer calls the Saturday before transfer day. (The next transfer is this Thursday fyi) Well, President called Sister Miller and I on Thursday to talk to me about transfers. Originally, he had me down to train a new sister in Chubbuck. By Tuesday, he had me in Chubbuck with a different sister joining me, who has been out a short while already. Well on Thursday he told me he had to close some sister areas and wanted to know how ours would look if he put elders back in Chubbuck. As we were discussing the people in our area and how some of them would do with Elders, he suddenly asks "Do you feel you have any unfinished business in Thayne?" To which I responded, "Thayne? Wait, Star Valley?!" I literally started crying, I was so happy to think about going back. He said thats where I was sitting on the transfer board at the moment and by the end of the call it seemed pretty set that I would stay. The next 2 days were agony though, waiting to hear the set transfer calls. He could always change his mind, and I really didn't want him too on this one haha. It's official now. I will be heading back to Star Valley this Thursday.. So to those of you on my email from SV... See you soon!!! 😄

This week has been a rush of mission lasts for Sister Miller. We got to see lots of people we've been working with and it started to become a little more real to her I think. We taught Taleysa on Monday and it was a great lesson! She's been hard to meet with since I got into the area. The last thing we heard actually was that she didn't even believe in God anymore. She's 14, so we felt like that might not be a solid belief and we'd try anyway. Well the whole lesson we discussed how she's seen God's hand in her life and how she's felt the spirit. So it was an awesome lesson and hopefully she commits more in the future.

On Tuesday we went with Gabriel to the temple! (He's the guy I taught from YSA that got baptized recently.) It was so neat to be in the temple with him. He even performed some baptisms! I really wasn't sure I'd see him baptized while still on my mission, and there we were in the temple with him! It was such a wonderful experience (:

Wednesday evening we joined the elders to go to a ward ski night. (they said lots of people will stay in the lodge and talk) Anyway the elders drove and we almost got lost on the snowy back roads on Inkom, but we made it and stayed on the road. We also met some people that weren't members of the church... But they kinda ditched us after a bit. It was actually pretty funny to see their attempt to evade us. Oh well!

We met with Ashley and her husband, they are still hoping February will work out for their temple date. My fingers are crossed, too bad they won't be getting sealed in the Star Valley temple.

We also got to meet with Lyric and his family. Hes 11 and his biological mom won't let him be baptized till he turns 12, so we're teaching him in the meantime. He and his brother Mason are my favorite kids to teach holy cow. They spent the first half hour telling us random but hilarious stories and after the lesson we played a version of uno called "fart". Definitely little boys. But they are the best haha 😂 😂 😂 I'm going to miss them so much!!

Chubbuck has been real for sure. I've learned a lot from this area and I will miss so many people from here. I know the atonement is real, I've seen it work in my own life as well as others. It's been wonderful to see people start to accept Christ into their life and I am excited to see what Star Valley looks like when I return. I love you all, have a great week!!

Love ya,
Sister Jensen

The Sister Bible Delivery Service

Hello hello all!!

Holy cow the weeks are beginning to wind down for Sister Miller, which means the countdown is beginning for me. I am so not ready for it. Sister Miller is incredibly excited to see her family again and get home haha. She actually tried putting a countdown on my phone for when I hit home, which I promptly deleted. Not ready for that yet.

This week felt pretty productive, we're playing catch-up still from the weeks I was sick, which is unfortunate, but can't do much about that.

Monday we got a referral online from a less active lady requesting a bible to be brought to her. Holy cow she was hard to catch. I had been told she was older with health issues, so you'd think she'd be home, but nope. We were finally able to catch her at home this week to deliver a bible, and actually brought her 2 options, the huge one with big print, or the normal one. (again, I had been told she was older so I thought she might want it) Well she answered her door and looked more like late 50's, not 70's like the ward made it sound, and suddenly I was super worried I would offend her with the big print bible. But I mean it was already in my hands and sorta hard to miss. She appreciated it though and chose the big print over the normal one- safe to say I didn't offend her. (she does have a lot of health issues, bad eyesight being one of them so it worked out) She invited us in to hear her whole life story, which was super interesting. It felt like I was listening to a movie, there were so many plot twists! I definitely learned about the consequences for not keeping the commandments though, that was sadly seen a lot in her grandchildren's lives. She invited us back to read with her though and that will be fun!

Later that evening we joined the 3rd ward youth for a big game of dodgeball, and I think I did alright. But holy cow some of those kids can throw! Literally there were stick skinny beehives throwing harder than me, but I mean we all have our own weaknesses and strengths I guess... They were excited when we were on their team so I take that as a good sign.

Wednesday we had a lesson with William and Colton, the two boys in foster care. Sadly William doesn't have permission to be baptized, which is really sad because of the two, he is definitely more excited and invested. Colton thinks he was already baptized so we gotta check on that one, but regardless, we'll continue to teach them! They are loving the lessons, and it was so cute- when we began this time, William has been going through the youth theme music on gospel library, and asked if we could start with a song. I thought he meant a hymn, but instead he played his favorite song from the album and we talked about what it meant to him. It was pretty sweet and it's amazing to see how sensitive they both are to the spirit.

Thursday we had a great lesson with a Sister who is recently more active in the church. She and her husband had been inactive the past few years, but have come back. She never really learned a lot of the basic principles, so we're meeting with them. They also have a 5 year old son who is non verbal and has autism. He's pretty funny. He likes to give people hugs just to search for their phones. He's super smart though, he knows how to spell and put words together like xylophone... I had to use auto correct for that and he's 5! So he's a pretty smart one. Anyway, it was just Ashley and her son, and it was a great lesson. It felt like we got to know her better and she said they're hoping to be sealed in February!! So exciting! She's already doing missionary work too, she's been inviting a friend to church, fhe, and our lessons. She has yet to come, but Ashley isn't deterred! She said invitations made it easier for her to come back, so she'll keep inviting.

Friday we finally made contact again with Taleysa!! And we have a lesson scheduled for tonight... Fingers crossed it goes through!

On Saturday we did all the filming for the mission's February video. It'll be good...hopefully lol. I think it'll turn out, they always do. We got some good footage so I'm excited (:

Saturday was also exciting because Elder Jeppesen got his mission call!! 😄 Elder Jeppesen is a dwarf that has been out the last two transfers, and because of all his medical issues, he came out as a trial missionary. He was cleared to serve the full 2 years though, and he got his call! For trial missionaries they could be called back to wherever they served their trial mission, or they could be called elsewhere. Elder Jeppesen will be returning to the Idaho Pocatello Mission!!! I think I would have cried if he was called anywhere else, this dude is awesome. The mission would have missed him for sure.

Sunday we were super busy with lots of meetings. We had appointments too, but I think missionaries are usually more booked out by meetings than teaching appointments on Sundays. We are at least. We had a "teaching appointment" with a recent convert, Jaren. We're trying ti get him to go to the YSA (all his friends just left on missions) so we had the YSA Elders join us for what was supposed to be a game and a spiritual thought. Well we talked a bit at the beginning, played a few rounds of this card game, and boom, it was 5pm and we had to head to our dinner appointment. So not much of a spiritual thought... But the goal was to get him comfortable with the elders and I think that happened, so I'd say it was productive.

I hope you all had a great week and enjoyed the highlights of mine. I love and miss you all, and I know the Lord is aware of each of you. Parts of the last few transfers have been tough, but I have seen the Lord strengthen and help me. I hope this week is great, have a good one!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Patience in God's Timing

This was a week! Many ups and downs for sure. I am feeling much better physically, no longer a flu infested little sister missionary. I dropped back down to the weight I was before I left! So much for 6 months to sexy, try 2 weeks lol. I'll probably gain some of it back quick haha, but oh well, it feels good to say I dropped weight, no matter how unhealthy it was!

Sorry, this one will be short, I have a highlight I want to mention, other than that, I have honestly no time today. Drum-roll please.....I got to see Gabriel baptized!!!!! I taught him for 6 months in the YSA and after a year and 9 missionaries he finally got baptized!!!!! It was such a blessing to get to see and I loved getting to talk with him again. I almost teared up a bit when he went under the water, Gabriel is probably one of my most favorite people I've taught. (idk if that sentence really made sense.) Anyway though, it was wonderful to see and it just testified to me of God's timing. Gabriel took a while to decide to finally be baptized, but in his own time, he did it.

Sometimes we really need to take a step back and have patience. I've definitely learned this lesson over the past few transfers, and I know it's an important one. We can't control everything. People have their agency, you can really only control yours. So do what you can, make the good choices you can, do your best with what you've got, and God will step in to fill the rest. I have loved being out here on a mission, even though it has been incredibly trying sometimes. I know God has been there with me every step of the way and I love him so much for it. I love this gospel and I love my Savior. I miss you all, but I will be back soon! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Jensen

Round 2

"Round 2" as in:

Another round of the flu for us all, and maybe a virus too,
take one down, pass it around,
another round of the flu!

Yeah so it came back.

On New Years I was feeling pretty good, and it looked like I was about to be rid of whatever I've had. We had a lesson that night with Cort. (his last before his baptism!!) They asked us to combine the last 2 lessons, so we kind of hit him with a lot of information, but he took it all well. He really is ready and excited.

Wednesday we took it slow in the morning, but even went to our dinner appointment in the evening! (we've been having to cancel because I haven't been feeling good or up to eating whatever they may serve) We had a lesson with the two McCabe boys, and they were so excited. We walked in and Colton was like "where will we be reading today?" They're sweet boys, definitely want to be baptized, but we'll have to see what permissions they need as they are in the foster system.

Thursday we had a special Zone Conference, during which President announced that the mission boundaries will change as of July 1st. We'll be absorbing part of the Nampa mission, and taking in Twin Falls. Sadly, this won't affect me, because it would have been cool to serve in another aunts ward haha, but I'll be home by then. After we got home from the conference I wasn't feeling good again and from there round 2 of the flu/virus started. I wasn't throwing up, just in general wasn't feeling good, eating a lot, having terrible headaches, and feeling lightheaded when I stood up.

By Saturday the mission doctor wanted me to go back to urgent care to figure out why things were continuing on so long. He was worried I might have a Kidney Infection, which freaked me out. But when I went in they basically said what had hit before just flared up again. They didn't have many answers for me, but it sounds like they think it's some sort of virus...they still didn't say.

I did make it to Cort's baptism though! I also felt like I was going to pass out during most of it, but it was very sweet to see him baptized. And on Sunday his mom even got up and bore her testimony! Which was something I really would not have expected from her. It was a very simple but powerful testimony and I could feel the spirit strongly.

I think i'm on the mend now, today I made it out of the house to go email and everything, hopefully this is the last bout of whatever virus I have because I am real sick of the basement we live in. I know there has been a reason for this sickness, maybe to teach me patience, I'm not sure. Sister Branson, (the member we live with) has a quote on her wall that says "Trusting God means trusting his timing" which I know to be very true. Our ways are not the Lord's ways. He has a plan and a way for it to happen, we just need to trust him.

Love you all, hope you have a great start to the New Year(:

Love ya,
Sister Jensen

A Christmas Carol

Hello hello!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!! I hope y'all are doing well and have some fun holiday plans!! It's been a while since I've done a more detailed weekly update and a lot happened this week so we're gonna give it a shot again!

On Monday we played a super fun game for pday activity(: Instead of normal spoons, we played "ultimate spoons". Use caution, if you plan to try this at home clear any breakable furniture and have band aids on hand. Ultimate spoons is much like regular spoons where you sit in a circle and pass around cards till you get a set of four. Instead of setting spoons in the middle of the table though, you hide the spoons in another room and you have to race to get to the room and find them. It was pretty intense. I get to claim bragging rights and say I won!! (woot woot!!) One of the Elders got a little beat up, band aids truly are necessary.

Tuesday we had a video meeting and basically replanned the idea for the video. Im not really sure how this one will end up, transfers also threw a wrench in things a bit, our camera elder got transferred out to Montpelier. We'll see how it turns out!! We ended up filming most of Zone Conference to use, which I will get too later.

We had some we had some awesome lessons this week! We met with a guy named Mike, and he seems promising. We met him at a baptism, his friend's sons were baptized. That was a few weeks ago, and we finally got to have a lesson with him. We talked about Heavenly Father and how we are literally his children. I think it touched him to hear how connected we actually are to God. It was a very sweet lesson and we'll be meeting with him again(:

We also met with the Vaughan family, their son Cort is on date for baptism January 4th! It was a good lesson, they are so supportive! We had invited them to read the first lesson as a family to prepare themselves and they actually did it! It was so cool!! I'm excited for them!

Thursday was Transfer day/Zone Conference, which was awesome. Zone Conference was a special Christmas conference for us(: we started out listening to some songs preformed by some women in President Southward's ward in Highland. It was all very well exectuted and their messages went along with what we were talking about first, which was the prophet Joseph Smith. President followed their performaces with a presentation about the prophet, which was also very inspiring. It always touches my heart to think about what Joseph Smith edured for the sake of the gospel. The amount of suffering he endured, along with the pain caused to his family has always confirmed to me the truth of his words. No good man would go through such torment and see not only his family, but his friends put through so much persecution as well, for something false. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that we have true prophets called of God on the earth today.

Later during the Zone Conference we helped with a service project and assembled bikes. It was pretty sweet, later families came to pick them up for their children for christmas. After the service project we went back to the Palace Playhouse, (a theater in town) to have a nice dinner and watch the show, "A Christmas Carol". It really stood out to me to see how blind Scrooge was to his own actions. I think we are so blind sometimes to our own actions and the feelings they can hurt. It made me pause and think a little more about how our actions really do speak volumes. I also loved seeing Scrooge go back to "Christmas past" and seeing both the good and bad actions of his past. It was a poignant reminder of the history of our actions and how important it is to be proud of our actions and to do what we can to make things right when we make a mistake. Lots of good messages to be reminded of. And it was also pretty sweet to get to watch a musical on my mission(:

We got to see the McCabe boys this week, and they are so excited about the Gospel! We stopped by on Saturday and they were so ready to have a lesson! They had their scriptures out and everything. They are such sweet kids and hopefully we can see them baptized. There may be some legal permission to wait on, but they'll get there someday.

Lastly, on Sunday it was super fun to go to all the Christmas programs. We were at 3 of the 4. And we sang in all of them. I actually sang a solo bit for the last one which was fun. Later that night we caroled as well so it was a day of song haha. Made for a good night(:

Anyway, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and enjoy some time with your family and friends. This is a special time of year to remember Christ and the love he has for us.

I love you all!
Love, Sister Jensen

Caroling in Chubbuck

Hello Hello! So sorry for the confusion over the last few emails! If you didn't get one from me over the last few weeks and missed it, let me know!

Transfers are coming up this Thursday and I will be staying in Chubbuck with Sister Miller. This will be her last transfer and then she'll be home to Arizona! It's crazy how fast the mission seems to end. I'll be honest, it has been a rough past few transfers, but It will be good to stay in the area. I also apologize for those I haven't emailed back yet, pdays are probably more stressful than relaxing at this point. I will get to you all soon.

This week we were able to go to the temple in Idaho Falls with a member and do a session. It was quite relaxing and peaceful to be back in the temple. When in doubt, go to the temple. I didn't really have any questions, I mostly just needed to feel peace, which I did. The temple is truly the Lord's house, a place of joy and comfort.

This week we had a few exciting activities, we were able to go caroling a few times as a district in the Mall, and I brought my Ukulele as accompaniment! Haha, it was quite fun and I enjoyed it. This sweet little boy even came up and joined us at one point. (he wasn't even a member!) On Saturday we spent the day doing service project after service project. It was a blast! There is joy found in serving others(:

Also, we for sure have a baptismal date for Cort, a 9 year old boy we are teaching... he is set to be baptized on his birthday, January 4th! I'm so excited!!!

I hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season(: I love you all and hope you have a merry Christmas!!

Love you all!
Sister Jensen

Blitzes And Baptisms!

Hello all!

Things are happening in Chubbuck!!! We have found quite a few new people to teach, and even have a youth that wants to be baptized come January!!! I'll actually get to plan a  baptism! And stay here for it!! I don't know if y'all are getting how much of a miracle this is too me, but it is.

This week we did a district blitz in our are, and another later that week in the sisters area. A blitz is when multiple sets of missionaries go out in one area and spend a few hours helping the missionaries covering that area by knocking doors for them and getting to know the area. We came back with lots of good contacts, and saw the same miracle happen for the sisters.

The most exciting part of my week was actually yesterday. To clear up the confusion, we had our pday switched because the leadership of the mission had a council meeting yesterday. Sorry I didn't clarify sooner. Anyway, back up to Sunday though. On Sunday, our bishop from. The 11th ward came up to us and said a family in the ward was recently coming back to activity and wants their son baptized! We talked to the mom that day and set an appointment for Monday evening. We went, had an awesome lesson and really got to know the family. The son, Court, is awesome!! When the family was less active, Court would be the one to bug them about going back to church and about getting him baptized.

When we talked to the family, the parents were very open about recently being back into activity ty and they could recognize the change the gospel brings into their lives.

We discussed baptism dates with the family and we still don't have an exact date, we have to discuss things with their bishop, but they're thinking around the first week of January.

The area is looking up. Things are getting better and we're definitely finding people to teach. Miracles happen if you continue to put your trust in God. This past week has been a testimony of that. I love you all and I hope your weeks are fantastic.

Love,
Sister Jensen

Happy Turkey Day!

Hello hello everyone!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend it with friends and/or family(:

This week I had a pretty neat experience. On Wednesday I drove out to Star Valley with 5 other missionaries to begin shooting for the next mission video. We got to Star Valley, had dinner with the folks I stayed with while I served there, and then headed off to a member's home to shoot the interview portion of the video. I typed that all in a very calm way, but throughout the whole trip I was so incredibly stressed. We left Pocatello way later than planned, had to head to dinner before setting up for the interviews, and only had about 20 minutes of partial setup before people started to arrive for interviews. I just remember looking at my watch over and over and while I was enjoying the company I was in, a mental schedule was rolling in my mind and we were behind. Somehow, it also felt like everyone in the group was looking to me to make decisions, so I was feeling quite stressed. Interviews all worked out, the house we shot in was beautiful and the people that came were patient with us as we finished our setup. That night we crashed pretty hard, we were all exhausted.

In the morning, (Thursday) we were again running late getting out to the Paris Tabernacle to shoot the music portion of the video. Two more sets of missionaries were joining us at the tabernacle, so they could play instruments for the music we had planned. Once we all finally arrived we took much longer than anticipated to figure out the sound system of the tabernacle, find the shots we wanted, and hash the music out. (We literally threw the "mini orchestra" together and they hammered out something that ended up sounding good in about 3 or 4 hours. So mad props to them.)

Again, it felt like I was placed in charge and I knew the missionaries that met us there had schedules and we were running so late... stress was like through the tabernacle roof. (It was all super fun though, I did have a good time I promise.)

During the whole trip, Star Valley & Paris combined, I was just praying those involved were looking at me with charity. There were many things we didn't think to plan for, schedules that ran ridiculously late, and unexpected setbacks that we really didn't have control over. Feeling like I was making a lot of decisions, and not feeling adequate to do so, I found myself hoping that those around me saw I wasn't perfect and were looking at me with charity and understanding. Throughout my mission, I've prayed for charity, and I've prayed to understand those we work with. But until that trip, I hadn't really recognized how much I needed everyone to have charity towards me because of the stress I was under. It was very humbling and eye opening to see just how important it is to have charity towards those around you. We never know everything someone is balancing or going through. There is much more going on in a person's life than what we see.

With the holidays approaching, I invite all of you to pray for charity. Pray to have charity to those around you, and pray to receive charity from others. The holidays can be some of the most wonderful times for families, and also some of the most stressful. Have understanding for those around you and look to serve and provide relief however you can, just as Christ would.

I love you all,
Sister Jensen

No Mistakes... Only Happy Accidents

Hello all!

This week we had Zone Conference!! It was a really good conference, President had a professional artist come to speak to us. She talked about art she's done, including work in temples!! It was really cool to hear about. She also talked about a painting she did for a judge. Once she had completed the project, she left the painting for just a few minutes, and her 2 year old came in and wrecked it. Like she smeared Cadmium yellow all over the face and the hands. After a bit of a freak out, she scraped the paint off the best she could and basically had to repaint the face & hands. She quoted D&C 122:7-9 -

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

She showed us the painting, and said that after redoing it, the portrait actually turned out better than it looked before. She talked about how sometimes the Lord sends us setbacks to make us better and to stretch ourselves, something I've definitely seen in my life & on my mission.

This week Sister Wilson and I also went out to 2 more firesides, Sister Wilson actually did a 3rd one Sunday evening, we had a lessons o I couldn't go. Sister Miller and I met with the Leach family, we're teaching their son Lyric. He is waiting for permission from his biological mom to be baptized. He is super sweet and knows a lot about the gospel. 

We also had a few meetings this week to plan out the next video, which will be out in Star Valley! It's going to be an awesome video and I'm excited to continue to be a part of the new ways we are finding to share the gospel!! I love you all and encourage everyone to prepare for the Christmas season by looking at the "Light The World" campaign the church has put out and find ways to serve this Christmas!

Love ya,

Sister Jensen

"Hoy Hoy!"

This week was crazy!!

To start, Sister Fitzpatrick and I had our last day together, and early Wednesday morning she headed out to North Carolina. The AP's had us meet at the mission home at 5am for a breakfast before they took the missionaries headed out to the airport. That was a weird day. I had gotten up at 3:30am and gotten all ready, because the AP's didn't really give me much information on where I would go/ who I would go with. They said one of the options was going with Sister Southward, and I wasn't sure if she would just be up and ready to go that early or if I'd get a short nap hahax) (I also knew I wouldn't really be able to fall back asleep anyway so it was sort of a lose/lose situation.) Anyway, they had me go out with some sisters that were dropping off another sister headed to NC. I did have the opportunity to take a nap...but like I said, I defintely couldn't fall back asleep haha.

So I spent the rest of Wednesday with Sister Pineda! We ended up doing some service at a theater in Chubbuck (The Palace Playhouse) and I got to paint sets!!!!! I was in heaven haha. He gave a bit of direction on what he wanted and let me have at it. It was super fun(: That night we went to a relief society and painted too!! Apparently Heavenly Father knew what I needed to help me de-stress lol. Once we got home that evening, I helped Pineda deep clean the apartment to prepare for transfers the next day. Holy cow. there was a lot to do haha. Sister Pineda likes a clean apartment, but he past comps didn't seem to care...so it was a lot of work but dang it looked so good after!!!x) It was a fun night and we bonded over cleaning supplies lol.

Thursday was transfer day and I got Sister Miller!! I didn't know her super well before, but she is so sweet! And hilarious. I'm psyched for this transfer it's gonna be a blast. She is from Arizona, and just came from serving out on the reservation. She's got some crazy stories! 

Anyway, the week was hectic even after transfers. We had quite a few lessons, went back to the res for a Pow-wow, (i'll include pics) had District Council with our new district, and went to a baptism the Elders had! The week was great and I am excited for my last few transfers. I feel like Heavenly Father has placed me here with Sister Miller for a reason, and I am excited to see how the next few transfers go! I love you all! Have a great week!!

Love,
Sister Jensen

("hoy hoy"- a sound one makes while one's companion is popping one's back. Sister Miller lol)

Paint a Missionary Tag on Your Heart

Hello hello all!

This week Sister Fitzpatrick and I did a lot of editing for the mission's video. I will attach a link to watch it on youtube. (that was our halloween, editing..woot woot! we did dress up tho. i painted sis fitz and I's hoodies...i'll include pics!)

On Saturday we had a special Zone conference, in which President M. Russell Ballard presided. He came to visit the mission and tour around a bit.

Leading up to his arrival I was a mix of emotions. Sister Jennings and I were set to sing during the conference. We practiced the song and I was getting quite nervous for it. As I sat down and we began spiritual prep my hands were literally shaking. The elders we were by weren't helping, they politely reminded me that I wouldn't just be performing for an apostle, but the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. How kind. I read a bit in 2 Nephi 31 to attempt to calm my nerves, and soon President Ballard entered the chapel.

As he entered the room you could tell what a sweet man he was. After he had made his way up to the stand, he asked to shake our hands before beginning the meeting. Though it was just a brief handshake, I could feel the love the leadership of the church has for the missionaries as I looked into his eyes.

The conference started and Sister Jennings and I actually performed our musical number after we had opened with a hymn, prayed, and President Southward had announced the order of the meeting. I wasn't expecting to go so soon, but it was good to get it out of the way. Wow I was nervous. As we began I felt shaky, but a sister told me after she didn't believe me on that. It felt like a good performance, though I probably looked down at the music too much. As we walked off the stand President Ballard was so sweet, complimenting us as we walked by and thanking us. (We sang "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" no I apologize, i didn't get a recording.)

It was amazing to get to hear from President Ballard. He reminded us of the simplicity of missionary work, which seems to be a theme this week. I think we find many excuses not to share the gospel, and justify keeping to ourselves. On Sunday, in a ward council we opened by singing "Love One Another." I feel like this is truly how we do missionary work. It doesn't take a direct invitation to be a missionary. Often times, it is the love we express to those around us that helps them see our testimonies and how much this gospel means to us.

I love you all, I challenge you to find someone to show Christlike love to this week, many are in need of it.

Love,
Sister Jensen

Movie Magic!

Hello Hello everyone!

This week was better than last, there's always a rainbow after a storm if we're looking for it. Sister Fitzpatrick & I were extremely busy this week, which was great. I think we were out of our area more than we were in it though, so we weren't busy with what you may expect. Sister Fitzpatrick and I were asked to be on the video committee, in charge of planning & producing the next video our mission is going to send out. We had a planning session last week, and then ended up having 2 this week because a main part of our idea fell through. With that, and the day we took to actually film part of the video, I can't truthfully say we were always in Chubbuck. It's okay, we let our leaders know. Though I think our district leader now expects to get a "hey we'll be out of our area" text at least every other day. I think the only full day we were in our area was Thursday. (We also had exchanges again this week so that only added to the madness)

I know most of you will be curious about the video, so I will take some time to explain it a bit more. President Southward wants every member in our mission to know our goals every month. (Well actually, Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy wants every member in our mission to know our goals..and President is taking off with his instruction haha!) To do this quickly, effectively, and in an encouraging manner, President is having us make monthly videos to show some of the progress in the mission, and encourage members to join us in our goals. It's pretty cool actually.

Anyway, so Sister Fitzpatrick and I, along with 3 other sets of missionaries are on a "video committee" to plan November's video. Come transfers, I don't know what that whole "video committee" will look like, seeing how many of us could get split, and I definitely will be getting a new companion! (If you've missed it till now, Sister Fitzpatrick is going a-wall to North Carolina.) The first time we sat down most of us were kinda like "not exactly sure why I'm here, but I'll see how I can help." (that was me haha) President had given us a bunch of ideas to go off or run with, so the first mtg we focused on a few of his ideas and blocked out the video. For this video, we planed to have a recent convert give some of his story. He's an artist, so we were planning to show him paint a picture and eventually show it at the end. Well then he said he didn't really want to paint something for the video...so that sorta changed things. Not too badly though. We were able to work it out. That's all I'm gonna say before we actually complete the video though, I don't want to give too much away(;

This week was honestly a lot better. I think after reaching our ultimate stress levels, Sister Fitzpatrick and I were able to talk through things and we've been closer as a companionship. It also really helped that things were so crazy, as it gave us a lot to focus on and it is so much better being busy as a missionary than the alternative. I hope everyone had a great week, I love you all!!!

Love ya,
Sister Jensen

Teach Me To Walk In The Light

This week was honestly the roughest week of my mission. Sister Fitzpatrick and I have booth been up and down emotionally, dealing with the stress of starting in a  new area, and for her, figuring out how to be a missionary. I think we've both been extremely frustrated seeing the lack of upkeep of our area, prior to our arrival. We hit our stress climax this week, and had a good comp inventory. We're definitely doing better now, but it still is hard. It wouldn't feel like missionary work if it wasn't hard haha.

We shared a message with a family we'll continue to teach and after, we sang "Teach Me To Walk In The Light" together. This song is a primary song, something I learned as a child, but it's words are still true. For those who don't know the song, here are the lyrics-

1. Teach me to walk in the light of his love;
Teach me to pray to my Father above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right;
Teach me, teach me to walk in the light.

2. Come, little child, and together we'll learn
Of his commandments, that we may return
Home to his presence, to live in his sight--
Always, always to walk in the light.

3. Father in Heaven, we thank thee this day
For loving guidance to show us the way.
Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight!
Gladly, gladly we'll walk in the light.

It's been hard this week. But I also know that everything happens for a reason, and Heavenly Father is teaching me how to become a better daughter of his, so that I can return to him improved and closer to his perfection. There are always reasons for the trials we face, though we don't understand them in the moment. I know Heavenly Father is aware of Sister Fitzpatrick and I, as well as each of you. For all of you, (I know everyone is struggling with something to some degree.) I invite you to look to your heavenly father in times of trial and thank him for the blessings he has given. He loves you and I hope you all can see that.

Love,
Sister Jensen

Priesthood Healing

Hello hello everyone!!! I'm finally back to my novel writing habits, so prepare yourselves. 

Monday night we started out strong with a blessing. Sister Fitzpatrick got some sort of virus throat thing in the MTC and passed it off to me when she arrived. So my throat was acting up and it was making me super nervous because this is like her 3rd week with it and I was scheduled to sing on Sunday (yesterday) and in a few weeks at a special zone conference at which, President Ballard will be present!! (Holy cow!!!!!!) So lots of stuff happening vocally and I really did not have time to get sick! So Elder Allen & Elder Crowther gave me a blessing. In the blessing Elder Allen promised I would be healed because I was needed to use my talents. It was probably one of the coolest blessings I've been given, because it made me feel like Heavenly Father felt like my ability to sing was important, even necessary to the point that I needed to be healed. He also mentioned how people can feel the spirit more than I imagine/realize when I sing so that was really touching.

Tuesday I tried to keep a little quiet because we gotta do our part to be healed too right? (You know me, I can only stay quiet for so long haha) That night our dinner appointment made us some AWESOME wings, and I was so glad to finally have a bomb meal in Chubby. (Everything has been a little eh I guess, or just a few parts of the meal have made me go "yum!" While the rest was like "I'd like to pass but i won't...yay" So this was refreshing.) I appreciate good food hahaha.

That evening we joined the Young Women of the 9th ward for a "mission prep" night! It was awesome! They had the bishop talk a little about the interview questions, some sisters from the ward who served talk about their missions, and at the end, we spoke about our decisions to serve a mission! (Sister Fitz and I) We both actually got really emotional sharing our stories and it was really amazing to testify to the young women about setting their fears aside and following the Lord's will. I talked about how one of the "fears" I had before going out was missing out on Breanna's life and the possibility of her getting married while I was out...and how that happened. It was so amazing to bear my testimony of how the gospel helped me through even that. I'm, not saying this to make anyone sad, it really was a neat experience. I was able to tell them how everything was still alright and though it was hard to miss, I was able to visit my first area that same day and go to the temple. The temple holds healing powers and it made me so incredibly happy to see so many people I had grown to love. It was just so cool to get to testify to them of how the Lord is aware of us and will help us through our fears.

Wednesday evening we had dinner with one of our ward mission leaders and his family. We had a nice dinner, and were about to share a message when their son (recent RM) walked in....wearing the ugliest shirt I have ever seen in my life. Literally the room went silent as everyone simply stared at this kid's shirt. Let me describe it- Imagine a dark blue button down. Not bad, but now add metallic gold swirls, flowers, and music notes cascading down the chest and one of the sleeves. It look incredibly tacky, and he hadn't even ironed it. His dad goes "where'd you get that shirt son?" And he's like "online, where I get everything else." Like he wore that thing to work. Nobody really said anything. It was so awkward.

Thursday my voice felt like it was almost there. So that was encouraging. We had a suuuper long session of weekly planning and oh my heck I was dying but it's fine. We had dinner with the Johnsons that evening and they were so fun! Again, got some good meat so I was happy. After that we had a stake ward mission leader meeting, which was really helpful. The Stake President is super motivated to get the work going, and he just called a lot of new ward mission leaders, so the training was necessary and I think it'll help them start out with a good outlook. That evening one of our ward mission leaders gave us a huge sack of apples which made me super happy!!

Friday my throat was pretty much healed woot woot!! We had the opportunity to help with the food bank out in Tyhee and that was a mix of sad & happy & humbling. It's just sad to me to see some of the circumstances people are living in. It's even sadder to be able to see the effect of substance abuse on so many of their faces. It was saddening to see where they had gotten themselves, or situations they were put in through other's choices. It was a good experience though. That evening we had dinner with a newer sister to the ward. She moved in recently and her husband has passed away. She was super funny and sweet, I think she gets pretty lonely because a lot of the members don't know her yet. It was good to have the opportunity to spend dinner with her though.

Saturday we had breakfast with all the other missionaries in our stake! There's a member in one of the Elder's wards who is set on carrying out the tradition his grandfather instilled, to feed the missionaries in the stake once a month. It was so great, they fed us pancakes and it was really fun!! He was less active growing up and never served a mission, and his wife is from the Philippines and served a mission. They are so sweet and it was so cool to see the impact his grandfather had on him.

After breakfast we had a lesson with the Manteca family. They are a family that was sealed in the temple and are now getting back to activity. We had a really good lesson with them and discussed the first part of the Plan of Salvation. We were able to talk about our "turning points" and when the gospel became real to us. Brother Manteca shared some powerful experiences and I think he showed his wife that he really does have a testimony. After we got out, Sister Fitzpatrick was super excited because it felt like we really balanced each other well in the lesson. It was really good it went so well. Because of the breakfast we had very little study time so Sister Fitz was super nervous. But all went well and I think she was able to see the way Heavenly Father helped us.

After that we practiced "Brightly Beams" with Sister Wilson, and it was a lil rough. So that made me nervous, but I was like "well, it'll be okay, Heavenly Father said it would be.." That evening we ate with a super sweet family, the Halls. We had met brother Hall briefly the day prior and he told us after dinner that when he met us, he talked to his wife and was like "yeah, we got cool sisters!" Apparently the only set of sisters this area remembers weren't super talkative, so we're pretty neat hahaha. We shared the "Because of Him" video and basically had a family testimony meeting with them, it was so neat. We later saw the mom and 2 kids get up to bear their testimonies yesterday, it was really special(:

Sunday! What a day! We went to 2 full wards so that the wards could have time to get to know us a little and we could meet most of the relief society sisters. That evening we met at President's house and Sister Wilson and I sent out daughters off with each other for a brief exchange. My lil baby was already leaving the nest!! *sniff sniff* The fireside went really well, I think that was actually the best we've sung "Brightly Beams." I could feel the spirit very strongly and I think lots of members were able to feel it too. It was also amazing to see that Heavenly Father did in fact heal me and not only was I able to perform, but it was the best performance we've done of that song. The power of the priesthood is real and I was definitely able to see that this week.

I hope you all are doing well!

Love you all!!!
<3 Sister Jensen