Hey.
This week was a good one because we saved two souls. Oceanna was baptized by Elder Purdon and Legacy by Elder "Stud" Jensen. The confirmations were swapped. It was my first time doing a confirmation (took me long enough, I know). Man, I was scared out of my mind. I know that's a little ridiculous but I have just been really trying to say what the Spirit wants me to say, so I prayed like mad several times before the confirmation. And it went great! The Spirit just took control and I was just chillin there waiting for Him to be done. Nah, but it was really cool and I'm glad I was spiritually prepared to do it. Makes a huge difference. I did realize something though. When the Spirit has nothing more for you to say, just end the blessing. I went just a bit too long and ended up saying pretty much the same sentence twice. Goofy, huh? That's the priesthood for you. The strength of the ocean of God.
Hey, I was wondering, how is Gates doing?
Also, will someone please return Hailey's "Preparation Precedes Power" book that I was borrowing before I left? I can't remember if I already asked someone to do that months ago, but I just remembered about it again, so yeah.... Shout out to Hay, since I'm talking about you!
Good luck Ryan Checketts! I heard the farewell was powerful. Doesn't surprise me. You'll do awesome. Hopefully we can stay in touch throughout our missions -- annual letters maybe, since I don't write much. So, yeah. See you soon (it feels soon -- five months already? Still not sure that's accurate. Time may be faster in the Southern Hemisphere -- someone please confirm)!
Happy birthday in a few days Mekenzie! Love you!
And C-Pain, happy birthday my friend.
So I'm fairly sure I'll be headed to Auckland this week, but we'll see. I'll let you know next week.
I could actually probably write heaps about cool stuff if I really think hard, but I don't have time today. I'm going shopping! For nearly expiring food that is way cheap! Sweet huh?
My last thought: prayer is powerful. So, so powerful. Don't ever think that your prayers are ignored. If you ask in FAITH, you will receive. I promise. I prayed the other day for it to stop raining -- we were caught unawares -- and it stopped immediately. I know this church is true. I know it. I know Heavenly Father wants us to pray specifically for righteous desires, and according to our obedience, he rewards! NZAM saved 194 souls this month. Through faith, diligence, and hard work. And PRAYER.
Bye! Love you guys! Thanks for everything!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Still Alive?
Oh Canada,
That's for Alana. She better read this.
Isn't it crazy that we're all still alive?! Man, we were scared out of our minds Saturday night. May 21st! I wonder what happened. Did the prophet man and his people get caught up in the rapture? Are we in our five months of torture now? I'm sure it will all come to light soon.
So you all remember the Catholic lady I told you about? Who I was really excited for? Yeah, she dropped us. Again. We'll try again to help her realize that the most happiness comes from the message we share, but who knows if it will work this time. I'll let you know. It made me sad. I was so excited for her, especially because we have been working with her forever. But you can't get upset about every single person who drops you because then a mission would be impossible.
Our two kids set for baptism -- Oceanna and Legacy -- are awesome! Last lesson, they really started warming up to us. They were going crazy and laughing and talking and everything, when the day before they were too shy to say anything. They're excited to get baptized. Remember how I said their great-nan, Lucy, is also unbaptized? Yeah, she and Paula (kids' mom/auntie -- confusing relationships; I won't go into it) came to our Gospel Principles class, where we stressed authority to baptize, because Lucy thinks her other baptism is good. Finally Paula caught on to what we were saying and afterwards asked if Lucy needed to get baptized into our church. Now she's on our side, wanting to get Lucy baptized. So she should get dunked pretty soon too. Maybe this weekend. That would be cool.
This week was pretty dang good. We talked to tons of people on the street, got a couple of investigators interested again through the power of the BOM (we seriously did nothing, just started reading it with them), had lots of investigators at church (more than last week), set a lady for baptism next month (Elder Purdon set her on a tradeoff, so I've yet to teach her, but she sounds solid), had an amazing zone conference, found out recent convert Hoby is related to soon-to-be-converts and family, and got cookies on sale. What more can you ask for? More miracles! Through obedience and diligence and faith. That's where it all comes from. We did really well in all three of those this week. Not perfect of course, but better. The challenge is doing even better this next week. Our mission has a thing called PB -- Personal Best. Always work on doing better than you've done. That works in all aspects of life. I'd encourage everyone to take a look at themselves and see what they can improve on. Then just focus on one thing. Try it!
Hey family, I know you're sending a package soon -- will you include one of those scripture mastery cards with all one hundred SMs on it? Just the one, not the four separate books. Thanks. Mother, I'm fine. Everything is great. If I need anything, I will let you know. Thanks for worrying yourself to death.
Well, love you all. I love getting letters and hearing how everyone is doing. I try to respond, but you know how busy things are.... Maybe when I go to some place in the bush I'll do nothing on preparation days and have tons of time to write. But don't count on it. More likely than not, I will be transferred to Auckland next week. We'll see in a couple of weeks.
This work is always rewarding, but especially so when you see the members change their mindset to focus more on missionary work. Please, everyone do some missionary work! Most of you live in Utah, the highest baptizing missions in the world! Guess where all those baptisms come from? Yep, members. Preach My Gospel chapter 9 has great stuff about how you can do missionaries. I'd love to hear about my friends and family bringing the Gospel to people. That would be the coolest thing ever.
Anyways, thanks for everything! See you guys soon (or at least it feels soon because it's already been four and a half months!). Love you.
Your favorite New Zealand missionary,
Elder Zachary Jensen
Sunday, May 15, 2011
I refuse to put a subject here
My Fellow Americans (and anyone else who reads this who is not from America -- if you exist, please let me know; that would be cool to have international fans),
New Zealand is doing great, other than their rampant disrespect for American swearwords -- hell, damn, others.... Family, I was wondering if you could eventually send me a mini Book of Mormon -- as small as it gets -- and a New Testament separate from the Old Testament (it's a thin book; don't worry about getting a fancy copy, just the economy style for both the NT and BOM). Both of these can probably be found on some church website. You know better than I do. Thanks.
This week was really good. We found nine new investigators, which is great. One of them was a lady that we had talked to at her door a couple of weeks ago. At first she wasn't interested, but we persisted and she ended up asking if that was our church across the road (it was), and said she'd come on Sunday. We didn't see her that Sunday, forgot about her, and saw her this Sunday instead! We're meeting with her on Tuesday. Miracle. You want more? Alright:
We also had six investigators at church -- really good for us. I don't know about other missions, but that's good for NZAM and especially for Claudelands (my area, for you latecomers). One of those was a lady that we have been teaching for a while who used to attend the Church of Lucifer (I almost think that doesn't even deserve capitalization...), was taught she's a child of Satan (yeah.), and was having trouble adjusting to what we've been teaching her since it is so different. She really likes the Gospel though, and this was her first time at church. A huge step for her, since she flat out refused a few weeks ago.
We have a couple of kids (eight and eleven) set for baptism at the end of the month. Part-member family. We set them the first time we taught the kids -- kids are easy; making sure the family stays active is the challenge. The lesson before that, though, we taught so powerfully through the scriptures. They have so much more power than we do. We taught about baptisms for the dead and why they're so necessary. They (the less active adults) loved it. We are hoping to set the nan as well. She loves our church. She is a great-great-grandmother. Crazy, huh?
We had several amazing experiences this week. The last one I'll talk about was the lesson that we had on Saturday with this Catholic lady who has been gone for weeks. Remember me telling you about her? Yeah, she has really felt the Spirit with us, but is pretty indoctrinated by her church. In this lesson, we taught her and her husband -- first time for the husband. We taught about the three kingdoms of glory, having her read 2 Corinthians 12:2, which blew her mind: "My church doesn't teach anything about this." She and her husband both loved it though. Said it made so much sense. We also taught about the Spirit World and some of the pre-earth life, which again they loved. (Pause for a second. Want to know why they liked it so much? Because it's true! It makes perfect sense. And... go.) After all this, we asked them to kneel with us and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We all knelt, I said the prayer, the Spirit was threatening to utterly annihilate the home with awesomeness, and they both said they felt it was true. So we invited them to church, which we have done before, and they said yes. The next day, we came to see if they were coming, ended up teaching another lesson, and committed them again. All seemed well, and we went back to the flat before heading to church. Then we got a phone call from her and she told us that she and her whole family were going to tell Father Joseph that they had ignored his earlier warning (weeks ago) to stop meeting with us and that they planned on coming to our church next week. I don't think he'll be too happy with them or us. So yes, they missed church yesterday, but everything is going great. I love this family. They most likely won't be able to get baptized before I leave, but Elder Purdon will finish the job and let me know. I'll update you guys on them next week!
Yes, the church is true. I've seen several miracles just this week and I am loving it. I know that part of the reason we were rewarded with these sweet as experiences was our endurance with faith and hope through the tough days where not much happened. The witness truly comes after the trial of our faith.
Still learning, but loving it. Thanks for everything everyone. I know that's broad, but I still mean it. I bet the only things that's keeping me sane are your prayers. Thanks. I appreciate it. Thanks for the letters too!
Love you all, especially you, family.
Your friendly neighborhood missionary,
Elder Zach Jensen
P.S. Lily and Isabel, postcards are coming soon! I'm sorry I'm so slow! Your drawings are the best I've ever seen! Love you guys!
New Zealand is doing great, other than their rampant disrespect for American swearwords -- hell, damn, others.... Family, I was wondering if you could eventually send me a mini Book of Mormon -- as small as it gets -- and a New Testament separate from the Old Testament (it's a thin book; don't worry about getting a fancy copy, just the economy style for both the NT and BOM). Both of these can probably be found on some church website. You know better than I do. Thanks.
This week was really good. We found nine new investigators, which is great. One of them was a lady that we had talked to at her door a couple of weeks ago. At first she wasn't interested, but we persisted and she ended up asking if that was our church across the road (it was), and said she'd come on Sunday. We didn't see her that Sunday, forgot about her, and saw her this Sunday instead! We're meeting with her on Tuesday. Miracle. You want more? Alright:
We also had six investigators at church -- really good for us. I don't know about other missions, but that's good for NZAM and especially for Claudelands (my area, for you latecomers). One of those was a lady that we have been teaching for a while who used to attend the Church of Lucifer (I almost think that doesn't even deserve capitalization...), was taught she's a child of Satan (yeah.), and was having trouble adjusting to what we've been teaching her since it is so different. She really likes the Gospel though, and this was her first time at church. A huge step for her, since she flat out refused a few weeks ago.
We have a couple of kids (eight and eleven) set for baptism at the end of the month. Part-member family. We set them the first time we taught the kids -- kids are easy; making sure the family stays active is the challenge. The lesson before that, though, we taught so powerfully through the scriptures. They have so much more power than we do. We taught about baptisms for the dead and why they're so necessary. They (the less active adults) loved it. We are hoping to set the nan as well. She loves our church. She is a great-great-grandmother. Crazy, huh?
We had several amazing experiences this week. The last one I'll talk about was the lesson that we had on Saturday with this Catholic lady who has been gone for weeks. Remember me telling you about her? Yeah, she has really felt the Spirit with us, but is pretty indoctrinated by her church. In this lesson, we taught her and her husband -- first time for the husband. We taught about the three kingdoms of glory, having her read 2 Corinthians 12:2, which blew her mind: "My church doesn't teach anything about this." She and her husband both loved it though. Said it made so much sense. We also taught about the Spirit World and some of the pre-earth life, which again they loved. (Pause for a second. Want to know why they liked it so much? Because it's true! It makes perfect sense. And... go.) After all this, we asked them to kneel with us and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We all knelt, I said the prayer, the Spirit was threatening to utterly annihilate the home with awesomeness, and they both said they felt it was true. So we invited them to church, which we have done before, and they said yes. The next day, we came to see if they were coming, ended up teaching another lesson, and committed them again. All seemed well, and we went back to the flat before heading to church. Then we got a phone call from her and she told us that she and her whole family were going to tell Father Joseph that they had ignored his earlier warning (weeks ago) to stop meeting with us and that they planned on coming to our church next week. I don't think he'll be too happy with them or us. So yes, they missed church yesterday, but everything is going great. I love this family. They most likely won't be able to get baptized before I leave, but Elder Purdon will finish the job and let me know. I'll update you guys on them next week!
Yes, the church is true. I've seen several miracles just this week and I am loving it. I know that part of the reason we were rewarded with these sweet as experiences was our endurance with faith and hope through the tough days where not much happened. The witness truly comes after the trial of our faith.
Still learning, but loving it. Thanks for everything everyone. I know that's broad, but I still mean it. I bet the only things that's keeping me sane are your prayers. Thanks. I appreciate it. Thanks for the letters too!
Love you all, especially you, family.
Your friendly neighborhood missionary,
Elder Zach Jensen
P.S. Lily and Isabel, postcards are coming soon! I'm sorry I'm so slow! Your drawings are the best I've ever seen! Love you guys!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Post Mothers Day
Just a side note Elder Jensen did get to call home on Saturday and we got to talk to him for a little over 2 hours. He sounds absolutely great and is doing great things down in New Zealand. He would love to hear from friends and family. The best option would be to send letters rather than email as he doesn't have a lot of time to read emails. He sen home like a million and one pictures so I will be posting a bunch of those on here when I get the time. Anyways, because he talked to us for so long yesterday this letter is directed to about 8 of his closest friends called the death hammers. He has definitely not lost his sense of humor, thats for sure. Happy reading...
Hi,
I don't really know what to say. I talked to you family members yesterday. You sounded great. Too bad Little Jake wasn't there. I would've liked to talk to him.
So the rest of this is for my compatriots-in-purpose, the greatest missionaries of all time, the bringers of death by means of hammer, the Death Hammers (almost previously known as the Charizards). How are things? I hope you're all doing well on your missions. It was sweet as to hear from everyone in the April DH Newsletter. Lee, I wanted to let you know that I'm not far behind you in terms of an abundance of rain. It rains heaps here. I had to get a new jacket because the other one I have (supposedly top of the line) soaked through in about fifteen minutes in the heavy rain that plagues the Claudelands suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand. Sometimes it's enjoyable, other times not so much.... Hey Alex, isn't your birthday July 14? So you're going into the MTC the day before your birthday? That's crazy. I think they throw pretty syck parties in the MTC though, so you've got nothing to worry about. Just keep your White Handbook close and a picture of me closer. I think you'll be the youngest elder since Joseph F. Smith.
Just so you all know, I'm getting fatter every day. I've gained around 25 pounds. Alex, remember when we joked about that? Yeah, it's not as funny as we thought. Although, the missionaries in my district and few members seem to find it pretty hilarious. So cruel. I heard Nebraska was ravaged and on the verge of annihilation by supernatural tornadoes. If they haven't found Sam yet, I would recommend a thorough search of all shacks sporting a lambda insignia. Glade, I was curious, how long has Genghis Khan been the mission president in Ulaanbaatar and are you supposed to learn horseback archery before you leave or do you learn in the field?
Pope, kiitos kirjeestä, jonka te lähetetty MTC. Myös, kiitos kaunis sieni Bob viite. Olen velkaa sinulle.Onnea kieli. Caleb and Eric, I won't tell you to stay out of trouble because I am only licensed with a ministerial certificate to work miracles here in New Zealand. What I would ask, however, is that I receive updates on any dates with my sister or close friends.
New Zealand is awesome. I have baptized one Uruk Hai and a dwarf, of Thorin's clan. Bilbo Baggins is in my current ward (goes under the alias "Raymond" -- I haven't seen his feet for confirmation yet, but will continue trying). The goblins are a very humble people, willing to listen. We have a family of four that we're hoping to set in the near future. The humans are a hard-hearted people, caught up in pride and vain traditions. We do have one human assassin, however, that has been coming to church for three months (he won't be baptized yet, because he's "waiting for the order" from his less active commander). A rogue elf who we have been working with grew up in the Church of Sauron, but is looking for more peace in her life. She has much potential. It is believed she is 1039 years old (unconfirmed).
I know the work we're all doing is guided by our Heavenly Father. It has been so awesome to hear how yous have grown. Just kidding, I haven't adopted "yous" into my NZ-tainted vocabulary yet. The mission has been really hard at times and I've developed a greater love for my Savior, and I know miracles are possible when I'm obedient, working hard, and having faith. I know because I've seen them. One of our recent converts quit smoking and drinking and drugs all at once without us even mentioning the Word of Wisdom. I'm excited to witness even more miracles. When you watch someone's life changed by the Gospel, it makes this all worth it.
Looking forward to hearing from everyone. Keep up the good work and I'll see you guys in a couple years. I'm glad we could have such a good group of friends. Love you DHs.
DEATH HAMMER OVERLOAD!!!
Elder Jensen
Hi,
I don't really know what to say. I talked to you family members yesterday. You sounded great. Too bad Little Jake wasn't there. I would've liked to talk to him.
So the rest of this is for my compatriots-in-purpose, the greatest missionaries of all time, the bringers of death by means of hammer, the Death Hammers (almost previously known as the Charizards). How are things? I hope you're all doing well on your missions. It was sweet as to hear from everyone in the April DH Newsletter. Lee, I wanted to let you know that I'm not far behind you in terms of an abundance of rain. It rains heaps here. I had to get a new jacket because the other one I have (supposedly top of the line) soaked through in about fifteen minutes in the heavy rain that plagues the Claudelands suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand. Sometimes it's enjoyable, other times not so much.... Hey Alex, isn't your birthday July 14? So you're going into the MTC the day before your birthday? That's crazy. I think they throw pretty syck parties in the MTC though, so you've got nothing to worry about. Just keep your White Handbook close and a picture of me closer. I think you'll be the youngest elder since Joseph F. Smith.
Just so you all know, I'm getting fatter every day. I've gained around 25 pounds. Alex, remember when we joked about that? Yeah, it's not as funny as we thought. Although, the missionaries in my district and few members seem to find it pretty hilarious. So cruel. I heard Nebraska was ravaged and on the verge of annihilation by supernatural tornadoes. If they haven't found Sam yet, I would recommend a thorough search of all shacks sporting a lambda insignia. Glade, I was curious, how long has Genghis Khan been the mission president in Ulaanbaatar and are you supposed to learn horseback archery before you leave or do you learn in the field?
Pope, kiitos kirjeestä, jonka te lähetetty MTC. Myös, kiitos kaunis sieni Bob viite. Olen velkaa sinulle.Onnea kieli. Caleb and Eric, I won't tell you to stay out of trouble because I am only licensed with a ministerial certificate to work miracles here in New Zealand. What I would ask, however, is that I receive updates on any dates with my sister or close friends.
New Zealand is awesome. I have baptized one Uruk Hai and a dwarf, of Thorin's clan. Bilbo Baggins is in my current ward (goes under the alias "Raymond" -- I haven't seen his feet for confirmation yet, but will continue trying). The goblins are a very humble people, willing to listen. We have a family of four that we're hoping to set in the near future. The humans are a hard-hearted people, caught up in pride and vain traditions. We do have one human assassin, however, that has been coming to church for three months (he won't be baptized yet, because he's "waiting for the order" from his less active commander). A rogue elf who we have been working with grew up in the Church of Sauron, but is looking for more peace in her life. She has much potential. It is believed she is 1039 years old (unconfirmed).
I know the work we're all doing is guided by our Heavenly Father. It has been so awesome to hear how yous have grown. Just kidding, I haven't adopted "yous" into my NZ-tainted vocabulary yet. The mission has been really hard at times and I've developed a greater love for my Savior, and I know miracles are possible when I'm obedient, working hard, and having faith. I know because I've seen them. One of our recent converts quit smoking and drinking and drugs all at once without us even mentioning the Word of Wisdom. I'm excited to witness even more miracles. When you watch someone's life changed by the Gospel, it makes this all worth it.
Looking forward to hearing from everyone. Keep up the good work and I'll see you guys in a couple years. I'm glad we could have such a good group of friends. Love you DHs.
DEATH HAMMER OVERLOAD!!!
Elder Jensen
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Almost four months...
Hey Family and Friends,
How are you all doing? The mission is great. I don't have much time this week, but I just wanted to let you know that I'll probably be calling next P-day in the morning sometime, which means Sunday in the afternoon for you guys. But I may call on your Saturday. Sorry I can't be specific. We'll probably be able to talk for about an hour. It can go longer though -- it's just not supposed to pull my thoughts away from the work.
This weekend was Spirit packed. It was mean. One of our investigators, Marie, reluctantly dropped us earlier in the week. We had become really good friends, talking with her about lots of stuff, but something happened this week that had really been hard on her. She told us she was moving back home (about four hours away) because of some trials she was going through. I bore testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon and she started crying, but she told us there was nothing we could help her with, so we left, me feeling helpless. We felt prompted to go back on Saturday and tell her of the power of the Atonement to heal the innocent as well as those who have sinned. I honestly can't remember what we said because we weren't the ones speaking -- the Spirit was -- but she began to cry and so did I. Being led by the Spirit, we told her that what she needed was God more in her life, and we testified of the Holy Ghost, telling her that she was feeling it at that very moment. We told her that if she came to church, she would find that peace that she was so desperately seeking. Through tears, she told us she would come to church. I knew at that moment, more than any other time in my life, that this gospel changes lives. It SAVES lives.
I don't know that this church is true in the same way that the Apostles do. I don't have that apostolic witness. But I DO have faith that Heavenly Father is there. I do believe that it's only through the gospel of Jesus Christ that complete happiness comes. And I have had the Holy Ghost confirm it. So I do know. I love that knowledge. I'm sorry for the people who don't have it.
I love you guys and look forward to talking to you soon. Thanks for everything you do. Keep up your strength in the gospel. We, as members, are not as valiant in the gospel as we should be. Take a step back and reevaluate things. Ask yourself, "What lack I yet?" And then act on it. Faith is a principle of action. Miracles follow.
See you in lots of months! Send me pictures!
Elder Jensen
How are you all doing? The mission is great. I don't have much time this week, but I just wanted to let you know that I'll probably be calling next P-day in the morning sometime, which means Sunday in the afternoon for you guys. But I may call on your Saturday. Sorry I can't be specific. We'll probably be able to talk for about an hour. It can go longer though -- it's just not supposed to pull my thoughts away from the work.
This weekend was Spirit packed. It was mean. One of our investigators, Marie, reluctantly dropped us earlier in the week. We had become really good friends, talking with her about lots of stuff, but something happened this week that had really been hard on her. She told us she was moving back home (about four hours away) because of some trials she was going through. I bore testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon and she started crying, but she told us there was nothing we could help her with, so we left, me feeling helpless. We felt prompted to go back on Saturday and tell her of the power of the Atonement to heal the innocent as well as those who have sinned. I honestly can't remember what we said because we weren't the ones speaking -- the Spirit was -- but she began to cry and so did I. Being led by the Spirit, we told her that what she needed was God more in her life, and we testified of the Holy Ghost, telling her that she was feeling it at that very moment. We told her that if she came to church, she would find that peace that she was so desperately seeking. Through tears, she told us she would come to church. I knew at that moment, more than any other time in my life, that this gospel changes lives. It SAVES lives.
I don't know that this church is true in the same way that the Apostles do. I don't have that apostolic witness. But I DO have faith that Heavenly Father is there. I do believe that it's only through the gospel of Jesus Christ that complete happiness comes. And I have had the Holy Ghost confirm it. So I do know. I love that knowledge. I'm sorry for the people who don't have it.
I love you guys and look forward to talking to you soon. Thanks for everything you do. Keep up your strength in the gospel. We, as members, are not as valiant in the gospel as we should be. Take a step back and reevaluate things. Ask yourself, "What lack I yet?" And then act on it. Faith is a principle of action. Miracles follow.
See you in lots of months! Send me pictures!
Elder Jensen
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