I confess

Dear Family,

Yep, haha, I was called as a zone leader a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that I cared if you knew; I just thought it would be funny to wait till you got the letter. It's a whole new experience. All missionaries in the mission have weekly planning on Friday mornings, where you plan for all of your investigators and evaluate each other and your teaching and relationship and stuff... blah blah blah. But now I don't have time for any of that because we have to plan for each of the missionaries in the zone and the districts and how we can improve things and reach our goals for the month, etc. It's really fun! The best. My companion is also a zone leader, unlike the district leader calling where you're all alone. It makes it a little more enjoyable, working together and trying to find ways to better the zone.

There are 14 missionaries in the Taurua zone, including myself and Elder Walker. Two districts with three companionships each. It's actually a smaller zone and in the past hasn't had heaps of success. Recently though, it's been on fire! I'm sure there will be many miracles to sure in the near future.

I should probably tell you a little about the week, eh? On Friday, we were preaching by the way and we saw a big group of people sitting in a garage. We went to talk to them and then out of nowhere someone brings a plate of food up to Elder Walker, followed by two chairs and my plate of food! We tried to deny it, but they didn't really listen. Partially, I think, because half of them spoke very little English -- they're from Nepal. I call them Nepalesians, but I don't know if that's right. Anyway, it was mean because they had these ring-lookin' things that were like donuts, called roti... maybe. Those were pretty good. But the potato dish was spicy as! It burned my tongue off. Really. It's not funny. I've been in the hospital for the past three days because of all the surgery to try to save my tongue. I'm typing this e-mail from my bed in room 105C. Someone is trying to pull the plug! --^---^------^-------------^------------------^------------------------------------------------------

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I'm typing the rest of this from the Spirit World. It's nice here. The prison foods is classy as.

We taught four guys from Punjab (that's in India) last night. We taught them some of the Plan of Salvation, they offered us tea, we said we don't drink it, they were confounded, we told them why, one of them said, "teach us more about Jesus!" and we said next time. It was really fun. It's not very often that we get to teach people without a Christian background. The Spirit was strong as we testified of Christ.

Two more people were baptized this week! Thomas and Roylene were married and Thomas was baptized right afterwards. I was a witness for marriage! I signed the papers and everything. We got them some cheap rings to use for the ceremony too. Haha. It was precious. Thomas is the man and they have both been really fulfilling to teach. This 12-year-old girl was the other one baptized. Her name is Braxton. She's off the walls and not shy at all. She's funny.

We helped paint a fence this morning. Now I have paint on me. It was nice. And sunny! I was roasting to a tender crisp. Mmm...

I love this work. I know it's the Lord's and He is there for us. I know my Father lives. This is where happiness is (John 13:17). Love you guys. Have a good week. Stay out of trouble.

Yours truly, unless your name is Elder Eric Pande,

Elder Jensen

Taurua!

Dear someone,

Hi. It's Elder Jensen again. Last week was a mean week. Lots of good stuff. Chakira Watts and Jayden Rawiri were baptized yesterday. I confirmed Jayden. It was great. Today we had this miracle lesson with this young couple who are supposed to get married this weekend, followed by the man's baptism. They have been fighting heaps and wanted to call off the wedding, so we went over to do some good ol' missionary marriage counseling! Of course the answer is Christ! Like always. It all started this morning when the woman called us at 5:00 am, then 5:30, then 6:04. By the third phone call, we were aware that someone was trying to make contact with us, so I was able to make it out of the room and answer the phone. She said that they had just gotten in a big fight and that the marriage was probably off. Flip. So we told her to read and pray, then went back to sleep for 20 minutes. That morning we prepared a good lesson for them about marriage and stuff, then had a powerhouse lesson! The Spirit smashed them and we got everything resolved. They will be getting married and the man getting baptized this Saturday at 10 am (the woman is a member). The gospel is the ultimate relationship fixer.

I love you guys. You're so good to me. There are heaps of other people who I could tell you about but I don't have too much time. I watch over a lot more missionaries now, so my weeks have been very preoccupied with how to help them. I've come to a very real understanding that life is about others. If you want to be happy in life, you need to figure out how to serve. Serve your butts off. Seriously, whenever I think about myself, I get depressed in no time, but when I rely on Heavenly Father and use my time to improve the lives of others, I am so much happier. Like with the lesson today -- I would easily give up P-days to have lessons like that every hour of the day! Thanks everyone for all your prayers and caring about me. I couldn't do this without you. This is true.

This is God's church. Really.

Regards,

Elder Jensen

P.S. JK that's so lame. "Regards..." See ya! Ofa atu!

Country!

Dear other humans,

I've finally been transferred into "the bush." Yes! First time out of the city. It's beautiful. I had forgotten that the landscape could rise and fall in various shapes and sizes known as "hills." And they're not made of concrete....

But yes, surprise, surprise. The transfer of the ages. I was not expecting it in the slightest. With the new training program, trainers are technically supposed to stay with their new missionaries for two transfers, a solid 12 weeks. Looks like the Lord has other things in mind. My new companion is Elder Walker, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He's funny as. He's crazy. We get along pretty well. Finally someone who understands and correctly responds to sarcasm. He has been out for quite a while and I have learned a lot from him already. Should be a mean transfer. We're pretty pumped. The name of the zone I have been moved to is Tauranga/Rotorua, because there are two stakes. Fortunately, to accommodate the dyslexic, the name has been adeptly modified to Taurua. "There's no fear here in TAURUA!" We cover two wards: Mt. Maunganui and Welcome Bay. I have been very blessed, coming into the area with 13 people set with a date. A few of those need to have their date moved -- get things all worked out -- but there are still quite a few solid ones. This weekend there will be anywhere from six to nine people making that awesome first step through baptism.

I don't know too much about them yet. Sherie Dobson is getting baptized this weekend with her three kids, Trimane, Destiny, and Janae. They're 15, 13, and 11, I think. They're a great family who have made some huge changes in their lives. Chakira and Jayden, 9 and 11, are getting baptized this weekend. Chakira is annoying as. Haha, we were going over the baptismal interview questions with them and she just kept asking things like "Well, what if I WANT to drink iced coffee?" "What if I WANT to have kids before I get married?" Then when I finally got past that, she just "Yeah, duh, of course I won't do those things. They're dumb." Yeah. This 19-year-old, Thomas, might also get baptized this weekend, if he can get all the marriage papers worked out in time. Unlikely, but we'll see. He'll be marrying his less-active girlfriend, Roylene, who apparently refuses to pray with the missionaries. But she's cool. There's also one or two others for this weekend, but I haven't met them yet.

What else? Oh yeah, the weather is nice here. In Auckland it rains almost every day, especially during the winter, but down south in Tauranga it rains very little. One elder said it only rained once in the past six weeks. I might have heard that wrong, so don't quote me. Yesterday we were driving to contact a referral (I'm in a car now! Syck as. That's for you Megan.), but we saw a dude, so we halted and engaged in foot pursuit to proclaim the gospel. He wasn't keen on listening and unfortunately we walked with him for ages at a brisk pace. By the time our conversation came to an end, we were several hundred miles from the car... oh, no, sorry, that's meters... dang metric... just kidding metric is good.... So then we jogged back to the car and I was so sweaty! It was "hot as sin," as Elder Walker would say. It didn't help that I'm so fat now. I gained even more weight in South Auckland. Maybe the bushmen can straighten me out here Tauranga. Just kidding, there are no bushmen (but really, I suspect that they are amassing in hiding, waiting for the perfect time to strike -- I would guess Christmas day).

I love the dessert here. And the kumara. Excellent.

The work is great. And it shall press forward. General Conference was amazing. I loved all the talks about this great work and the huge role that each of us, young and not-so-young, play in expanding the Kingdom of God. Each calling is full of sacred responsibility and trust that our Father in Heaven has given us. Don't ever take it lightly. Remember, as President Eyring said, "I need your help." We all need each other's help. And Christ needs our help to strengthen our brothers and sisters. I love the Saviour and His gospel. Thomas Monson is a prophet of God. Your God knows you. He loves you. And so do I! Have a good week, and thank you for all you do. Thank you for your prayers!

Love,

Your friend, brother, nephew, cousin, fiancé (haha JK), compatriot in crime (haha not JK) (JK),

Elder Zachary Jensen.

Haven't Seen General Conference Yet

Dear Whoever is Reading,

This is Elder Jensen.

Copy.

Jensen to Utah.

Anyone there...?

Do you read?

Over.

Last week, aliens inva--- South Auckland.

Breaking up ---- does --- where ----

Good afternoon! This week has been a good one. Elder Hoffman and I focused on receiving revelation, especially through prayer. It's been very humbling to see the Lord's hand in the work. Both of our sets we ready to come to church, but after a half hour, they both weren't there. After much prayer, they showed up! It was a miracle.

I've been chastised a lot by the Spirit this last week. I've learned that I need to be a better leader and focus on the needs of each individual missionary in the district, just as much as I need to work on my own area. The district is doing better now than a couple of weeks ago. Sister Auva'a is finishing strong and Sister Leu wants to start the area off well. One elder is struggling, training a half deaf Tongan who speaks no English and feels discouraged from recent converts not coming to church. He's doing all he can, so I've been trying to encourage him. This work is hard!

That's part of my letter to President.

Good week. Love you guys. Bye.

I'm sorry if I'm the worst... JK LOL

Love,
Elder Jensen

Almost General Conference

Dear People,

 

It's almost October! I'm excited as for General Conference. We're so lucky to get to hear prophets of God speak to us. Lots of people hear are really surprised when we tell them that God has a prophet on earth today. They say, "I wish someone would've told me about that." Haha that reminds me of other times when we talk to people on the street and they say they have been praying for direction in their lives. And we tell them we have this wonderful message, and they "No thanks, I'll just wait for God to answer me."

 

This last week was very good. So spiritual. This morning our P-day was interrupted by an investigator -- Tuati -- needing a blessing for gout in his knee (yes, gout, again). His less-active partner, Maryann, asked if we could come give him one. Of course, Heavenly Father, with His sense of humor, gave us this opportunity along with another one last week because we had been talking about it a lot. It made me think of a quote from a dude: "Power is in the area of focus." Also, "that which holds your attention, determines your actions." Heavenly Father gives to us according to our desires, whether it be "unto life or unto death." That's just something I have found really amazing. The things that we focus on will be granted unto us. Another example: we focused a lot last week on inviting the Spirit more into the day, and then the week was filled with powerful lessons where we were able to help people with their concerns through the Holy Ghost.

 

Anyways, though, we went to give this blessing this morning. It was Elder Hoffman's first time! With the sealing part at least. It was awesome. He really followed the Spirit. After the blessing, Tuati (Cook Islander) said he felt warmth around his head, which left right after he finished the blessing. It was powerful. We're really close to helping him commit to a baptismal date, too. He's funny. Heaps of Cook Islanders seem to be funny. Not sure what that is all about. One of the counselors to the bishop in Chapel Downs ward -- his name is Brother Tamatoa -- is this funny as Cook Islander who is so hard to read. You can never tell what he's thinking, but he always seems to be laughing about something. Crazy islander laugh. No offense to islanders -- ofa atu, alofa atu, I love you!

 

Emmily Marsters (another Cook Islander) was baptized this last weekend in Chapel Downs ward! It was good. She has a powerful testimony. And I'm sorry I didn't write a mass e-mail last week, but a 9-year-old named Angel Kiro was baptized the week before, on the 17th. She really is an Angel. She's so smart, and funny. Love her haha. For her baptism, we had to throw the whole thing together really quickly because our Ward Mission Leader disappeared. Good Stuff. Sorry, I would love to write more, but I'm pretty much outof time. I need to write my mission president.

 

I eat heaps of taro, if anyone ever wants to look that up. And chicken. Love you guys. Have a good week.

 

Love,

Elder Jensen

 

P.S. It's getting warmer. Also, Mom, Thanks so much for the package! The best! The trail mix is almost gone after only five days...And what's this about the Darth Vader mug? And the Packers jumper is mean! I've been wearing it like all the time I can. Thank. You. Love. You.

.

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!

I have been a little depressed for the past couple of days. I don't know why. It is just so hard to think that I'm supposed to be the example for all these missionaries, and it seems like I'm constantly messing up and doing everything wrong. Then I realized something: the Lord was still blessing me with so many good things. Ivory was baptized just over a week ago, two others in the district were baptized on Saturday, and one investigator (named Tawera; that's Ta-wa-duh) we are teaching just stopped smoking cold turkey on Friday -- the longest he has ever gone without a smoke, I think. He's also planning on getting married on the day of his baptism on the 24th and felt the Spirit for the first time last week and is consistently reading the Book of Mormon. We also got a call from a member this week around 9 pm, asking us to come baptize her niece! My realization was that the Lord does what is best for us. He lets us go through trials and rough times to "test the cords of our faithfulness." So often we just have to endure. When we don't quit and have conscious faith that the Lord willalways provide something better, we can make it through the hard times and be happy. There is so much good in life. We must look at how much we have, and then more frequently turn to the Lord in prayer, "that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul" (2 Nephi 32:9). The Lord does hear our prayers and that prayer quite literally can "turn the [spiritual] night to day." Also, lots of the time our prayers need to be focused on understanding what Heavenly Father wants us to pray for, not what we want. When we do that, we are happy. I had been praying for revelation to understand why I felt so terrible and why I felt like my investigators were all being "lost to the wayside," then this morning, in comp study, just as we were about to study something to fill the time, we listened to the Spirit and instead felt a need to study the chapter of Preach My Gospel about the Book of Mormon. In fifteen minutes, we thoroughly smashed a section of the chapter and I felt confirmation that this is what my investigators need: more Book of Mormon! Revelation comes through all sorts of channels, but we should certainly be seeking it every day.

I'm happier now. Sort of haha. I just had the wonderful opportunity of correcting the behavior of several of the missionaries I serve, which is tough. But I know that I'm doing the Lord's work and that He wants me to help my brothers and sisters.

I've also been thinking about 9/11. That was actually yesterday for me, but today for America. In the past couple of days, I ran into this one scripture several times in the scriptures and kind of wondered what the Lord was trying to tell me. After coming to understand that it was partially for the district, I also see that it applies to this day. The scripture is "inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments, ye will prosper in the land." That's America! Yep. It is going to continue to go donwhill if it soesn't get its morals straight, but that's exactly why we need to be examples to those around us. I love America and I love all you guys and I'm grateful for all your prayers and letters! Thank you!

Love you heaps.

Elder Jensen

P.S. All-Blacks! Hoorah.

On a side note from his sister, Whitney, today in my student ward I met a kid who served in the mission with Zach and had great things to say about him! It was so great and I was excited! I really wanted to just give him a huge hug, but I did not! :)

Another week

Dear everyone,

 

Good morning. Or evening or whatever. I hope everyone is doing well. I'm doing alright. We had this miracle last week. I can't remember if I told you about this 17-year-old Maori girl named Ivory. We started teaching her over a month ago -- Elder Naicker and me -- and set her to be baptized the first lesson. Then Word of Wisdom issues got in the way. But at the beginning of last week, she texted us and told us she was done smoking because she wanted to do the right thing and be baptized that weekend. Then she was baptized on 3 September! It was amazing. She's a really happy girl, full of the Spirit.

 

The rest of the week was tough, as we have had some sets fall through or bring up big concerns. I honestly have no idea what to do for some of them, but we'll figure it out with the help of the Lord and the members.

 

The district that I watch over -- Manurewa District -- is doing amazing. Last night, two additional sets were reported, as well as over twenty new investigators for two companionships. I'm so blessed to be the district leader of such capable and humble missionaries. Haha the funny thing is that I don't really do anything. They just tell me about all these miracles and I just get really excited.

 

Elder Hoffman, my new companion, is doing great. He loves the work and we were able to witness many miracles the first week he came in. He's pumped and expects a lot from the Lord and himself. We've got some good goals to work with the wards more and save more souls.

 

Last night I left the keys in the flat so we had to break in. Haha. It's okay though, since people broke into it a couple of months ago -- I had the way prepared for me.

 

I love this work, but it's so hard. So often I just want to give up. That would be so much easier. But I guess that's exactly what we're teaching our investigators and the less-actives and the recent converts -- life is about enduring in faith and optimism. Haha, wow, I just got an email from my dear brother right as I typed that last sentence and he quoted Alfred: "Endure." The Lord's kingdom is one of second and third witnesses, so to those that feel like life is too tough, follow the admonition of Paul: we hope to be able to endure all things. Thanks for that, Jake.

 

The work will not be stopped. Love you guys heaps. More and more every day. I am so thankful for all your prayers. Please keep them coming!

 

Love,

Elder Zach