Christmas

Dear home bound people,

Elder Jensen here. Hi. Last week was a great one. Due to lack of time, I will quickly write many scattered thoughts.

Weekend before last: Funny as Kiribati boy, Tebuti Toareti, was baptized! He's 14 and loves fish and rice. Sarah Russell got baptized! That was a huge miracle, since she tried to back out the last week, but she felt the Spirit too strongly with a blessing and some lessons. I was so happy when she got in the font, I almost cried. Nah, not really, but it was powerful. She's 24, Maori, funny as, loves dogs. Solid convert! Matira Maney was baptized as well, just two hours after Sarah! Another crazy miracle, as the weeks before this she had been in Auckland for ages, even though she was set for last weekend for nearly a month. In a massive miracle moment, she decided drop smoking and other issues and get baptized. She is 48, Maori hard, and has a slightly insane son who tried to kill his brother last Monday evening (we witnessed attempted murder and called the cops! Cool -- he sat in on FHE the next night...). Our Punjabi Miracle Man, Gurpreet Dhoat, is getting baptized on Christmas Eve. It's going to be a white Christmas! This will be the first Christmas he ever celebrates. He's looking forward to it. He rode the bus with the ward for and hour and half to see the temple lights in Hamilton last weekend and when I asked him about it he said, in his choppy Indian accent and with a smile on his face, "Very good -- Holy Ghost." Score one for the republic! The wards are loving all the baptisms. It's a good feeling coming to church and seeing that a good portion of the congregation is made up of recent converts. We've had some pretty big trials this last week, but it doesn't really matter, because when we have a determination to do something, the Lord tests us to see if we're serious about it. In one or two days this weekend, we had two or three huge miracles finds and sets (for baptism) text us and say things like, "please delete my number" and "don't come around again" but then on Sunday we had members bringing four new people to church! Two of them are going to be getting the lessons within the week. Ether 12:6 very accurately describes my mission experience and I love it. What better way to grow.

I love you guys and I'm excited for Christmas to see everyone thinking even more about the Savior. Don't forget what it's really about and remember how much He loves you. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love,
Elder Jensen

Windstorm Mania!

Hey Family and Friends,

Whoa! I love this windstorm business I'm hearing all about. I didn't even know you could have a "wind day" to get school off.... Were there any small children mistaken for birds in all the confusion? I've got to admit, I'm a bit jealous. We don't really have psycho wind like that here in Tauranga. Oh, and this is weird: Elder Walker's hometown also had a crazy windstorm. About the same kind of damage and wind speeds. Very cool.

So this week (technically it's a new week for me, but it's the end of the week for you guys so I will refer to my "last week" as "this week") has been miracle central. The Lord has worked some mighty miracles this week that we might be able to help more of our brothers and sisters to come home. There's so much I could talk about but I'll just mention a couple of things. Earlier in the week, we decided to try some former investigators that we found in our area book. We went to visit one named Ti, out  in Welcome Bay, whom neither Elder Walker nor myself had ever met (excellent grammar if I do say so myself). At the home we met this Tongan guy and asked if his name was Ti (we pronounced it "tie," since we weren't sure). He said yes, starting talking to us a bit, wasn't too keen (interested), then someone pulled up in a car and he told us to talk to her. She said the man's name wasn't Ti -- but he had a son named Ty. Turns out the lady in the car was a member who just moved in with this Tongan guy (her brother-in-law). We set up a time to come back, met the 11-year-old boy, Ty, taught him about baptism, and he accepted the invitation to be baptized on Christmas Eve! The best Christmas present in the world! We had been praying all day that day for someone to set for baptism and the Lord provided! And I don't know if you noticed, but the name in the area book was a woman -- a completely different person with no relation to these Tongan Maoris. We go to visit a former, the former doesn't live there anymore but someone else named Ty does, and members just moved into the household.... Coincidences like this don't just happen. I'll tell you why it did happen. Because Heavenly Father loves His children and wants them to be able to come back to Him and find the most happiness in this life. Of this I have no doubt. Countless times on my mission has He led me to those who are prepared for the gospel. And Ty is definitely prepared. He had great questions, picked it up quickly, prayed that night, read from the Book of Mormon, reminded his auntie to pray, then came to church the next day, despite his nan coming over that morning and talking trash on the church! I love that boy and I love the Lord.

I know I said a couple of miracles, so now let me show you another evidence of God's existence and His Hand in the salvation of souls. The Lord has definitely led me to people throughout my mission, but never has one been led to us like this: yesterday we were talking to heaps of people at a mall during our short break between church meetings, and these two young Punjabi (Punjab is in India) guys walked up to Elder Walker. He was talking to someone else, so they just waited for him to be done. I knew he had already talked to one of them a few minutes before so I didn't say anything. I was waiting for Elder Walker as well since we were going to be late for church -- five minutes till the Welcome Bay ward started. When he finished talking to the lady, the Punjabi man that Elder Walker had talked to before said, "My friend has a question for you." His friend, Gurpreet, then said, "Can I adopt Christianity?" Elder Walker and I thought about it for a bit and, after some private discussion, came to the conclusion that it would be acceptable for this young Indian to adopt Christianity. Not really -- we said of course and asked him what he was doing in five minutes. So he followed us to church, stayed for all three hours, loved it, and... accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 24th of December! Just so you know, Indians very, very rarely are baptized, in part due to the fact that some of them will be killed for doing so. As if this whole event wasn't a miracle enough.

I do know that God is real and that He cares for each of us. Each person matters to Him. Everyone has the potential to become like Him and so everyone needs to be treated as such. Why else would he go to such lengths to bring these people to us? I am grateful beyond explanation to be a missionary for Jesus Christ. I love Him more than anything and I will serve Him until there's nothing left of me. Seriously, I love this work. Thanks for all your support. I love you guys heaps. It's great to know that I have a whole army of support back home to reinforce me with prayers, letters, and packages. If I could ask just a little bit more, it would be that you strive to put the Lord first in your life and become like the Savior. For anyone lacking faith, I've got a million more stories I could tell you to try to prove to you that He's there and He loves you (write me about it and I swear on my little sister's black belt championship medal that I will write you back), but to really build your faith, go to church, study and ponder the Book of Mormon, pray with faith, and BE OBEDIENT to the commandments, "and [you] shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

Have a merry month! Talk to you next week.

Love,
Elder Jensen

Thanksgiving

Nov. 21

Dear Mum, Dad, Bro, Sis, Sista, aunties, uncles, cuzzies, Nan, Grandad, best mates, mates, malfactors, and others,

Good morning. It's another beautiful day in the Bay of Plenty. At the moment I'm sitting in an office in Papamoa, a couple of minutes from the beach, in a short-sleeved shirt with the door open, blowing a light breeze my way. The temperature is a lovely not-too-hot not-too-cold 75 degrees or so and the sun is shining. The plans for the day: do some shopping for the necessities, then do some golfing by Mount Maunganui and hopefully write some letters. Paradise? I think so.

But the best part is the rest of the week when I get to teach and preach as missionaries do.

Just went golfing and ate at Subway and now I'm back.

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Nov. 28

Ho ho holy cow, it's almost Christmas.

Can anyone believe I've been gone for almost a year? I can't. It's hot as here. It's not like Christmas back there.

Today we did a spring cleaning mission-wide and while Elder Walker and I were rearranging our flat, we found a "mould monster" under my bed. There have been some pretty fishy things going on the past few nights and we now know why. In our cleaning we also discovered that with the clothes left behind in the flat by missionaries finishing their missions, we dress an army of missionaries. We will burning them, the flat and the monster tonight. Nah, just kidding. But I've got a miracle for you! On Saturday, Kataraina Matiu was baptized. She was such a miracle and a testament that the Atonement works. She repented for her smoking, she fasted, and she quit! I know that my Redeemer lives! He lives!

I love you guys. Have a good week and forgive me for my short emails.

Love, Elder Jensen

Kia Ora

I was trying to think of a way to start this email, but I couldn't think of anything creative, so I'm just going to get into it.

I love being a missionary! It's the best. I got the Halloween package on Wednesday and it was mean. I like reading Lee's emails because they're so negative. He never says anything good. As far as I'm concerned, Portland is a terrible place. If this letter makes it to Elder Peterson, I hope you can find some success over there buddy.

I've got some pretty great news though: we saved a soul this weekend! Maya Rakatau received the Holy Ghost yesterday and it was awesome! She is the daughter of Layla Maungatai, our ward mission leader's wife. They're all baptized now! The whole family. Layla and Maya have been coming to church for three or four years now, but missionaries in the past just didn't ask them to be baptized. The Lord is preparing everyone around us and sometimes all we need to do is ask! We've already noticed a difference in Maya as she has prepared to baptized. It's amazing. True doctrine changes people. Really.

The other day Elder Walker was walking with someone on the sidewalk, talking to them about the gospel, when out of nowhere comes a pole! And he ran straight into it! It was funny as. I was talking  to someone else a little ways away, but I saw his head go backward, kind of like when someone throws their head back to laugh -- but I didn't realize he'd run into a pole till he told me later. Crack up.

I've had some powerful experiences this week as I've used the Book of Mormon to resolve concerns (mine and investigators') and borne testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father knows His children and He really does understand all that we go through. As we read the Book of Mormon with a question in mind, the Lord will tell you "in your mind and in your heart" "all things what ye should do." I know that's true. I love the power of the Spirit. We had a lesson yesterday with the some recent converts' parents. It was funny because we usually go over there and teach the kids, but the parents had come to church to see the primary program, so we decided this is it -- we're gonna get 'em! So we went over to their house and asked Shari, Patsy, and Mike to join us in the lesson. They were a bit suspicious, asking what's going on. I'm sure there are some missionaries or RMs reading this right now thinking, "you dummies, why didn't you teach them earlier?" but it all works out. So anyway, we started teaching them about the Atonement using Alma 7:11-14 and they had great questions about all kinds of things. Haha, Shari is a crack up. She kept saying these words don't make any sense and that she got the hard verse! We explained it all and testified of Christ many times and talked about the Spirit and they were all saying things like, "Sometimes I just know things even though I can't explain why -- it just feels right" and "Is it ever a tingly feeling?" (that one was Shari haha). So yes, we smashed them with the Spirit and even though they had concerns they are all for praying and asking God if it's all true. Patsy was saying all these things like how her church was wrong making her get baptized as a baby without any choice (excellent), and Shari was excited as to pray -- she's never prayed before; crazy. She was asking all about exactly how you start the prayer and was writing it down. The moral of this jumbled story is that the Savior lives and has power to bring peace into our lives as we remember Him and keep His commandments! Nothing brings the Spirit more than the Book of Mormon testifying of Him and backing it up with our own testimonies. I love these Maori people and all the islanders and Indians that we teach! (White people not so good...). I love Jesus Christ and know that He will bring us happiness. I know this church is His and that it is the path back to His feet!

I love you guys too, and I want you to know that you all mean a lot to me. I'm grateful for the good examples that so many of you have been for me. Don't ever give up when times get hard! Even considering it makes things way too hard! Like a good friend once told me in a letter, the Savior is the only one who knows true loneliness, and He knew it for us.

My companion is awesome, I love the area, we're having some beautiful weather, the birds are chirping, and a new investigator from Fiji gave us 45 kiwifruits the other day! Life is good. Sabo!

Yours Truly,

Jelder Ensen

P.S. It's really Elder Jensen.

P.P.S. It took me ages to write all this. My companion has written a novel in the same amount of time. Fa!

Beautiful Sunny Days...

Hey people,

How's it? I'm doing great. Today I don't have any time so I pretty much won't write anything, the reason being that we helped Jared Reid -- a guy in one of our wards -- get everything together to head to the airport... for his mission! Mean! It was crazy because I could just picture it all almost a year ago when I was packing and going to the MTC and then to the airport and all the tears and the goodbyes and you all stayed in America while I headed to New Zealand... suckers! Haha nah, but it was cool seeing him say goodbye to his family and throw a few measly items in his one suitcase. He's the only member in his family and was baptized less than two years ago -- my third zone leader was the missionary that baptized him. I gave him a couple of shirts and other stuff and Elder Walker gave him some ties. Jared's the man! His testimony is solid as and he is going to work miracles. Missionary work = the best. P.S. He is serving in Singapore, so he'll be in the Provo MTC. Write him on dear elder if anyone has time!

This last week we had a trade-off with the assistants and I learned heaps. This work really is the Lord's work and success comes through Him. A.K.A. revelation. So Elder Walker and I have been focusing on seeking the promptings of the Spirit in literally everything we do. We had a powerful lesson just yesterday where the Spirit was annihilating this man, because of our listening to him and to the Spirit. My thought from that trade-off is this from Preach My Gospel: "Salvation cannot come without revelation." The Spirit will direct us in every aspect of our lives if we ask (pray), seek (study), and knock (act!).

Love you guys. Thanks for everything and I'm sorry again that I never write. I haven't had a normal P-day in ages. By the way, anybody who I now quickly write an email to, know that time is short and that's why I won't say much. Hugs and kisses. Fa! (See you in Samoan)

Love,

Elder Jensen

300 DaYs!

Elder Jensen has officially been out for 300 DaYs! 

(Thanks Ashley!)

Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory of The Lord!

Dear Family and Friends,

It's amazing how much the Lord loves us! I think it was during my study today that I was thinking about how much He cares for just me. For just me, He would have nails thrust through His hands and feet over and over and over. For me, He bled from every pore. He sees the potential that I have, even when I don't understand at all. When I think of myself as just another person, like a grain of sand on the beach, He reminds me that I'm meant to become like Him. There is so much more than what we perceive. We just don't get it. I love the quote by President Uchtdorf I think:"The Lord of the Universe knows you." What's the best part of the gospel? To know that you are worth more than all the riches of the world.

This last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing another person get baptized. Layla said after the confirmation, "I feel clean." Six others in the zone were also baptized. A highlight was a family of three, Simeon and Charlene, and their daughter Nova. They're choice. I met them once on trade-off and I love them! The mission saved 149 souls in the month of october! Mean as. I love this work. Makes me feel really neat.

Lots of good stuff happened this week, but I can't remember very well because I still stink at writing in my journal. Elder Walker sang a nice version of "I Feel My Savior's Love" at the baptism. It was heart-warming. We retrieved a broken mirror in a room full of junk in the flat to write our investigators and potentials on (with markers), and while trying to mount it on the wall, I sliced my finger off... oh, I mean open, I sliced it open. It only took 14 stitches. Nah, it really didn't take any stitches. But it did hurt a little and I was laugh-screaming so I went to wash it off a little in the kitchen sink. Elder Walker thought it would be funny if salt got in the wound so he started chucking salt at me. Another day, he made me pancakes in the morning, then got in the shower, So I tried to make him pancakes, but I made them too thin, so he made fun of me. He told me I probably shouldn't try to make pancakes any more. I'm not a Canadian after all. We started something up in the zone called "BOMing our Preach By The Ways," which means to flip to random verses in the Book of Mormon when we talk to people on the street or when we knock a door. It's funny as! Sometimes you flip to some crazy scripture that you think is hopeless, but then somehow you relate it to the investigator and they ask for a Book of Mormon on the spot! This is true. I've had more people ask for Book of Mormons on the street in the past three days than in the three weeks before. The Book of Mormon is powerful! I hope everyone has read this book and is reading every day. I can promise you an increase of faith and greater satisfaction with your life if you do take time to seriously study this heaven-sent book each day.

We've got another investigator being baptized on the 12th of November! Her name is Maya. She is Layla's daughter. And Layla is our ward mission leader's wife. Which means... temple! In a year. Oh baby. Exciting. Also, Thomas and Roylene should be getting sealed in a year as well. He's the one who got baptized on the 22nd. I will still be in New Zealand for these, as well as the two or three others I've had on my mission so far! That means I will probably be able to go the sealings. Hope so anyway. By the way, I say "two or three" not because I can't remember, but because I'm worried about the faithfulness of one of the couples... I think I will write them and see how they are doing. I know I need to write many of you as well.....................

It's pretty green here. Lots of sun, and soon to be many scantily dressed girls as well with the ocean right by. We will just have to teach them the Law of Chastity, eh? The ocean is beautiful, but has some oil in it, due to some dummy who somehow crashed into the reef. "He is so dumb. D-U-M. Dumb." -Ashley Easton (Hi Ashley!)

Has it snowed in Utah yet?! It's wild that you get snow there. What's it like? It's the white stuff, right? Someone send me some...

I love you guys and hope you're all doing great! Thanks for reading.

Love with a passion,

Elder Jensen