Dear Family,
Wow, it is ridiculous how fast everything is changing. I honestly can't believe it. I think I got a glimpse of it as I read your emails today. Everyone is old as! You're all dinosaurs. I'm still the same age though.... The best thing to hear, though, is that you each seem to be using the most of your time. I love to hear of how everyone is growing in the gospel. I'm impressed and inspired! Keep up the good work. It makes me want to work harder so I can keep up with all of you.
My companion, Elder White, is the man. Just everyone knows. He is obedient to the days, he loves the work, and he doesn't waste time. He's really taught me about work ethic and how important it is to give our all to the Saviour. And he's funny as! We have good times every day. It's good to be with him. We've been blessed to have a few more souls going into the water this weekend. I'm excited for them! The Spirit does amazing things.
Oh, I want to let you know about a rule for missionaries. Dinner should last no more than one hour! Every second longer disqualifies them for the Spirit and saving more souls. This is worldwide, so if you have some questionable missionaries, please ask them to leave after their hour is up. Someday, they'll be grateful.
Miracles: Lots of them. Always. On Saturday, Elder White and I made a goal to talk to 100 people with a smile! It was mean. We were sprinting and having a grand ol' time. One member even even pulled over on the street and stopped me, asking if everything was alright -- I told him we were saving souls and had no time to waste! Next time I saw him he called me Marathon Man or something like that. We ended up having a great day and found a family of five who we are now teaching. After three visits Sunday morning before church from us and two members, two of the five ended up coming to church and are excited as for "the water thing" on the 10th of March. What do you reckon? Is this not a mighty miracle? We were so happy and we know that the Lord loves His children, but He waits to see if we will qualify to be a part of Jesus Christ's work. Remember Steve? I think I talked about him and how he was such a miracle and we set him for baptism and stuff like that? Well, Steve is bipolar. But that's alright because we talked to his son on the street on Saturday (the day of miracles) and arranged a ride to church. He came, he loved it, and he's going to be baptized this weekend! He is such a smart kid. He talks much more maturely than most adults around here and he's only 13. He's also my height. Crazy. Also, Willie is getting baptized; he is a massive miracle, but I'm running out of time because of some administrative stuff that we need to take care of, including taking yet another missionary to the airport.
Well, I love you guys and I'm very grateful for all your emails. I love hearing how each of you is doing. Please keep reading the Book of Mormon every day. I promise if you do that the Spirit will come into your life more strongly than ever before, you will receive direction on many of the decisions that you need to make, and you will be more prepared to meet Christ whenever He calls you back. Love you, bye!
Love,
Elder Jensen
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
There is no end to miracles
Dear Palagi Pepelos,
Haha you don't even know what that says, unless you're Samoan, in which case it wouldn't apply. This week was really good. All the weeks are really good. If there's one thing that I've learned from this area, it would be this: the only thing stopping us is us. My vision of what can be accomplished is just going through the roof. The Lord has so much He needs us to be doing and we just need to rise to the task. When you set your eyes on the Savior and don't look back, all things are possible. I just had this thought as I was talking with Elder White and reading some negative stuff that someone sent him about the church. (By the way, Dad, to answer your question, it just started raining right now -- sorry, back to the point). This was my thought though: Doubt comes from disobedience. If you want to know the gospel is true, do what I did and live the way the gospel says until you do know it's true. If you want to increase your faith, increase your obedience! I know Jesus Christ lives still today and that this is His church -- more than just a religion, but eternal life. I really love you guys and I just want you to be happy. Please live the gospel. Please be obedient to everything.
Thanks for all the emails -- really appreciate it. We had some great things happening last week, but this is all I'm writing today. Please send your complaints to sassy10goozit@comcast.net. Thank you. One of the best feelings in the world is the feeling of accomplishment -- setting a goal and achieving it. Goals are important and thinking to the future is crucial. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Hey, that reminds me of Vanhin Pope. I hope his teaches are going well. Okay bye!
Love,
Elder Jensen
Haha you don't even know what that says, unless you're Samoan, in which case it wouldn't apply. This week was really good. All the weeks are really good. If there's one thing that I've learned from this area, it would be this: the only thing stopping us is us. My vision of what can be accomplished is just going through the roof. The Lord has so much He needs us to be doing and we just need to rise to the task. When you set your eyes on the Savior and don't look back, all things are possible. I just had this thought as I was talking with Elder White and reading some negative stuff that someone sent him about the church. (By the way, Dad, to answer your question, it just started raining right now -- sorry, back to the point). This was my thought though: Doubt comes from disobedience. If you want to know the gospel is true, do what I did and live the way the gospel says until you do know it's true. If you want to increase your faith, increase your obedience! I know Jesus Christ lives still today and that this is His church -- more than just a religion, but eternal life. I really love you guys and I just want you to be happy. Please live the gospel. Please be obedient to everything.
Thanks for all the emails -- really appreciate it. We had some great things happening last week, but this is all I'm writing today. Please send your complaints to sassy10goozit@comcast.net. Thank you. One of the best feelings in the world is the feeling of accomplishment -- setting a goal and achieving it. Goals are important and thinking to the future is crucial. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Hey, that reminds me of Vanhin Pope. I hope his teaches are going well. Okay bye!
Love,
Elder Jensen
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Talofa au pito
Malo lelei whanau!
It's been another great week. Erana Moka-Vaega got baptized on Saturday. It was miracle. It's always a miracle. Elders have been teaching her for months so it's about time. She has had so many doubts because her brother is a member of another church and unfortunately he is rather fond of filling her head with anti-mormon stuff. Luckily our member fellowship saved the day by always following the Spirit and being there to comfort Erana whenever she needed it. The fellowship, Latitia, is a convert as well. Members are so ridiculously important. The most successful wards I've seen are the ones where the members are very friendly and warm to any visitors, including people visiting from other wards, less actives, and nonmembers. Ponder that.... Anyway, Erana is great and is going to be an awesome member.
We had this other crazy miracle the other day when we were driving. We forgot to call the members we were supposed to be having a kai (meal) with, so we were in the process of driving over there to see if they were still expecting us. Then we got this phone call from a fella with a really goofy high voice, almost whining, saying that we missed our appointment we set up with him and that he's been waiting. So we told him we'd come right then. We thought it was kind of weird, because NO ONE does that. If someone calls you as a missionary, they're practically already in the water. So we drove over to the address that Michael Jackson said he stayed at and... the address didn't exist! Good one, eh? So we thought, and I quote, "Yup." Sounds about right. So Elder White, inspired elder that he is, decided that we ought to knock the last house just before the non-existent prank address (by the way, they say "crank call" here, not "prank call"). As we neared the door, a lady came out and asked if we were looking for Steve. Very smoothly, we looked at each other and said, "Is he here?" she went and got him, and he invited us in. He said he was taught by some other missionaries a few months ago and told us about how he thought there shouldn't just be heaven and hell, but places where we get rewarded according to our actions and desires. He also said that he didn't think that heaven should be a place where angels fly around singing and playing harps -- heaven should be a place where you are with your family forever, whereas hell should be living without your family and being regretful. Ha. Can you say Plan of Salvation? We sure could. Anyway, I wonder how those "crank callers" would feel about being the means of the Lord bringing about the salvation of men?
I write slowly, so I need to write less today. So just a few more stories:
We were exactly on time for a lesson we had set up last week, which doesn't happen very often, and the person wasn't there, but something else that was pretty neat happened (are you sensing a pattern here? The Lord works in mysterious ways). As we walked back to the car, a man leaned out the window of a nearby house and beckoned us. We thought about leaving him hanging, then decided to go. Nah, we were really excited to go. So he told us about how he was supposed to meet some other missionaries later that night but he wasn't going to make it and it was just a miracle that we were walking by. So we set him for baptism! It was real swell. What a miracle! His name is Eddy.
Sister kneebone is this interested as lady who came to church for the first time and loved it and is set to baptized at the end of the month! There are so many great miracles here but I'm tired of typing and I still have to write our mission president. So thanks for listening. Happy birthday Mum! That's what these people would say.
I'm loving this area. Any area is the best. If there's any advice I'd give to the young men thinking about serving missions, it would be this: be worthy now, not tomorrow or next week, and keep in mind that soon you will represent the Lord and every decision you make now will determine how many people you can help and how great of an effect you can have on them in a few years' or months' time.
Love you guys. Have a great week. Thanks for the emails family! Heavenly Father hears your prayers. It is one of the greatest tools we have been given in this life.
Love,
Elder Jensen
It's been another great week. Erana Moka-Vaega got baptized on Saturday. It was miracle. It's always a miracle. Elders have been teaching her for months so it's about time. She has had so many doubts because her brother is a member of another church and unfortunately he is rather fond of filling her head with anti-mormon stuff. Luckily our member fellowship saved the day by always following the Spirit and being there to comfort Erana whenever she needed it. The fellowship, Latitia, is a convert as well. Members are so ridiculously important. The most successful wards I've seen are the ones where the members are very friendly and warm to any visitors, including people visiting from other wards, less actives, and nonmembers. Ponder that.... Anyway, Erana is great and is going to be an awesome member.
We had this other crazy miracle the other day when we were driving. We forgot to call the members we were supposed to be having a kai (meal) with, so we were in the process of driving over there to see if they were still expecting us. Then we got this phone call from a fella with a really goofy high voice, almost whining, saying that we missed our appointment we set up with him and that he's been waiting. So we told him we'd come right then. We thought it was kind of weird, because NO ONE does that. If someone calls you as a missionary, they're practically already in the water. So we drove over to the address that Michael Jackson said he stayed at and... the address didn't exist! Good one, eh? So we thought, and I quote, "Yup." Sounds about right. So Elder White, inspired elder that he is, decided that we ought to knock the last house just before the non-existent prank address (by the way, they say "crank call" here, not "prank call"). As we neared the door, a lady came out and asked if we were looking for Steve. Very smoothly, we looked at each other and said, "Is he here?" she went and got him, and he invited us in. He said he was taught by some other missionaries a few months ago and told us about how he thought there shouldn't just be heaven and hell, but places where we get rewarded according to our actions and desires. He also said that he didn't think that heaven should be a place where angels fly around singing and playing harps -- heaven should be a place where you are with your family forever, whereas hell should be living without your family and being regretful. Ha. Can you say Plan of Salvation? We sure could. Anyway, I wonder how those "crank callers" would feel about being the means of the Lord bringing about the salvation of men?
I write slowly, so I need to write less today. So just a few more stories:
We were exactly on time for a lesson we had set up last week, which doesn't happen very often, and the person wasn't there, but something else that was pretty neat happened (are you sensing a pattern here? The Lord works in mysterious ways). As we walked back to the car, a man leaned out the window of a nearby house and beckoned us. We thought about leaving him hanging, then decided to go. Nah, we were really excited to go. So he told us about how he was supposed to meet some other missionaries later that night but he wasn't going to make it and it was just a miracle that we were walking by. So we set him for baptism! It was real swell. What a miracle! His name is Eddy.
Sister kneebone is this interested as lady who came to church for the first time and loved it and is set to baptized at the end of the month! There are so many great miracles here but I'm tired of typing and I still have to write our mission president. So thanks for listening. Happy birthday Mum! That's what these people would say.
I'm loving this area. Any area is the best. If there's any advice I'd give to the young men thinking about serving missions, it would be this: be worthy now, not tomorrow or next week, and keep in mind that soon you will represent the Lord and every decision you make now will determine how many people you can help and how great of an effect you can have on them in a few years' or months' time.
Love you guys. Have a great week. Thanks for the emails family! Heavenly Father hears your prayers. It is one of the greatest tools we have been given in this life.
Love,
Elder Jensen
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Monday
Dear Family,
Wow! Sounds like heaps of things are happening in good ol' Utah. I think I just caught a glimpse of all the changes that are occurring. The whole country is learning of the Church, and I am sure that many hearts will be touched. The best thing you can do is exactly what man of a brother is doing! Sharing the gospel with all those who are willing to listen. I will definitely pray for Mitch. I know that the Lord provides a way and whenever someone has true desire to follow the Savior, through our asking, seeking, and knocking, Heavenly father makes it possible for them to find it. Keep it up, Jake. I am so excited for the whole world to hear the gospel. Every day I see huge miracles and I can't deny that there is method to this mayhem. Heavenly Father knows the best time to bring His gospel to the world in full force. It's happening and it will not be stopped. Please keep updating me with what happens regarding a member of the church running for president.
Dad, you asked for an update on the guy I talked about last time -- Reuben. First of all, I think he's Maori, but i can't remember. He's not white, I know that much. And he got baptized on Saturday! He'll be an asset to the church. Another guy, Phil, that Elder White and I did the teaching for was baptized on Saturday, as well as Jodenne and Deken. We didn't actually see Phil get baptized because we passed him on to another ward in the zone, but it is done and we got to see him yesterday by a Hand intervening and leading him and Jodenne to the house of another lady who came to church for the first time yesterday. Then Phil came to a couple of homes with us and bore his testimony. He was so excited and is one very converted man. We have another young woman being baptized this weekend. Her name is Erana. She's doing great! She is making it through a lot of antimormon stuff. That may be one side-effect of Mitt Romney running for president by the way. Heaps of antimormon materials floating around here. No good. But the work goes on.
There are just so many things happening, it's amazing. I love serving in the NZAM with all of these wonderful elders and sisters. I love you guys too and I wish you a great week. Do what is right, let the consequence follow. I know the Savior lives and breathes and smiles upon our righteousness. Really. Think about that for a second and what Joseph Smith has said of the brightness that illuminates from the Savior. He is a light to every aching heart and is the only thing that will heal us from the pains of this life. Other things might dull the pain, but keep in mind how blessed you are to have the HEALING power of the Atonement. Please share it. The Spirit will reinforce your words and your actions as you "pause to help and lift another," because that is what this life is about. I love you guys and I pray for you. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jensen
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!!
P.P.S. You thought I forgot... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
P.S.S. It's not that I wish a happier birthday to Mom, Megan (she's just older...).
Wow! Sounds like heaps of things are happening in good ol' Utah. I think I just caught a glimpse of all the changes that are occurring. The whole country is learning of the Church, and I am sure that many hearts will be touched. The best thing you can do is exactly what man of a brother is doing! Sharing the gospel with all those who are willing to listen. I will definitely pray for Mitch. I know that the Lord provides a way and whenever someone has true desire to follow the Savior, through our asking, seeking, and knocking, Heavenly father makes it possible for them to find it. Keep it up, Jake. I am so excited for the whole world to hear the gospel. Every day I see huge miracles and I can't deny that there is method to this mayhem. Heavenly Father knows the best time to bring His gospel to the world in full force. It's happening and it will not be stopped. Please keep updating me with what happens regarding a member of the church running for president.
Dad, you asked for an update on the guy I talked about last time -- Reuben. First of all, I think he's Maori, but i can't remember. He's not white, I know that much. And he got baptized on Saturday! He'll be an asset to the church. Another guy, Phil, that Elder White and I did the teaching for was baptized on Saturday, as well as Jodenne and Deken. We didn't actually see Phil get baptized because we passed him on to another ward in the zone, but it is done and we got to see him yesterday by a Hand intervening and leading him and Jodenne to the house of another lady who came to church for the first time yesterday. Then Phil came to a couple of homes with us and bore his testimony. He was so excited and is one very converted man. We have another young woman being baptized this weekend. Her name is Erana. She's doing great! She is making it through a lot of antimormon stuff. That may be one side-effect of Mitt Romney running for president by the way. Heaps of antimormon materials floating around here. No good. But the work goes on.
There are just so many things happening, it's amazing. I love serving in the NZAM with all of these wonderful elders and sisters. I love you guys too and I wish you a great week. Do what is right, let the consequence follow. I know the Savior lives and breathes and smiles upon our righteousness. Really. Think about that for a second and what Joseph Smith has said of the brightness that illuminates from the Savior. He is a light to every aching heart and is the only thing that will heal us from the pains of this life. Other things might dull the pain, but keep in mind how blessed you are to have the HEALING power of the Atonement. Please share it. The Spirit will reinforce your words and your actions as you "pause to help and lift another," because that is what this life is about. I love you guys and I pray for you. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jensen
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!!
P.P.S. You thought I forgot... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
P.S.S. It's not that I wish a happier birthday to Mom, Megan (she's just older...).
Monday, January 23, 2012
Good Morning!
Good morning!
This is Elder Jensen from beautiful and sunny (yes, sunny -- sorry Dad) Auckland, New Zealand. There was a nice rainstorm last night which was pretty cool. Last night I woke up around 3:30 am and got right out of bed and onto my knees to pray (unrelated to the rain). I still believe there was a purpose but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was. Elder White asked me what I was doing and when I told him he asked if I knew what time it was. He told me this morning that I sounded completely aware when I told him I knew what time was. Haha but I think I realized that we still had three precious hours to sleep so I went back to sleep. He just laughed at me this morning because I had no idea what I was doing and he said that during the middle of the night I shouted, "Oh yeah!" like I had just had an epiphane. The stress! Haha, no it's okay. I think there are just so many things to do I am going delirious. A couple of times in the past we've had to wake up at 3:30 or 5:30 or something to take someone to the airport or vice versa so my internal clock hates me.
That's kind of the lame part of my week though. We've had heaps of miracles just in the past 24 hours. We had a lot of people at church, including Trinity, the partner of Richard who has been coming to church for ages but hasn't gotten baptized because Trinity won't marry him. In the near future (like tomorrow) we hope to commit them both to get married and baptized this weekend!
Tawera, a guy who I have surely talked about many moons ago, has been coming to church and told us just the other day that he had a drink on Thursday and decided at that moment that he was sick of it, that he wanted to just be happy, and that he wanted to be baptized. Because of divorce complications and marriage, we talked about marriage and baptism happening on the 25th of February. It's a miracle because that's the first time they've considered a date earlier than April in ages.
We were teaching this man named Phil who has heaps of problems, and earlier last week we went to the FHE that he was invited to to catch him and some other investigators. We found him crying, very upset because of a fight he had with his partner -- pretty much all his fault -- so we had the opportunity to bring the Spirit and give him a priesthood blessing. He is progressing like crazy now, after going on a temple trip with members, and is supposed to be baptized this weekend.
On Saturday we finally caught and taught this lady named Sister Fa'avoga that the elders here have been chasing for months. After a song and prayer and few background questions, she explained that she was almost baptized a few years ago after she and her husband had gotten married and he was baptized, but due to something that some members said, she stopped going to church and hasn't been for a while. As she talked the Spirit told us what she needed and we read a scripture with her. The Spirit told her that she needed to let go of those feelings she had and do what is right, then we followed the counsel of an Apostle of the Lord and shared the First Vision to remind her of the truth that has been missing in her life for a long time. She said it nearly made her cry and she knew that she had been trying to run away from it all by not thinking about it. She thought she was happy without the gospel but realized that it was exactly what she needed. We then read the Savior's words in 3 Nephi 9:13-14, and she said "Why do you have to read all the right scriptures?!" She accepted the Savior's invitation and is going to be baptized!
After church on Sunday, we had a lesson scheduled with this lady who Elder White met on the street, but she wasn't home when we went. Instead, a guy and a girl about our age answered the door and Elder White began to share the First Vision with them. When he pulled out his gospel art book to show them the picture, the girl said, "Ooh, that's pretty -- come in." So we went in and taught them heaps of stuff. They loved the pictures in the book and when they saw the picture of someone getting baptized Jojo (the girl) said, "I want to be baptized!" and Mane agreed. So now they're set for February! They agreed to read and pray and even texted us later to let us know their number. They'll be coming to a FHE tonight and are very excited.
Last, but not least, last night we had about a half an hour left in the night and still needed to visit several progressing investigators. But Elder White felt prompted to visit a referral that a member had given us for a man in another area, but still in the zone. So we headed over there and found out that Reuben was waiting for us. He invited us in, we started talking, he said that he went to church today at another ward and that he set up and appt with the elders for the time that we came. They never came and instead we showed up! Reuben told us he had been going to church for a few weeks under the radar, has heaps of friends in the church, has had a Book of Mormon for years, has read it a few times, and knows it's true. So without teaching him anything, we told him he could be baptized this weekend! He was blown away and very happy. This powerful experience finished with him offering a kneeling prayer of gratitude. Honestly, this was one of the most awe-inspiring and spiritual experiences of my whole life. I don't think I've ever had the Spirit testify stronger to me that someone is ready for baptism.
Heavenly Father is in control. He loves us so much. I love that He trusts me enough to help lead His children home. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and the direction that He gives us if we will just listen and act. This week we had the opportunity to listen to the voice of Elder Cook as he talked to the whole mission at a conference and I know that He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. This is the church of the Living Christ and His work will never be stopped. I love it!
I love you guys as well and I'm very grateful for all you do. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Jensen
This is Elder Jensen from beautiful and sunny (yes, sunny -- sorry Dad) Auckland, New Zealand. There was a nice rainstorm last night which was pretty cool. Last night I woke up around 3:30 am and got right out of bed and onto my knees to pray (unrelated to the rain). I still believe there was a purpose but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was. Elder White asked me what I was doing and when I told him he asked if I knew what time it was. He told me this morning that I sounded completely aware when I told him I knew what time was. Haha but I think I realized that we still had three precious hours to sleep so I went back to sleep. He just laughed at me this morning because I had no idea what I was doing and he said that during the middle of the night I shouted, "Oh yeah!" like I had just had an epiphane. The stress! Haha, no it's okay. I think there are just so many things to do I am going delirious. A couple of times in the past we've had to wake up at 3:30 or 5:30 or something to take someone to the airport or vice versa so my internal clock hates me.
That's kind of the lame part of my week though. We've had heaps of miracles just in the past 24 hours. We had a lot of people at church, including Trinity, the partner of Richard who has been coming to church for ages but hasn't gotten baptized because Trinity won't marry him. In the near future (like tomorrow) we hope to commit them both to get married and baptized this weekend!
Tawera, a guy who I have surely talked about many moons ago, has been coming to church and told us just the other day that he had a drink on Thursday and decided at that moment that he was sick of it, that he wanted to just be happy, and that he wanted to be baptized. Because of divorce complications and marriage, we talked about marriage and baptism happening on the 25th of February. It's a miracle because that's the first time they've considered a date earlier than April in ages.
We were teaching this man named Phil who has heaps of problems, and earlier last week we went to the FHE that he was invited to to catch him and some other investigators. We found him crying, very upset because of a fight he had with his partner -- pretty much all his fault -- so we had the opportunity to bring the Spirit and give him a priesthood blessing. He is progressing like crazy now, after going on a temple trip with members, and is supposed to be baptized this weekend.
On Saturday we finally caught and taught this lady named Sister Fa'avoga that the elders here have been chasing for months. After a song and prayer and few background questions, she explained that she was almost baptized a few years ago after she and her husband had gotten married and he was baptized, but due to something that some members said, she stopped going to church and hasn't been for a while. As she talked the Spirit told us what she needed and we read a scripture with her. The Spirit told her that she needed to let go of those feelings she had and do what is right, then we followed the counsel of an Apostle of the Lord and shared the First Vision to remind her of the truth that has been missing in her life for a long time. She said it nearly made her cry and she knew that she had been trying to run away from it all by not thinking about it. She thought she was happy without the gospel but realized that it was exactly what she needed. We then read the Savior's words in 3 Nephi 9:13-14, and she said "Why do you have to read all the right scriptures?!" She accepted the Savior's invitation and is going to be baptized!
After church on Sunday, we had a lesson scheduled with this lady who Elder White met on the street, but she wasn't home when we went. Instead, a guy and a girl about our age answered the door and Elder White began to share the First Vision with them. When he pulled out his gospel art book to show them the picture, the girl said, "Ooh, that's pretty -- come in." So we went in and taught them heaps of stuff. They loved the pictures in the book and when they saw the picture of someone getting baptized Jojo (the girl) said, "I want to be baptized!" and Mane agreed. So now they're set for February! They agreed to read and pray and even texted us later to let us know their number. They'll be coming to a FHE tonight and are very excited.
Last, but not least, last night we had about a half an hour left in the night and still needed to visit several progressing investigators. But Elder White felt prompted to visit a referral that a member had given us for a man in another area, but still in the zone. So we headed over there and found out that Reuben was waiting for us. He invited us in, we started talking, he said that he went to church today at another ward and that he set up and appt with the elders for the time that we came. They never came and instead we showed up! Reuben told us he had been going to church for a few weeks under the radar, has heaps of friends in the church, has had a Book of Mormon for years, has read it a few times, and knows it's true. So without teaching him anything, we told him he could be baptized this weekend! He was blown away and very happy. This powerful experience finished with him offering a kneeling prayer of gratitude. Honestly, this was one of the most awe-inspiring and spiritual experiences of my whole life. I don't think I've ever had the Spirit testify stronger to me that someone is ready for baptism.
Heavenly Father is in control. He loves us so much. I love that He trusts me enough to help lead His children home. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and the direction that He gives us if we will just listen and act. This week we had the opportunity to listen to the voice of Elder Cook as he talked to the whole mission at a conference and I know that He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. This is the church of the Living Christ and His work will never be stopped. I love it!
I love you guys as well and I'm very grateful for all you do. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Jensen
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Busy, Busy, Busy
Hey guys,
I'm glad to hear everyone is doing so well -- Whitney especially... oh la la.... You can't edit that out of the email when you post it on the blog! I had a pretty good week as well. We're so ridiculously busy here, I love it. Missionaries are always calling us and asking for something or we get a call from the assistants letting us know of a new big change and we need to organize it, etc. It's pretty fun. Today we have to organize for a car in the zone to be switched to another companionship for a while, had to take a missionary to the hospital, had a companionship study with some sisters that stay about 30 minutes away from us, and will be starting a trade-off tonight with a brand new, mid-transfer district leader to train him on his responsibilities. That's not very interesting though, so I will tell you of some more interesting things.
This missionary that we took to the hospital -- we'll call him Elder Muhammad Ali -- developed or contracted or somehow obtained a big abscess (nasty hole) on his hip that is the size of a golf ball inside. It started nearly a week ago so we've been taking him to the hospital nearly every day. But the first time we went to get it checked out, the doctor told him he was going to have to drain it by cutting it open and scraping it out (yum... is anyone eating right now?). So Elder Ali asked if he was going to numb it up. Doctor Iraqi said that the injections would be more painful than the actual draining process, so we naively trusted in his supposed wisdom. The following procedure was described by Elder Ali as "the most painful thing I've ever experienced." It was crazy! I was in pain just watching. Haha. So that was interesting.
We're teaching this family right now. They are such a miracle. I will tell you of the miracle. I think I may have mentioned it already, but that's alright. One day we were supposed to be going somewhere then we decided to talk to this lady who talked for ages, after which we talked to a boy, which led us to this family who said they wanted to come to church. They also want to get baptized and are excited as for it. They've been to church twice now and they love it. You can tell they just feel the Spirit and the effect that it has on them is amazing. They've had some pretty tough trials -- including a few miscarriages -- and they've been searching for more. It's so cool to see they have finally found it! They told us that just before the first time that Elder White and his companion had run into them over a month ago, they had been praying for help. Then when we showed up the week before last, they said they had just prayed that we would come back! What a miracle. Following a prompting and being the answer to someone's prayer has got to be one of the sweetest experiences in this life. I love this work and I know it's not mine! I was studying the Atonement this morning and it gave me such a great appreciation for what needs to be done with our time, missionary and member alike: we should be doing everything in our power to use that sacrifice and help others to do the same! He loves us and because He does He gives us power to do so much more than we alone can do. I promise it's true.
The area is going well and the zone is getting better. I'm sure I'll have some great news to report next week. My companion is the man and reminds a lot of Elder Samuel Whiting. It kind of throws me off sometimes. Love you guys and hope you have a good week. Ofa atu!
Love,
Elder Jensen
P.S. My typing is getting slower -- this took me an astonishingly long time to write, so I hope you're happy with the small amount of information/testimony that is in it.
I'm glad to hear everyone is doing so well -- Whitney especially... oh la la.... You can't edit that out of the email when you post it on the blog! I had a pretty good week as well. We're so ridiculously busy here, I love it. Missionaries are always calling us and asking for something or we get a call from the assistants letting us know of a new big change and we need to organize it, etc. It's pretty fun. Today we have to organize for a car in the zone to be switched to another companionship for a while, had to take a missionary to the hospital, had a companionship study with some sisters that stay about 30 minutes away from us, and will be starting a trade-off tonight with a brand new, mid-transfer district leader to train him on his responsibilities. That's not very interesting though, so I will tell you of some more interesting things.
This missionary that we took to the hospital -- we'll call him Elder Muhammad Ali -- developed or contracted or somehow obtained a big abscess (nasty hole) on his hip that is the size of a golf ball inside. It started nearly a week ago so we've been taking him to the hospital nearly every day. But the first time we went to get it checked out, the doctor told him he was going to have to drain it by cutting it open and scraping it out (yum... is anyone eating right now?). So Elder Ali asked if he was going to numb it up. Doctor Iraqi said that the injections would be more painful than the actual draining process, so we naively trusted in his supposed wisdom. The following procedure was described by Elder Ali as "the most painful thing I've ever experienced." It was crazy! I was in pain just watching. Haha. So that was interesting.
We're teaching this family right now. They are such a miracle. I will tell you of the miracle. I think I may have mentioned it already, but that's alright. One day we were supposed to be going somewhere then we decided to talk to this lady who talked for ages, after which we talked to a boy, which led us to this family who said they wanted to come to church. They also want to get baptized and are excited as for it. They've been to church twice now and they love it. You can tell they just feel the Spirit and the effect that it has on them is amazing. They've had some pretty tough trials -- including a few miscarriages -- and they've been searching for more. It's so cool to see they have finally found it! They told us that just before the first time that Elder White and his companion had run into them over a month ago, they had been praying for help. Then when we showed up the week before last, they said they had just prayed that we would come back! What a miracle. Following a prompting and being the answer to someone's prayer has got to be one of the sweetest experiences in this life. I love this work and I know it's not mine! I was studying the Atonement this morning and it gave me such a great appreciation for what needs to be done with our time, missionary and member alike: we should be doing everything in our power to use that sacrifice and help others to do the same! He loves us and because He does He gives us power to do so much more than we alone can do. I promise it's true.
The area is going well and the zone is getting better. I'm sure I'll have some great news to report next week. My companion is the man and reminds a lot of Elder Samuel Whiting. It kind of throws me off sometimes. Love you guys and hope you have a good week. Ofa atu!
Love,
Elder Jensen
P.S. My typing is getting slower -- this took me an astonishingly long time to write, so I hope you're happy with the small amount of information/testimony that is in it.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Back to the Flagship
Sorry guys! Totally forgot to post this last Sunday!
Dear People,
Elder Jensen here. Guess what, I got transferred. I don't seem to stay in the same area for very long. I have been shifted back to Manurewa. That's where I was district leader before, but now I'm in the zone leader area. It's a pretty big change from Tauranga, since it's double the amount of missionaries to watch over. There are 28 missionaries in the zone. I'm loving it already. Heaps of miracles. They call this zone the flagship because it leads the mission and is the biggest zone. Definitely excited to be here.
Happy New Year! We had a fun new year's eve with many people drunk to the days. Sad. Fortunately we're saving souls. We're teaching a girl named Erina who is progressing nicely. She's set for the 21st but we're hoping to baptize her this weekend. She's ready -- she just doesn't know she's ready. But the Spirit will teach her!
My new companion, Elder White, is the man. He is humble and powerful. He teaches with clarity and definitely helps people to repent. I've learned a lot from him already. Three days ago we had a conference call with the zone and issued a commitment for each companionship to set the amount of people that they want to baptize in January. We had a great response with new sets being called in daily. Elder White and I knew we needed to pave the way, so on Saturday we invited 16 people to be baptized (with dates). Many accepted and just need to get to church now, but it was a powerful reminder that the only thing stopping us from saving souls (and this includes callings in the church and family life) is ourselves! As we follow the example of Book of Mormon prophets and work with unwearyingness to bring people to Christ, the Lord promises, "I will bless thee forever." What a promise!
I know that this is the Lord's work and that life is about preparing to meet Him. We can't afford to let bad thoughts occupy our minds. We need to stay focused on what's most important. 2012 is a good time to start! I love the Saviour and I can't express how grateful I am for him. He is the inspiration behind everything I do. He knows me, He knows when I'm doing my best, and He knows when I'm not.
Love you always! Work hard in this new year and I'll see you someday!
Love,
Elder Zach Jensen
P.S. Time is going too fast I think. Can someone please do something about this and get back to me?
Dear People,
Elder Jensen here. Guess what, I got transferred. I don't seem to stay in the same area for very long. I have been shifted back to Manurewa. That's where I was district leader before, but now I'm in the zone leader area. It's a pretty big change from Tauranga, since it's double the amount of missionaries to watch over. There are 28 missionaries in the zone. I'm loving it already. Heaps of miracles. They call this zone the flagship because it leads the mission and is the biggest zone. Definitely excited to be here.
Happy New Year! We had a fun new year's eve with many people drunk to the days. Sad. Fortunately we're saving souls. We're teaching a girl named Erina who is progressing nicely. She's set for the 21st but we're hoping to baptize her this weekend. She's ready -- she just doesn't know she's ready. But the Spirit will teach her!
My new companion, Elder White, is the man. He is humble and powerful. He teaches with clarity and definitely helps people to repent. I've learned a lot from him already. Three days ago we had a conference call with the zone and issued a commitment for each companionship to set the amount of people that they want to baptize in January. We had a great response with new sets being called in daily. Elder White and I knew we needed to pave the way, so on Saturday we invited 16 people to be baptized (with dates). Many accepted and just need to get to church now, but it was a powerful reminder that the only thing stopping us from saving souls (and this includes callings in the church and family life) is ourselves! As we follow the example of Book of Mormon prophets and work with unwearyingness to bring people to Christ, the Lord promises, "I will bless thee forever." What a promise!
I know that this is the Lord's work and that life is about preparing to meet Him. We can't afford to let bad thoughts occupy our minds. We need to stay focused on what's most important. 2012 is a good time to start! I love the Saviour and I can't express how grateful I am for him. He is the inspiration behind everything I do. He knows me, He knows when I'm doing my best, and He knows when I'm not.
Love you always! Work hard in this new year and I'll see you someday!
Love,
Elder Zach Jensen
P.S. Time is going too fast I think. Can someone please do something about this and get back to me?
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