Querida Familia,
Thank you for sending me those pictures! I was actually thinking about Mom Laura this week and especially during Elder Nelson's talk on the need for strong courageous women in our church. I love seeing all your faces; it always makes my day. Kids look like they're doing great but I'm sorry you've been having trouble with their friends. That's never fun to deal with. Brandon looks really well in the picture, I'm happy that he survived the marathon! Crazy kid he is, that's pretty fast for never having trained. It took my and Russ just over 5 hrs to run it, so he did great! Also, I had no idea that Cristian had a girlfriend! I hope things go well for them. I'm very happy that you guys are still doing missionary work in the home. Those seeds you're planting will be SO helpful to the missionaries that will contact those people in the future. Many people here have never heard of the church or have a very sour opinion of it, so it's been hard to find any people that will listen to us or have an interest. Members are so important in this work!
I've been plowing through the Book of Mormon lately, and I read about 120 pages in the last two weeks. My goal is to have it done by the end of this transfer, but I think I will have it done even sooner. I've never taken the time to read it like I would a normal book, so it's been a really interesting experience following the story this way. I love it and I feel so enlightened when I read it. I've also memorized almost all of the scripture-masteries in the BOM. Not word for word, but I'm trying to be prepared for teaching situations with scriptures that can back up my teaching and bring light and truth to the investigators. So far it's been working great! I love having my little cache of memorized scriptures. I'm for sure going to work on "ponderizing" them more in the future. I thought that talk in conference was really great. I chose DyC 121:45 for my scripture of the week; What's yours!?
As I study and learn more of the gospel, I am humbled by the amazing power and truth that I find. I see much more clearly now that this is a gospel of eternal progression and enduring to the end. I remember one of the Apostles in Conference committing us to pray and ask God what is holding me back from progressing. The spirit brought to my remembrance something that I had been thinking about and trying to work on over the previous few weeks. Integrity. I want to be perfectly upright before God and man, and have my foundation be on truth. That being said, I don't think I've always been 100% honest with myself and others in the past. I don't think anybody is, and I want to fix that at least for myself. My thoughts are drawn especially to school and work. I feel like I gave good effort to do what was required, but I didn't do my very best. I realize that all the times that I was unproductive at work or didn't use my time wisely, I was wasting the time and money of my employers which in turn affected my integrity.
I've also been trying my very best to follow through thoroughly and completely with commitments that are left from our leaders and from the scriptures. That has really been helping a lot, and I see a lot of progression in this. Many times at home when sunday school teachers or the missionaries asked us to do things, I said I would and then completely forgot about it. I am now it the reverse role asking others to do things for the Lord, and if I'm not willing to faithfully act on the commitments left for me; how can I expect others to do commitments I leave for them?
Overall, the mission is going absolutely great, and I'm loving the people and other missionaries here. I feel the spirit and learn a lot, but I want much more than to just learn now. I can study the scriptures all I want, but unless I apply the things I learn to my life then it really doesn't profit me or anyone anything. I want to progress day by day, and I have a hope that someday through Christ I can become like Heavenly Father. I love you guys a lot and continually pray for you. I'm glad I got to be raised in our family, and I can't wait to talk to you in a few months. Tengan una buena semana!
Con amor,
El Elder Jenson
Monday, October 5, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
September 28, 2015
Querida Familia,
Sounds like you all had a pretty crazy week! I love hearing about the kids, I miss seeing them and all you guys. There aren't too many little kids here on the bluff, so it's really special for me when I get to hear about them. Jacob, have a happy birthday tomorrow, and keep the family in check. I'm super excited for you to get the priesthood and I hope you are too. You are a very organized smart young man, and I know you'll understand the importance of working hard and serving your very best in the different priesthood callings you'll get. Keep up your good work with studying, and let me know how your nuclear reactor is coming along.
I did get to see the lunar eclipse and that made yesterday all that much greater! We had our first Baptism yesterday, and I like to call it the blood moon baptism because we saw the eclipse just after we got out of the Baptismal service. The guy that we baptized was a 66 yr old man named James Armstrong, and he is super awesome! He is the man that flagged us down on the side of the road and asked how he could become a Mormon. He is doing super awesome, and he told us this morning that he is excited for his new life and glad to be a Mormon. He already wants to serve a mission of his own in the future, and has been trying to help one of his friends, Margo, to learn about the gospel. I love visiting him, he is a super friendly old man, and he lives just down the street from us. His baptism was very special, and I'm really excited for him to get to know the people in the ward a little better.
I'm learning a lot about setting goals and making plans, and I'm really trying to implement those to things into my life right now. It's super important in making progress, and I want to make the best of this mission and my life. I feel like the Lord has blessed me with a good mind for organization, and I want to develop that in order to progress in all the other parts of my life and the work. Also, I'm using Brandon's workout program he left me for missionaries to help me grow physically. Thank him for me, it's been a huge help. I'm feeling very healthy and definitely getting stronger, and it's a lot easier to have motivation In the mornings when your workout is already planned for you. I will finish the set program in about 8 months, and then I will look like captain Moroni. More or less... After that, people will be too scared to refuse when we ask to teach them the gospel and get baptized. So yeah that's the plan! I also have a lot of other goals as far as my personal and language studies, as well as ways I can improve my obedience. So set goals. They're fun and you can see how you progress overtime.
I love you guys a lot, and I love seeing the pictures you sent with me in the folder. I was looking through them this morning and really wished I could come visit you for a week and then come back. Paciencia Elder Jenson. Paciencia. I hope you all have a great general conference this weekend and learn a lot! I'm more stoked for this conference than for any superbowl we ever had at the house. It's amazing that we can receive modern revelation from real prophets of God; especially when the world is going absolutely crazy. I'm very grateful for the gospel we have to keep our lives intact!
Con demasiado mucho amor...
El Elder Jenson
Sounds like you all had a pretty crazy week! I love hearing about the kids, I miss seeing them and all you guys. There aren't too many little kids here on the bluff, so it's really special for me when I get to hear about them. Jacob, have a happy birthday tomorrow, and keep the family in check. I'm super excited for you to get the priesthood and I hope you are too. You are a very organized smart young man, and I know you'll understand the importance of working hard and serving your very best in the different priesthood callings you'll get. Keep up your good work with studying, and let me know how your nuclear reactor is coming along.
I did get to see the lunar eclipse and that made yesterday all that much greater! We had our first Baptism yesterday, and I like to call it the blood moon baptism because we saw the eclipse just after we got out of the Baptismal service. The guy that we baptized was a 66 yr old man named James Armstrong, and he is super awesome! He is the man that flagged us down on the side of the road and asked how he could become a Mormon. He is doing super awesome, and he told us this morning that he is excited for his new life and glad to be a Mormon. He already wants to serve a mission of his own in the future, and has been trying to help one of his friends, Margo, to learn about the gospel. I love visiting him, he is a super friendly old man, and he lives just down the street from us. His baptism was very special, and I'm really excited for him to get to know the people in the ward a little better.
I'm learning a lot about setting goals and making plans, and I'm really trying to implement those to things into my life right now. It's super important in making progress, and I want to make the best of this mission and my life. I feel like the Lord has blessed me with a good mind for organization, and I want to develop that in order to progress in all the other parts of my life and the work. Also, I'm using Brandon's workout program he left me for missionaries to help me grow physically. Thank him for me, it's been a huge help. I'm feeling very healthy and definitely getting stronger, and it's a lot easier to have motivation In the mornings when your workout is already planned for you. I will finish the set program in about 8 months, and then I will look like captain Moroni. More or less... After that, people will be too scared to refuse when we ask to teach them the gospel and get baptized. So yeah that's the plan! I also have a lot of other goals as far as my personal and language studies, as well as ways I can improve my obedience. So set goals. They're fun and you can see how you progress overtime.
I love you guys a lot, and I love seeing the pictures you sent with me in the folder. I was looking through them this morning and really wished I could come visit you for a week and then come back. Paciencia Elder Jenson. Paciencia. I hope you all have a great general conference this weekend and learn a lot! I'm more stoked for this conference than for any superbowl we ever had at the house. It's amazing that we can receive modern revelation from real prophets of God; especially when the world is going absolutely crazy. I'm very grateful for the gospel we have to keep our lives intact!
Con demasiado mucho amor...
El Elder Jenson
Monday, September 21, 2015
Sept 21, 2015
Querida familia,
This week was super cool and super fun! We went to the aquarium last P-day and watched an amazing dolphin show. I also fed some sting rays, pet a shark, and chilled in the ocean breeze. It was absolutely beautiful. I'll send some pictures in separate emails. Also just wondering, do you get the emails I send from the camera? It says they go through but I'm still not sure if you're getting them. We have had a slow week with the missionary work, but we've done a lot of fun things with the other missionaries. There are a lot of amazing Elders and Hermanas in my area, I love them all! We got to eat with the new second councilor, Brother Hoffheins yesterday out on port Aransas. It was an absolutely beautiful area! It's about 40 mins away from the bluff, but it is an incredible area and the marina was full of cool boats and animals. We saw sea turtles and crabs, tons of fishermen, and even some dolphins. I hope we can all come visit as a family, it's a beautiful place.
We should have our real first baptism on the 27th of this month, so we hope everything goes well with him. He is an older man named James, about 65 yrs old, but he really wants to become a Mormon. He found us and called us out a few weeks ago asking how he could join our church. Sometimes you don't even have to search for the elect of God's children, they will find you! Right now he is our only investigator, but he's doing awesome and progressing well. He has some unique struggles that sometimes turn people away, but we love him a lot. I hope our ward will be good for him and fellowship him well. He deserves a good ward family, he's a super great guy.
We also had a super cool story about meeting a man named Robert this week. We were following street referrals having kind of a slow day and got to a nice blue house. A woman answered the door, her name was Jenny, and she was very kind, but uninterested. She had taken the lessons with the missionaries a little bit before and decided not to continue them. As we were leaving she asked us if we wanted the spare silverware she was getting rid of on her porch. It was a pretty nice looking set and we knew members who were in need of silverware, so we agreed to take it. She left to go pick her kids up from school and we packed up the silverware to take it home with us. After about a minute of her being gone, a shirtless man covered in tattoos come out on the front porch and started screaming at us. Apparently he had just woken up and was concerned at why we were on his porch. He was hardcore cussing at us, many F-words and the like to display is displeasure at us being there. We were surprised and quickly tried to get off his property. Just before we left he paused and asked," are y'all Mormons?" We stopped and said yes, and he then proceeded to invite us in for water and a donut. It the blink of an eye his demeanor changed and he apologized for treating us so harshly. After a few minutes of talking to him he just started to open up to us and tell us how he was having a lot of family problems at the time and was really trying to make changes in his life. He wanted to be a better husband and feel forgiven of his past. We explained to him about our church and what Christ can do to help him with his desires, and he accepted being baptized the 11th of that month.
It was a super crazy contrast from what we expected on the front porch. They are very sweet people, and right now we're waiting for them to contact us for lessons. I hope we will be able to keep teaching them and help them have the gospel in their lives. That was a super fun day. It's always nice to have those funny little moments when things don't go quite how you expect them to.
I'm super excited for Brandon's marathon, he will feel the pain! It's tons of fun, but no training=no Bueno. He's just lucky that he has mom to guide him through the race. That is the only thing that kept me and Russell going! I hope Brandon and Cristian are doing well. I haven't heard to much from them since I've gotten on the mission, but I'm sure they're living up the bachelor life!
Our first transfers are tomorrow, and we'll find out later tonight who's staying and who's leaving! It's going to be super exciting. We'll get a new zone leader because Elder Nielson just died(went home) this week, and we might lose a couple of the other Corpus elders and sisters. I'm pretty sure Elder Robinson and I will stay on the bluff this transfer, but who knows.
I heard about the flood from a member this week! The members we had menudo with also fed us cactus and eggs, and while we were eating with them the Colorado city story came on the news. I was worried about you guys a little bit, but it sounds like you guys missed the big brunt of it. Please stay safe please, I love you guys!
Con Amor, El Elder Jenson
This week was super cool and super fun! We went to the aquarium last P-day and watched an amazing dolphin show. I also fed some sting rays, pet a shark, and chilled in the ocean breeze. It was absolutely beautiful. I'll send some pictures in separate emails. Also just wondering, do you get the emails I send from the camera? It says they go through but I'm still not sure if you're getting them. We have had a slow week with the missionary work, but we've done a lot of fun things with the other missionaries. There are a lot of amazing Elders and Hermanas in my area, I love them all! We got to eat with the new second councilor, Brother Hoffheins yesterday out on port Aransas. It was an absolutely beautiful area! It's about 40 mins away from the bluff, but it is an incredible area and the marina was full of cool boats and animals. We saw sea turtles and crabs, tons of fishermen, and even some dolphins. I hope we can all come visit as a family, it's a beautiful place.
We should have our real first baptism on the 27th of this month, so we hope everything goes well with him. He is an older man named James, about 65 yrs old, but he really wants to become a Mormon. He found us and called us out a few weeks ago asking how he could join our church. Sometimes you don't even have to search for the elect of God's children, they will find you! Right now he is our only investigator, but he's doing awesome and progressing well. He has some unique struggles that sometimes turn people away, but we love him a lot. I hope our ward will be good for him and fellowship him well. He deserves a good ward family, he's a super great guy.
We also had a super cool story about meeting a man named Robert this week. We were following street referrals having kind of a slow day and got to a nice blue house. A woman answered the door, her name was Jenny, and she was very kind, but uninterested. She had taken the lessons with the missionaries a little bit before and decided not to continue them. As we were leaving she asked us if we wanted the spare silverware she was getting rid of on her porch. It was a pretty nice looking set and we knew members who were in need of silverware, so we agreed to take it. She left to go pick her kids up from school and we packed up the silverware to take it home with us. After about a minute of her being gone, a shirtless man covered in tattoos come out on the front porch and started screaming at us. Apparently he had just woken up and was concerned at why we were on his porch. He was hardcore cussing at us, many F-words and the like to display is displeasure at us being there. We were surprised and quickly tried to get off his property. Just before we left he paused and asked," are y'all Mormons?" We stopped and said yes, and he then proceeded to invite us in for water and a donut. It the blink of an eye his demeanor changed and he apologized for treating us so harshly. After a few minutes of talking to him he just started to open up to us and tell us how he was having a lot of family problems at the time and was really trying to make changes in his life. He wanted to be a better husband and feel forgiven of his past. We explained to him about our church and what Christ can do to help him with his desires, and he accepted being baptized the 11th of that month.
It was a super crazy contrast from what we expected on the front porch. They are very sweet people, and right now we're waiting for them to contact us for lessons. I hope we will be able to keep teaching them and help them have the gospel in their lives. That was a super fun day. It's always nice to have those funny little moments when things don't go quite how you expect them to.
I'm super excited for Brandon's marathon, he will feel the pain! It's tons of fun, but no training=no Bueno. He's just lucky that he has mom to guide him through the race. That is the only thing that kept me and Russell going! I hope Brandon and Cristian are doing well. I haven't heard to much from them since I've gotten on the mission, but I'm sure they're living up the bachelor life!
Our first transfers are tomorrow, and we'll find out later tonight who's staying and who's leaving! It's going to be super exciting. We'll get a new zone leader because Elder Nielson just died(went home) this week, and we might lose a couple of the other Corpus elders and sisters. I'm pretty sure Elder Robinson and I will stay on the bluff this transfer, but who knows.
I heard about the flood from a member this week! The members we had menudo with also fed us cactus and eggs, and while we were eating with them the Colorado city story came on the news. I was worried about you guys a little bit, but it sounds like you guys missed the big brunt of it. Please stay safe please, I love you guys!
Con Amor, El Elder Jenson
Monday, September 14, 2015
September 14, 2015
Also just wanted to let you know that I had my "baptism" in menudo this last week. It was a little strange, but it was acutally pretty good! That's all, I'm true mexican!
On Mon, Sep 14, 2015 at 12:07 PM, Derek Jenson <derek.jenson@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Querida familia,
Okay, sorry I wigged out on you last week. My computer was having some loading issues for the first little while, and I had a few extra people write me that I wanted to write back to. I hope Savannah had a very merry little birthday! I have a little letter/package I'll be sending home, but it'll be a few days before I get it out. I'm super glad to hear about Nate, I miss him a lot. I've been telling my companion all about you guys and about Nate too. I wish he could serve here on the bluff with us, everyone living here would be baptized if he was their missionary! Tell him I miss him please.
These past few weeks have been a little crazy. My baptism unfortunately didn't happen last week, it was the weirdest situation every. Our investigator, Wes, was completely prepared, as far as we knew, to be baptized. He passed his interview on Friday, and everything seemed fine...
(The investigator left town, not to return, kind of a tough story so we left out details at Elder Jenson's request)
It's been a pretty crazy deal, but things are getting back to normal. Anyway, we didn't get that baptism last week, and that's why. I was super sad about that. Our other super good investigator decided to drop us as well that week, so were trying to get things going again. We also got our bike lights stolen from us while we were in a lesson with one of the recent converts in one of the poorer parts of the bluff. We were frustrated at first, but that ended up being a pretty cool thing. I'll tell you the story another time, but it ended up being a great blessing for some people we met later that day.
Besides all that stuff, it has been super awesome here. I'd say that I've been very humbled, but I feel very close to my Savior. We had our first Zone Conference, and I learned a lot of things I am going to try and apply over the next few months. I'm starting to understand the importance of having good studies, and sincere prayers always. I'm really trying to give my spiritual preparation a lot of attention and be as obedient as I can. I've felt the spirit a lot this week, and I see the Lord's hand in everything a lot more. It's not that it wasn't there before, I'm just starting to be able to recognize it more. I'm reading the scriptures like I would a normal book right now because I've never really done that in the past. It's amazing how much better I can follow the stories, and it's actually very interesting when I read. I've always loved the book, but every time I read it my testimony grows a little bit more. The truthfulness of that book is something I can never deny. I feel like that is something I have always believed, but every new chapter I read I feel like the Lord gives me another little witness of it being his word. There are some things in the gospel I have a strong belief in, but I Know of a surety that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is real and is our Savior. God has given me countless personal witnesses and spiritual manifestations in those two things, and I cannot deny them.
I love you guys a lot. I miss seeing you and being able to talk to you, but I love it here as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week and will forgive me for missing last week. Also I just want to encourage you to have a food and water storage that will last a while. I don't know how much the prophets have recommended, but I feel it is very important, so please try to keep building one according to their teachings. Les amo mucho!
Con mucho amor, Elder Jenson
On Mon, Sep 14, 2015 at 12:07 PM, Derek Jenson <derek.jenson@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Querida familia,
Okay, sorry I wigged out on you last week. My computer was having some loading issues for the first little while, and I had a few extra people write me that I wanted to write back to. I hope Savannah had a very merry little birthday! I have a little letter/package I'll be sending home, but it'll be a few days before I get it out. I'm super glad to hear about Nate, I miss him a lot. I've been telling my companion all about you guys and about Nate too. I wish he could serve here on the bluff with us, everyone living here would be baptized if he was their missionary! Tell him I miss him please.
These past few weeks have been a little crazy. My baptism unfortunately didn't happen last week, it was the weirdest situation every. Our investigator, Wes, was completely prepared, as far as we knew, to be baptized. He passed his interview on Friday, and everything seemed fine...
(The investigator left town, not to return, kind of a tough story so we left out details at Elder Jenson's request)
It's been a pretty crazy deal, but things are getting back to normal. Anyway, we didn't get that baptism last week, and that's why. I was super sad about that. Our other super good investigator decided to drop us as well that week, so were trying to get things going again. We also got our bike lights stolen from us while we were in a lesson with one of the recent converts in one of the poorer parts of the bluff. We were frustrated at first, but that ended up being a pretty cool thing. I'll tell you the story another time, but it ended up being a great blessing for some people we met later that day.
Besides all that stuff, it has been super awesome here. I'd say that I've been very humbled, but I feel very close to my Savior. We had our first Zone Conference, and I learned a lot of things I am going to try and apply over the next few months. I'm starting to understand the importance of having good studies, and sincere prayers always. I'm really trying to give my spiritual preparation a lot of attention and be as obedient as I can. I've felt the spirit a lot this week, and I see the Lord's hand in everything a lot more. It's not that it wasn't there before, I'm just starting to be able to recognize it more. I'm reading the scriptures like I would a normal book right now because I've never really done that in the past. It's amazing how much better I can follow the stories, and it's actually very interesting when I read. I've always loved the book, but every time I read it my testimony grows a little bit more. The truthfulness of that book is something I can never deny. I feel like that is something I have always believed, but every new chapter I read I feel like the Lord gives me another little witness of it being his word. There are some things in the gospel I have a strong belief in, but I Know of a surety that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is real and is our Savior. God has given me countless personal witnesses and spiritual manifestations in those two things, and I cannot deny them.
I love you guys a lot. I miss seeing you and being able to talk to you, but I love it here as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week and will forgive me for missing last week. Also I just want to encourage you to have a food and water storage that will last a while. I don't know how much the prophets have recommended, but I feel it is very important, so please try to keep building one according to their teachings. Les amo mucho!
Con mucho amor, Elder Jenson
Monday, August 31, 2015
August 31, 2015
Querida familia,
Good luck with school starting everyone! The families here are all getting started, and life is super busy for them. I can only imagine how it is for you guys back home. I got a letter from the youngs the other day, please let them know how nice that was of them and how much I appreciated it. It really made my day a lot better; they're such awesome people!
Time seems to be going so fast right now. I feel like it was P-day yesterday. Great accomplishment of the week, I cut my own hair this morning! Well at least I tried... I got the scissors and tried to follow what I had learned from mom cutting my hair and ended up pretty much looking like Jim Carry from Dumb and Dummer. Luckily Elder Robinson is there to fix the problems I create and helped me buzz my head afterwards. Me and Elder Robinson have been having a lot of fun, we have a pet spider named Rosco outside of the house and he's huge! The spiders here are super aggressive and we feed him cockroaches everynight after we put the bikes away.He's an awesome little guy, I'll try to send pictures when I buy the chord.
I also got unofficially called as the ward pianist/organist last sunday. We are a pretty small ward, so there is no called organist for sacrament meeting. I'm super grateful I get to have that time to play and keep up on my piano a little bit, it's been a good experience so far. I'm going to try and start practicing the organ when I can on P days to start using that in sacrament meeting. I think it brings a little bit nicer feel to the meeting than the piano does.
We should be getting our first baptism next Sunday! I'm so excited for Wesley, he's going to be a great member. He has such a pure heart and is so faithful to the commitments he makes. He also participates a lot in church with the gospel discussions and it makes me so happy to see him progressing. If anything else comes of me serving in this area it will be great, but just teaching Wes has made it all worth it to me.
One of our investigators cancelled with us yesterday out of the blue after he was progressing so well! I was super frustrated, but everyone is allowed to have agency. Sometimes I wish it weren't that way, but in the end it really is a gift. Another of our investigators is moving to houston, so we won't be able to continue with her very much longer. However, there are still more people out there ready to hear the gospel, and we will continue to search for them diligently. I've seen the change it's been making in Wes's life, and I know it can help anyone who will just listen and act on the word to see for themselves the truthfulness of it.
I love you family and hope the best for you all. Have a great week and remember to read and pray every night together! Esta es la cosa mas importante que todos otros, les amo mucho!
Con mucho amor, Elder Jenson
Good luck with school starting everyone! The families here are all getting started, and life is super busy for them. I can only imagine how it is for you guys back home. I got a letter from the youngs the other day, please let them know how nice that was of them and how much I appreciated it. It really made my day a lot better; they're such awesome people!
Time seems to be going so fast right now. I feel like it was P-day yesterday. Great accomplishment of the week, I cut my own hair this morning! Well at least I tried... I got the scissors and tried to follow what I had learned from mom cutting my hair and ended up pretty much looking like Jim Carry from Dumb and Dummer. Luckily Elder Robinson is there to fix the problems I create and helped me buzz my head afterwards. Me and Elder Robinson have been having a lot of fun, we have a pet spider named Rosco outside of the house and he's huge! The spiders here are super aggressive and we feed him cockroaches everynight after we put the bikes away.He's an awesome little guy, I'll try to send pictures when I buy the chord.
I also got unofficially called as the ward pianist/organist last sunday. We are a pretty small ward, so there is no called organist for sacrament meeting. I'm super grateful I get to have that time to play and keep up on my piano a little bit, it's been a good experience so far. I'm going to try and start practicing the organ when I can on P days to start using that in sacrament meeting. I think it brings a little bit nicer feel to the meeting than the piano does.
We should be getting our first baptism next Sunday! I'm so excited for Wesley, he's going to be a great member. He has such a pure heart and is so faithful to the commitments he makes. He also participates a lot in church with the gospel discussions and it makes me so happy to see him progressing. If anything else comes of me serving in this area it will be great, but just teaching Wes has made it all worth it to me.
One of our investigators cancelled with us yesterday out of the blue after he was progressing so well! I was super frustrated, but everyone is allowed to have agency. Sometimes I wish it weren't that way, but in the end it really is a gift. Another of our investigators is moving to houston, so we won't be able to continue with her very much longer. However, there are still more people out there ready to hear the gospel, and we will continue to search for them diligently. I've seen the change it's been making in Wes's life, and I know it can help anyone who will just listen and act on the word to see for themselves the truthfulness of it.
I love you family and hope the best for you all. Have a great week and remember to read and pray every night together! Esta es la cosa mas importante que todos otros, les amo mucho!
Con mucho amor, Elder Jenson
Monday, August 24, 2015
Aug 24, 2015
Querida familia,
I'm so glad to hear things are good with the kids! Has school started there yet? It started here today, and it feels so nice to be working for the Lord rather than for A's... This week has been super fast, but I new it would. The same thing happened in the CCM. Time flies when you're having fun! We've had a lot of people that yell random things out of cars at us and bark at us like dogs. It makes me feel pretty special! Earlier this week a guy yelled from his front porch at us "Satan loves you!!". I'm pretty sure he meant it offensively, but it just made us laugh. Elder Robinson is a good companion and I learn a lot from his example and awesome attitude everyday; especially in situations that would regularly be difficult.
This week was a little bit humbling, but still very good. I learned how important it is to teach by the spirit. If we receive not the Spirit, we shall not teach. One of our investigators came across some anti-Mormon material in studying more about the church. All of the comments were inaccurate, but it made me nervous when he brought it up, and I didn't feel the spirit. I had a hard time teaching during that lesson because I was afraid of what could've happened. Everything was fine, but I was frustrated with myself for trying to teach out of fear rather than faith. I didn't feel the spirit, so I shouldn't have taught. My companion was wise though and made sure that he knew he could ask God and have faith to know what was true and false. It was so simple, but out of fear I let myself get worried. I stayed frustrated with myself and my imperfections with the work for the next few days, and that attitude was such that I couldn't progress. I realize now that dwelling on past mistakes inhibits our progress and stops us in our path of becoming like Jesus Christ. This is an enabling gospel, not a disabling one.
I would also like to say how much love I have for our investigators. We are teaching an awesome African-American man named Marion, and he has an amazing grasp on the concepts of the gospel. He doesn't know much about the church, but he is very smart and his thought processes follow completely accurately with the doctrines of the Gospel of Christ. He is very humble and I love teaching him. We have our things we need to help him with to prepare for baptism, but his heart is prepared. The field is truly all white and ready to harvest, and it makes me so happy when we can find and teach the people who's hearts are ready for this.
We're also teaching a guy named Wesley. He is absolutely rock solid. Every time we go over there I feel the Spirit, and he listens very humbly and intently to the word. He has a very honest heart, and does everything we ask him to do without hesitation. He has some tough situations that I won't write about, but it's so amazing to me to see his faithful righteousness. Not only does he listen and act on what we teach him, he is also feeling and having spiritual experiences on his own. He has already shared parts of the gospel and the book of mormon with some friends and relatives. He's not even baptized yet and he's already doing missionary work. It just amazes me to see the happiness people can feel through the gospel. It truly changes lives!
Thanks for writing me again, I love hearing about home and all that you guys are doing good in your lives. Happy birthday yesterday Jaxon, I hope you had a great day and a fun party! I love you all so much, and I brag about you to all the people we talk to. Many people ask how we are able to make it through all the muck and craziness of the world and be strong servants of God at such a young age. I just tell them it's because of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and especially because of my great family who lived by and taught me the principles of the gospel growing up. I'm super grateful to have a family like you! Les amo muchisimo!
Con amor, Elder Jenson
P.S.--Mom, can I machine was those other pants you bought me or do I have to get them dry-cleaned. We sweat buckets here everyday riding our bikes, and I will end up spending a lot of money if I have to dry-clean all my stuff every week. I will borrow my companion's camera chord next week so I can send pics. Thanks, and love you lots!
I'm so glad to hear things are good with the kids! Has school started there yet? It started here today, and it feels so nice to be working for the Lord rather than for A's... This week has been super fast, but I new it would. The same thing happened in the CCM. Time flies when you're having fun! We've had a lot of people that yell random things out of cars at us and bark at us like dogs. It makes me feel pretty special! Earlier this week a guy yelled from his front porch at us "Satan loves you!!". I'm pretty sure he meant it offensively, but it just made us laugh. Elder Robinson is a good companion and I learn a lot from his example and awesome attitude everyday; especially in situations that would regularly be difficult.
This week was a little bit humbling, but still very good. I learned how important it is to teach by the spirit. If we receive not the Spirit, we shall not teach. One of our investigators came across some anti-Mormon material in studying more about the church. All of the comments were inaccurate, but it made me nervous when he brought it up, and I didn't feel the spirit. I had a hard time teaching during that lesson because I was afraid of what could've happened. Everything was fine, but I was frustrated with myself for trying to teach out of fear rather than faith. I didn't feel the spirit, so I shouldn't have taught. My companion was wise though and made sure that he knew he could ask God and have faith to know what was true and false. It was so simple, but out of fear I let myself get worried. I stayed frustrated with myself and my imperfections with the work for the next few days, and that attitude was such that I couldn't progress. I realize now that dwelling on past mistakes inhibits our progress and stops us in our path of becoming like Jesus Christ. This is an enabling gospel, not a disabling one.
I would also like to say how much love I have for our investigators. We are teaching an awesome African-American man named Marion, and he has an amazing grasp on the concepts of the gospel. He doesn't know much about the church, but he is very smart and his thought processes follow completely accurately with the doctrines of the Gospel of Christ. He is very humble and I love teaching him. We have our things we need to help him with to prepare for baptism, but his heart is prepared. The field is truly all white and ready to harvest, and it makes me so happy when we can find and teach the people who's hearts are ready for this.
We're also teaching a guy named Wesley. He is absolutely rock solid. Every time we go over there I feel the Spirit, and he listens very humbly and intently to the word. He has a very honest heart, and does everything we ask him to do without hesitation. He has some tough situations that I won't write about, but it's so amazing to me to see his faithful righteousness. Not only does he listen and act on what we teach him, he is also feeling and having spiritual experiences on his own. He has already shared parts of the gospel and the book of mormon with some friends and relatives. He's not even baptized yet and he's already doing missionary work. It just amazes me to see the happiness people can feel through the gospel. It truly changes lives!
Thanks for writing me again, I love hearing about home and all that you guys are doing good in your lives. Happy birthday yesterday Jaxon, I hope you had a great day and a fun party! I love you all so much, and I brag about you to all the people we talk to. Many people ask how we are able to make it through all the muck and craziness of the world and be strong servants of God at such a young age. I just tell them it's because of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and especially because of my great family who lived by and taught me the principles of the gospel growing up. I'm super grateful to have a family like you! Les amo muchisimo!
Con amor, Elder Jenson
P.S.--Mom, can I machine was those other pants you bought me or do I have to get them dry-cleaned. We sweat buckets here everyday riding our bikes, and I will end up spending a lot of money if I have to dry-clean all my stuff every week. I will borrow my companion's camera chord next week so I can send pics. Thanks, and love you lots!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
August 17, 2015 Arrived to Corpus Christi, Texas
Querida Familia,
Sorry about the masculine querido in past meses, I got that straightened out with my companion today. This first week has been the best week of my life. My companion is Elder Robinson, and He is from Ogden Utah. He has about 1.5 (year)s out here in the mission, and He is a great Dad! He served down by the border most of his mission, so he speaks Spanish pretty fluently. Oh, by the way, I am serving in "Drum roll please"... The Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff area of the mission. Corpus and the areas above called Sinton, are referred to as the great white north in this mission because there is absolutely no Spanish. At all. I lucked out for now, it will be a few months before I have to worry about depending on my Spanish. In the mean time, I will keep studying it hard and practicing with Elder Robinson as much as possible. I'm very lucky to have him as a companion. I was praying before I got to the field to get a Trainer that would help me learn how to love others more and be more selfless. He exemplifies this so much, and I learn from him every day. We get along pretty well, and I'm going to work hard to be loving and keep it that way.
This week was exciting and absolutely great in so many ways. It feels like I've been here for a month, but the same thing happened in the CCM for the first week, and then time flies after that. I'm prepared for it this time. Our little area is called Flour bluff and it's a little stretch of land just in from the coast and surrounded by lagoons. It is super hot and humid because it's so close to the ocean, so everytime you walk outside, mother nature gives you a great big warm watery hug. I love it! Since our area is so small and the sisters have the car, Elder Robinson and I have the great opportunity of riding out bikes. It is actually really fun! The kids in town always ask if they can ride our bikes or race us. Thanks so much for getting the bike here and ready for me. It works super well and got to the office just in time. I am eternally grateful to you guys!
Me and Elder are also whitewashing and reopening an area, so it's been a little crazy. We're still learning about the people here and the ward, but so far it's been fantastic. The people here are so nice and loving. I am especially grateful for the visits we've had with our investigators. The few hours I've spent with them have been the best few hours of my life. We've been meeting with a few different people, but our primary investigators this week were Wess, Kara, and Jessica. They all live together, so we can teach them together. The spirit has been so strong in those lessons, and I love them so much. I never feel so happy as when I see how the gospel is helping them live better, progress, and become happier. A lot of people reject us at the door and avoid us, but the Lord has prepared his elect to hear his word. Everyone will hear it eventually, but right now I just focus on finding those who are prepared. This morning was reading in DyC 13, and I have seen firsthand how true that promise is. If we bring other souls unto Christ then we will have great joy in the kingdom of God with them. That promise is true for heaven, but it is also true for life here on earth. Like I said, I've never felt so happy as when I am sharing the gospel with other people. It makes me really sad when things don't go as planned, but everyone has agency and dealing with that is part of becoming more like God. I love the people here, and all of my frustrations and hard times are worth it when I feel the Spirit with my investigators and companion. I love it here, and I love you guys. I hope you have a great week, and pray for opportunities to share the gospel as much as possible. The missionaries really need help and you guys can give it. Love you all so much, and have a great week!
Con Amor, Elder Jenson
Sorry about the masculine querido in past meses, I got that straightened out with my companion today. This first week has been the best week of my life. My companion is Elder Robinson, and He is from Ogden Utah. He has about 1.5 (year)s out here in the mission, and He is a great Dad! He served down by the border most of his mission, so he speaks Spanish pretty fluently. Oh, by the way, I am serving in "Drum roll please"... The Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff area of the mission. Corpus and the areas above called Sinton, are referred to as the great white north in this mission because there is absolutely no Spanish. At all. I lucked out for now, it will be a few months before I have to worry about depending on my Spanish. In the mean time, I will keep studying it hard and practicing with Elder Robinson as much as possible. I'm very lucky to have him as a companion. I was praying before I got to the field to get a Trainer that would help me learn how to love others more and be more selfless. He exemplifies this so much, and I learn from him every day. We get along pretty well, and I'm going to work hard to be loving and keep it that way.
This week was exciting and absolutely great in so many ways. It feels like I've been here for a month, but the same thing happened in the CCM for the first week, and then time flies after that. I'm prepared for it this time. Our little area is called Flour bluff and it's a little stretch of land just in from the coast and surrounded by lagoons. It is super hot and humid because it's so close to the ocean, so everytime you walk outside, mother nature gives you a great big warm watery hug. I love it! Since our area is so small and the sisters have the car, Elder Robinson and I have the great opportunity of riding out bikes. It is actually really fun! The kids in town always ask if they can ride our bikes or race us. Thanks so much for getting the bike here and ready for me. It works super well and got to the office just in time. I am eternally grateful to you guys!
Me and Elder are also whitewashing and reopening an area, so it's been a little crazy. We're still learning about the people here and the ward, but so far it's been fantastic. The people here are so nice and loving. I am especially grateful for the visits we've had with our investigators. The few hours I've spent with them have been the best few hours of my life. We've been meeting with a few different people, but our primary investigators this week were Wess, Kara, and Jessica. They all live together, so we can teach them together. The spirit has been so strong in those lessons, and I love them so much. I never feel so happy as when I see how the gospel is helping them live better, progress, and become happier. A lot of people reject us at the door and avoid us, but the Lord has prepared his elect to hear his word. Everyone will hear it eventually, but right now I just focus on finding those who are prepared. This morning was reading in DyC 13, and I have seen firsthand how true that promise is. If we bring other souls unto Christ then we will have great joy in the kingdom of God with them. That promise is true for heaven, but it is also true for life here on earth. Like I said, I've never felt so happy as when I am sharing the gospel with other people. It makes me really sad when things don't go as planned, but everyone has agency and dealing with that is part of becoming more like God. I love the people here, and all of my frustrations and hard times are worth it when I feel the Spirit with my investigators and companion. I love it here, and I love you guys. I hope you have a great week, and pray for opportunities to share the gospel as much as possible. The missionaries really need help and you guys can give it. Love you all so much, and have a great week!
Con Amor, Elder Jenson
Monday, August 17, 2015
Aug 3, 2015
Querido familia,
This week has been very transformative for me, and an absolute blast! I´ve learned a lot, and I´m super excited to get out in the mission field. I´m a little nervous about Spanish, but it will come with the Lord´s help. Right now I can understand the people pretty well when they speak, but I can´t always say what I want to say fast enough. I feel like I´ve covered almost all of the basic grammar that we need for speaking, now I just need to practice and repeat in order to get it quick and natural. It will be good to be where I´m forced to speak Spanish all the time. Here we are kind of spoiled because almost everyone speaks fluent or close-to-fluent English. Everybody is getting excited and ready to leave. My district has some amazing guys, and I´m really gonna miss them all. However, we do have one week, so I´m determined to make it a good one.
First I´d like to address a matter of great importance. My district was involved in a life-changing adoption this week. I know it´s against the rules in the mission handbook, but it seemed necessary in this case. One of our Hermámas was walking home from work last weekend and found a poor helpless little infant dying in the street. She carefully gathered the poor thing in her arms and nourished it through the night. It kept waking up every hour, but Hermana Vidrio was very patient and motherly with it. The next day it was still doing pretty rough, but she brought it to class to show us and to ask our help in naming it. She walked into class and we were all shocked. The poor little thing was cradled in a box in her arms looking pretty hopeless, but we knew we could help her nourish it back to health. Since then she has been taking care of it day and night, and it´s looking a lot better. It´s been eating with a lot more vigor now, and we are all very excited to see it´s progress. The poor little thing would´ve died for sure abandoned there in the street by it´s mother. Luckily we have an amazing Hermáma who went out of her way to be selfless. Hopefully with careful nourishment we will have it flying by the end of the week. Oh! I forgot to tell you; it´s a colibrí! (Hummingbird in English) I´ll send some pictures of it in a different email. Anyway, I feel lot´s of fatherly love for the poor little guy. We ended up naming him Jig-P --shor for Jigglypuff. I´m not entirely sure why, but it seemed to just flow. He´s an awesome little bird, and he´s going to change lives someday! ;)
On a more serious note, this week, as I said, was a very transformative week for me. We had an amazing Sunday again, and the devotionals really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Most importantly my path as a disciple of Christ. Elder Bednar--through video--lectured us on the importance of becoming converted unto Christ; NOT just having a testimony in him. A testimony is good and is necessary but it can fall if it is not nourished. He promised us that if we become converted unto Christ then we will NEVER fall away from the gospel. In order to have this conversion, we must understand the character of Christ. This is a surprisingly simply phrase, but it holds great importance to it. In every situation Christ was in, he always turned his desires towards those around him. In any circumstance when the natural man would´ve turned inward and been selfish, the Savior ALWAYS turned out. Every story is an example of this, and I would ask you to look for this as you read and learn about him has a family. Even in the very depths of his trials and personal tribulations he never cared for himself first. He was always more concerned with the temporal and eternal well-being of those around him. Not one time did he ever act in selfishness: even when it would´ve been completely justifiable. After the 40 day fast and dealing with the tempations of Satan himself, Christ sent angels to minister to one of his apostles in prison, not to help himself. In the Garden he was amazingly patient with his disciples and performed the Atonement--the most selfless act of all. Right after performing the atonement and having been betrayed by one of his apostles, he heals the man´s ear who was there to carry him off to imprisonment and eventual death. Most amazingly to me was when he was on the cross. Even after all the torturing, suffering, and hatred he endured, he pleaded compassionately to the Father for these very people to, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." When we understand the perfect moral character of Christ and strive every day to emulate his selflessness, we will become converted unto Christ and Satan will have no power to tear us down. I had never thought of my Savior in such a way as this before, but after receiving this perspective I have a new found desire to be like Him help my brothers and sisters come unto Him. Mom wrote me saying that wherever you are strive to lift others. Is this not the very example of Christ? Everywhere he went he changed what was around him. If we accept the touch of the Master´s hand in our lives, we, like the stones brought before the Lord by the Brother of Jared, can be changed from our natural state into something divine. A tool that can be used to bring light and life to others around us.
I love it here. I love the Book of Mormon, and I know that it is true. A man will get closer to God by abiding it´s principles than any other book. I know this, and in my short time here I´ve seen that. I have yet to see that so much more throughout my mission and my life. Thanks for being the amazing family that you are, I love you guys so much! Please do everything you can to have the Spirit at home always. He is so often neglected, but having the Spirit with us constantly is the most important thing we can do! I´m so grateful to have a loving family like you that raised me in the true and everlasting Gospel. Truly, like Nephi, I have been born of goodly parents. I´m excited to get out into the mission field and meet all those the lord has prepared for me to meet. Have an amazing week and trust in the Lord with all your hearts!
Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Jenson
P.S. -- Since I am leaving for the mission field next week I have a few things I need help with and some questions I hope you can help me with.
1. Mom, I need to ask you about the bike situation for my mission. I totally forgot about it over the past few weeks, but now it´s really imperative. I need it by next monday and I can´t take care of it from the CCM. Will you please order a bike and the necessary parts for me or send my bike to the mission? Sorry to pin this on you, I really should´ve had it in mind. I don´t know that I´ll be able to check this email before my mission, so I really hope it gets to you!
2. Dad I remember you talking about the 5 C´s in seminary teaching, but I cant quite remember them. Will you please send those in the next email?
3. If you guys have any tips for journaling, I´d love to have them. I really want to make my mission journal something meaningful, but I have little experience with it. If any of you have tips please let me know!
4. I also want to know some things that I can do to strengthen my companionships in the future, so if you have any advice looking back on your missions, please share! :)
5. Any tips you have for the mission field I´d love as well.
--This is your homework, please be great investigators and do these all by our next appointment! ;) I love you guys!
This week has been very transformative for me, and an absolute blast! I´ve learned a lot, and I´m super excited to get out in the mission field. I´m a little nervous about Spanish, but it will come with the Lord´s help. Right now I can understand the people pretty well when they speak, but I can´t always say what I want to say fast enough. I feel like I´ve covered almost all of the basic grammar that we need for speaking, now I just need to practice and repeat in order to get it quick and natural. It will be good to be where I´m forced to speak Spanish all the time. Here we are kind of spoiled because almost everyone speaks fluent or close-to-fluent English. Everybody is getting excited and ready to leave. My district has some amazing guys, and I´m really gonna miss them all. However, we do have one week, so I´m determined to make it a good one.
First I´d like to address a matter of great importance. My district was involved in a life-changing adoption this week. I know it´s against the rules in the mission handbook, but it seemed necessary in this case. One of our Hermámas was walking home from work last weekend and found a poor helpless little infant dying in the street. She carefully gathered the poor thing in her arms and nourished it through the night. It kept waking up every hour, but Hermana Vidrio was very patient and motherly with it. The next day it was still doing pretty rough, but she brought it to class to show us and to ask our help in naming it. She walked into class and we were all shocked. The poor little thing was cradled in a box in her arms looking pretty hopeless, but we knew we could help her nourish it back to health. Since then she has been taking care of it day and night, and it´s looking a lot better. It´s been eating with a lot more vigor now, and we are all very excited to see it´s progress. The poor little thing would´ve died for sure abandoned there in the street by it´s mother. Luckily we have an amazing Hermáma who went out of her way to be selfless. Hopefully with careful nourishment we will have it flying by the end of the week. Oh! I forgot to tell you; it´s a colibrí! (Hummingbird in English) I´ll send some pictures of it in a different email. Anyway, I feel lot´s of fatherly love for the poor little guy. We ended up naming him Jig-P --shor for Jigglypuff. I´m not entirely sure why, but it seemed to just flow. He´s an awesome little bird, and he´s going to change lives someday! ;)
On a more serious note, this week, as I said, was a very transformative week for me. We had an amazing Sunday again, and the devotionals really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Most importantly my path as a disciple of Christ. Elder Bednar--through video--lectured us on the importance of becoming converted unto Christ; NOT just having a testimony in him. A testimony is good and is necessary but it can fall if it is not nourished. He promised us that if we become converted unto Christ then we will NEVER fall away from the gospel. In order to have this conversion, we must understand the character of Christ. This is a surprisingly simply phrase, but it holds great importance to it. In every situation Christ was in, he always turned his desires towards those around him. In any circumstance when the natural man would´ve turned inward and been selfish, the Savior ALWAYS turned out. Every story is an example of this, and I would ask you to look for this as you read and learn about him has a family. Even in the very depths of his trials and personal tribulations he never cared for himself first. He was always more concerned with the temporal and eternal well-being of those around him. Not one time did he ever act in selfishness: even when it would´ve been completely justifiable. After the 40 day fast and dealing with the tempations of Satan himself, Christ sent angels to minister to one of his apostles in prison, not to help himself. In the Garden he was amazingly patient with his disciples and performed the Atonement--the most selfless act of all. Right after performing the atonement and having been betrayed by one of his apostles, he heals the man´s ear who was there to carry him off to imprisonment and eventual death. Most amazingly to me was when he was on the cross. Even after all the torturing, suffering, and hatred he endured, he pleaded compassionately to the Father for these very people to, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." When we understand the perfect moral character of Christ and strive every day to emulate his selflessness, we will become converted unto Christ and Satan will have no power to tear us down. I had never thought of my Savior in such a way as this before, but after receiving this perspective I have a new found desire to be like Him help my brothers and sisters come unto Him. Mom wrote me saying that wherever you are strive to lift others. Is this not the very example of Christ? Everywhere he went he changed what was around him. If we accept the touch of the Master´s hand in our lives, we, like the stones brought before the Lord by the Brother of Jared, can be changed from our natural state into something divine. A tool that can be used to bring light and life to others around us.
I love it here. I love the Book of Mormon, and I know that it is true. A man will get closer to God by abiding it´s principles than any other book. I know this, and in my short time here I´ve seen that. I have yet to see that so much more throughout my mission and my life. Thanks for being the amazing family that you are, I love you guys so much! Please do everything you can to have the Spirit at home always. He is so often neglected, but having the Spirit with us constantly is the most important thing we can do! I´m so grateful to have a loving family like you that raised me in the true and everlasting Gospel. Truly, like Nephi, I have been born of goodly parents. I´m excited to get out into the mission field and meet all those the lord has prepared for me to meet. Have an amazing week and trust in the Lord with all your hearts!
Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Jenson
P.S. -- Since I am leaving for the mission field next week I have a few things I need help with and some questions I hope you can help me with.
1. Mom, I need to ask you about the bike situation for my mission. I totally forgot about it over the past few weeks, but now it´s really imperative. I need it by next monday and I can´t take care of it from the CCM. Will you please order a bike and the necessary parts for me or send my bike to the mission? Sorry to pin this on you, I really should´ve had it in mind. I don´t know that I´ll be able to check this email before my mission, so I really hope it gets to you!
2. Dad I remember you talking about the 5 C´s in seminary teaching, but I cant quite remember them. Will you please send those in the next email?
3. If you guys have any tips for journaling, I´d love to have them. I really want to make my mission journal something meaningful, but I have little experience with it. If any of you have tips please let me know!
4. I also want to know some things that I can do to strengthen my companionships in the future, so if you have any advice looking back on your missions, please share! :)
5. Any tips you have for the mission field I´d love as well.
--This is your homework, please be great investigators and do these all by our next appointment! ;) I love you guys!
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
July 28, 2015
Querido Familia,
Thanks for writing me! This week has been crazy. In less than two weeks I will be in the mission field! I feel way underprepared, but I know that the Lord will help me grow. Spanish is coming along pretty well, and I´m having a lot of fun learning and practicing the language. I haven´t met this Christopher Nelson, but I will try to look out for him. Do you know when he got here? Oh, I sent the scripture last week, but maybe it didn´t go throught right. Sorry it´s taken so long! My Scripture is Alma 26:12.
This week has been good and bad. Bad being that about 50% of everone here has a stomach virus (including me as of yesterday) and it has been rough. Last night was one of the toughest nights of my life; now I know a little bit better how Brandon felt getting sick from the street tacos! Today I feel a little bit better, and I should be good by tomorrow or thursday. The poor doctors at the infermaría have been kept very busy over the past few days. My awesome language teacher Hermana Vidrio is also a doctor and brought me and another guy in my district with the virus some hydration drinks and stuff. It was super nice of her and they´ve helped a ton!
Sounds like it´s been a fun week for the family, Riley is going to be a great Hermana! Thanks for sending me those pictures, I love seeing you guys! Was that Evelyn in the picture with Grandma? If so, how is she doing? And Grandma, how is she doing with the surgery? I hope her knees will be good soon! Sorry I don´t have any pictures today, I haven´t been able to take any this week. I will try to get some for next week.
Well, I´ve got to go take some medicine, keep being an awesome family! Next time I write you will be the last time in the CCM! Can´t wait to hear from you next week! Adios.
Con amor,
Elder Jenson
Thanks for writing me! This week has been crazy. In less than two weeks I will be in the mission field! I feel way underprepared, but I know that the Lord will help me grow. Spanish is coming along pretty well, and I´m having a lot of fun learning and practicing the language. I haven´t met this Christopher Nelson, but I will try to look out for him. Do you know when he got here? Oh, I sent the scripture last week, but maybe it didn´t go throught right. Sorry it´s taken so long! My Scripture is Alma 26:12.
This week has been good and bad. Bad being that about 50% of everone here has a stomach virus (including me as of yesterday) and it has been rough. Last night was one of the toughest nights of my life; now I know a little bit better how Brandon felt getting sick from the street tacos! Today I feel a little bit better, and I should be good by tomorrow or thursday. The poor doctors at the infermaría have been kept very busy over the past few days. My awesome language teacher Hermana Vidrio is also a doctor and brought me and another guy in my district with the virus some hydration drinks and stuff. It was super nice of her and they´ve helped a ton!
Sounds like it´s been a fun week for the family, Riley is going to be a great Hermana! Thanks for sending me those pictures, I love seeing you guys! Was that Evelyn in the picture with Grandma? If so, how is she doing? And Grandma, how is she doing with the surgery? I hope her knees will be good soon! Sorry I don´t have any pictures today, I haven´t been able to take any this week. I will try to get some for next week.
Well, I´ve got to go take some medicine, keep being an awesome family! Next time I write you will be the last time in the CCM! Can´t wait to hear from you next week! Adios.
Con amor,
Elder Jenson
Saturday, July 25, 2015
July 21, 2015
Quierido Familia,
This has been another amazing week for me! I feel so much progress, and everyday I see the Lord´s hand guiding my life a little bit more. I´m so glad to hear how well the family is doing! Can´t wait for Riley to get out in the mission field, she will be great! Wish her luck for me! Savanah, I commend you for choosing to be healthy, that´s great! However, after tasting the authentic Mexican foods and spices here, I´m not so sure I could ever give up meat! I´ll have to show you how Mexican food can change your life when I get home. I´m also glad to hear about Airbnb. That is such a fun thing, I wish I got to be a part of it for more of my life, but I´m pretty much doing the same thing over here. So many elders and sisters left this week, it makes me excited to get out in the field. I still have a lot to learn, but I´m so excited to find the people in McAllen being prepared by the Lord to be patient with me and my Spanish!
Our Latino roommates were absolutely amazing! They left yesterday, but this last week was so fun! Elder Marrero, from Puerto Rico, decided to start a new religion based on the gozo that comes from food. He set him self up as Prophet, and actually got like 20 or 30 other elders to pay 10% food tithings to him everyday! Can you believe that? I had to rebuke him a few times for his "apostate" ways, but he was such a fun guy to have in the house! Elder Vazquez didn´t speak English, but I could feel his love for me and my Companion, and we tried to talk with him in Spanish as much as we could. Everytime we walked in the house they always came up hugging us and telling us how much they loved us, and spent their entire night spending time with us. I´m so glad I got to see their example of truly loving others at the beginning of my mission. I am striving and praying to become more Christlike everyday, and there are so many good examples around me to guide me in the right path.
This Sunday was probably one of my most favorite days in the CCM. Every Sunday is, but I don´t think I´ve ever felt the spirit so strongly and for so long. I think the Lord pours his Spirit out here on Sundays to build our testimonies, and especially to help us stay motivated through the week. Anyway, this Sunday we went about our regular meetings, and it was great. Then the leaders let us watch two movies that night," Legacy " and "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restauration". I will quote my journal entry from that night, because I feel it best captures my true emotions at the time:
"I absolutely love Sundays! I feel so close to my Savior. I desire to have this Spirit with me always. My mind feels so open and inspired when I feel the Spirit, but often my fear of other people hinders my ability to listen and share as he would have me do so. Nevertheless, today I felt the Spirit so strongly; I know it came from God. I saw and felt the evidences of Him so much today. The Book of Mormon, the Prophets, the Doctrine, Jesus Christ, Everything! He has provided us with countless examples of physical evidence, but so often, in our own human weaknesses, we overlook these many obvious evidences and put our trust in those things that drag us down, pull us away from God, and ultimately perish. It really is very sad, but that´s just part of the test of mortality. We must shirk the natural-man tendencies that we all have and put our trust in Heavenly Father and the Lord; the sources of all life and light. Sunday is the Lord´s day, and my favorite day!"
This week and every day has been tough, but not in a discouraging way. Tough in a way that´s similar to how you´d feel after the first week of Football practice, or after running a long exhausting race. It´s hard, but it is worth so much to you. I often get discouraged after lessons and with my imperfections in the language and gospel. Every day is so full of work, and everyday is so full of mistakes. Sometimes it´s hard not to get down on myself. Everyday I experience these emotions, but everyday the Lord shows me in some way that he´s there for me and watching out for me. I feel the spirit so strongly everyday, and I feel happy most of the day. As long as I am doing my best to be obedient and seek the Spirit, the Lord is always there to help me through the hard times. I was particularly frustrated last night as I sat alone at the computer to start my language study. Before and after everything here we say prayers, so I began my prayer for that study session. I just forgot about the world around me as I prayed and just poured out my heart to the Lord. I sat there for nearly 10 minutes, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt the Spirit come to me while I prayed. I´ve felt the spirit in my life many times before, and very strongly, but never so instantaneously. Almost immediately I was buoyed up and had the motivation to work hard and do my best happily the rest of the night. Such has been my experience nearly everyday here. Sometimes it may be hard for us in life, but truly the Lord is always right there sitting with us through every trial we face.
I love you all so much, and I´m so grateful for my amazing family. I wish I had time to write all the many amazing things that happen through the week, but the things I write are the most important to me. I hope you guys feel the Spirit at home this week, I will pray for you every day. Keep being the amazing family you are, and trust in the Lord with all your hearts!
Con Amor,
Elder Jenson
Monday, July 20, 2015
July 14, 2015
Querido Familia,
I love you guys so much! I got the chance to sit down and look through my pictures you guys sent with me, and it made me miss you guys so much. Not in a bad way, I´m not homesick or anything, it just reminded me of how lucky I am to have you guys. A lot has happened this week but to begin, let me just say how in love I am with Mexican food right now. I have about four tacos every meal if they´re available, and I´m addicted. I see why Brandon took the risk with street tacos so much; they are worth it! Secondly, I may have missed the 4th of July, but I´m getting plenty enough fireworks to make up for it. I hear fireworks echoing through the valley just about every hour of the day and night every day. Basically it´s a party here 24/7.
The people here are amazing and so strong in the gospel. I love seeing their amazing examples and their faith in Christ. This week was super spiritual, and I learned so much about the Gospel. I guess I haven´t really understood how literal all of this is before, and I´m still coming to understand, but it´s amazing. The Gospel is really what life is all about, and I´m so grateful to be serving under the direction of Jesus Christ. I have my ups and downs as I go about living here, but the ups keep lasting longer, and the downs are becoming few and far between. There is definitely a reason why it is called "The Plan of Happiness". I have learned so much from my leaders and companions this week, and have grown much closer to my Savior. Everyday just keeps getting better here even when it´s hard.
We got two more Elders in our room this week from Puerto Rico and Mexico. The night after they got here they invited us to do devotionals with them every night to strengthen our friendships and help us with the language. They are awesome and great examples to me. I´m really glad I get to see how the Gospel has blessed their lives so differently from mine so early in the mission. Last night I consecrated oil and gave a priesthood blessing for the first time and it was great! I was a little nervous because I don´t know very much about blessings and I´d never learned how or seen anyone give a blessing for the sick, but they helped me and it was a really neat experience.
I am having withdrawals from my music for sure. We aren´t allowed to have music in our dorms and there is no time to play the piano in between classes, so I am feeling deprived! I hope you guys are so grateful for Savanah´s music in the house. You never really appreciate it until you can´t have it. Unfortunately that´s the case with many things in life. It´s okay though, the Gospel is much more important.
I am short on time today so I can´t give you all the details I want, but I love being here! I absolutely love this gospel and I feel so privileged to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us in this work. The Gospel will never be taken from the Earth again, and we can look forward to the time when Christ will come again in His glory to reign in righteousness. It humbles me and helps me to feel so happy as I struggle with my difficulties. I love you guys so much, and I will try to get pictures to you if I can figure it out with dropbox. Thanks for being so amazing and raising me with the truth of the Gospel!
Con Amor, Elder Jenson
July 7, 2015
Quierido Familia,
Thank you for that awesome letter, there were some things in there that I really needed to hear, and I´m grateful for your encouragement and support. I love you guys so much! I would love to say that I really missed you this week, but I´m afraid I haven´t had any time for that! Kidding of course, I miss you guys a lot, but we have been so busy this week.
I am absolutely loving life here in the CCM. I was hesitant the first day upon arrival in Mexico, but I feel absolutely at home. First I must apologize for saying anything negative about the city. I realize as a representative of Jesus Christ, I need to do my best to be uplifting in all my words and actions. I was nervous when I got here, but after a week my perspective has completely changed. The city (especially the CCM) is absolutely beautiful! It´s crazy busy outside these walls, but the city has a unique personality all of it´s own that I love. I expected a more deserty mountainous region, but it feels more like the garden of eden. The plants, trees, and birds are all so beautiful and amazing. I´m very impressed with how well the people manage the foilage and use it to beautify here. Not just in the CCM, but all over the city. Hopefully I can send you some pictures, it´s amazing here!
Every day here has been super busy and packed full of classes and meetings. I am absolutely loving speaking spanish with the maestras, and learning a little bit more every day. I don´t think I´ve ever felt so frustrated or so happy all in the same day, and it´s like that every day. The spirit is so strong here, and everyone is so uplifting and encouraging. We work so hard everyday, that each day feels like a week. Now after my first week is over, I look back and feel like I just got here yesterday. I have improved so much in so many areas personally, and I thank the Lord for his help and guidance.
It has been good for me to have a companion. His name is Elder Chamberlain, and we get along great. We have very similar personalities, and it´s been fun. It has, however, been an experience of growth for me. I get frusturated and upset a lot, and back at home I would just deal with my feelings by playing the piano for hours or doing something to distract myself. It´s very hard for me to talk about how I really feel. There have been times in the last week that I just wanted to be alone for a few hours and hide, but that is not an option. It is pushing me far out of my comfort zone, but I know that is the only way to progress and grow. Sometimes it can be hard, but there is a reason the Lord organizes the mission this way, and it´s a very good one. I have felt him helping me and encouraging me all week, and I´m so grateful for him.
My district is comprised of all Elders, but I think we just might have the best district in all of the CCM. All of the elders are very obedient and humble, and we all get along great as friends. Nobody has had a negative attitude towards one another, and all of our testimonies have worked like leaven to help boost and buffer eachother. Spanish has been very humbling for all of us, but I think we need that humility in our time here because if we didn´t have it; none of this would even feel like work. It´s so much fun!
We started teaching an investigator as companionships, sólo Español, the third day we got here. That was extremely hard and humbling to say the least. None of us speak Spanish very well, and the investigator didn´t speak english. It was also our first time preparing and teaching a gospel centered lesson, so all of us were nervous as could be. We survived it somehow, and are still teaching him this week. Our second lesson on saturday was really hard too, but yesterday´s was different. I decided not to prepare a real set doctrinal lesson, and just tried to listen to what Hermano León needed. I didn´t use notes or any Spanish help, and we had a really special visit. I learned about his life and tied my lesson into what questions and worries he was facing in his life. It wasn´t the best Spanish ever, but for the first time I was able to put meaning into the words I was saying. It was so neat, and I could feel the spirit helping my to understand his Spanish and remember what I had been studying.
Today we got the amazing opportunity to visit the Temple visitor center! I will not be able to visit the temple while I´m here, but I´m glad I got to go today. I met Hermano y Hermana Zapato and they told me that Brandon asked them to watch out for me just before he left. They totally found me, and I think they sent a pic of us all to the kanabjensons email. They weren´t even supposed to work today, they were just filling in for another couple that was gone, so it´s a total miracle that they found me on my temple day! Brandon definitely made his mark in the memories of those people!
I love you guys so much, and hope to hear from you next week again! In the meantime I will be absolutely loving life in Mexico City! Oh, by the way, I looked up Chilango in the spanish dictionary and it literally means "someone from Mexico City". The Chilangos here that teach us are awesome! They all have amazing spirits and personalities. Anyway, I´m in good hands down here and I know the Lord is watching out for you all up there. Thanks for your love and support!
Con Amor,
Elder Jenson
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