Week 25 - Vesta Get Back Here!

One of the last things I taught Camri before she left was to stay away from wild dogs. Especially pit bulls. so much for that talk. She was complaining to me about the miles on the car getting to high...I was thinking, what they going to do, send her home?!? I told her to google which fuse to pull out of the fuse box to shut the odometer down. Camri said things are going pretty good. she has had some success this week and met some new people. She said the weathers not so bad other than it is really foggy right now with moisture in the air. She has decided to introduce herself as an only child since none of her siblings will email her. So if you get the chance, send her a letter or an email. I am sure she would love to hear from you. Next week will mark her 1/3 way. She only has a year left. Wow!! 

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Can you believe its the last week of January?? Time is going by so fast! Its crazy!! Well.  This week was good.  I can't remember if I told you about Sergio or not.  But anyways, Sergio is one of our investigators.  He's 25 years old and he is on-date to be baptized on March 3! He came to a baptism on Saturday to watch it and then we gave him a church tour.  I know he felt the spirit really strong.  Haha while we were in the chapel talking, he said, "So this baptism thing is for sure right?"  I was pretty happy when he said that.  :) Then he showed up to church on sunday and asked if some members could give him a priesthood blessing to help him quit smoking.  He loved it! And as far as we know, he has only smoked once since Thursday! So he's making good progress. The adventure of the week was probably chasing somebody's dog down the road.  We were going to see a recent convert named Jeanne, and she has 5 dogs.  But Jeanne wasn't home and so he brother, who is in a wheelchair, opened the door.  The dogs all ran out and one of them took off down the road! Its name is Vesta so we were yelling at it to come back but it didn't really listen to us.  So we were chasing after it and it kept going back and forth across the road.  It was way scary because I thought it was going to get hit and I didn't wanna have to tell Jeanne.  But luckily someone was getting out of their car at just the right moment and stopped Vesta! We then had to hold the dog by the collar and walk her all the way home.  I don't know what kind of dog she is, but she looks like a pitbull mix.  So she was heavy and it was actually quite exhausting!We got a new investigator this week! Her name is Mykkal (pronounced Michael) and she is 22.  She doesn't know too much about God or Jesus Christ so we're kind of going to have to start from scratch.  We have a lesson with her tonight so I'm pretty excited about that. :)Zone conference will be this week! Its going to be on Wednesday in Moses Lake so I get to see all of my Moses Lake Missionary pals, YAY! The problem is, we only get a certain amount of miles per month that we're suppose to drive.  And Moses Lake is about 25-30 miles away and we're running pretty low on miles.  So we might be doing some extra walking the next couple of days... whoops.Oh yeah, Bishop Pugh makes pens and the other day he found Sis. Lowham and I tracting and came to give us a pen that he made us :) What a nice guy, eh? Sorry I didn't take a pic.  Its a pretty cool pen though.  Update on my flu shot: my arm was sore for like a day but it didn't kill me so I guess it was successful.  ;)I'm still really liking Ephrata! Its crazy that transfers are going to happen again in just 2 more weeks! I feel like I just got here.   Have a good week everyone! LOVE YOU! :)
Love, Sister Jensen

Pics

1:This is our apartment that we live in :') 

2 and 3: Sister Lowham and I 

4: District Meeting.... good times 

Week 24 - Beefy Calves

Camri is awesome. She is on foot at least three days a week. I told her I think about her often. She replied, "well if its on Saturday, those days are long and my feet hurt by the end of the day." She sent some great pictures today. Make sure you check them out on her blog. 

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What a week.  Tuesday was probably not one of the greatest days of my mission... so I thought the week was gonna be pretty awful.  But it wasn't! It was great :)

Monday night we had a lesson with Erika and talked about when she wants to get baptized.  We were hoping to put her on date for February.  But when we asked how she felt about that, she answered back that she already had a special date picked out... in SEPTEMBER! hahah I guess theres a certain reason she chose a day in September.  But we told her to pray about February.  We'll see how that goes.

And then Tuesday... yikes.  It started out pretty good! We got to watch the special broadcast from the first presidency which was AWESOME! Aren't the prophets and apostles just so cute? They're the best.  :')  After the Broadcast we had a district meeting, also pretty good.  Then after lunch one of our investigators texted us and dropped us.  So that made me a little sad... and then we went tracting.  And we met this man that just wasn't very nice.  I had a few choice words to say to him but I'm on the Lord's errand so i decided not to.  What I did do though was bear my testimony to him.  The thing is, people can argue all day about the "facts".  But what they can't argue with is our testimonies of the things we know to be true because of the power of the Holy Ghost that has answered our prayers.  Nothing he said could change the witness that I have in my heart.  But I'm not gonna lie, it was hard.  I cried on his porch as I bore my testimony.... haha I think Sis. Lowham thought I was going crazy.  He probably did too.  Nothing we said really mattered to him.  He tried to roast us for about 20 minutes, so we ended it with "We just came to let you know that God loves you.  Good luck with everything".  And then we left.  And then I was so sad for that man.  We said a prayer for him but then I felt even worse because I realized I hadn't even asked him what his name was! I'll forever know him as "that man".  Oh well.

Wednesday we had exchanges with the STL's! I was with Hermana Robinson. I was a little worried about it just because I had only been in the area for 2 weeks and I had to take over the area.  Besides that, we had no set lessons that day.  So we walked A LOT trying by different people.  It ended  up being okay and we had a pretty fun exchange.  i actually discovered that I know the area really well! 

Thursday we got to have our interviews with President Lewis.  I always learn so much from him! Such a good man.  He said hes counting on me to keep Sis. Lowham from getting trunky before she goes home at the end of the transfer haha.  I'm not sure how to do that... but I'm going to do my best.

We got a new investigator this week! His name is Mike and he is 27 years old.   He said he has noticed the difference in some of his friends lives when they have religion, and thats happiness that he wants to have too.  He has started reading the Book of Mormon and he really likes it! I feel like he has a lot of potential so I'm excited.  

Oh yeah! On Thursday night we pulled up to a house to go knock on it, but as we got out a man started talking to us.  He was homeless... i think.  It was dark outside and we were on a sketchy street.  I would've been scared to talk to him, and if i wasn't a missionary I probably wouldn't have.  But anyways, he told us he didn't believe in God and he had no where to stay and he was cold.  He asked if we had an extra coat, which we didn't.  but out apartment was about 6 minutes away so I told him we would go get him a blanket and some food.  So he waited there while we went and got him blankets and a bunch of canned food.  He started crying a little bit but then asked if he could sleep in our car... haha we got out of there pretty quick.  Don't worry though, we slipped a book of mormon into the bag of food.  Lets hope he reads it ;)

We also went to a little girls 1st birthday party yesterday.  Her parents are investigators.  It was sooo awkward.... we walked in to the place and half of it was a bar I think and the other half was a place that they have parties.  We didn't know anybody there and there was a bunch of little kids running around.  hahah I have never felt so out of place.  But thats alright, we just went and talked to some people, ate some good tacos, and peaced out.  As we were leaving though, our investigator, Thomas, told us to come over for a lesson on Tuesday.  So going to the party paid off :')

Fun fact: Sis. Lowham made me get a flu shot today because we all promised President back in October that we would get one.  And i never did... so she made me go today.  And the people called me up by my first name! It caught me off guard a little bit.  My first name has become a little bit foreign to me these days... but its alright.  I love being Sister Jensen :)

Have a good week everyone! I love you all!  Oh and SHOUTOUT TO MY HOME-GIRL BACK SUNNIE back in Moses Lake! She got her mission call to Chile and is leaving on May 17th.  She is such an example to me and everyone around her.  She'll be one heck of a missionary.  :)

-Sister Jensen

Pictures: 

1. Hermana Robinson and I on exchanges

2. I walk up and down this hill a lot.  It doesn't look that steep in the pic.. but its killer.  I'm gonna have some beefy calves at the end of this transfer lol.

3. I know I look dorky.  I thought it was funny :') Sis. Lowham couldn't handle me.

4. I got my flu shot right behind this wall... it was awful. But blessings come from obedience, right? Right.

Week 23 - Chillin in Ephrata

Camri is enjoying her new area…minus the snow. She mentioned to me that it was pretty cold. She seems to be doing great. She has met so many new people. We are so blessed to receive texts and pictures every once in a while from those she meets and enters their home. She always looks so happy. Her email was once again sluggish today. She wasn't able to go to the library due to the holiday and so she was at the church again. Hopefully next week we will be able to chat a little more. She did send a few pictures. Don't forget to check them out on her blog. Sisterjenseninyakima.blogspot.com
Till next week…


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Hey everybody!

It snowed this week.... it was kinda awful.  And I felt pretty bad because the day it snowed was the day that Sis.Lowham and I had the car so the other sisters were out walking.  They were soaking wet when they came home! It was sad.  But the sun has been out so the snow has melted again for the most part.Monday we had the Word of Wisdom lesson with Erika and it went really good! She said she is going to try and quit smoking so she can get baptized.  She also came to church yesterday!On wednesday morning we went to the thrift store and did some service there.  We helped hang up clothes and stuff.  haha the lady we were helping was named Mary and she had the cutest Brittish accent!I guess this week we did a lot of service! Because we also helped Sister Sortomme, a lady in the ward, make cupcakes for a baby shower.  They were pretty legit! I learned how to make fondant so thats neat.  All the missionaries went to the church on Friday to watch President Monsons funeral service.  I don't know if yall got a chance to watch it, but it was very nice.  President Monson was such a good man :)on saturday we had a lesson with our new investigators, Mary and Margaret.  Mary is the daughter, probably in her 60's.  And Margaret is her mom and shes probably about 80.  They're really funny ladies with a lot of questions haha... we taught them the Plan of Salvation.  And the idea of a pre-earth life was very foreign to them.  It didn't make a lot of sense in their minds.  So they said they would pray about it.  They also said they would pray about getting baptized.  I guess I had never thought about a Pre-earth life being a weird idea because it has always made sense to me.  But as I was reading the pamphlet about it, I tried to imagine how I would feel about it if i had never heard of it before.  It helped me understand a little bit more of where they were coming from.  Oh yeah, my talk in church went good yesterday! I think anyways.  I read a poem in it called "Holes" and a bunch of people asked me for a copy of it afterwards! So I guess that means at least they were listening :')Remember the little girl Natalia that put my hair in pigtails? Well she came to church! We even went to her primary class with her haha.  But then after church her mom texted us and said we couldn't come over anymore.... so that was kind of a stab wound to the heart.  Sad.  Maybe one day she'll be able to meet missionaries and her mom will let them in.  OH! The ward here does this super cool thing called the "40 Day Fast".  Members sign up for a day and they fast for the missionary work.  So everyday, a different family is fasting in the ward.  Isn't that neat?!? I know that its going to help us see so many miracles and I am STOKED!!! Oh one other thing that happened.  We met this lady named Sylvia that is a former investigator.  She let us in and we talked for a while and she brought up Pres. Monsons funeral.  Then she started talking about how she gets the ensign every month and loves reading it, and how she studies from her quad everyday and listens to the gospel library app while she gets ready in the morning.  We were like, uhhh why haven't you been baptized?? And she said she really wants to be, but her kids are anti-mormon and would be really really upset with her.  Then she asked if we could just baptize her in secret so they wouldn't have to know... I don't know if thats the best idea.  But she was super amazing.  We are going to go see her again but we have to go when shes there alone or her family won't let us in.  I'm hoping this 40 day fast results in a miracle for her so she can finally be baptized :)Well fam I think thats about it for the week! Love ya :)Oh yeah! I memorized "The Living Christ"! Its been a goal of mine so I just thought I'd share :')

Love, Sister Jensen <3



Pics: 

1.This is Avery.  She let me try on her fish mask :')

2. Beautiful Ephrata

3. Check it out! I have a mini storage warehouse!

4. Some members in the ward that we ate dinner with last night.  They taught me how to play the Ukelelle a little bit.

Week 22 - Be Careful What You Pray For

Not a lot of talk with Camri today. She did say that she likes the new place and that she is now a walking sister. Hahaha. Hopefully she will be able to figure out the picture problem before next week.

                                                                                                                                         
Hey! This week has been pretty good.  Don't worry, with a lot of praying and the purchase of a large tote, I got all of my stuff packed and brought safely to Ephrata :)  It was super sad saying good-bye to people in Moses Lake that I've come to love but I'm sure I'll be staying in touch with them.  So Ephrata! It's a tiny little town.  There are only 3 wards here compared to about 12 wards in Moses Lake.  I'm serving in the 1st ward and then I live with the sisters serving in 2nd ward, Sister Castle and Crookston.  We have one car that we share.  Sister Lowham and I drive the car on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and the other days of the week we're on foot.  Walking actually isn't bad at all! Its pretty fun! I shouldn't have complained about becoming a walking missionary haha.  Its good for me.  It gets a little chilly sometimes, but thats what coats are for.
We have already gotten 3 new investigators since I got here on Wednesday! I was like oh my goodness this place is bumpin! I'm SO excited to be here.  We actually have a bunch of investigators, just none that are constantly progressing from the sounds of it.  I haven't even met them all. 
The only one that is progressing that I know is named Erika.  She's an older lady and her husband is a member.  He's been inactive for a while but is coming back with her.  His name is Jim.  Jim is a funny man... he has a lot of questions.  Which is good.   But for some reason our answers aren't good enough for him.  Its kind of exhausting haha.  Erika on the other hand is just the sweetest thing ever.  She said she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that she feels like being baptized is something that she wants.  We're teaching her the Word of Wisdom tonight so hopefully all goes well. 
Sister Lowham is my new companion! She goes home next month.  She's 23 years old, and shes from Evanston, Wyoming.  Shes so sweet just like everyone said! We get along really good.  I'm excited to learn from her.  Shes a really good missionary. 
You'll never believe this.... I got asked to speak in church next week.  AGAIN! Lol.  But I was thinking about it and I think i brought this upon myself.  So I've noticed that I get really nervous in front of big groups of people or sometimes it's hard for me to talk to an audience.  Like at missionary things, in church, I don't know just anything.  I feel like thats a weakness for me.  Which is weird since I should be use to that kind of thing after doing Miss payson.  Anyways! I've been praying for help to overcome that weakness and make it a strength because I want to be good at that kind of thing.  So i've been praying about it.  And all of a sudden I get asked to speak at things! I guess the only way for it to become a strength is to actually do it.  Sooo Heavenly Father is blessing me with opportunities to grow :') What a kind father we have.  Moral of the story: Be Careful What You Pray For
Hope everyone has a good week! Oh also, tomorrow is my 5 month mark I think.  Thats cool.  :)
Ummmm so I'm emailing at the library and the computer freezes up when I try to send pics.  So I may have to wait until i go to the church to send pictures :/
Love, Sister Jensen

Week 21 - If You Need Me, I'll Be in Ephrata

Camri didn't have much to say today. I think she might be a little stressed out about her transfer. I'm am curious to see how in the heck she gets everything packed. she might need to rent a Uhaul. She was on a little earlier today than usual. We are all excited for her transfer. I think she is really going to miss the YSA ward. She has made a lot of new friends there that have become a part of her life. Thanks for all you love and support for Camri, especially now during the holiday season. Happy New Years!

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Well.... I'M GOING TO EPHRATA! I'll be serving in the 1st ward I'm pretty sure.  Ephrata isn't too far from Moses lake.  Only about 20 minutes away.  My new companion is going to be Sister Lowham.  Sister Lowham is actually the sister that trained Sister Shepherd! I heard she kind of quiet, but very sweet.  And this is her last transfer out on her mission so I'll be her last companion! How honoring :')I'm really excited for some new adventures! But lemme tell ya, I don't know how the heck I'm going to be able to get all of my stuff back in my bags.  I've been trying to pack this morning, but I have no clue how I got all of this stuff here! And I've acquired more things as well.  Pray for me.  LOL.The Highlight of this week was probably going to the temple with Don! We went with the Lawson couple and all of their grandkids so there was a whole bunch of us! Its a good thing the guy baptizing Don was a big guy or i don't think Don would've made it outta the water.... haha.  But he took family names so it was a really neat experience :)  He had to follow us there though because he wouldn't leave his dog home, so he had to drive his car to have his dog.  Hes a character.  Oh also, when we went out tracting this week I saw a homeless guy sleeping in his car and we decided to knock on the window.  I can't believe I did that... I never would've done that back home! But anyways... his name was Brian! We talked to him for a while and gave him a Book Of Mormon.  He said he would read it.  But he thinks God is mad at him right now and hes being punished.  it was sad.  I spoke in the YSA ward yesterday about how we can share the gospel with our friends this new year.  Since its the break, there was a ton more people there than there usually is! But I think it went well.  The Elders spoke as well, and they didn't even prepare talks! They just get up there and wing it! haha but they've been out for quite a while.  Maybe one day I'll be able to do that.  I'm really sad to say good-bye to all of my YSA friends.  Serving in the YSA ward has been so much fun!We have been trying so hard to find new investigators this week! But for some reason, we just can't find any.  Patience is key I guess.  We've been praying really really hard.  So hopefully we'll find someone soon that is prepared :)It has been so cold here!! A couple times last week we had freezing rain which is actually way scary.  I'm just glad we have a car.  I don't know if my new area is a walking area or not.. so I guess I'l find out.  Wish me luck :')To be honest I don't have much else to say... sooo thats all.  I hope everyone had a good New Years Eve and has a good New years day! Make sure you set some good goals for this coming year! Not just physical, but spiritual.  I explained the gospel in my talk like a giant piece of really good chocolate cake.  And its bottomless! You have an endless supply of chocolate cake.  So you might as well share it with the people you love so they can experience it too! Just like the chocolate cake, the gospel never runs out.  Theres is an unlimited supply to share with others.  So we might as well share the joyful gospel message with the people that we love so they can experience the same happiness that we receive from it.  So make a goal to help somebody come closer to Christ this year :)LOVE YOU! love, Sister Jensen 


Pictures: 1. This is Zac, the YSA ward Mission leader.  He was over the missionary work in the YSA ward.  Hes leaving to go to BYU I.  Hes a great missionary!
2. The Temple with Don3. Sis Shepherd
4. Brittany from the YSA ward.  She was the relief Society President.  Super sweet girl :')