Week 68 - Thankful for Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was a bit different than last year! Last year I remember going to at least 3 different dinner appointments and it was CRAZY!! This year we just spent pretty much the whole day with the Pearsons.  There was another family there too from a different ward.  It was so much fun! In the morning we made some cookies with the elders to deliver to people and while they were baking, I taught them how to play nerts, one of my families favorite games.  Its so weird what kind of things will trigger a feeling of missing home and I didn't know that playing a card game would be one of them! But being with the Pearsons, I felt right at home.  Holidays as a missionary are so so special! It amazes me how kind people are and how willing they are to open their homes to us.  We ate A LOT of food and played a bunch of games.  I taught them how to play Reverse Charades (Another one my family liked before I left) and they super loved it! We were laughing a lot.  

On Tuesday we were wondering who to go by and we decided to go knock on Anastasia's door, a college student that we had tracted into a few weeks ago.  Anastasia is from Russia and has such a sweet accent! She accepted a Book of Mormon and told us that we could come back sometime. And guess what!! When we asked if she had looked at the Book of Mormon since we gave it to her, she said she had! She had read some and she really liked it! Usually people don't actually read it when we leave it with them haha so that was such a good sign! We asked if she had a little bit of time and taught her the Restoration.  She said it all made so much sense and she felt like she had the same feelings when she read the Book of Mormon that she has when she reads the Bible.   We're going back to teach her tomorrow! But sadly, the Elder's cover the YSA group so we'll probably have to be passing her off to them to teach her. But at least shes going to be taught, right? Right.  oh and she has this HUGE dog that kept jumping on me while I was on the couch and it knocked me over several times haha.  

We have SO much to be thankful for! I can't believe December starts this week!! Transfer calls will be on Saturday.  Fingers crossed that Sis. Shinkle and I both stay for our last 6 weeks! 

Loves.

-Sister Jensen 

I didn't take a lot of pics this week.  But this is the Elders dressed up as Nephi and Laman.  They acted out the scene where Nephi got tied up on the ship for our Book of Mormon class haha.  And a selfie on Thanksgiving.  Annnd Sister shinkle took this pic of me one morning when the Apartment was cold.  

Week 67 - Gobble Gobble

This week not only will we be feasting on the words of Christ, but we will also be feasting on THANKSGIVING DINNER! Who's pumped? I know I am. We will be having Thanksgiving with the Pearson family.  They are one of my FAV families here! Sooo Zone Conference was really good! We talked about LIGHT THE WORLD because its happening again this December! Instead of daily though, its going to be weekly.  Yall should go to lighttheworld.org and check it out.  We had our interviews with President Jackamn right after Zone Conference and he told Sister Shinkle and I that there is a good chance we will both stay together in Ellensburg for our last transfer! that would mean 3 transfers together! He wanted to make sure it would be okay with the two of us.  Haha transfers still aren't for a couple of weeks.  But we are both really excited that there is a good chance of us staying together!! One of the service activities we did this week was clean eggs... an older member in our ward got hurt and can't stand on her feet for very long so we went out, gathered the eggs, and cleaned them all.  There was a lot of them! I love that there is a large variety of service that we can do for people.  :) Sister Jackman gave a really good training at zone conference this week and I loved something that she said! "Today's test is tomorrows testimony".  Every situation we go through in life is for our good and will make us and our testimonies stronger :) I LOVE YOU ALL! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-Sister Jensen
1: The reunion of the Ephrata sisters apartment
2: 3 of my companions all in one room!
3-7: We took a photoshoot last pday... theres not much to do in Ellensburg...
8: Sister Shinkle forgot her shoes so she had to wear Nike's to our lessons lolol I was dying!!
9: A member took us out for sushi and I ate raw fish for the first time! 

Week 66 - Its Raining Leaves

Well well well another week down in the books. 

We found a couple people this week while tracting that told us we could come back so we are STOKED about that! 

Molly texted us yesterday and said, "hey theres a girl in young women's that needs to finish her missionary lessons because she wants to get baptized so I gave her your number".  WHAT?! Molly is seriously so awesome.  But its true, I guess there is a girl in Cle Elum named Bailey that was being taught by missionaries off and on and she wants to be baptized, but with no missionaries in Cle Elum anymore thats kind of hard.  So hopefully we'll be getting in contact with her soon! Cool, eh? 

We've been raking leaves like crazy down here! I've decided that I never want to have trees in my yard haha.  

I don't know if any of yall remember me talking about Jeremy and Stephanie but we haven't been able to see them in foreverrrrr but we finally did on Saturday!! They had a baby shower and invited us to it! So we went and it was really good.  As we left they told us to keep in contact with them so thats a REALLY good sign.  We were pretty worried there for a bit haha.  We love them.

Mike has only been a member since August and he is bomb at ministering! In the beginning he asked us questions about it all the time like, when do I officially start? What am I suppose to do? Should I contact my companion? I mean, he was all sorts of worried about how to do it.  But he has just gone for it and its awesome! He ministers to an older lady that Sister Shinkle and I go visit at a senior living center.  She talks about Mike all the time and all the things he does for her.  He takes her to the store when she needs it, helps her with her computer problems, helped her set up LDS tools on her phone, and just calls her and talks to her on the phone when she's lonely.  Its so amazing to me the heart he has for serving others.  He is truly an example of ministering for the whole ward.  Its quite inspiring. 

I have zone conference tomorrow! Haha President Jackman is awesome.  This is what he just said in the mission group email: In case you’ve forgot, lost track of time, or have been living under a rock it’s Zone Conferences this coming Tuesday and Wednesday!

He is a funny guy.  

We talked with Molly about repentance last night and the thought of repentance really overwhelmed her.  So we talked a lot about how repentance is such a happy and positive thing.  I think Satan tries to convince us otherwise. Repentance is such a beautiful gift.  I love the quote, "Repentance is not the back-up plan, repentance IS the plan".  I don't know who said that... but its really good.  Its pretty great that we are able to repent EVERY day of our mistakes and shortcomings.  

I love you guys!!! Stay warm.  I've been pulling out the winter clothes! Yayy....

Love, Sister Jensen

We have gloves in our car that we use to rub an elderly ladies feet once a week and I blew one up and thought it was kinda funny.  I used it going through a drive thru to wave goodbye to the window worker lol.  Annnd since the Elders ditched us last P-day and left us in Ellensburg alone, we went and got pedicures.  It was pretty cool actually because we were able to talk to the lady doing our feet about the church! You never know when and where you'll meet people that are ready for the gospel ;)

Week 65 - Holy Guacamole it's NOVEMBER!

I hope everyone had a good Halloween! We had to be home by 6 so we borrowed a bunch of extra sheets from a member and made a big fort in our living room.   Then we moved our mattresses off of our bunk bed and put them in the fort.  We watched the Living Scriptures (also borrowed from the same member) and roasted s'mores over our stove.  It was pretty great! 

We had exchanges with our STL's this week and I got to be in Yakima with Sister Hatch.  I remember my first two exchanges as a missionary, I came back to Sister Wadman and was so relieved because being with a different companion felt so weird! I even cried because I had missed her so much hahah.  And not that I didn't miss Sister Shinkle, but these days, its just missionary life.  I just felt like I was starting a new transfer with a new companion and the transition is a lot smoother than it use to be! It was a lot of fun.  Its weird to think I only have one more exchange.

Our zone started a "Zone Fast" yesterday.  Its not a fast from food though.  What we're doing is disabling our Facebooks for 2 weeks.  And we also are only listening to the Tabernacle choir or General Conference talks.  And we are making sure to be out of our apartment by 10 every day and stay out until 9.  Its pretty simple actually! We are doing the fast so that we can recognize miracles but Sister Shinkle and I are especially trying to find the people that are prepared to hear the gospel.  

We started a Book of Mormon class on Thursday! Every week we are going to study stories from the Book of Mormon and how they can relate to our own lives.  We're hoping that quite a bit of people will start coming. This thursday we are studying about the Tree of Life in Lehi's vision!

On Thursday last week at the Book of Mormon class we talked about Lehi's family leaving Jerusalem and then Nephi and his brothers going back to get the plates.  They tried 3 times before they were able to retrieve them.  Sometimes in life, God asks us to do something and then the first time we may fail.  Which can be pretty confusing! But just like Nephi, if we have faith that God will prepare a way and we keep trying, we will be able to accomplish whatever it is that God asks us to do.  Haha now when I read the Book of Mormon I picture the Living Scriptures characters in my mind and its pretty funny.  

Until next week friends! Love you all.  

-Sister Jensen 

Heres some pics of the fort we made on halloween, our Book of Mormon class, and a picture with the STL's from exchanges.