Insanity and Miracles June 30, 2014

       You would never imagine what it is like being two white girls in Mexico teaching the gospel! We have some crazy days! But It has been a blast, and I really love it here in Nogales, it is beautiful.

 Fotografía de La Conferencia

       This week was the confirmation of Misael. He told us this week that he wants to be a missionary- but he kind of already is! He invited his cousin and his brother and sister to his baptism and to church before that, and then his brother also came to his confirmation. We are going to teach him tonight!

 Fotografía de La Conferencia "I'm in this one"

      The other day, we went to see if one of our contacts from the week was there in her house. We stopped by and asked, and they said that she was not home. There were 9 children playing outside, and there were 4 women there kinda watching them. They stopped and looked around at each other, and then invited us to sit down and share with them. I was seriously so surprised because normally in this kind of situation people just let you know that the person is not home and that is it. But this was different. The 4 adults sat down and we started to get to know them. Their name is the family Sanchez. It consists of siblings and their spouses and their kids and the grandma. We shared with them about Gods love, and they just all started crying. We found out that they are going through some tough times as a family because of how sick the grandpa is as well as how much some of them have to work. They said they don't normally let people like us talk to them but they all felt like they should. They told us that they knew that God sent us there. We all felt the spirit so strong. We are praying for them and that they will remember this experience
and accept the Gospel. 

      I love moments that remind me that we can do this, and if people are willing to listen, to the message and to the spirit, they will know the truth. Then, if they trust God enough- they will accept it and let it change them.

I love you all so much and hope you are well!

Hermana Jensen

June 23 2014

Welp, aquí estoy!

​Companions with Hermana Terry!!
 everyone thinks we are twins 'cause
 we are both white.

      Remember how I said it was a crazy week. About 15 minutes after I left the internet, I got a phone call from the assistant. His name is Elder Jensen (haha) he told me to pack my bags, that because the companion to Hermana Terry was still sick I was going to Nogales to be companions with Hermana Terry. YUP. I am going to be companions with Hermana Terry for 2 weeks because her companion went home a tiny bit early. I have been here since Tuesday morning.

     SO I am working here in Nogales in the zona Orizaba. Let me just tell you a little about how it is here. It is soooo green. There are mountains everywhere and it rains cada rato. It is raining right now actually. Pretty hard. I love it. It is so crazy how I was just in the ports and it was way hot and now it is raining all the time (it isn't always cold though, it is hot sometimes- but not like in Costa Verde). I am about 3 hours from where I was. In like a valley of mountains. Guys, there are palm trees on the mountains, its super weird.

      

      On Wednesday I had divisions(splits) with the sister training leaders here. I was with Hermana Zarate in the area Orizaba. That was really a lot of fun and I am learning so much. 

      Working with Hermana Terry has been awesome. We are still working on not talking in English in the apartment and we are really having to learn how to teach together. Just think of this, we were in the same district in the mtc, the same district in our first area, and now we are companions. They just cant keep us apart! 

     It is kinda funny sometimes when we walk down the street and all the people are very surprised that we are white. Here it is not offinsive to call people white. It is very normal. and we go with it. It brings up a lot of teaching opritunities. We are working hard to help our investigators learn the importance of commitments.

Bautismo de Misael

     We had a baptism on Sunday! I only got to teach him like 3 times, but that is actually a lot of times. I have a short story.  On Wednesday, Hermana Terry and the sister training leader visited him and he was in 1 Nephi 7 and we visited him 2 days later and he was in Alma 61! We were so surprised, I loved it so much. Hermana Terry's companion got to come back for the baptism before she went home. It was really a great expierence and I loved it. 

   
     I love you all and hope you are doing well. Remember that we are blessed to have access to the works of many prophets, take advantage of them! 

Love,

Hermana Jensen

June 16 2014

The trio original (we were together one week
and then hermana Guani had to go on exchanges
 for a week because someone
 was sick and then we changed companions)

     Welp. I am not going to write a general email this week, because it has been a long one (don't worry, I am not down, it has just been long) There have been many changes and I have been very busy! 

We also had a circus this week,

 a missionary activity.

 I am with hermana Furner.

 She has a cool picture with me 

balancing a balloon on my nose.

Me and hermana Gabriel with
 the Hermana Acevedo and Hermana Artega,
 the other sisters in our ward.

Hermana Guani is no longer my companion, she moved to another area. It was quite a process, "cambios especiales" (Special Changes) they call them.  Now we have the sweet little Hermana Gabriel. She has troubles saying some letters and sounds, and I have been working very hard to understand her. She is very nice and good hearted, not to mention extremely smart and good at teaching. In 2 weeks she finishes her mission. Hermana Jarquin and I are learning a lot from her, and it is teaching me Spanish very fast, especially the day that it was just me and her (divisions/splits) and I had to tell people what she was saying. 

Me and Hermana Gabriel with
the ward mission leader

The theater

     I am still learning, and I don't think the learning will stop- and that is great! It is a whole new world to learn so much every day. We have had a lot of spiritual experiences and I am very grateful for that. Today we got to go to Centro because Hermana Gabriel needed new shoes. Everything is so inexpensive here. (not everything, but lots of things) we saw the theater.

     I am learning how to love people that I don't  even know. The Lord gives us what we ask for with a sincere heart, but it is in his own time. I know that I can do this and that there is a reason that I was called here.    We ate today at a place that has picadas the size of pizzas (picadas are like quesadillas but with more sauce than cheese) and giant chocolate milk with cinnamon, and gorditos. I will send pictures! love you!

June 2nd 2014

     Well, I am here in my same area with two companions that are SO GREAT. Really I love them a lot. A trio is a crazy expierence, especially because I am senior companion. I have been calling people and talking to them in spanish, starting all the lessons, and well, being senior companion. It has been a great opritunity, sometimes really stressful, because we are three girls sleeping in the same house and have to be asleep at 10:30. They love to talk, that is for sure. But they are seriously so great and they believe in me so much.

Also, they understand all my spanish. Casi. Someday I am going to be so fluent in spanish, I have faith in that. I am self concious still, and it is hard to talk still, but I am taking more risks and working harder. It has been quite fun, really.

      We had stake conference this last week, with the privilege of the attendance of three members of area 70. The president of the mission, President Treviño (who is a 70 now) Area President Johnson, and another one that I seriously dont remeber hearing his name. This happens sometimes when it is a strange name that I wont recognize, it just gets skipped in my brain (perdón). 

     I learned a lot about how important commitments are and the importance of humility. Sometimes when you think you are the lowest thing on earth, you have an experience that reminds you that you are a child of God. Your humility increases when you help people see their worth. 

     Be strong. I want whoever is reading this to remember that people care. Sometimes it is really hard to see. It is hard to find someone who understands, because no one really does. We all expierence things differently. But someone does, and He will calm your worries. I also have lots of faith that more we listen, the more we will understand, and with that understanding comes humility. Comfort your friends, remind them of the Savior. Help them feel a degree of understanding.

 I love you all so much!

Hermana Jensen

CAMBIOS May 26th 2014

     Okay, so I am not going anywhere, but I am about to be the senior companion of a trio. AH. I know both of them, they came here with me (which is also weird to be companions this early with people of the same generation)

      

      Overall, I am really excited, but I am nervous also. 

      Other fun thing- last p-day we went to an aquarium. The fish are really big here, and a huge macaw sat on my shoulder, but I don't have a picture of it because you had to pay for the picture.

     Also, I had a spur of the moment talk on Sunday. None of us knew about it, I ended up talking about salvation, and blessings. It was really cool, and I think quite a learning expierence for me. It helps me sometimes to not prepare, because then I think harder about how I feel and not just what I have the words to say. Because how am I going to find the words if I keep saying the same things?

     It is a crazy world to live in here in the mission, and it has been hard recently as far as investigators, but I have been growing a lot. 

Well, I love you all very much, Hope all is well at home!!

Hermana Jensen

May 19th 2014

     I forgot the notebook with the things that I wanted to write you guys in it, but hopefully this will still be good!

     This week was hard, but really good! I have been stressed for sure, because I still haven't adapted to this whole situation, and I really think it is something that you don't really adapt to (which is hard to get used to :) I know I am 3 months in, but it is a hard work. I know that if I devote myself and trust in the Lord, it will get easier.

     On Sunday, there were some really great talks in church. The one that I want to talk about was about obedience. When we perform sacred ordinances, we are letting God know that we are worthy and ready to make a covenant, a sacred promise, with him. We promise to do what he asks us to do, and in turn, he promises to bless us. At baptism, we take upon us the name of Christ and promise to always remember him. This is a a sacred promise. Obedience is the law of heaven, and oh how often we break it. It is a lot easier to keep if you consider the importance that it has. 

     There are so many little things that seem like not such a big deal that really mean a lot. We are blessed to be able to make decisions, and sometimes we use this blessing to make decisions that are not correct.

For this reason, it is so great that we have an amazing brother who loves us. He has felt what we felt and because of him, we can be free. Through Christ, Our errors, pains and suffering will pass and we will feel the love of the the Savior, a love that is bigger than any love we are capable of having and more understanding than we can ever be. Remember that Christ loves you, and forever try to comprehend that love. You never will fully understand, but the more you learn, the more you grow.

     We have been working really hard with this ward. Making sure that it is a firm foundation for those that come and see :) there are some really amazing members here, and we have a great ward mission leader that is helping us a ton. I am very grateful for the support that we have. We had a fireside Sunday night, and Presidente de la misión came and talked to our ward. It was really touching to see how much he loves the Savior, his testimony is very strong.  If you get a chance, you should watch the music and the spoken word for "Ill go where you want me to go" 

 love, 

Hermana Jensen

May 12th 2014

     I don't have much to tell  you. I skyped my family yesterday, it was really great to see all of them!

     This week we had a conference of all hermanas! that was really great! I learned a lot, One of the main things being that my president and his wife really love us! it was really great because I got to see Hermana Ledek! (from my district in the mtc) she is in Cordoba. Something else that I learned is that if you want to do what is right, follow the Lord. I mean, I knew that, but is something that you sometimes have to relearn many times. After that, we got have some sisters from areas far away stay in our house. That was fun, I got to know sister Skousen and sister Perez. They are both awesome!

Thank you all for your loving words and support, I love all of your emails! Keep them coming, I really enjoy feeling the love from back home. I need it! 

So there is this restaurant here called Grosellas, it is owned by a member. We eat their pretty often. They always have this amazing flavored water, and I asked my companion what it is- ORANGE. Yup, the fruit here is a whole new world. It did not taste lake oranges to me. 

Remember that God loves you!

Hermana Jensen

May 5th 2014

Hola a todos! 

     So I am doing very well. Thanks everyone for all your support and prayers! I am really loving the mission. It is hard to get used to and I still don't know the language pero bueno. Animado! haha. 

     The other day we were on our way somewhere in a taxi, with one of the drivers that is a member. He has been a member since he was 11 (I am guessing he is in his late 40s now) and he shared some really cool things with me.

     This man saves money and goes to Salt Lake to watch conference almost every year. He was talking to me about how blessed I am to live here and how different of an experience it is for the people who don't live in Utah. 

He talked about how there are three aspects of a testimony; knowledge (conocimiento), spiritual and physical. I never thought about the physical aspect of a testimony. He said that is a lot of the testimonies here in Mexico. A lot of people here in Veracruz became truely converted when the temple was built here. They knew that that they could now be sealed and live with there families for eternity. 

     We all need to have all of these aspects to have a strong testimony. I am working on all three of those parts right now. Being here in a whole different culture is building my testimony in a very different way. I want to invite you to pray for expierences that build your testimony in all aspects. To become totally converted and stay that way. I know that we are always learning, and that it is important to tell God that you want to grow.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

We have been contacting a lot. That has been fun and hard. It has been a lot cooler this week, which is super nice because the heat is crazy. I love you all!

-Hermana Jensen

April 28th 2014

      Ok, I bought a new memory card today, so there should be pictures (that are from my camera) next week.

HOW IS EVERYONE? I am doing good! It has been a tough week, but good things came from it!

First of all- it is sooo hot all the time! more than before! but that is the least of my worries!

I am having a great time trying to find new people to teach, and trying to teach the people I have. It has been fun!

      The mother of the family Medel, Rosa, was baptized this week! The next day she was confirmed with her whole family! It was really neat. After she was baptized, she bore her testimony, and just from how happy she was I know that I am here doing what I am supposed to. We gave them a picture of the temple- it reminded me that in a lesson she asked us how long they would have to wait to be seal for eternity.

     Fun story before I have to go (sorry short email)

Hey dad, remember the game where we would have a word and have to use it during a lesson with the home teachers? My companion has been using that to teach me weird words. The other day- I had to think of a way to use "camel" (camello) in a lesson about enduring to the end. It was fun!

Love you all! Take care!