August 25th MONTH 7 has passed

     Wow how fast things go in the mission. Can´t believe I am in my 8th month.

Me and hna Moreno

     Update, I had my companion Hna Moreno for 2 days and then she got sent to the port because she has back problems. I am now companions with Hermana Jones from Canada! She has 1 transfer less than I do, so whooo for spanish learning that we are having to do in a whole new way! She is 5´11, the people here are all very overwhelmed by how tall she is. Transfers are crazy things. I have had 9 companions so far, that is a lot for 7 months. The Lord must just know I can handle it. Did I tell you Hermana Terry is my sister training leader now?

Us with Ana! She is an amazing investigator!

Me, hna terry and our converts, Miguel and Misael!

I don´t have too much to say this week except that it is very important to trust in God. When we receive spiritual promptings to follow them. We are promised to always have the spirit with us after baptism, how great of a blessing is that! Remember that in every choice that you make. 

    Here are a few pics! I love you so much!

August 18th 2014

     Cambios happened, and I am staying here, but 2 white girls in Mexico is no more... I am going to have a new companion named Hna. Moreno, I do not know her at all, but I am sure it will be great! I am super sad to be splitting up from my companion, but they still can't pull us all the way apart- she is still going to be in my zone, but as sister training leader! I am very excited for her!

     This week, something amazing happened. We have been teaching of-and-on a guy named Ivan. His wife and son are members, and he is really amazing. He has cancer. He is so good about not letting this get him down. He hasn't been able to go to church because of his health, but last week, we promised his well being if he would go to church. HE WAS THERE. It was the most amazing thing. My faith was really increased by seeing his faith. He is so amazing. 

     I don´t have much time- but guess what, I am teaching English classes! it is really fun. Ana and her daughter came, and they also came to church. 

     I love it here a lot. I am not perfect, but I am trying to do my best. 

     I love you all and hope that all is well.

Hermana Jensen

Oh, Nogales August 11th 2014

     I love you all so much and hope that all is well back in Utah, (and wherever

My Zone

 Us being dorks after the rain

else you all might be right now) Here in Nogales, things are crazy as usual!! But it has been really great.

I don´t have a ton to say this week, but here are a few points

-act on revelation, if it is good, it is from God.

-have the faith, and pray for more. rely on the Savior for what you lack

-Remember the countless times you have been delivered out of darkness by God, our true light. Write it down when it happens. If you didn´t then, do it now. Live by it. Remember the times others have too- your friends, family, the pioneers, the Nephites. GOD DELIVERS.

 Me on our roof 

      It rains a lot here. Transfers are coming fast, who knows what is going to happen, really. Remember Ana, she is still awesome, and we met her husband, and he reminds me of my brother, Christopher. Remember Miguel, he was confirmed, and him and his brother went to the temple, even though Miguel couldn't do baptisms yet because he wasn't confirmed yet, he went with them and went in the waiting room and watched the videos.

     Much love from me

     Hermana Jensen

     

(Want to be called to repentance, Mormon 9, want to recognize your desire to read the new testament, First Peter :)

August 4th 2014

Dear family and friends!

     I love you all so much, and just wanted to remind you that I am in Mexico with a wonderful companion named Hermana Terry! We are doing great! Know why? We had a baptism sunday! Our amazing investigator finally was baptized! He told us in one of his last lessons that he was ready to get baptized right then. He is so amazing, and has changed a ton. It made me very happy.

     We have some crazy days here in Mexico, but we also have some really great ones. Even when they are few, they make everything worth it. It is one of those things you have to expierence. It is really really hard, but it is even more beautiful. The hard is so worth it. 

Things that make it worth it:

     -When you are a small part of someone changing

     Just seeing Miguel and all that he went through to be ready for baptism, I know that this is worth it. His little brother spoke at his baptism, and that was an amazing thing. I know, I keep bringing up this up but I really have never seen someone change that much in 6 weeks. 

     -When you meet someone who is ready to listen to the true message of Jesus Christ. Someone ready to do everything and anything to be who God wants them to. 

     Sometimes you don't know who those people are for a little while. Sometimes they don't even know. But sometimes you do know. We met someone named Ana Laura yesterday. Her husband was a referral from the offices, but he want there. But she let us in, listened, and was very open and sincere. As she was saying the closing prayer, she was touched by the holy ghost, and started crying. She told us after that she could feel something pure about us. We told her it was the spirit. She accepted baptism! I am excited to keep teaching her!

     -The little happy moments

     Random people singing to us in the street, the fact that delicious bread is 2 pesos, feeling love from the members, the moments when you forget yourself and go to work. It is really all worth it.

     There is a lot more that makes it worth it, but nobody got time for lists right now :)

     I have been noticing, actually for a long time, like my whole mission, how much the people of God are delivered (always) and how much we have to keep reminding the people to remember his deliverance. Like when king Pahoran lets Moroni know that he hasn't forgotten him, but that his people are rebelling. He insures that everything will be fine, because it will be the will of God.

  11 We would not shed the blood of our brethren if they would not rise up in rebellion and take the sword against us.

 12 We would subject ourselves to the yoke of bondage if it were requisite with the justice of God, or if he should command us so to do.

13 But behold he doth not command us that we shall subject ourselves to our enemies, but that we should put our trust in him, and he will deliver us.

 We will always be delivered. 

     Funny-

    So we have been trying to change houses for a while. We have this neighbor below that blasts music. This week they blasted the killers. Only one song, but man I layed on the floor with my hands on my ears attempting to practice temperance. 

 Love you all!

Hermana Jensen

STOP-Exercise July 28th 2014

     Nobody worry! Of course it was flooding, but it literally floods like every two days. We are prepared, to the point that it is very normal. This email is about to be very fun. I will write spiritual first and then funny.

     So we have this investigator named Miguel. He is super cool, the brother to Misael (the kid who got baptized when I first got here to Nogales. When Hermana Terry first met him, he said that he didn´t want to change his party life. God had different things in store for him. 

     He went to church the day of his brothers baptismal service. We saw and talked to him a few times that week (not lessons) and then he came the next week for his brothers conformation. Pretty soon, he was the most consistent investigator that we had! We could see his conversion process so clearly, but he kept telling us he was still looking for his answer. He gave up all his bad habits and then, SIGNED UP FOR EFY. Well, last week was his efy, every day from 9am to 9pm and we couldn't have even 2 seconds to teach him, besides a lesson OVER THE PHONE about ley de castidad.[law of chastity] (yup, that happened) and our district leader just kept telling us to be patient because he there was really no better place for him to be.

     Sunday came, and they asked all who participated from our ward to share their testimonies. Miguel got up there, and the moment that I saw him sitting up there on the stand, I was overcome by the spirit. (There was also the surprise that one of our contacts from that week was at church). He shared very simply that he knew that this was true and how grateful he was. I was, and am, so happy. He asked the young mens president to baptize him. I felt the truth of D&C 18:15–16, "and if it so be that you should labor all your days crying repentance unto this people and brings save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my father"

I found out also that one of my investigators from Costa Verde got baptized also!

     So-back to the girl who came to church. Her name is Linda (which means "cute" in Spanish) We were walking Thursday, and she contacted us. At this time, there was a giant hairy catapiller on my shoe. Her mom was with her, and sometimes the character of the people here seriously cracks me up. She smashed it, and then proceeded to rub the guts on my leg, claiming that if it bit me, and I didn´t rub the guts on my leg, I would get a fever. I was like, "ok sweet go for it weirder things have possibly happened" (but I can´t think of any right now)

     Other funny thing, last week we needed books of mormon. Bad. We ran out and we kept telling the Elders in our ward to please get us some. They kept saying that the books of Mormon were in the church, but we didn't have the keys for the place they were at. Well, one day, we saw the Elders by the church and asked them if they would go get them. They looked really weird about it and said something to each other like "do you think we can" "nothing´s gonna happen" and we were so confused. Next thing we know, they are opening the church doors and fog comes out really thikly. We try to tell them that it is ok another time but they already have their ties over their faces all ready to run through. They were fumigating for bugs. We felt so bad, but when they ran out with the books of mormon one of them said "That was like a movie or something!" we are pretty sure that they had fun, but we still feel bad.

     Wow I have so much more I want to share. Just know that this week had it´s ups and downs, but the ups were really ups! I love you all!

Hermana Jensen

Translating is Fun July 14th 2014

     I never know how to start emails, but it has to happen.

     So I am going to tell you a little story about a nice little old man named Narcico. He is great. So sometimes around here, we have people that contact us. In this little part of Nogales that we where working in, there is always this little man walking around with his dog. And we say hello to everyone. Well, you say "good afternoon" it is just what you do. Well, this we said as we were walking past him. He stopped us and asked about us. He walks around with his dog because he cannot see very well. He went on to talk about how he likes to listen to the word of God and he wanted us to visit him. For reasons unknown ( ok one is known- the directions to his house were really confusing) we didn´t take him very seriously. This was a few weeks ago, and we found him another time after that and still didn´t go to visit him. Well, we ran across him the other day and he was very sad that we didn't come. So we make an appointment with him and decided to find his house right after talking to him so that we would know for the next day. Well we found out that he already has been visited by the missionaries before, but in this time he wasnt ready to settle into a religion, and he had some problems with some commandments. He is now ready. Goes to show that you first, follow up- second, people are not always what they seem and third, God will bring the prepared people to you.

     A second of funny, corn on a stick really is a thing. But the corn here isn´t sweet so it is weird. Funnier thing- a bus ran over my companions corn. Another funny moment in a sec.

     Have I told you about the family Charley? It is really the Family Cruz, but everyone calls them that because the dads name is Hermano Charley. They are SO great. Extremely supportive of the missionaries, and always willing to help. Hno Charley was just made our ward mission leader, and things are getting better and better here. I have a lot of hope and faith in the Lords hand in the work here in Nogales. This family is always there for us when we need anything. They care a lot. I am greatful for people that care.

     There is this little boy, who is the son of the relief society president. His name is Carlos. When we first came to his house, we would say like 2 sentences, and he would exclaim that he had no idea what we were saying. We are working on the accent thing, and his parents understood us fine, but it was just so funny. But by the end of the meal, he was chatting it up with us about how he wanted to learn English. The next time we ate with them, he wanted to sing primary songs with us. He asked us to sing in English while he sang in Spanish. In the last song, he started to try to sing with us in English. He told his mom that he could feel something special. He said "We can´t stop. We have to do something else. LETS READ THE SCRIPTURES" We had to go, but I hope they read together. His mom was very touched by this experience and so were we. I hope that when we have spiritual experiences like that, we keep looking for more. I will send a picture of him. He calls us "missionaries" because we taught him how to say that. It is adorable.

Carlos is in the Middle

     Second funny. a guy came up to us and sang a song about Jesus and said that it was in English and I didn´t understand any of it, but the tune is still stuck in my head.

     My companion and I have great moments after some conversations by direct translating them into English. It's a blast.

       Well, send me about what you are studying in the scriptures, I would love to hear that! I love you all

Hermana Jensen