New Missionary Training Meeting

Training Meeting

Broken Computer 3-25-2013

Dear family,

So sorry for emailing so late but the computers at the library crashed and so we are emailing from a members iPad right now so I don't really have much time to email. Believe me I am as sad as you are! 

Ah I am so jealous of you all in Arizona! We had snow all weekend here and church was cancelled. Needless to say, it hasn't been the best week ever. We did get to teach Ryan this week and committed him to baptism when he knows its true. Now we just need to get him on a date! We also taught Shirley and Paul this week. Paul is awesome! He came with a ton of questions and he read all the chapters we gave him. It was a major bummer because we had 4 investigators that were going to come to church with us! Brayden can you imagine being so sad church was cancelled that you almost cried? I know, it's crazy. 

This week we will be going on exchanges with some sisters in Stanford. We will leave tomorrow night and stay there until Wednesday night. I'm excited to learn from more experienced sisters. On Thursday we have interviews with president and then a training meeting on Friday. It will be a crazy week. 

Well I'm sorry I can't write more but I've gotta give my companion some time too. I love you all so much. Thank you for all your prayers. Please send me some sunshine from Arizona.

Love,

Sister Jensen

Robert gets baptized

Robert, our recent convert, spoke at the fireside and it was so good, I asked him to email it to me and here it is: 

I am Robert!I was baptized half a month ago. When I called some friends back in China,one of them asked me,of course,in a

friendly way,why do you choose to join the church? You have been learning science

and engineering,you know,physics,chemistry and biology in high school,engineering

and math in the university.You should believe in objective things!

I said learning science things for years.What I learned is that if you see the world in a

scientific way,the world is so changeable.We research for new discoveries to pull down old theories or invented new things to replace old things.For example 5 or 10

years ago,apple is just known as a kind of fruit.But today every young man has got one without eating it. But I do believe that there is something that can last.That is love!Love from our heavenly father and Jesus Christ,the love that is regardless of races,genders and ages.

Love between husbands and wives,parents and children,brothers and sisters,a life without drugs,alcohol.These things belong to the gift and love that our father gives us.And these things reveal the good side of human being’s nature.These things are

eternal.No matter what kind of science or technology we have!These things are with

us all over our lives,every day and every moment.

1 Month Down

Hey family!

Ah, what a wonderful week it has been! I sure love the mission and I'm learning new things every day. This week I got to witness my first baptism in the mission- the baptism of Robert. It was so amazing! Sister Lewis and I sung "How Great Thou Art" and the spirit was so strong. Robert was baptized by Elder Lapi. (Sidenote- Elder Lapi is SOLID. He is a convert from Albania and he really just "gets" the gospel. He takes his responsibilites so seriously and he really knows how to channel the priesthood and his faith). After the baptism, He told us that before the baptism, he knelt down with Robert and prayed. They prayed that an angel would be there for the baptism. And he didn't really give me any details, but as he told me this, his eyes started to fill with tears and he basically said that it was an incredible experience. I am once again reminded that there is so much more to this life that we can't explain and that there really are angels among us that are cheering us on.  It is also a testimony to me that we have so much power! Especially those of you with the priesthood, you really can work mighty miracles. It's all about calling upon your faith learning how to channel it. I love that about the gospel.  Anyways, I took pictures but forgot to take my camera with me today so I will have to send them to you next week. It was such an incredible experience. I was reminded of my own baptism day and the covenants that I made that day. Robert was just so happy and was glowing. On Sunday, he received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and he came to church in a nice suit and tie! Ah, it just made me so happy. In a way, I felt bad because I felt like I was seeing all the good that came from so many other sisters before me. I really didn't even teach him but what is so cool is that every missionary gets to play a part in the investigator's lives. We all do our part in moving the work forward. I can't wait to hear about what the ward is doing to increase the work. I have realized as I've been on my mission that I did NOTHING while I was home!!! I think it's easy to slip into the mindset of being an example is good enough. But it's not! It is not enough! We are in a war right now, a war for the souls of our brothers and sisters and it is not enough to just be a good example. We need to take the side of the offensive and do more than that! We have mouths to speak and that's all that it takes. All we must do is open our mouths and share what makes us happy. I don't want to look back on this life when I no longer have my body and wish that I could only speak. Can you imagine what it would be like to be a spirit, witnessing this battle, and wanting so badly to just have a mouth to speak, and then watching all these wonderful members of the church who don't use their capabilities? If there is anything I have learned so far, it is that we need to be much more actively engaged in spreading the gospel. Offer to go on splits with the missionaries, or even to just go teaching with them. The ward family we have in Eagle, Idaho is SO blessed. I never even realized it. We have so many solid members with solid testimonies and so many talents. We need to be better at fellowshipping others. I wanted to share an idea that you might use in our ward. We have the piece of paper for dinner appointments with the missionaries in our ward, and there is a little box next to the day called a "+1". It basically means that the members can check the box if they are okay with the missionaries bringing an investigator to the dinner appointment. This can be super helpful to the missionaries and the members! It provides an opportunity for the investigator to get the know and befriend the members and for the members to get to know the investigator, which in turn makes the members more excited about missionary work! I don't know if we already do this but I think it is a brilliant idea. :) Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet with Elaine this week. Dang, I think Satan really doesn't want us to meet with her. She wasn't home when we went for the appointment but we left her a BOM and a note. We called her back though and we have an appointment with her this week. So pray that it will actually happen this time! I feel really good about Elaine. Matt is doing well! He came to the baptism and I hope he kind of got to feel the spirit that was there. We will be teaching him this week again. We are also teaching Ryan, who is another chinese guy. We taught him the plan of Salvation and challenged him to read the BOM and pray. With the chinese people, it's a whole different culture. It's weird because they really have no religious foundation. They don't know much about Christ or even God. So we usually start off with the Plan of Salvation because the Restoration is really of no importance to them until they can establish a relationship wtih God. We also met with Shirley this week who is certifiably CRAZY. It's so hard to teach her because she just gets side-tracked by everything! BUT. She brought her friend Paul with her this week who is about 50 years old and has been trying out a bunch of churches. He seems completely normal and he has agreed to read the BOM and pray! I feel really good about Paul but I know the WoW will be a bit of a stumbling block as he told us he loves his cigarettes and his beer. Haha.

Well, I am doing really well! My energy level is fabulous. I think it helps a lot being on a schedule. Most days I actually wake up before the alarm clock goes off and kinda force myself to go back to sleep. Haha. Dad, Elder Monibidor didn't tell me he emailed you! I'm happy to hear that though. He will be coming home on April 9th. CRAZY.  There is little sign of spring here... I think it is supposed to snow this week :/ Ugh. I hate it. Haha, yeah well Beeston really isn't the most impressive area. It's pretty ghetto actually. Sister Lewis said I would have to go more south to get to the pretty part of England or to Wales. But there is a place called Wallaton Hall (not sure if that's how you spell it) here. It's the building where Batman was filmed. I think it's only about 15 minutes away from where I live so maybe on one of these P-days we will check it out. I don't think that any of the missionaries live with members. The houses here are TINY. Seriously, everyone lives in these houses that are just squished together. I feel so spoiled now thinking about Eagle, Idaho. Yeah, so I don't even think it would be possible for missionaries to live with members. Our flat is really nice though. We could probably fit 2 more sisters in with us. The food is great. It's mostly the traditional chicken or pot roast with vegetables and potatoes. They eat SO many potatoes here!!! Our ward mission leader, Brother Thomas, jokes with me about potatoes cuz I'm from Idaho and I tell him that I eat way more potatoes here than I ever did at home. Oh, and everyone here is big into dessert. At every DA (dinner appointment), i've been to, there is always dessert. Haha. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going not gain 20 pounds while I'm out here. From all the sisters I've talked to, 20 pounds is the average amount of weight gain. Haha. I have been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday, about how we can overcome the obstacle of sin. I am so excited actually, which is weird because usually I dread speaking in church, but this is like the best topic ever. I love the atonement. My companion and I are also putting on an easter fireside on easter sunday at 6:00 pm. It's going to be mostly music with narrations. I'm playing the piano for like 3 of the songs and then I think I'm singing 2 songs. We made invitations and we are giving two to each member in the ward- (one for themselves, and one to give to a nonmember friend). It is going to be epic.

Well family, I love you all so much!!! Keep doing what's right and try to be a little better today than you were yesterday.

Love,

Sister Jensen

Quite the Adventure!

Hello my dear family and friends,

I hope you have all had a fantastic week! Mine has been quite the adventure!! The most important thing I have learned this week is that I have been so blessed my whole life and I never even realized it! There are few members of the church here in England and it is very different than what I am used to. We have a congregation of about 80 people and it's a lot different. Things that would never fly in our ward (like a young man with hair as long as mine passing the sacrament) are much more accepted here because they don't have much of a choice. I hope that you all will not take for granted to blessing that you have living in an area with so many members.

Well, it has been a marvelous week! We met with Robert, who is another chinese investigator and he has decided to be baptized this Saturday! It's going to be awesome. I'm so excited for him. The poor guy came to church yesterday in sweat pants and a tshirt because he doesn't have any slacks or a white shirt. He told me in sacrament meeting that he hopes he can buy a suit after he gets baptized because he felt out of place. He is so excited to get the priesthood eventually and is really intrigued by that.

Matt is doing really well! On Saturday we taught him the restoration. There is a lady in our ward named Hong, who is from china, who came to be our translator. Matt speaks good English but it helps to have someone put it into chinese terms to help him understand. He has promised to read the book of Mormon and find out if it is true. We showed him a clip of President Monson after the lesson and told him that he would be speaking to us at General Conference in a month! I am so excited for that.

We weren't able to meet with Elaine last week because her son had a football match and she cancelled on us :( I was very disappointed. But we got in touch with her again and we will be going to see her on Wednesday.

We stopped by a less active's house named Flora this week. Oh my goodness. I love this woman! She is from Iran and is unmarried, in her 50's probably. She was converted a couple of years ago by some Elders and she hasn't been coming to church. Well, she invited us inside her home and inside behind her couch is a BIG american flag. My companion told me to stand by it and pose for a picture. There is a tradition that goes with visiting Flora. She has had probably 40 missionaries in her home and she LOVES it. She has every one of them take a picture in front of the flag and sign their names- where they're from, birthday, how many siblings, in a book. She loves missionaries! She made us hot chocolate and gave us cake and then she invited us to stay for dinner! Haha. She made us what are called Kebabs. They're not like the kebabs on a stick though.  It was lamb meet on a quasadilla with cheese and apple sauce. Haha weird combination, i know. I was choking to down to be honest... Haha. So that was my first weird food experience. Anyways, Flora explained to us that she hasn't been coming to church because a lady in our ward has been spreading rumors of her and she has been offended. We both felt that it wouldn't be best to explain to her not to be offended and that she sould come back to church because it's a cultural thing for her. And she is the most giving and kind lady in the world that I feel Heavenly Father will understand and give mercy. She loves america and hates living here in England, but she is waiting for some of her family in Iran to move to the US before she comes too. I feel so bad for her because I can tell she is just so lonely.

Well, I wish I could tell you more but I am being booted off the computer so I love you all so much and hope you are doing well!

Love,

Sister Jensen

First Area

Beautiful Nottingham!

Leaving MTC

Feeling a bit nervous!

Hello my sweet family!

I'm so glad to have heard from you...well Mom & Dad... today!! Brayden, I'd better get a long email from you next week! Wow, where to start... Well the last few days at the MTC just flew by. The closer Saturday got, the more I wanted to stay at the MTC! Haha. I was feeling a bit nervous but not too bad about going into the mission field. On Friday, the whole day at the MTC we had workshops that helped to prepare us for going into the field. It was a LONG day but it was also fun. At the end of the day, all the teachers but on a little skit about working with members. Holy cow! I never realized just how much missionaries work with the members (or at least how much they are supposed to). We said our goodbyes after that and took pictures. I wish I could send some to you, but I don't have one of those cord things that hooks up my camera to the computer. I will try to find one today. It was pretty depressing saying goodbye to everyone. It was weird too because you aren't allowed to hug the Elders and a handshake just isn't a proper goodbye. Haha. We went to bed that night at 10:30 and woke up the next day at 5:00 am to get ready for our bus to come. It arrived at 6:30. There were two separate buses, one going to Birmingham and one going to Scotland/Ireland. Our bus ride was only about 2 hours long and it flew by. There were 11 of us I think on the bus. We arrived at the Mission office and were greeted by President Rasmussen, his wife, and the AP's. They took us into the office and sat us down. We talked about what a cornerstone is and how it is the most important part of a structure and how Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. They have a cornerstone outside the office and we all got to stand on it one by one and announce our names and where we were from. After that, we took pictures with President Rasmussen and his wife. We went inside and then had an interview with President, and we also got our credit cards. That took a while, and slowly, all the trainers made their way in. I was eyeing them all of course, trying to figure out who I would be with. I talked with one of them and was not impressed at all as she was talking really negatively about her area and using not the best words. I prayed in my heart that I would be happy with anyone BUT her. Haha. We went into President's office after that and he talked with us about our purpose as missionaries. He told us that we would all be going through a 12 week training course with our trainers and that we will be given an additional hour of companionship study per day. He also said that we all need to prepare to be the best missionaries we can be because some of us may be called as trainers in as little as 5 weeks. The reason why is because they have a flood of sisters coming into the mission field next transfer and they don't have enough trainers. (I was kind of freaking out at this point).  We then got our assignments. And I am going to Nottingham with Sister Lewis. I was soooo happy because she was one that I would have picked out for myself. We then went and had lunch which was Dominos pizza, fruit and veggies and a dessert. After, we said our goodbyes. I had to say goodbye to Sister Hanks, my MTC companion and it was really hard. I can only imagine how much harder it will be when you have been with them for months! We then jumped in a car with a companionship of Elders and made our way to Nottingham. It was only like a 45 minute drive, so we got their around 3:45. Sister Lewis showed me around the flat and before I could even unpack, we hit the road to go knocking on doors. The members here are really funny- They feel that if they give you the exact address of their friend, then the friend will be offended. So instead, they gave us a street of houses and said that the lady lives on that street and if we knock on the door and she is home then she'll let us in. Haha. So that's what we did. We took a bus to Long Eaton which is about ten minutes away and then got our map out and found Carzon street. We had to knock houses 241-291. And so we began. I was a little nervous but not too bad and Sister Lewis lead out on the first house. We talked to an older couple that was just celebrating their 50 year anniversary. They didn't believe in life after death and weren't really interested but they were very kind and said we can always stop by again if we're in the area. We met a lady who was not interested AT ALL, and a man who declared himself an Athiest. We were having no luck at all and we were only at door 260-something when we noticed that the house numbers jumped from 260 to like 230. We saw a lady across the street who was getting some bags out of her trunk. So we walked over and Sister Lewis asked her if she knew what happened to all the houses. She laughed and said that she has lived here for 20 years and has never even noticed it! Well, we got to talking to her, and at one point her cat came outside. She told us that it was her mother's cat, and she had taken care of it since her mother died about a year ago. She began to tell us that her son's friend of only 15 years died about a week ago of cancer and that she was having a hard time explaining to her son why that would happen to such a young person. I immediately felt the impression that I needed to testify of the Plan of Salvation and of the comfort that it brings. And so, I did. It was miraculous. I can't quite remember all that I said but the spirit was so strong and I could tell that she felt it because she started to cry a little bit. I remember telling her that growing up there have been kids my age that have died and how hard it was, but I knew that there was a life after this and that they were truly happy. She nodded her head, and my companion jumped in and asked her if we could maybe visit her and her son next we and talk to her more about what we believe and maybe offer some comfort to her and her son. She said yes! So we got her name which was Elaine, and we scheduled an appointment for 3:30 on Tuesday. I gave her the Plan of Salvation pamphlet from out of my bag and asked her to read it before our lesson. She said that she would. As we left, we gave her a hug goodbye and she started to tear up a little more. It was so tender. As I walked away, I couldn't help but to tear up a little bit myself. Heavenly Father REALLY is in the details! In just the right moment, Elaine's cat had walked up to us, giving us the opportunity to ask about her and Elaine to tell us about your mother. I believe that we were on that street knocking doors JUST for Elaine that day. It was such a miracle. We made our way back to our flat and had some dinner. I didn't have groceries yet so luckily my companion fed me. :) Sister Lewis then told me that we were going to teach Matt that night and his friend Jerry. They are both from China and are going to school here right now. Jerry got baptized last Monday. He brought a few of his friends to church and after watching the finding faith in Christ video in Sunday School, a couple of them just stood up and said that they wanted to get baptized right away! So, we are now teaching a couple of them and getting them ready for baptism. That night, we taught Matt the Plan of Salvation. He seemed very interested and he agreed to pray if it was true. The next day was Sunday and we woke up, did our studying and then made our way to church. It's a bus ride and a walk away and it takes about 30 min to get there. Jerry and Matt both came with us. It was funny because they both arrived holding a tie in their hands and had NO idea how to tie it. We sat at the bus stop for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out HOW to tie them! Finally, we just got on Jerry's phone and found a youtube video. Haha, it was definitely entertaining. Our ward is about 80 people, I would say. Bishop conducted and invited me and the other new Elder to bear our testimonies. I was kinda bummed that they asked us to do because I wanted to do it on my own free will. Haha. Anyways, Jerry was given the gift of the Holy Ghost that day as well and it was great. It said that he would be a beacon of light and truth to his friends, which is already coming true. There was only about 8 of us in Sunday School and the teacher really tailored it to our new members and investigators. She taught about the Godhead. Then was relief society where we talked about the purpose of relief society. Everyone in the ward was very kind. One man shook my hand and gave me a piece of chocolate. Haha. Sister Lewis says that he does that every week. Brother Thomas is the ward mission leader, and as Sister Lewis says, "He has a heart of Gold, but he doesn't know how to stop talking." Haha. That is quite accurate. Jerry's confirmation was like the LONGEST I have ever heard! Well, after church we stopped off at a less active family that hadn't been visited in a while. The father is from Britian but the mother is from Lima, Peru and they have two cute little kids. They told us that they haven't been to church in a couple years because he works all the time and that on Sunday they like to spend the day as a family. It is a difficult situation and I'm not sure how to handle it yet but we will keep praying for their family. After that, we went back to the flat and did our companionship study, broke our fast, and then did Call-Ins. Sunday nights here are called P-day eves. Haha. Overall, my first day went well. I was feeling quite overwhelmed at church though, with everything that i need to learn about the people and the ward. My companion is lovely but she doesn't really tell me things about the people unless I ask, so I am feeling a little behind still. I'm sure it will all come in time though. Pray  for me as I transition into this way of life. It is so wonderful but it also has it's difficult times. Please also pray for Elaine this week that the lesson will go well and that she will let us teach her again.

I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon!

Love Sister Jensen

P.S. Just some interesting facts- When you greet people here, you say, "You alright?" and you would respond, "Ya, you aright?" Haha. It's kinda weird, I'm still getting used to it. Oh and "cheers" is like thank you.

My new address:

Sister Jensen

48 Nether Street

Beeston

Nottingham

NG9 2AT

What a Week!

My dear family!

I loved to hear from you today and I am doing SO well! I will reply to all of your questions in a letter today. I have been writing in a journal and I am going to send those pages to your in a letter as well. Mom, when you get them, will you just put them in a binder in the order they come? You are all welcome to read them. This way you will get a full experience since I don't have much time to write you.
What a week! I have been dying to write you all since Sunday and I think you will see why... So on Saturday night, my companion and I taught Kevin (a fake investigator). He knows the church is true, and the BOM but he won't read it and he won't get baptized for another twenty years. The lesson was only 20 minutes long but we did everything we could to talk to him and try to resolve his concers. We didn't get anywhere. At the end of the lesson, my companion and I just walked out of the room and started crying. We were so upset because we knew how important it was for Kevin to receive the gospel NOW and be baptized NOW. We were frustrated because we couldn't get that across to him. We sat in the cafeteria and cried for awhile together and then knelt down and prayed. I felt better after that prayer and was reassured that it was only week 2 and I can't expect so much out of myself. That was the first time I have cried since being in the MTC. Haha. It was definitely a learning experience. So I went to bed that night feeling a little discouraged. The next morning was Sunday and we prepared for sacrament meeting. It went really well but I was still feeling a little discouraged. We went on a church history tour after that and then came back to have a fireside. My district sang the EFY medley and we surprised the presidency by telling all of the missionaries to stand at the part where everyone sings together. They were all crying and they loved it. President Edwards stood up and said, "I haven't been able to put my finger on why this group is so special but now I can. It is because of your unity with each other. I've always seen unity in the districts but not unity all together. The Lord is so pleased with you all and he is choosing to show you that by sending an apostle here to the MTC. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland will be coming to speak to us tomorrow night." You can imagine what I was feeling at that point! I was so overjoyed and I felt that my heart was going to leap out of my chest. I immediately started to cry and I knew more than ever that My Heavenly Father KNOWS me and LOVES me. He knew I was discouraged and he found a way to show me that I am doing good and that he is pleased. Well, I will skip now to Monday night and tell your about our fireside with Elder Holland...
We ate an early dinner at 4:30 and then went to the chapel room to prepare ourselves. I was lucky enough to sit in the second row (well I saved the seat the night before...haha). We sat and waited for him to come for what felt like 10 hours but was more like 30 minutes. Finally, he came in, only about 4 feet away from me was an apostle of the Lord! The first ting I noticed was the spirit that flowed into the room. His presence was so powerful and at the same time, I realized that he was only just a man. The second thing I noticed were his piercing blue eyes. When people say that when he looks at you, it feels like he's looking into your soul, I can testify that is true! He walked onto the stand with the MTC presidency, the area seventy and Elder Kearon from the quorum of the seventy. Elder Holland, as he was taking a seat, blew us a kiss and motioned for us to sit down. At this point,I was already crying as the spirit was so strong and I just felt completely humbled in gratitude. Presidnet Edwards introuced. Elder Donaldson spoke first and just bore his testimony. Then the Abinidi district (that is me!) got to stand and perform the same EFY medley we had done the night before. How many people can say they have sung for an apostle?! I was so happy to be able to do this. Wee began to sing the song and I was so nervous that I could hardly sing. When it got to the point where everyone joined together, every missionary in the room, about forty of us, stood up and began to sing. At the same time, me and my district turned around to face the people on the stand. The spirit was SO overpowering, the strongest I have ever felt in my life. I tried my best, but I couldn't finish the song. I was so choked up to see every person on the stand with tears streaming down their faces and I felt that I was going to lose it! My shoulders were doing that shaking thing and I couldn't even sing at all. I eventually had to look up at the celing to calm myself down. Haha. Elder Holland has his eyes closed with his hear back and tears down his face. I am so amazed at the ability that music has to bring the spirit. It's the language of angels, and a language I don't think me or anyone fully understands. Elder Kearon then spoke and thanked us. AFter his message was Elder Holland. He got up to speak and oh was it amazing! At times he would just grab the pulpit and speak with such authority! I couldn't take my eyes off him. The first thing he said was, "53 years, 5 months, and 11 days ago, my life was changed forever. That is the day I stepped onto british soil for my mission. Every blessing I have now came from those thwo years. My mission meant everything to me." He could hardly finish that phrase. At one point he got really fired up like he does in general conference, and said with so much authority, "You embrace your mission--give it your heart and soul. You cannot be half hearted! You must hit the ground running! You don't know  a lot, but you know enough to start. Don't miss a moment of it! If you do, the church will survive, the mission will survive, what's irreplaceable is what's lost in your life. If you're any kind of missionary at all, you will weep and wail when that release letter comes. MAke sure you are God's investigator. He wants you to do what you want your ivestigators to do. He is trying to make sure that you are converted. I can demand and insist that there will be one convert. That is you! You WILL be a bliever regardless. You will have this! It will become your DNA and you will be converted to the marrow of your bones. This is your rebirth, that mighty change. You embrace it! You give it all you've got. Jump into the pool, there is water in it and the Lord wants you to swim. Give the Lord a littlel bit and he will give you his all. Don't be a missionary that checks this off the list. Don't say, "I can't wait for real life..." THIS IS REAL LIFE! Capital R, Capital L. (Imagine him saying this with his hands holding onto the pulpit,almost shouting), There is NOTHING more real than what you're doing right now! You are NEVER to set this experience aside. It is to be a part of your soul forever. I can deal with a lot of things but I cannot deal with a missionary that comes home less active. You will NOT come home early. You will serve 18 month to two year misisons. It is up to you how long your mission lasts, it can start now, or it can start when you only have 3 weeks left, but for your benefit, I hope it starts now!"
WOW!!! I know that was all a little jumbled but that is what in essence he said. It was so powerful. So powerful. I wish you all could have been there to feel of the spirit that that man has. I will never put this experience aside. I will do my very best and be the tool that Heavenly Father needs. And when I get out into that mission field, I will hit the ground running. I will jump into the pool, because I'm not afraid to get wet. I am so excited to be going to Birmingham in 3 days. I loved my experience at the MTC but it is time. I'm ready to do the Lord's work.
After Elder Holland spoke, we all got the opportunity to shake his hand which was an experience I won't forget. I don't really know if I even said anything to him because was just in awe the whole time. It was so amazing. I also got to shake Elder Kearon's hand and he looked at me and said, "You just look like a missionary! You are so bright and so happy! Keep it up." That was a great compliment to hear.
Well family, Sorry i wasn't able to tell you about all my experiences I had this week, but I thought i'd just tell you about the most important one. I am so blessed! This was no coincidence. Elder Donaldson told me that night that a coincidence is when God wants to remain anonymous. How true is that! I am so blessed to have experienced this and it has strengthed my testimony to know that the Lord loves me and that he is in every detail of my life!
Well, I love you all. Have a great week and don't forget to read your scriptures every day and thank your Father in Heaven for all he has given you!
Love,
Sister Jensen

Travel Plans

Hello my family! I'm only allowed to write a little bit and just let you know of my travel plans. I will wake upon Saturday morning at 5:30 am, and then board a bus at 6:30 am for Birmingham. I believe that it takes about 2 hours to get there. The reason why we are going on a Saturday is because there is a big Mission Presidency training in Germany this week. So my mission president and MTC president have both been gone. So transfer meeting will probably go a bit differently. We are meeting everyone across the street from the chapel at a hotel because there is a wedding going on in the chapel on Saturday. I will most likely get my trainer and hit the pavement that night. I am so so excited! I'm starting to get a little nervous but I know that it will be okay. I love you all. Keep checking your email in case I get to send another short one upon arrival. Lots of love, Sister Jensen P.S. I realize I'm a little late, and I'm a terrible sister-in-law, but tell Kayla happy birthday from me and I love her! I will be sending her a little something in the mail so tell her to look out for it. Sorry I'm late!