Love Sister Merrill

Love Sister Merrill!!

Busy Week

Dear Family and Friends, Of course, it has been another great week in the mission field! There is so much work to be done and not enough time to do it. I'm so grateful to be here and to be serving the Lord. This week was a bit of a tough one. Andy, one of our investigators who has been progressing toward baptism, kind of went MIA on us. We finally got back in contact with him and found out that he's been going back to his old ways. It was really hard to hear and see. We've also had a hard time with some of our recent converts who haven't been coming to church. I must admit that I was getting very discouraged about it and I just felt as if my efforts were for nothing. I was reading in the scriptures during my personal study in Alma 29 and came across a verse that really helped me. It was verse 9. It reads: "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." I looked up the word instrument in the dictionary and it said, "A tool used for precise work" Then, I looked up precise and it said, "clear and detailed." So, I learned that the Lord uses us as his instruments to do the clear and detailed work. I love this. Before, I was looking at all the things that weren't going right and getting discouraged. But I learned that Heavenly Father knows His children and He knows what they need. He uses us to reach out to others and to play a part in the details of their lives. It's the small and simple things that really make all the difference. All that I can hope to do is to bring some soul, (that could be one or many) to repentance and perform the detailed work that God cannot do himself. It really is a blessing! I have seen miracles and I know that missionary work is all about love. When love is our greatest motive, we achieve the greatest results, because we are doing things for the right reasons! That is why without charity, we are nothing. I am amazed the more that I study the attributes of Christ at how perfect he is and how imperfect I am. I would encourage you all to study Chapter 6 in PMG about Christlike Attributes. Study them in the order that they are in. (They're in that order for a reason!) There is so much to learn when studying the character of Christ. The challenge I would like to leave with you this week is to study one attribute and figure out what you can do to cultivate it in your life. I promise that you will feel closer to your Savior and have a stronger desire to be like Him. I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support! Love, Sister Jensen

Lots of finding and teaching

My Dear Family and Friends,

Another great week in the field!! We have been doing lots of finding and teaching and it has been so great to learn more. This week we taught Sunil and Sydney who are two very solid Christians. It's been a learning experience for me because up until this point, we've taught mostly people who don't have a Christian background. But these two guys are VERY learned in the bible and it's been really good for me to do learn from them. Sunil is English and is very smart. He is very involved in Christianity. The issue with him though is that it seems as if he only wants to learn from us so he can compare the differences. His heart isn't open quite yet. Sydney is from Ghana and is studying here until September. He is also very involved in Christianity and is so smart. He really is golden! His heart is open and he really wants to know if what we're teaching him is true. The only issue with him is that he is having a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon as God's word. He wants to know where in the Bible it prophesies of the Book of Mormon and the restoration. One thing that has come up in teaching both Sunil and Sydney is a verse in 2 Timothy, which says:  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." Now if you read the JST of this verse, it completely changes the meaning! The corrected verson says, "All scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." So as you can see, that little word, "is" makes all the difference!!! When I figured this out, man I was really upset with Satan! It is so true that the plain and precious parts have been taken out of the Bible. It is going to be a challenge to teach this but I know that if our investigators can gain a testiomony of the Book of Mormon, than all concerns will fall away. That is true for us as well! The Book of Mormon is key. I am so thankful for it and for it's truthfulness. I'm grateful to know that we do have a prophet on the earth today who guides this church through revelation from God. If you don't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, I would exhort you to follow Moroni's counsel and find out for yourself if it is true. This week we were so blessed to have 5 people at church with us! Our investigator, Jiajing, brought her Mum who is visiting from China. We also had another guy, George, who is a Bulgarian student, and then 2 other guys, Vicky and his friend who are from India! It was so good. We watched Finding Faith in Christ in Gospel Principles and the spirit was so strong there. They all really enjoyed church. I was grateful to be able to partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants. What a blessing that is.  Last week, I asked you to think about one thing that you can do to be a member missionary. Now, I don't want you to tell me what it is but I want you to write it down and put it somewhere where you can see it! Then pray about it every day this week and I promise that Heavenly Father will give you opportunities to work on that goal. I won't ask you what happened but I would love for you to share any experiences that you had with me. Thank you for all your prayers in my behalf and for our investigators. The Lord is mindful of us all and of this work. I know that these are the last days and he is indeed hastening his work. Let us all catch the wave and do our best in doing our part!

I love you all,

Sister Jensen

Another Great Week

My Dear Family and Friends, Another great week in the field!! We have been doing lots of finding and teaching and it has been so great to learn more. This week we taught Sunil and Sydney who are two very solid Christians. It's been a learning experience for me because up until this point, we've taught mostly people who don't have a Christian background. But these two guys are VERY learned in the bible and it's been really good for me to do learn from them. Sunil is English and is very smart. He is very involved in Christianity. The issue with him though is that it seems as if he only wants to learn from us so he can compare the differences. His heart isn't open quite yet. Sydney is from Ghana and is studying here until September. He is also very involved in Christianity and is so smart. He really is golden! His heart is open and he really wants to know if what we're teaching him is true. The only issue with him is that he is having a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon as God's word. He wants to know where in the Bible it prophesies of the Book of Mormon and the restoration. One thing that has come up in teaching both Sunil and Sydney is a verse in 2 Timothy, which says: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." Now if you read the JST of this verse, it completely changes the meaning! The corrected verson says, "All scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." So as you can see, that little word, "is" makes all the difference!!! When I figured this out, man I was really upset with Satan! It is so true that the plain and precious parts have been taken out of the Bible. It is going to be a challenge to teach this but I know that if our investigators can gain a testiomony of the Book of Mormon, than all concerns will fall away. That is true for us as well! The Book of Mormon is key. I am so thankful for it and for it's truthfulness. I'm grateful to know that we do have a prophet on the earth today who guides this church through revelation from God. If you don't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, I would exhort you to follow Moroni's counsel and find out for yourself if it is true. This week we were so blessed to have 5 people at church with us! Our investigator, Jiajing, brought her Mum who is visiting from China. We also had another guy, George, who is a Bulgarian student, and then 2 other guys, Vicky and his friend who are from India! It was so good. We watched Finding Faith in Christ in Gospel Principles and the spirit was so strong there. They all really enjoyed church. I was grateful to be able to partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants. What a blessing that is. Last week, I asked you to think about one thing that you can do to be a member missionary. Now, I don't want you to tell me what it is but I want you to write it down and put it somewhere where you can see it! Then pray about it every day this week and I promise that Heavenly Father will give you opportunities to work on that goal. I won't ask you what happened but I would love for you to share any experiences that you had with me. Thank you for all your prayers in my behalf and for our investigators. The Lord is mindful of us all and of this work. I know that these are the last days and he is indeed hastening his work. Let us all catch the wave and do our best in doing our part! I love you all, Sister Jensen

Lichfield Cathedral

Massive Cathedral in Lichfield.

Blessed to be a Missionary

Dear Family and Friends, What a fabulous week it has been! I am so blessed to be a missionary at this time. The Lord is indeed hastening His work of salvation and there is no better time to be a missionary than right now. We had the opportunity to watch the Work of Salvation broadcast this week and it was just amazing! I just wanted to sustain every word that was said. There really is a MUCH better way to do missionary work than just knocking doors and street contacting. Members really are the key to missionary work. As I watched the broadcast, I thought a lot about my past, present and future. In the past, I wasn't involved in missionary work! I had a desire to, but didn't know how to go about it. Occasionally I had given Book of Mormons to a couple of people but nothing ever came of it. Now, I feel as if there is SO much missionary work to do and not enough of me to get it done. I still don't completely understand my purpose as a missionary (and I probably never will), but I do have a much better understanding of how to do missionary work. Then, I started to think about my future. What will it be like to come home and no longer have this badge over my heart, reminding me of my purpose? How do I continue to be a missionary, without the authority I have now? These thoughts actually kind of scared me to be honest because I think it's a lot easier to be a missionary when you are set apart to do it and when you devote 24 hours of your day to it. But, I don't want to be the missionary gives all I have on a mission and then goes home and doesn't CHANGE something. I am reminded of my experience at the MTC with Elder Holland. He told us that we must be converted first, which really means that we need to change. Now, I'm not sure exactly how I will do missionary work when I go home, but I know that I will. I never ever want to stop being a missionary. I invite all of you to think of specific ways that you can be a better member missionary. I'll give you a week to think about it, and follow-up next week :) Well, here's the overview of this week: Monday was a fabulous p-day. We did the usual emailing and grocery shopping and then wrote some letters. Wednesday was my birthday. I was a little nervous about it because I usually hate birthdays. But, my companion woke me up at 6:30 with silly string and sang me Happy Birthday. She made me breakfast and then we got ready for the day. She drew 21 pictures and hung them in the bathroom saying 21 things she likes about me. Haha, it was really sweet. Then we did our personal study and companionship study. We left the flat and followed up with some potentials. We knocked on this girl's door, called Jia Jing. She invited us inside and then to lunch with her and a friend. So we went to a little chinese restaurant and after we taught her and her friend the restoration. They really liked it and agreed to meet with us again! It was such a miracle! After that we went back to the flat to do some planning. I got the flash-drive and letters from home! It couldn't have been more perfect timing. We planned for a fireside that we're putting together and then went to an appointment. She didn't show up :/ So we got on a bus and went to our dinner appointment with the Gray's. After that we had to jump back on a bus and hop on our bikes to get to an appointment with Neil and Carlos. We didn't have a member with us so we had to do a doorstep lesson. It went really well. We taught them the law of tithing and they both committed to live it. After, we biked home and then did daily planning. That night we baked a cake for the 4th of July. It was fun to bake again! It's something that I really miss doing. So that was my birthday! It was actually really good. I really felt everyone's prayers and love that day. On the fourth of July we had district meeting. We took our American Flag cake to it with sparklers. :) We sang every American song in the hymn book. Haha. It was great. We had a DA that night as well and they cooked us Hot dogs and they had printed out a wordsearch that had all the people that signed the declaration of independence. My companion and I wore red white and blue all day and we got some pretty funny looks. I don't think the British really like Independence day :) Ha. Then, on Saturday was the baptism!!!! It was soooo good. Neil and Carlos were really funny. Carlos kind of has a hard time being reverent but it was really cute at the same time. He loved the baptism. Sister Merrill and I got to bear our testimonies and Sister Merrill sang, I Know that my Redeemer Lives while I accompanied her. It was a beautiful service. I felt so proud of Neil and Carlos and I know their Heavenly Father was so proud as well. I know that this church is true! I know we have a living prophet that guides it today. Heavenly Father loves us immensely! I learned something this week about Heavenly Father's love for us as I studied in Preach my Gospel. In lesson 4, it teaches about Obedience. It says, "We will be blessed as we strive to be obedient to the commandments. Heavenly Father expects us to be obedient so he can bless us." I loved that! It's shows how much our Heavenly Father really does love us. He will bless us as we strive (make great efforts) to be obedient, NOT as we are perfectly obedient. And why does he expect us to obey him? Not because he is the almighty God and we should do what he says, BUT, because he wants to bless us! How cool is that? I have a testimony of that. Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us, but only can as we make great efforts to be obedient to him. Thanks for all your love and prayers! Love, Sister Jensen

Happy Birthday!

 Baking a cake for the 4th of July.

 My flower birthday cake from Mom and Dad.

Another Fantastic Week

Dear Lovely Family and Friends, Thanks for your emails, love and support! It makes me so happy to know that I have so many people behind me on this journey. I'm so lucky to have you all. It has been such a great week. I am constantly reminded of the love of God for His children. If there is anything I have really grown in, it is my love for others. I feel like Heavenly Father allows me to see others the way He sees them, with their potential, not how they are currently. We all have such great potential! When we learn to see others as God sees them, all bad feelings we may have will disappear. Because we will realize that we are all eternal brothers and sisters who are on this earth for the exact same purpose and we NEED each other. I hope that you will never forget that and do your best to reach out to your brothers and sisters. This week was the start of a new transfer and it has been great! Sister Merrill and I set a goal to get 5 baptisms this transfer. We are confident that it is possible and we're excited to get to work and see God's hand in reaching our goal. This Saturday, Neil and Carlos will be baptized! They are both very excited. I already cannot believe the difference the gospel is making in their lives. Carlos loves to tell us of experiences when he has prayed and he has received an answer to his prayers. This week we also taught Andy. He is doing soooo good! It's amazing. He can't see the difference in himself but we can. He still struggles with prayer but he continues to pray even though it's hard for him, which is all we (and Heavenly Father) can ask! This week he committed to living the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom which are both huge steps for him. He is scheduled for baptism not this Saturday but the next. We started teaching William this week who is a chinese student. He is absolutely GOLDEN. I can't even explain it. Haha. In a period of a week we have taught him The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Word of Wisdom. He also came to church with us! Now, normally this would all be heaven-sent but here's the issue: He goes back to China this Friday! :'( And the place where he lives is very restrictive about religion. Luckily, he will be moving to Canada in a couple of months so we will keep his contact information and get hopefully we will be able to help him get in contact with missionaries in Canada. How I wish we would have found him sooner. All of our chinese Recent Converts, Matt, Robert, Ryan and Jerry are going back to China or other parts of England this week for school. I am SO sad to see them go but I know that the Lord will use them somewhere else. We all decided to get together for Chinese food this week. They took us to a restaurant called Bamboo. The customer service here in England is SOOO different than the USA. Haha. Well, we ordered our food and it was kinda expensive, like 6-10 pounds each. The chinese people were just ordering all kinds of stuff. Haha. So then, the waitress brought it out and the way that they do it is they put all the food in the middle of the table, on this turn-table thing. They bring out a huge pot of rice and then everyone just shares with each other. It was so cool. Sister Merrill and I ate dinner and then we had to go to an appointment so we were asking how to pay for it. And they wouldn't let us pay for it! Ryan said, "Just look at it as we are thanking you for bringing us to the church." Just hearing him say that melted my heart! I'm going to miss them so much. I think they have impacted me more than I have them. Their willingness to follow Christ after having no Christian backgroud at all is astounding. The more chinese people I meet, the more frustrated I get with the Chinese government! I hope that we will all continue to pray that missionaries will be allowed into China soon, because there are so many people there waiting for the gospel. Well, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I'm sure it will be a great day. I love you all so much and I want you to know that I have a testimony of this gospel! It is SO true! We have a father in Heaven that lives and that loves us immensely. If we are obedient and follow the commandments we will never be led astray and we will find lasting happiness. Have a great week! Love, Sister Jensen