Another Fantastic Week!

Dear Family & Friends, Another fantastic week in Lichfield, England! The biggest miracle of this week was when Victoria committed to a baptismal date!! We had a fantastic lessons with her about the Plan of Salvation and she agreed to be baptized. She also prayed during the lesson for the first time this week! It was a beautiful prayer. She is now just waiting for a spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true. Please keep her in your prayers!!! Another milestone of the week was our first English lesson!! We got to the house where they lived to walk with them to the chapel where we'd teach them. As we were knocking on the door, one of them came running into the house, sweating from head to toe, holding a bag. As he was dropping off the bag he told us that he was in a big hurry... he had just come from an interview and had another one in Walsall. He had no form of transportation-just his legs. He had ran from his last interview and was running to his next one, which is about a twenty minute drive in the car. It was SO incredibly humbling to see this man who had come thousands of miles away from his family in search of a job, literally running from interview to interview. It made me SO grateful for all the blessings I have! Well, we walked with Eduardo and Armando to the chapel and began the class. (We really had NO idea what we were doing and basically just improv-ed the whole thing... haha). We first started by introducing ourselves and then gave them each a "Placement Test" to see where they were at. Sister Andersen and I sat with Eduardo and the Elders helped Armando. After the placement test we went over some vocabulary words and then asked him questions to make him use English (correcting him along the way and seeing where he needed improvement). We figured out that he can speak pretty well and get his point across but he struggles with understanding people when they talk normally. So we have prepared lesson two and will be teaching it tomorrow at the chapel! Hopefully we'll be able to get more comfortable with it and also find more people to invite to the classes. On Wednesday we had Zone Meeting which was just SO good. I love being in a room with 30 other missionaries. We had been asked to prepare a two minute talk about why we decided to come on a mission. I just had a feeling I would be picked to share mine so I was really trying to think about it before the day of. I pondered and prayed and really couldn't come up with much. Serving a mission was just always something I wanted to do! It didn't really come all the sudden and it wasn't a difficult decision. I recognize and appreciate that for some, deciding to serve a mission is very difficult and it takes a lot of prayer and fasting to figure it out. But I am grateful that for me, the decision to come was a simple one. I still remember singing "I hope they call me on a mission" at age 3, and I genuinely meant those words. For all who are still trying to decide if a mission is for them, my answer to you is this: A mission is NOT for you. Missions have never and will never be for the missionaries. Missions are for all of God's children who have not had the INCREDIBLE blessing and privilege that we have had- that is to have the fullness of the Gospel in our lives. So if you are among that tiny percentage of people who have been chosen and set apart to have the gospel in their lives, stop wondering if a mission is for you, because it's not. It is only a small way that we can show Heavenly Father our gratitude for all He has given us. (Sidenote: This doesn't include Sisters, as serving a mission for girls has always been dependent upon the individual. Those who have been blessed to be sealed in the temple are doing the best missionary work by preparing for and raising righteous posterity!! Our contributions to the furthering of this work come in many different ways and ALL are accepted of the Lord). I sure love my mission and I'm so grateful for the many amazing people who have touched my life in England. There are so many people here that have helped me to feel at home and others who have stretched me out of my comfort zone to help me become better. I know with all my heart that this gospel is true. It is a knowledge that can only be felt, not one that can be proven. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that it was restored through the true prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we will all have the opportunity to live together again as eternal families because of the unconditional love of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and that He is my personal Redeemer! I love this gospel and I love you all for the endless support and love you show me each week! Love, Sister Jensen We have the same family!!!! Cupcakes for the Elders! The lighting of Lichfield for Christmas!