Christmas Just Three Days Away! 12.22.14

SO Family,

ARE YOU EXCITED?? Because I AM EXCITED!!!! My companions and I were talking about the concept of time yesterday and I said to Sister Fehlman, "Remember when I said that Christmas was only 95 days away? Doesn't that feel like I said that three weeks ago??" I can't believe how much time has flown! 

I have been looking forward to Christmas for awhile but I have been doing my best not to think about it. But you can't really help this week when you're doing weekly planning and every day has something to do with Christmas! Today was a crazy day of sending off packages (I paid for two day shipping, sorry if it doesn't get there in time!) and running to different stores for last minute things. Tomorrow is our Half-Mission Christmas Training and guess who's making 25 bags of gingerbread house frosting? The correct answers are the STLs. Helloooo, 12 pounds of powder sugar.... Tomorrow is also our branch Christmas Open House at the church (and we're in charge of that...) and the day after that is a Christmas Eve lunch with a member of the branch and an awesome evening with members in one of the family wards. AND THEN it's CHRISTMAS!! We're going to have brunch with another family in the family ward, call our families, and then have dinner at another member's house. It's going to be a wonderful week, that's quite certain.

But let's focus for a second on this past week. We found a new investigator!!! His name is John and he's from India. And the coolest thing about John is that he's already Christian!! I have talked to so many Indians on campus and they're usually Hindu. But John is Christian and he already has a firm faith in Jesus Christ. We invited him to read 3 Nephi 11 and he read that PLUS a good portion of it, including 2 Nephi 2. He texted us and said that he had some doubts about the Book of Mormon which naturally is a little worrisome to us. The next day we felt prompted to stop by his apartment and we were able to resolve his concerns. We invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon and he says that he hasn't received an answer yet but he will keep praying about it. We're trying to meet with him before he leaves for a vacation. I think John has some great potential and I am extremely hopeful that he will accept a baptismal date soon!

Campus has been pretty dead which is both good and bad. Good, in that we pounce on anyone we see, and bad, because we don't have a lot of people to talk to. It's hard to find effective finding activities because at the moment nothing is not very effective. And with the elders working the same area, the members that are here have probably been asked a hundred times by now if we can teach their roommates who are home or if they know of anyone we can share a message with. But we go out and we talk to everyone we can. :) Last week as we were knocking some doors, it was really cold and windy and for a second I saw myself almost a year ago knocking in Rockford. It was a bittersweet moment.

I got the packages from "the CA Relations" and "Jayden, Kylie, and the Stephs". :) We found a three foot tree in our coat closet and we've been putting our gifts around it. It's looking really homey about now. I think we're all looking forward to Christmas morning. :)

So real fast, I want to tell you the COOLEST experience last week that taught me a couple lessons. For our Half-Mission Training, they're putting together a Christmas talent show and because of a couple very strong hints in my patriarchal blessing, I felt like I needed to sign up for a talent. Well, I'm a selfish person (remember last week?) and I like instrumental Christmas music (I was spoiled to have a musical mother who plays beautiful Christmas music) so I started praying that Heavenly Father would help me find a violinist that I could accompany. I prayed, and thought, and felt prompted to call a companionship in our zone. I called, no such luck. I was kind of bummed. But then a day later, the zone leaders called and asked me what I was playing for my piano solo.  And then Elder Schmutz throws out, "Just so you know, I've been telling people in the zone to call you if they need an accompanist. Sister Baham is looking for someone to accompany her on the violin...." I almost dropped the phone. I totally forgot that Sister Baham played the violin!! Answer to prayer!! So I immediately called her and rearranged our tradeoff with them so she could come here and practice with me for a bit at the end of our tradeoff. But Sister Baham didn't have a violin and the one person she thought had a violin hadn't called her back. I thought we could borrow one from a member here but she was leaving for BYU so that was out. Well, we traded off and came back home with Sister Baham and no violin. We were sitting down for nightly planning when a member of the branch called us back. I had left him a message the day before asking if he had any Christmas music that I could borrow for a musical number. This is how the conversation went:

S. Fehlman: Well, that would be great if we could borrow some music, thanks. 

Matthew: No problem, is there anything else I can do for you?

S. Fehlman (jokingly): Well, if you happen to know anyone with a violin hahaha.....

Matthew: I have a violin.

WHAT. Sister Jensen falls out of chair and does a happy dance.

S. Fehlman: WHAT?? No way!!!

Matthew: Yeah, I played for eight years. When do you need it?

I had NO IDEA when I called Matthew a day earlier that he even played the violin!! And here he was in our hour of need, calling us back (at exactly the right time) to not only let us borrow his Christmas music but his violin as well! I may have started crying or something. I was BLOWN. AWAY. The timing was way too perfect. Every need was met. Heavenly Father is just TOO. GOOD. He is always answering my silly prayers (like the time I prayed for something interesting to write about in my journal) and He can make the seemingly impossible possible.

We are so blessed to have the gospel. I am really grateful for all the good that has come into my life because of the birth of our Savior. It is truly because of Him that I can have hope and peace in this life. He makes me strong no matter how weak I am. I have hope through His Atonement and healing in times of sorrow and pain. Because of Him, I will be with my family forever. It truly is a miracle and the greatest act of love that Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, atone, die, and be resurrected so that we can live again. I love my Savior with all of my heart and I will always be indebted to Him.  

Wow, this email turned out long. Hope you don't mind. I figure most of you are on break and would have time to read it. ;)

I look forward to talking to you this Thursday! I'll probably call around 11 am your time (give or take) and I will be able to talk for 35-40 minutes. I am really looking forward to the best Christmas ever!

Wishin' y'all a blessed Christmas,

Sister Jensen

Yay December! Oh, wait. I'm a musician! 12.15.14

Dear Family,

I echo your statements: "Where has all the time gone??" I can't believe that we're already halfway through the month and almost halfway through the transfer! Christmas is NEXT WEEK and I hit a year NEXT MONTH. When did all the craziness happen???

This week was an adventure like always. We didn't have a ton of time to do a lot of proselyting this week because our Monday night was our branch Christmas party, Tuesday was MLC in East Lansing, and Wednesday was interviews with President. We had tradeoffs with the Kalamazoo 2nd Ward sisters on Friday and we stacked as many appointments as we could on that day. Heavenly Father thankfully gave us a couple of people to teach despite finals and people leaving for Winter Break. It's crazy to see how Heavenly Father helps you reach goals that halfway through the week looked impossible. I always feel indebted to Heavenly Father. He's just too good to me. We also had two people come to church yesterday which was awesome! We've really been working on getting people to church and it was nice the fruits of our labors. :)

I got your amazing Christmas package!! It was like experiencing the joy of 5 Christmases in one, it was pretty epic. My companions laughed when they saw the stocking sewn up haha. It's nice to have a couple of presents under the tree and a Nativity on my desk to look at. I LOVE the Christmas earrings and my companions were extremely lucky that I felt generous and gave them some of that scrumptious peppermint bark. I just feel so incredibly blessed. You guys are too generous to me. I am SO so so grateful and I am looking forward to Christmas Day! Speaking of which, when would be a good time for me to call? I can call pretty much whenever. Just let me know! :)

Yesterday was our Christmas Sacrament program and it was pretty memorable. Maybe it's my fantastic upbringing but it is not Christmas without a rockin', music-packed Christmas program! So being the person I am, I volunteered people for musical numbers! :D I offered people an accompanist (this sistah) and told them what song they should sing, haha. It turned out great. We had four musical numbers (I accompanied three of them....) and the meeting turned out pretty great. Thank you, Sally DeFord! She came in handy. The last song that I played was a Sally DeFord arrangement of "Silent Night" for a medium voice sung by the fabulous Aimee Lopez who is a vocal performance major at WMU. It was breath taking. The congregation joined in on the third verse and the Spirit just filled the chapel. It was hard to concentrate on playing because I was feeling the Spirit so strongly. Music always brings the Spirit and I don't think it's any coincidence that we sang when the Savior was born! What better way to praise the Lord than to sing? :)

You are all super and fantabulous. I can't wait to talk to you next week. I have some great stories to relay to you when we talk MWHAHAHA. Also, look in the mail this week for things from me! Hopefully they make it there!

Love, the Michiganary :)

Balance to the Force 12.8.14

Dear Family,

It is always so good to get on the computer and see emails from all of you wonderful people. You're the best. I hope you know that. 

I am SO GRATEFUL for Sister Carter! She is an angel!! We really needed her haha. Sister Carter is from Boise, Idaho. She's the youngest of three and has been on her mission two transfers longer than I have. She is super awesome and I am so grateful to be in a tri-panionship. Honestly I was kind of dreading being in a tri-panionship again but it's actually working out great! We've been doing splits with the members and that has been great. :) She brings much balance to the force. ;)  

Sis. Fehlman, Sis. Jensen and Sis. Carter

Fun fact: Since I've been at WMU, I have dropped 15+ investigators. I tallied it up as we did our weekly planning last week and it made me super depressed. I  turned through each of the teaching records and just couldn't help but feel loss as I looked at them. I remember how I met each one of them and how excited I was to teach them. Such wonderful people who had that light in their eyes but somehow lost it. It was eye opening to see how Satan works, he is good at his craft. We have dropped all of our investigators except for Bin (he's still on date to be baptized January 17th!) which has been rough. But it's given me the opportunity to pray and plead for God's Will, something I don't do as much as I should. Sister Fehlman, Sister Carter and I put our nose to the grind stone and contacted all day, every day this past week. By the end of the week, we had four times the amount of contacts we usually have at the end of a week! We are doing everything we can think of to find those people that God has prepared. We got about 200 "He is the Gift" cards and that has been a great way to start talking to people. We've also been carrying around a whiteboard with a sentence on it that says, "My gift to Christ is...." and we ask student to finish it and then we post it on Facebook and add them as our friends so we can tag them Then start talking to them..... I know we're creepy.... We've been doing a lot more door knocking and we're making some sweet plans to contact more members/LARCs to help us find people to teach. It's rough but I have a lot more faith now that Heavenly Father is preparing people than I did 11 months ago when I started my mission. 

When President Hess was here he told us a story from his mission. He served in the Northeast States Mission (or something like that) with President Packer as his mission president. Pres. Hess told us that he called President Packer one week to ask him about the lack of success they were having. President Packer said, "Are you studying every morning?" President Hess said, "Yes." "Are you praying several times a day?" "Yes." "Are you going out and working every day?" "Yes." President Packer asked more questions and then finally said, "Elder, you are doing all the right things, you just haven't been doing them long enough." I've contemplated the story a lot on my mission. When I feel like I'm not seeing any success I have to remind myself that I will not always have instantaneous results. Sometimes things require sustained action (sound like something called "faith"?) before the blessings come. I am CONFIDENT that there is someone here who will receive the Gospel, I just need to do all I can a little bit longer. :)

Today was fun! We got cleared by President Jacobsen to go ice skating! The Brethren are noticing that P-Day is really stressful for missionaries and not really helping missionaries unwind. So President Jacobsen has been highly encouraging us to do fun things, one of them being ice skating! We got a couple of girls from the branch to come with us and for $2, we got skates and time on the ice. Right as I was putting on my skates I remembered that I have a broken foot.... haha It was a BLAST! It was so nice to be doing something out of the normal routine. I will admit, the really embarrassing part about it all was getting lapped by 70 year old men skating backwards. I mean, I'm not BAD at skating, definitely not the best, but really? Really?? I have to remind myself constantly that hockey is a big deal out here (or as they say in Michigan "hackey") so it shouldn't shock me that 70 year old couples need their time on the skating rink. I would love to see a retired couple in the West do that.... After skating we went to "Shwarma King" where I got a shawafel. SO. GOOD. Getting the international experience in Michigan! ;)

Well that about sums up me! This is the last week of school so it will be interesting to see what happens for the next four weeks after this week. As I've learned from reading the Nativity Story about a hundred times, Heavenly Father gets a lot of pleasure in blowing our minds and doing great things with less than ideal circumstances or producing miracles in the most surprising places (Micah 5:2). I know that some cool things can happen this transfer. :)

Have a wonderful week!! Love you all so much!

Love, Sister Jensen :)

White Thanksgiving 12.1.14

Dear Family! 

The Holidays are here!! I love it!! I love this time of the year we have to remember our Savior and to express our gratitude. This time of the year is truly magical. :)

We had a "White Thanksgiving"! It snowed all day which added a bit of charm. Sister Fehlman, Chasity Hambright (the BEST member ever) and I decided a month ago that we were going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for all those left behind in Kalamazoo over the holiday. Last year they had a dinner at the KUB and Chasity told us that it had a great turnout and it was a wonderful missionary opportunity. So at 8 am on Thanksgiving Day, we headed to the church to put Henry Phillip Gobbleworth III in the oven and get our Thanksgiving Feast prepared. 

The elders came at 11:30 am to help us peel 15 pounds of potatoes and get the tables up. Everything came together really smoothly and at 2pm we had it all laid out: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, stuffing, green salad, dinner rolls and six pies. I'll admit it, I was pretty impressed with how is came together and it was really cool to see all of the work and worry manifest itself in a delicious feast. What made it even better was that three of our investigators were there! Sister Fehlman and I felt like it all paid off. We showed them the "He is the Gift" video which was the whipped cream on the pie. It topped our feast off so well. That video is so peaceful and it really brought the Spirit in. I had the privilege of sharing my testimony of the Savior after we showed the video which I think I needed. The Spirit testified to me of the Savior and I felt so much love from Him. I love my Savior so much!

When we planned for Thanksgiving, we planned for 20 people. We figured between the elders and us and those who wouldn't be leaving for the holiday, we could get a good turn out. Turns out that only 12 people came and because none of us have hosted many parties in the 20 years of life we've lived we REALLY over estimated. So guess who ate Thanksgiving leftovers for the next three days? But really, who can complain about Thanksgiving leftovers? I mean, if everything I made magically turned into Thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge, I would be really happy. And probably really fat. We also didn't get around to eating ANY of the pies because we gorged ourselves at dinner, so Sister Fehlman got to take home five pies. Thankfully, we gave two away yesterday, finished the pie I made (it's not Thanksgiving without Libby), and we're working on the last two. Sister Fehlman and I are really debating buying another turkey. It was so good the first time, why not a second? ;)

Transfer calls came! I am staying in Kalamazoo for another transfer with Sister Fehlman and we are getting another sister, Sister Carter. Sister Fehlman and I are excited to add another friend to the party. :) Sister Fehlman is going home on the 31st so I will be in a trio until the fifth week of the transfer. I'm looking forward to working with Sister Carter. Sister Carter is an STL in Wyoming so we're looking forward to her fresh perspective on the area. We have set some high transfer goals this transfer and we have a lot of hope that we can accomplish them. 

I go back to the doctor's office this week to get my foot x-rayed again. I'm pretty sure it's been healing. I still can't run on it or bump it too hard but it's definitely getting better. Thanks for all of your prayers!

The Work is going great. We've dropped almost all of our investigators from this transfer which is really heartbreaking but we know that there are miracles coming this week! I have to remind myself that we want to find "the wheat" and dropping people just means were sifting "the wheat from the tares". Heavenly Father will bless us with some great sheaves this week!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your happy faces and the memories you included me in! You are the best family! 

Love, Sister Jensen

Tender Mercies 11.24.14

Dear Family!!

Before I forget, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I hope you all enjoy (and are already enjoying) the time together for the holiday. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. :) I love the pictures. It really makes me happy to see all of you together. It sounds like you'll be having quite the Thanksgiving festivities. Good luck!!  

This week was GREAT in some respects and not so great in others haha. You know how I told you that we would be getting 10 inches last week? Well, we actually got 10 inches over night and another foot the following day so on Tuesday campus was closed because it was snowing so bad and the workers couldn't control it. Good thing we planned tradeoffs for THAT day, right? Almost all of our appointments cancelled because of the storm, which was a bummer, but we saw a lot of tender mercies as well. Because there was no school, people who couldn't normally meet with us were suddenly very open to meet. We were able to visit a couple less active members and have some great teaching moments. I always have to remind myself that it's not important that my work gets done but that the Lord's work gets done and sometimes He has better plans. Thankfully, Sister Manning was super patient as I scrambled around to find appointments so we wouldn't be finding all day in 0 degree (that's Fahrenheit, ladies and gents) weather. It all worked out without too much frostbite. ;)

One of the coolest moments this week was the opportunity I had to bear testimony in Spanish! I went to Battle Creek for tradeoffs and we taught a Dominican man. I really felt like bearing my testimony in Spanish so I did. My Spanish is NOT good but the words came and I bore a simple testimony. I felt the Spirit strongly. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to do that. I hope he felt the Spirit as well. :)

The definite highlight of this week was going to East Lansing for our training. We found out before the training that Elder Nash had an emergency reassignment and wouldn't be coming. Needless to say, we were all pretty bummed. But after our meeting, all I could do was think of President Jacobsen's words: "I'm darn glad Elder Nash didn't come!" It was probably the most powerful training I have been to on my mission. Everyone who spoke during the training spoke by the Spirit and they gave us the counsel we needed. It was amazing to see the inspiration flow and to feel the Spirit so strongly. Sister Lindeman and I were able to add to the Spirit and perform our piece. I will admit, I was crying before the song and I couldn't think too deeply about what she was singing because my eyes would start smarting. I don't think I could ever convey over email the magnitude of the Spirit I felt that day. It was amazing. 

Transfer calls are this week and it should be really interesting to see what happens. I've been in Kalamazoo for three transfers but Sister Fehlman is leaving for home midway through next transfer so who knows who's staying or going? I think I will be here for at least one more transfer.

Oh, and my foot is doing alright. I go back next week to see if it's healing. It wasn't four weeks ago. It still hurts to walk on it but it's slowly getting better. At least I'm not on crutches!!

I love you all. I am SO BLESSED to be an Eternal Family with all of you. I LOVE the Lord and I LOVE His Gospel. I LOVE my mission with all of my heart. It really has made all the difference. Have a magnificent Thanksgiving!! 

Love, Sister Jensen :)

Let it Snow Buckets! 11.17.14

Dear Family!!

SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!! It has been snowing A LOT. It snowed quite literally nonstop from about Wednesday to Friday evening. Every time I looked out the window, it was snowing. It's AWESOME! I love it!! I had to stop studying in our study room because I would space out watching the snow and forget to study haha. I love the snow, it's so beautiful. It makes the season magical and I am looking forward to this adventure. Kalamazoo gets "Lake Effect Snow" and from what we've heard that pretty much means Kalamazoo gets a lot of wet, heavy snow. Someone told me that we're expecting around 10 inches of snow this week. That should be quite exciting. Sister Fehlman said in one of our prayers this week, "Please help me to have as much excitement as Sister Jensen for the snow." Haha I guess I really love the snow. :)

This week we got humbled. Let's face it, we all need a little bit of humbling every now and again. We only taught 7 member present lessons this week when the standard is 10. But our amount of other lessons increased dramatically. We actually taught more other lessons than member present lessons. A lot of our appointments "shined" us or got sick, but Heavenly Father always showed His love and provided another lesson for us to teach. I saw a lot of tender mercies even though our lessons fell through. It wasn't a bad week all in all, it just didn't go as expected. We're really working on getting people on date to be baptized but Satan is pulling out all stops and it's been a lot harder than other missionaries make it out to be. We're really hoping to reset a date with Bin and also commit Greg to a date. Hopefully we'll see some miracles this week!

I love teaching lessons because I always learn something. I think a good measure of knowing whether the Spirit was present in a lesson is whether you leave that lesson learning something yourself. This week a member said a really cool thing. I asked the member (a convert of about a month) how he came to know the Book of Mormon was true. He paused and said, "I asked until I didn't have to ask anymore, because I just came to know that it was true." It kind of stunned me because I hadn't thought of answers that way before. But when he said it, the Spirit confirmed that it was true. Sometimes prayers aren't answered with powerful feelings but with a knowing. We get to the point where we don't have to ask anymore because we know the answer. Interesting thing to think about, right?        

Sorry to keep it brief but I love you all! Thanks for all your support! Please travel safely in whatever you do! Have a great week with Stephen and
Stephanie and family! :)

Love,

Sister Jensen

The Book of Mormon is True 11.10.14

Dear Family,

Just so you know, they have limited our emailing time to just an hour and a half now (president and personal emails) so we'll see how much I can get in a short amount of time. 

This week was great! We are seeing so many miracles! We totaled up our week yesterday and we are seeing a lot more success in teaching and this is the third week in a row that we've hit standard (hitting half of the indicator goals for the mission)! We're pretty happy about that. I know that it's not me but the Lord who is granting us success. We put in our crust and He gives us a loaf in return.

One of my favorite lessons ever happened last Monday. We are teaching a guy named Alex who is doing great. We have been trying to place him on a baptismal date but he keeps saying that he needs to read more of the Book of Mormon before he commits, so he started reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon. For me personally, I have had a couple questions that I've wanted answers to in regards to my testimony and I've been praying to find answers to those questions. As we were teaching Alex, I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and as I did I told him, "Because I know the Book of Mormon is true, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet." the Spirit hit me with incredible force. I felt like the Spirit was telling me that the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is the only thing I needed to know right now, because if I can accept that, I can accept everything else by faith. It was such an incredible answer to my prayers that I got a little choked up telling Alex my feelings about the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is not just the key stone of my religion but the key stone of my testimony. I have gained a great love for and relationship with the Book of Mormon these past 9 and a half months that I will be eternally grateful for. If any of you are struggling with an aspect of your testimony, ask Heavenly Father to confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. That knowledge has been a life saver to my testimony.

Here's a cool little surprise for you: Elder Nash of the Seventy is coming to our mission next week!! We're pumped!! We can't wait!! And guess what else?? I get to play two musical numbers! Yay!! I got a call from the zone leaders in our zone and in the next zone over if I could provide help with some musical numbers and I jumped at the opportunity. I am SO GRATEFUL that Mom and Dad put me through 12 years of piano lessons because it has been the greatest blessing on my mission! I am accompanying a solo and a choir. Sister Lindeman, the soloist, is singing an arrangement of "I Am a Child of God". I'll try to record it for you sometime when we practice because it is BEAUTIFUL. I was struggling not to cry as we practiced yesterday day. That song is so powerful and I know the Spirit will touch all of those present. PS Tim, keep practicing! Your mission president will LOVE you! 

Sorry if this email is scattered. I'm not the best typer and I don't have much time to proof read.... Just know that things are going well. I love my mission. :) I've heard reports that it's going to be around freezing this week with snow Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and that next week isn't suppose to be above freezing. It's a blessing that I got to Michigan when I did this year because I know what's coming and I have a better idea of how to survive and have fun this time around! :)

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Jensen

Snow Already 11.3.14

Dear Family,

What a week!! It's been a big week and looking over it, it's hard to know where to start. On a high note, we had an awesome week numbers wise and we "hit standard" for the second week in a row! It's been good to see that we've been filling our time with meaningful activities that are bringing forth "good fruit". The other good news is that we had three investigators at church! It was AWESOME!!

I need to tell you about one of our investigators. His name is Greg and I don't want to jinx it, but he's pretty golden! We met him on the bus about two months ago. We got his number and put it in our area book and kind of forgot about it (yeah, I know. Not the best follow-up....). On tradeoffs this past week, Sister Koch and I were making calls and she  called him and set up an appointment. We met with him and it could not have gone better! And then what made it better, he actually came to church and liked it! It's pretty miraculous! I am so excited to be teaching him and there is the great possibility that we could have an investigator on date to be baptized!

So as the title of this email suggested, we got our first reminder of what is awaiting us this Winter. I'll admit, I'd forgotten about those lazy winds! I can't remember if I told you what Sister Hess said when we got off the plane in Michigan earlier this year. She said, "Have you ever heard of 'lazy winds'? They're winds that are too lazy to go around you so they go right through you!" If it wasn't for the wind, the snow would have been quite enjoyable! We and the members joke about "The Evolution of Coats" and I'm sadly on my big winter coat now. Some people have one more coat in their evolution  before the final one and once it starts getting colder, I'm going to be adding A LOT more layers. Why do sisters buy really big skirts: so our pajamas can fit under them.

Something I have been thinking a lot about recently and I feel like my whole mission is repentance. It's caught my eye in the scriptures and it's something I don't think I understood before my mission. I always thought of repentance as "hell fire and brimstone" but it's actually more than that. It encompasses healing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In Preach My Gospel it says, "Ideally, repenting of a specific sin should be necessary only once. However, if the sin is repeated, repentance is available as a means of healing." In 3 Nephi 9:13, Jesus Christ invites us to use the power of the Atonement to be healed from the effects of sin: "Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?" What an amazing invitation! I feel so imperfect as a missionary, to the point that it hurts sometimes to realize how human I am! Sometimes I want to lament as Nephi did in 2 Nephi 4. But I am reminded over and over again that "repentance is progress, not perfection". Perfection is our ultimate goal but Heavenly Father doesn't expect immediate results. Don't be too hard on yourself because of your imperfections but turn towards our Heavenly Father each week and "try a little harder to be a little better" (President Gordon B. Hinkley). 

I love you all soooooo much!! You are all so wonderful! I feel so blessed to have you as my family!! Have a wonderful week!!

much love,

Sister Jensen :)

PS   I knew I had an amazing story to tell you and I just remembered it! I have a testimony of fast offerings! It's the best!

So we had NO MONEY last week. I had $0.57 on my missionary card and Sister Fehlman had a little more than that on her's. In addition to that, the elders had also called us two weeks ago to say that they had four boiled eggs and no other food so we gave them a big bag of our food. So last Monday we were up a creek with no money and not a lot of food (spaghetti, spaghetti and more spaghetti). Sister Fehlmand and I talked about it and I expressed my thoughts, "Sister Fehlman, I paid my fast offering yesterday and we gave the elders our food because it was the right thing to do. Heavenly Father will provide a way for us to eat this week."

Because we had no money, we decided that we were going to buy tortillas and milk and yogurt and eggs and live off of that and whatever random things we had lying around our apartment for a week. As we were going home, our "taxi driver"/member Chasity said, "Sisters, that's not a lot of food." We told her that we were going to tough it out for a week and that we would be fine. About an hour later, Sister Fehlman and I are standing in our kitchen and Sister Fehlman says, "What is Chasity doing here?" We walk outside and Chasity walks up with five bags of groceries! We were blown away! We felt SO BLESSED and just humbled that Heavenly Father had answered our prayer. But it didn't stop there!

This last week we had three dinner appointments (something that NEVER happens to us) as well as enough leftovers from one of the dinners to feed us for the rest of the week! Then we had a friend buy us dinner on Friday night. So not only had Heavenly Father met our needs, but He poured out blessings that we really didn't have room (in our stomachs) to receive it! We were so blessed!! It showed me how aware Heavenly Father is of us and how much He really does love us. It also showed me how real blessings are when we choose to keep the commandments. I know that there are blessings for keeping the commandments, sometimes even immediate blessings. 

I hope this gives you a little more faith in Heavenly Father's timing. I know He loves each and every one of us and He will answer our prayers!

Our Michiganary, Sis. Jensen

Love,

Sister Jensen :)

Happy Halloween! 10.27.14

Querido Familia,

It is so good to hear from all of you! You are just the best bunch of people. Thank you so much for the pictures!! I laughed looking at all of them. I'm making an executive decision and decreeing that if a zombie apocalypse ever happened, we should all pick Dad for our team because he's proven himself worthy of turning anything into a weapon and using it accurately. Seriously Dad, can someone say hidden talents?? Plus, Tim. When did you grow up?? Will I even recognize you when I get home?? Can you grow a beard yet? Geez, I don't even know you anymore.... It was so good to hear about the Spook Alley. I think I know where I get my OCD tendencies from. Reading about all the preparation made me understand my companion's point of view a little more haha.

This week was GREAT. Number wise, it was probably the best week I've had on my mission. We have been teaching significantly more lessons. We have been feeling that shorter, more frequent lessons are the way to go (especially with college students) and it's been amazing to see the difference it's made in their progress. We have four (almost five!) progressing investigators and one with a date (Bin!!). Our investigator Forest is praying about being baptized on the 22nd of November and today we asked our investigator Alex if he would be baptized and he said that he needed to read a little more of the Book of Mormon. But I am pretty sure that he will be. He and his friend Shane are AMAZING. I was on tradeoffs with another sister when we met Shane on campus. Then Shane brought Alex to the lesson and we've been teaching them for the past couple weeks! It's been great!! They've been keeping commitments and today Alex gave our closing prayer which was HUGE. It's so incredible to see God's hand in it all!!

This next comment might be a little weird and I might not phrase it right so bear with me: I am very grateful to have experienced a personal loss in my family. It has been an incredible testimony builder for me and a powerful missionary tool. When Sister Lindeman and I first contacted Shane, I felt really prompted to ask him if he'd ever wondered what happened after we died. He replied that he had because his father had just died from cancer two months ago. Because of my personal loss, I was able to relate and immediately testify of the Plan of Salvation and how it's comforted me and my family. My mission has given me so many opportunities to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation and the eternal nature of family. Because of the loss in our family, I feel like I can connect with people and understand their point of view and offer the comfort I have gained through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I read a talk from April General Conference and this quote closely describes how I feel about losing Christopher, "I would never have asked for this trial, but I would never give it away." I miss Christopher so much it aches sometimes. But I would never give that experience away because of the testimony that it has built in me. I am grateful for parents who were married in the temple because with the loss of Christopher, I won't settle for anything less than a temple marriage because I want that security in my family. I want my family to be sealed with eternal power that can move mountains. I am so grateful for Eternal Families and for God's Plan of Happiness. I am grateful for the ways in which Heavenly Father has prepared me to be an instrument in His hands. We are so blessed and I love Heavenly Father so much for all He has given me.

This last week we went on blitzes with the St. Joseph sisters. Sister Fehlman and I went on splits with them for the day in their area and did some training with them. It was great!! I love missionary work! I went door knocking with Sister Baham and we had some wonderful experiences which taught me a lot of things. One experience that we had really stands out to me: We knocked on the door of a pastor which is always an interesting experience. I remember when I first came on my mission, I wanted people to bash with me so I could prove to them with my infallible logic that I was right. There are so many things wrong with that last sentence and I have come to realize that over the course of my mission. This pastor was not a nice pastor and thankfully he was sick so he didn't want to spend time talking to us, but he did make sure to tell us his thoughts on the Book of Mormon. We bore testimony, invited him to read and ask God if it was true, wished him a speedy recovery, and went on our merry way. As we walked down the street, I felt bad for that man. It truly made me sad that he thought that way about the Book of Mormon because I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it is "good fruit". Heavenly Father loves us and wants to talk to us and it's us, His children, who choose to limit Him by telling Him He can't talk to us because the apostles are gone now and the Bible is all we need. We are SO. BLESSED. to have the Book of Mormon- SO BLESSED!! Everyone NEEDS to read this book and ask if it is true because IT IS and it will only bring further light, knowledge, truth, and happiness into their lives! I could go on forever about this. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. Just don't ever doubt your testimony of the Book of Mormon. EVER.

Things overall are going well. We are incredibly blessed. That's it. I feel so blessed to be in the Michigan Lansing Mission. Where else in the world would I get this experience? I feel so lucky to be here. This is probably the best decision I have ever made. 

Happy Halloween from the Pittsburg 1st ward!

I love you all!! Thank you so much for your love and prayers! They help SO MUCH!!

Faith in Every Footstep 10.20.14

Dear Family,

I feel like the title of this email is pretty clever and pretty realistic haha. When I went to the ER two weeks ago, the doctor said to not put any weight on my foot until I could see the orthopedist. Thankfully, some elders found a wheelchair for me and a lady in the branch gave me crutches so for a week Sister Fehlman pushed me up and down every hill in Kalamazoo. You don't realize how many hills actually exist until you're in a wheelchair and poor Sister Fehlman is half my size so it made for a very interesting week. I had an appointment with the orthopedist last week and all I wanted from her was the ability to walk on my foot. She walked in, talked to me for about three minutes, and walked out. And then another lady came in with Frankenstein's leg. Actually, it's an air cast but I am pretty sure I can walk on the moon with this thing. It's HUGE.

The doctor told me to use crutches and then move to one crutch and then walk on it as I can tolerate but all it translated into in my head was "DOBBY IS FREE!!!" So I've been shuffling along for the past week. Honestly, I look ridiculous because the moon boot has about a two inch thick sole and all I have are flats so I teeter from side to side as I walk. And just when you thought missionaries weren't weird enough.... Haha it's good. I only broke the 5th metatarsal which honestly isn't a huge deal but it's been a weirdly huge trial. It's such a little thing but it's made this past couple weeks a trial of patience and faith. For a while I felt like a lame horse and really wished someone would just shoot me because I really felt unproductive as a missionary and as a person. I felt like I had let a lot of people down- my companion, the mission president, my district, the sisters in my zone, the people in my branch, etc etc etc. It created a lot of stress and tension between me and my companion which led to a billion other things. But it's taught me a lot about humility and pairing up with the Lord to face trials. I've learned a lot about patience and I think my companion is learning a lot about patience as well. My foot still hurts a lot and there is still a long way until the end of it but I can have faith in every footstep, in spite of the pain and difficulties. I can choose to have faith in Heavenly Father. :)

Probably the biggest news and the best thing to happen this week was that Bin was set on date!! We're going to have a baptism!!! We almost lost our brains, we were so happy! His date is for the 29th of November! I am so excited for Bin! And ever since we set the date I can't stop picturing him as a member of the church. I really, really, really hope that everything works out. Bin has come so far since I started teaching him and I have seen a tremendous growth in his faith. He is awesome and I am so grateful that I've been able to teach him. The Church is true, guys. Never forget it.

If you haven't already, you need to Google "fall in Michigan" because it is BREATHTAKING. I LOVE TREES. Seriously, the colors are incredible and I haven't taken any pictures of the trees because it won't capture the mere splendor of it all. Michigan is SO. BEAUTIFUL. I am forcing my husband to come back to Michigan in the Fall. True story. The only sad thing is that the trees are beautiful for about a week and then over night all the leaves fall. So about a third of the trees are naked now. Looking at them makes me nervous for the Polar Vortex that's approaching. Bin told us the other day that it was 30 degrees at night. Ladies and gents, help me now. I'm already strategerizing (pretty sure I just made up a word) for this coming Winter. There will probably be snow by the end of the transfer. 

Something I have been thinking a lot about lately is Elder Klebingat's talk from this past General Conference. I have had one part in particular go through my head frequently and it's this: "Some trials come through your own disobedience or negligence. Other trials come because of the negligence of others or simply because this is a fallen world. When these trials come, the adversary’s minions begin broadcasting that you did something wrong, that this is a punishment, a sign that Heavenly Father does not love you. Ignore that! Instead, try to force a smile, gaze heavenward, and say, 'I understand, Lord. I know what this is. A time to prove myself, isn’t it?' Then partner with Him to endure well to the end....  'often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into [your life] because of what [you] are doing right'" There are times when I've been really discouraged in the past couple weeks but this talk has been a great reminder that this life is a testing period (a test that I was not passing well these past couple weeks), but that Heavenly Father expects us to turn to Him and rely on His wisdom and strength to make it through. "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen." (I Nephi 9:6)

I love you all so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your prayers in my behalf. I have never felt more supported by prayer as I have in the past couple weeks. I can without a doubt say that it is because of your prayers that things are going better. I love you all so much and I love this Gospel with all of my heart. Have an incredible week!

Love,

Sister Jensen

Happy Hump Day!! ;

Left Leg, BROKEN! 10.13.14

Dear Family,

Actually, it's my left foot but the Brian Regan reference seemed more appropriate haha. I became that missionary last Monday, the missionary to ruin it for all other missionaries. I broke my foot playing ultimate frisbee. Classic, right? I went up for a catch and came down on the side of my foot. I couldn't catch myself fast enough so my foot kept rolling to a chorus of popping and snapping. I looked at the sisters close to me and said, "Did you hear that??"  They looked at me with horrified faces, "Yeah, are you okay??" Honestly, it didn't hurt that bad so I stood up and walked of the field. I started doing stretches and what not, thinking that I had just rolled it, and continued to watch the game. The longer I sat there, the more it hurt. By the time we were leaving I couldn't walk on it. When we got home I discovered the nicest goose egg on the side of my foot (see picture one).

 I called Sister Jacobsen who then told me to call President Jacobsen (being a football/athletic director for his career, he's seen quite a few foot injuries). I described the injury and he said that I probably had a bad sprain and that he would look at it after MLC the following day. 

After MLC (Tuesday) he asked, "So it hurts through here and here?" And I said, "No, it actually hurts here and here." He was not too happy about that. He re-wrapped my foot and told me to go to the doctor in a couple days if it wasn't feeling better. 

On Wednesday, my foot was all pretty sort of colors, swollen to the size of a small wiener dog (see picture 3), and I still couldn't put weight on it. I looked at Sister Fehlman and said, "I think we should go to an urgent care today."

Thankfully, we found a member who could drive us and the urgent care wasn't busy so we were seen right away. The doctor took one look at it and said, "You probably broke it and we don't have the facilities here to treat that. You need to go to the emergency room." Our member had left to go do some errands so we had quite the adventure crutching our way to the ER across the street. We eventually made it and got to spend the afternoon in the ER. Eventually they took films and dun-du-duh! I broke the fifth tarsal or metatarsal of my foot. I now have a fancy shoe to wear while the swelling goes down and I have an appointment with an orthopedist on Wednesday. Fun times, right? 

I have to keep reminding myself that Heavenly Father knew that I would break my foot and He's provided ways for me to still be productive. It's been a trial this past week and it will probably be a trial for a while longer. But this morning I read this scripture in Mosiah. Mosiah 23: 21-22 reads: "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day." It's funny that a broken bone would try my patience and faith but it's been the perfect trial to do that haha. Sometimes I think it would be better to just shoot me (President told me that they do that to lame horses) but there has to be a way for me to make it through. Today's trial is tomorrow's triumph; today's test is tomorrow's testimony. :)

The work is going well! The elders had two baptisms on Saturday which was nice. I don't remember much from my baptism so it's a great opportunity to ponder on the significance of that covenant and the blessings that are available to those who enter into that covenant. Sister Fehlman and I are doing a lot of finding and we're teaching a lot of first lessons. We have three first-lessons planned for today and we are trying hard to find our covenant keeper. Bin still won't commit to a baptismal date but we're getting really hopeful that something will happen soon. Bin told his girlfriend that he's thinking of being baptized (news to us even though we've asked him like five times if he'll be baptized...) so maybe there's a lot more happening that we don't see. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, always in His way and His timing. 

I am so grateful to be a missionary! I can't help but feel gratitude for all of the lessons I'm learning and all the experiences that I get to have. I feel so blessed to have these precious 18 months to work so closely with Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for the trials and sacrifices He asks of me. I know He always has my back.

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for all of you. I couldn't imagine the work without your support. You don't know how much I truly need it. I gloat about my amazing family all the time. You truly are the best of the best of the best.

Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Jensen :) 

We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet 10.6.14

Dear Family,

This has been, hands down, the BEST. CONFERENCE. EVER!!! I loved it!! I was ready to just keep going!! Maybe if I write the prophet we could make it an all week thing. Think that would fly? 

Conference is such a source of power. We've been teaching a lot of people about the importance of prophets and so I've taken a lot of time to study the importance of prophets. I found this awesome scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 21: " Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory." Isn't that the best promise ever?? Who wouldn't want that in their life? We're pretty much promised that if we listen to the prophet, we will NEVER LOSE. Who wants to be on the winning team? All in favor? I am so so so grateful for a living prophet and I know without a doubt that Thomas Spencer Monson is a prophet of God. 

One goal that I have set for myself as a result of this past General Conference is to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I read a talk Saturdaybefore conference called "The Fourth Missionary" and Elder Corbridge talks about not trying to be "a great missionary" but rather to become a disciple of Jesus Christ- it's more lasting. From this past General Conference, I have gained many tools and much counsel as to how I can be a better disciple and "walk as Jesus walked" (President Monson's talk). The apostles have thrown a shadow and we can and should choose to follow them because they "will not and cannot lead us astray." (Elder Ballard's talk). 

I think what made this conference so powerful was hearing people speak the words that the Spirit placed in their heart in their own language. It's SO POWERFUL. It has been a blessing to go English speaking on my mission because I can tell people exactly what's on my heart in my way rather than changing my words to fit my limited vocabulary. This church is a global church. No matter where you go, the church will always be true. :) Admittedly, I freaked out during Elder Klebingat's talk. We were in the same branch in Ukraine. Also, was Aunt Martha in the choir?? I thought I saw her....

If you haven't already signed up to get "Meet the Mormons" in your area, DO IT NOW. We watched it after zone training and OHMYGOODNESSTHATMOVIEISAMAZING. YOU NEED TO WATCH IT. YOU NEED THAT IN YOUR LIFE. CAN YOU NOT TELL HOW IMPORTANT I THINK THIS IS?? I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS FOR THE GOOD MAJORITY OF THIS PARAGRAPH. But really, this is an incredible missionary opportunity. I LOVED this movie and the Spirit is so strong. My burly College Football Coach Mission President cried. I cried. That's how good it is. Please, please, PLEASE watch it. You won't regret it. :)

Treasure the words from this past General Conference. I know without a doubt that they can and will change your lives. I have such a testimony that their words are true and that they will lead us to our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to have a prophet in these latter days. :)

I love you all!! Be safe and have an incredible week!

Love and charity,

Sister Jensen :)

Another Week in the Life of Sis. Jensen 9.29.14

Dear Family,

I will never covet leadership positions ever again. There. I said it. It was a rough week for the sisters in the zone. Being the Sister Training Leaders, Sister Fehlman and I had to handle a couple of things while President and his wife were up north (he's the district president over the Traverse City District). The two take away lessons are that you will never please everyone, and it takes a lot of courage to stand up to your peers. I have also learned the value of prayer. I have been singing "Did You Think to Pray" a lot this week. The second and third verse have guided me a lot this week. I am so grateful for prayer! It is an amazing way to give our burdens to God and then resume your journey. It has healed my heart and lifted my Spirits in so many ways. So when life gets dark and dreary, don't forget to pray. ;)

I LOVED LOVED LOVED WOMEN'S BROADCAST. I didn't want it to end!!! It was like eating hot apple crisp and ice cream: every bite just gets better and better and you're sad when there's no more deliciousness in your spoon. I will admit, it made me ache to be in the temple. I miss the temple SO MUCH and I am SO grateful to hear that Mom and Dad are taking advantage of the temple! The blessings of the temple are incredible!! Everyone just needs to go there. I loved the emphasis on covenant keeping. It's made me ponder a lot more on what I can do to be a better covenant keeper and how I can rise to the standard Heavenly Father has set. Sometimes I wish I could go to the temple to remember exactly what I promised.... but no matter! Heavenly Father wants us to do our best and that's what I plan on doing. :) 

So to answer your question from forever ago, I do indeed know Sister Baham! I actually went on trade-offs with her this past week in St. Joseph! The start of our trade-off is a really funny story. Sister Baham is new to St. Joe so she isn't super familiar with the area and she doesn't have her driving privileges which meant that I was driving (guess who hasn't driven in three months??) and relying on a GPS (one of the elder's GPS's. This is an important detail). Well we got in the car at 8:20pm, hit "home" on the GPS, and went on our merry way. We're about 20 minutes into our drive when I started noticing that all the signs are saying "Battle Creek" on them. The wheels start turning: Battle Creek is east of Kalamazoo. St. Joseph is on Lake Michigan which is east of Kalamazoo. "Sister Baham, where exactly is the GPS taking us?" I pulled off the highway (probably shouldn't be hurtling at 70 mph in an unknown direction) and we checked the GPS. Apparently, whichever elder owned this GPS had just finished serving in Jackson (south of Lansing) and we were heading "home". I am reminded of mom's infamous words: technology is only as smart as its user. Our little GPS was only doing its job haha. Thankfully we made it to St. Joe before midnight- Just kidding. We made it there at 9:45pm. Late but we were in one piece! Got to keep things memorable, right? 

Thank you so much for telling me about your "missionary moments" this week! They're awesome!! I look forward to being a member missionary when I get home. There are so many great ways to share the gospel. Preach My Gospel has an incredible section on how we can be better member missionaries (Chapter 9 section "The Importance of Members") and I could not sit still in my seat reading it this past week! What an awesome opportunity you all have!! Just keep being awesome. "Preach the gospel always; Use words when necessary."

My missionary moment that came to mind happened when I was on trade-offs with the Kalamazoo 2 sisters. We went door-knocking (reliving the glory days in Rockford ;) ) and we were using Family Search as our approach. It's a great approach and not as intrusive but it's not as action packed as bearing your testimony and reading scriptures to people. But that's what they've been focusing on in their finding so I went with it. I learned a lot of funny things. But my favorite part of the day was when we knocked on this door and the guy wasn't interested in family history. But he asked us if he could ask us a question. We said sure. He hesitated and then asked with we taught people about Jesus Christ, inferring that what we taught wasn't based on Jesus Christ. I couldn't hold back and I just blurted out, "Can I share a scripture with you?!?" I was itching all day for this opportunity. I read to him a scripture and bore testimony that the Book of Mormon testified of Jesus Christ and that by reading it we would come to know more about Jesus Christ and his atonement. As we talked I noticed how the Spirit came and bore testimony of what was said. I hadn't noticed that the Spirit wasn't exactly there but I definitely noticed it when it bore witness of what we said. When we walked away, I was pumped! Sharing the gospel is one of the best feelings!! You will never regret opening your mouth. You should try it sometime and just feel the awesomeness. 

I see that I have typed too much. There's no way that I could tell you everything I have felt, seen, and heard. I can't give my experiences to you but I know you can have these experiences for yourself! Pray for these opportunities and then sacrifice to have them! Heavenly Father can use all of us for good. :) 

Have an amazing week. Never forget that you are a Child of God and that He loves you. :) Also, please thank the wonderful sisters in the Pittsburg Relief Society for me! I loved their notes! 

Love,

Sister Jensen :)

Proof that I met Sister Baham. She had Bowman grocery bags in her apartment and I about went bazerck haha