Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Week 1-June 3, 2015

Week 1-June 3, 2015

family!!!!!!!!!!!! i love you all so much and miss you each individually more than i can describe! thank you so much for taking the time to write me, all except for ben.... tell him im gunna whip his cheif little booty when i get home unless he starts emailing me. i figure if i have time ill respond to what i can from the individual emails but first i think its best for everyone if i tell you about my week and that might be how it usually works cause theres not much time. but dont ever think that i am not reading them and love hearing about each of you.. ok girls?! good.
ok first off, these brits arent quite up to speed with americans so the shift bar is in the wrong place and i dont have time to keep messing up and pressing this \ button instead so i just wont capitalize anything.
this week was crazy. probably one of the longest weeks of my life, it made me think so often about what dad saying, how the time he spent in the mtc felt like so much of his life because by the time i lay down at night to sleep, i get a little worried im older than i think and losing my memory because i cant for the life of me remember what i did that morning, it feels like years ago. i figure i might as well get straight to what i have to say and then answer moms questions.
i love it here. i love moms package and the letters i got from lydia and dad, one thing that has been difficult is not being able to contact anyone. its a feeling of isolation and loneliness but it is never strong because of my fellow missionaries. there are about 14 of us elders here, and we are almost all going to the london mission together in a week. we have come together as a group of young men all on the lords errand, having left everything behind. coming from all over the world it is what has made us so close and easy to love each other so much, im sure of it! i love them so much because if they were not here with me i might not have been able to do this so far. just to quickly breif you, my companion is the friend i had from byu, elder withers, how awesome is that!?? we were both so shocked when we were called as companions because it seemed a little too good to be true. hes from ohio, and we both love basketball and having been at byu together we share so much in common. we are the "americans". all i can say more is that he is a stud and although we have differences we compliment each other really well and in the lessons weve taught, we are able to teach in unity because we both let each other speak but will also share experiences since we are close friends as well as companions. our district is also amazing, and as the district leader i have been able to get very close to the other elders and sisters in my district. mom! the first elder i met at the airport is elder henrie, from lethbridge alberta! hes the hoser of the group and really quite the character.. its been hard to love him all the time but im learning and me and him are really close because he can tell im trying and i know all about canada. hes promised me smarties from home. YES!!!!! ok now this is going too long so real quick there are elders from spain, mexico, australia  (really cool guy who reminds me so much of cole bishop and im really good friends with), brazil, zimbabwe, south africa, ruanda, and the east coast of america. quick fun fact, ive never been so proud of being american and ive sort of embraced everything other countries think of america as. so when we talk about home countries, you better believe im always reppin the red white and blue loud and proud. my friend elder bender from australia and i were having our usual dinner banter and he said "typical american, always claiming everything" (i think we were arguin over food) to which i replied (and everyone went nuts it was such a great comeback) without hesitiating, "yea... like the moon?"
we have a lot of fun here and elder chiwara from zimbabwe is my buddy and always says"focus elders" in the funniest accent. everyone i have met talks differnetly and there is no such thing as a "british accent" because depending on where youre from, everyone sounds different. i have already accidentally begun saying things like an english person. im trying to fight it... i dont want to conform to the brits. im proud of my american accent. southern california surfer dude for life right here
ok i could talk forever so heres what is important. this has been really hard, and i have been very humbled and i have begun to work very hard to gain a testimony about certain things... i want to teach with power and i can only do that about things i know without a doubt are true. its a scary thought to promise someone that they will get an answer to a prayer, and im working hard to know that i can trust that the Lord really will. the MTC president is amazing, and in the very first initial quick interview i felt as if hed already known me all my life. he gave me great advice. i am in good hands and he was inspired to give me a great companion so i feel very blessed. the mtc is gorgeous and i am falling in love with nature.. i have always loved greenery but i dont know if i can ever go back to so cal again after seeing so much lush plant life everywehre you walk. it rains a lot. they didnt lie about that. finally starting to think of people as elders and sisters it was hard to get used to. called my comp his first name while playing sports a couple times on accident. food is amazing...... went to the temple here on the mtc grounds and it was really something else. elder nelson visited and i shook his hand. 
p.s. mom will be pleased to hear that i have played more hymns than i ever have before! me and elder withers are the only ones who can so we basically play a few times a day each.. and never have any time to practice. lets just say it gets ugly
p.p.s. mom- i forgot my ipod but i think you already said you were sending it so thank you. also i got your package in my luggage and read your note and it was one of a few times since being here that i felt very homesick... you know how much i love you please never forget it! i understand the stripling warrior story better now and it is because of my mother that i know many of the things i do :) 
love you all so much! i know this is long but we have more time than i thought.
next wednesday we will be leaving to london so i dont know if or when i will email you next week if at all, so until then, take care
Elder Jensen
ill send some pictures too






Surprise visit from Elder Nelson and wife Wendy!


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