Week 69- September 19, 2016

Week 69- September 19, 2016

Lea Valley Brotha!

Lea Valley is SICK! 

sorry- the white handbook says no slang and im still working on cutting all the slang i use out but i cuoldnt resist. this ward is super cool i already love it. its unique- some things are kind of crazy but the ward is full of great characters and the area is amazing. we live in a nice flat with one other companionship of elders and we have a great time. The ward is mostly african with a columbian family philiphino family and a few other middle eastern and british families here and there. the area is really diverse. (london is a melting pot) my companions name is Elder Mthombeni- he's an absolute champ. He's from south africa and he was in the mtc with me and elder withers; he's such a funny guy and a great missionary too. Hes an excellent teacher and is very spiritual but also a great people person. hes good at dancing too. we work hard together and well too- i think we compliment one another's strengths pretty well. 

A couple of cool experiences: first of all my birthday was great. we had zone conference on friday so i was with lots of missionaries i knew and who have become my friends so it was a great way to spend it. Also, thanks to your package i felt the love from you all! an african family in the ward also made us african food for my birthday and thats always a plus.

mom: i love the shoes and the tie and the byu shirt and everything else! thank you to you and everyone else who helped out with the gifts. i loved them!

so, theres a polish man named Pavel and this is his story in a nutshell. he read the book of mormon cover to cover in one night, stopped smoking cause of the Spirit he felt as he read, and now wants to be baptised. he went to church a few times in poland. we got a text this week from him and set up an appointment- he lives in our area. theres a polish missionary in the zone so we had her skype with us for the lesson and he chose to be baptised on the 16th of october. he went to church yesterday and we just feel so blessed to be able to teach him.

another cool experience: there was a baptism of a woman named Diana on sunday after church and the member who was baptising her brought his little brother along to church and the baptism. we pounced of course and got to know him and he loved church and said we can come teach him this tuesday and he has a family! Best of all, his brother will be coming with us to teach him. so exciting. his name is Kwaku and hes from ghana. 

third cool experience: i found a suit in the flat that fits me! i had it tailored a bit so the trousers fit better but other than that its all good in the hood. as my friend Isaac Swagshaw used to say, "its better to look good than to feel good." HAHAHA the suit is a bit tight around the waist but it looks good so i just gotta lose some lbs and then itll be perfect! 

anyways, im happy to be back in London. its a place where you can always talk to someone; you are hardly ever alone. we are always on buses, tubes, trains, or walking and there are people everywhere to talk to. I just love this work and love Jesus Christ the more i understand the gospel and the plan of salvation. Have a great week! youre the best family a person could ask for.

love,

Elder Jensen

Our zone Skype conference call this past week! 

Sorry not many pics this week. Maybe more next week! I've got a nice video of us dancing for you though. 

China town on pday!with the new shoes from mom!

Week 68-September 12, 2016

Week 68-September 12, 2016

Hey! Sorry I didn't have time today to email, we were running all over
London and really busy with a few lessons.... Thanks for the emails
though, And the pictures! Love you!!!

-soon to be 20 year old son,
Elder Jensen

Week 67-September 5, 2016

Week 67-September 5, 2016

Back to London

Dear fam,

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!!! I hope it was a great day. Love you tons sis.

The big news! I'm moving, and im going back into London! I'll be serving in the London North zone as zone leader, in a ward called Lea Valley. Ill be serving with Elder Mthombeni who I was in the MTC with and Im really excited. It's going to be sad to leave Colchester and Elder Burgess but change is good and I am ready to move on. 

This past week we had a bit of a miracle happen to us at church- we had been expecting quite a few people until on Saturday they all cancelled. One of our investigators, Edward, hadn't confirmed or not and we hadn't spoken to him all week cause he was camping. He has never been to church yet so we didn't even think to expect him to be there. We shot him a text late saturday night though just in case and then as we sat there in sacrament meeting, really really dissappointed that nobody had come, i had a feeling to just turn around and so i did and saw edward grinning at me from the back row, giving me a peace sign. It was awesome. 

All in all, it has been really sad saying goodbye to this ward. Many of the members have helped us a lot with teaching, meals, and other random acts of service. i will always be grateful to them! also, i feel like i have grown a lot here in this area. serving from my 9 month mark to my year and 3 month mark bridges a long period of time and a lot of ups and downs which i hope have taught me some important lessons. My testimony has really grown, and I feel as if I was able to teach a lot of people who (although most didnt progress) shaped my testimony of the things we taught them and helped me see the truth of what we taught. My understanding of the gospel has also gotten deeper, although i still have miles to go. 

Elder Burgess has been a fantastic companion. Ive learned loads from him and i will miss him, but luckily ill probably still see him quite often so its not so bad.

Thanks for all the emails this past week! its good to hear that school and seminary and everything has all kicked back into gear and youre all doing well. and dad, good luck with your dilema. I know you'll do whatevers right. And mom, don't thank us, thank YOU. I don't know who or where I'd be without you and this past week i reflected on just how much I love being your son. you are the best.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and the Son of God. God lives and He is our Father and He loves us and for that, I am so grateful. That's all we really need to know.. well not quite but almost! 

have a great week!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN ADVANCE MANDY!!!!!!!!! i wish i could give you a big hug but this will have to do for now. I love you very much! You are a great younger sister. 

Love,

Elder Jensen

The one and only joe Johnson! A less active we visit. He has Taught me a lot about life and choices and the blessings of living the commandments. Gunna miss him!

MLC September 2016

Hahaha...

Zone training meeting September 2016 for Ipswich Zone! Last one here in Ipswich for me. Love these missionaries.

Remember how I ran a squirrel over a few months ago? We found him...

Just some old church

The Horrigans; they do a ton for us and I've grown to love them. Another sad goodbye! Peter (on the right) joined the church 30 years ago and is now such a pillar of the ward. He serves everyone all the time- including us by polishing our shoes 

Our last morning playing football for exercise... Our Romanian friend Vascili who I have gotten to know over my time here finally came to play with us at 6:30 am! It was a blast. I love football! 🇬🇧⚽️

Week 66-August 29, 2016

Week 66-August 29, 2016

No time...

Sorry!

We had a few things come up last minute today and I don't have time to
write. But thank you for the emails. As always. Big update: Jeffrey
moved back to America. I hope he joins the church.

I'm doing just fine. Learning lots as always. Missing you all as
always but love being here.

Lots of love,
Elder Jensen

Next week is transfers so I won't email until Tuesday. I'll probably
be moving- almost without a doubt.

P.s. Thanks for the package mom! I'm excited to get it. :) you're the best!

A senior couple in Cambridge I have grown to love- the Jackmans! 

Cambridge DM

Jeffrey! In the middle. He's back in Philadelphia for college. Sad goodbye- love this guy!

Bowling! Pday today

Ward picnic! Our friend James (an investigator) next to me