Week 59-July 11, 2016

Week 59-July 11, 2016

Hi fam!

I don't have a lot of time to write this week but thank you all so much for the emails and updates. I look forward to reading each one of your emails so much- thank you for taking the time each week! I am so glad to hear that yiwei and amanda got baptised, what an amazing story. I can't wait to talk to them about it when i get home. I am doing well and I am happy to be here. I love England and I love English people and especially the members here. It is so easy to see what a difference there is in families that live the gospel and those that don't, the members here are amazing and i love this ward and this country so much. I know that God is our Father in Heaven and that He has a plan that we are a part of. I am thankful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and the key role He has played in our Father's plan. This is His church and He is at the head, and Thomas S. Monson is His prophet. What a wonderful message I get to share and regardless of who listens and who doesn't, I am proud to put on my badge every day. He is the Son of God and to represent him is an honor. I love you all! have a great week!

Love,

Elder Jensen

Week 58-July 4, 2016

Week 58-July 4, 2016

'MURICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOOOOO LAND OF THE FREE HOME OF THE BRAVE!!!! 

We had a mission conference! Elder Patrick Kearon (area president of Europe) and he also came to our MLC this month so I got to be around him for a day and half. It was incredible- he is such an inspiring man. He spoke in GC last conference! Itd be impossible to share everything I learned from him. He is a man of God though to be sure.. the Spirit is so strong around him. 

one cool story for ths week.. a couple of months ago we taught a man from portugal named Jose and he was doing well and we taught him in the home of a brazillian family in the ward. Then he stopped meeting with us or coming to church cause he didnt have a place to stay when he came to colchester and a family took him in who belonged to some other brazillian church and when they found out about him reading the livro de mormon and coming to our church they prohibited him and so he couldnt continue cause otherwise he'd have nowhere to stay (he recently was divorced with his wife and she got the house and car). it was super sad and it really upset me.. I just figured one day he'd join the church cause he told the member he had really liked us and believed in the Book of Mormon and such. Fast forward 2 months later, yesterday in church the Brazillian member came up to me and told me that Jose had been to his place and talked to them for an hour that week saying he had ttried to call us but couldnt get ahold of us. He's moving out of his house and (turns out may be moving from Colchester entirely) wanted to meet again. It was such a miracle and we have been struggling in our area to find people who will progress at all so it was a huge blessing. I am just so grateful to see that God is doing the work and I needn't worry so much. 

Besides that, Tony and his son Reese (friends of some of the members) came to church this week and we taught them saturday night. they wont accept a date and kinda freaked out but we were happy he came to church. 

I love this ward! funny story- one of the members heard how much i like eating eggs and showed up at church and gave me this egg recipe booklet with loads of different dishes tomake out of eggs LOL

I love this work! It has been a great week full of incredible spiritual experiences at the mission tour and also at MLC and in colchester. I got to see Elder Withers at MLC and that was a blast! we sang a musical number with 2 other elders in MLC as a quartet and i sang alto; we sang where can I turn for peace and it turned out pretty well. the rehearsals were amazing- performance wasnt too great. funny how that always happens. 

Sorry to hear that your musical number didnt go too well either Lydia!! but im impressed with how chill you are about that, despite there being so many people in the crowd. #hakunamatata right?! glad you loved EFY. 

IM SO EXCITED FOR YIWEI AND AMANDA!!!!! thats incredible news!!!!! i told my companion the whole story and i wish i could tell Elder WIthers cause he knows all about them as well. What changed while they were in Taiwan? send them my congratulations and tell them i said hi! 

Love you all! I know Heavenly Father lives and this is the Saviour's church with His authority and everything we need to return to live with HF. We are so blessed.

Elder Jensen

p.s. ill send some pics

Alvin and Doris' baptism day last week! And the missionaries who taught them.

My freedom socks

The district plus two sisters from a different district of the zone who happened to be visiting the castle in Colchester today. We played football (soccer) and frisbee and had lots of food in the park. It was tons of fun. And yes those might be my America socks around my head. Missionaries in this pic are from Brazil, Italy, South Africa, and England and The blessed Stars and Stripes.. I love the diversity of missionaries in this mission!

Our district. Love these missionaries! They're great.. So hard working and all such great missionaries

Doris! And the sisters who taught her!

We started having fun with these pics.. 

Week 57-June 27, 2016

Week 57-June 27, 2016

England is Leaving the EU

Hey! Not a lot of time but some highlights from last week:

Doris and Alvin got baptised here in Colchester- both the sisters' investigators! I interviewed Doris and she asked me to baptise her so that was a good experience. She is from Ghana and hasn't gone to church since she came to england. She owed a ton of money on her flat and on her first week at church we prayed and told God that "if he took care of her rent situation she'd worship Him in this church for the rest of her life. " that evening her landlord called out of the blue and said to forget about all the rent that was due- that she could have a fresh start. she has been rock solid ever since that incredible miracle. she is so funny too. 

We spent a day in Cambridge and during the evening me and Elder Walker were tracting and it started pouring but we kept tracting. on one doorstep I asked a man where he was from and he said "turkey. where are you from?"  to which i replied "chicken." he laughed pretty hard and so did elder walker. then he shut the door. lol. while walking up to the last door we knocked on i said to elder walker that no matter what i wanted to get inside that home- i was sick of the rain. it was a sweet older lady who knew a bit about the BOM. we talked to her for a little while and then she agreed to let us in and we taught her the whole Restoration and she said she'd read the Book of Mormon ( we gave her 3 Ne 11) and pray about it and we could come back on wednesday. Her name was Doreen- it was a miracle and evidence that the Lord blessed us for continuing despite the pouring rain. but of course it wasnt until the last door that we got to meet her. I wont see her again most likely but it was a great experience.

There were a lot of other spiritual experiences from this week but most of all I realised that faith is a choice but there is evidence EVERYWHERE of God and of His son Jesus Christ. There are parallels everywhere and the blessings of keeping His commandments are immense. I feel as if this week I learned how important it is to be 100% diligent and just work work work until the last minute of every day. We had a tough week in our own area this week but I am confident the Lord will provide people to teach if we continue to be diligent. 

another funny story- we also spend some time in Chelmsford (another big city south of Colchester) and an elder from texas named Elder Merrill and i were walking behind two women holding a bag inbetween them full of groceries. I had tried to stop them but they had blown by me and we followed them cause we needed to go the same direction. Elder Merrill got out a pamphlet and dropped it into their bag of groceries without them noticing. It was hilarious. i wish i could see their reaction when they saw it later that day... persistence is key! good job elder Merrill.

It is great to hear you are all doing well! I loved the updates. Exciting that Lydia is going to EFY and staying with Ash! and I hope the operation went well for Mandy! I am praying for her! ben, sorry to hear about your soccer game. better luck next time.

This week we will be in London for 2 days cause President Kearon (he's spoken in GC a few times) is visiting our mission and then attending our Mission Leadership Council so we will stay overnight for both those meetings. Im pumped. 

love,

Elder Jensen

p.s. i kinda need new shoes and trousers. i might get some today before the meeting with Pres Kearon cause my ecco shoes are fine but they are very worn and scratched up. im thinking of getting some shoes to wear to meetings and such. ill keep you posted on if i do end up buying some. i guess im not sure why im telling you this..... 

p.p.s. ill send some pics separately.

Here's a selfie for you mom! Btw, have I told you that Elder Burgess is a convert? He's an absolute stud. Been a member for exactly 2 years this week! From western England

That rabbit is a gift from the 4 sister missionaries in the ward. Idk where they found it but they always joke about how much I like eating boiled eggs (they're super easy to cook) so they surprised me with this random egg holder. It was pretty funny.

I know I need to cut my hair but we ran into some Malimu puppies (similar to huskies) they were just insanely cute.. I can't expl

Btw elder walker is 6'7" I think

The view from the window of our flat. Beautiful

Week 56-June 20, 2016

Week 56-June 20, 2016

Hey mom and Ash and kids! I dont have a lot of time to email this week cause thing went long and now we want to stop by someone tonight before we go home so Ill be breif but thanks so much for the emails again. 

ipswich is great, colchester is just such a great ward. i love the families here! and I love Elder Burgess already. He is such a good man and a fantastic missionary. i miss Elder Withers but I'll see him often and we'll continue to be friends for our whole lives. Elder Burgess is a convert of about 2 years and the only member of his family and has such a strong testimony. I have a lot to learn from him. Elder Chronister trained him right after he trained me so i know him well already! 

love you all tons! have a fantastic week. thanks again for the emails. yall are da best.

Elder Jensen

Final hours together... As named by the ward, "the dream team" 

The Grieg family and the Rowes! 

Elder chronister on his final day. Met his parents! Love this guy so much. He's back in Arizona now.

A bad quality pic but that's in the Hyde park chapel.. Elder Wihers and I are the two in the middle of the second to front row. He's in a grey suit and I'm to his right in my dark blue suit. Notice the apostle on the stand on the far right... Pretty cool.

Week 55-June 14, 2016

Week 55-June 14, 2016

The Dream Team's new Chapter

aaaaaaaand another transfer gone! just like that. 

This past week on tuesday like i told you Elder OAKS came and spoke to us. it was so cool to meet him and shake his hand and then hear him speak to us live. Funny story, Elder Withers and I were seated somewhere in the back back back of the chapel and then the APs had us stand with them to ask us a question and then a couples missionary came and asked if we wanted to sit in the second row cause there were 2 spots open and we were like "sure!" and they moved us to sit in the middle of the row in the middle pew in the second row just 6 feet or so from the pulpit, which was really neat.. so keep paying your tithing guys! im getting blessings from it! it was awesome. he taught us about teaching repentance as the goal of missionary work.. not baptisms. in the book of mormon apparently it always says missionaries taught repentance and then occasionally it also mentions that they baptised people. It should be the natural product if done right. great conference and it was so good to see so many people again. 

Then Elder Chronister came back to Colchester with us for an exchange and it was great. I'll see him once more at transfers and meet his parents most likely cause theyll be here to pick him up but then away he goes. so crazy how the time flies. this time last year was my 3rd day with him and my 3rd day in the mission feild.

friday we had an exchange with the chelmsford elders and i was with elder Sailsbury. we taught a woman named Maya who is about 19/20 ish and it was an amazing lesson. i was just blown away by how much my own testimony grew and was strengthened as we taught her the and promised her blessings that come from living the gospel. she understood everything so well- she knew exactly what "real intent" meant and said she was scared cause she didnt think she would get an answer about the BOM cause she didnt know if she was willing to change her lifestyle. she then asked about some of the commandments so we taught her and she told us how her peers have questioned her for meeting with us and how shed be afraid to lose her friends. Man, i was so glad i could promise her that her friends would respect her even more and love her for choosing to follow Christ and live his gospel because i had been the recipient of those same blessings. shoutout to my homies back home in A-town.. we havent taught her again since but hopefully we will see her soon! 

we also tuaght a guy named james this week. idk if you'll remember back to this but a kid joined our convo in mcdonalds a couple weeks back while we were trying to teach our other investigator. that was james! i met him in town again and we set up an appt and taught him last week. he's got a crazy life story..he came to church! during sacrament meeting he was on his phone and then without saying anything to him he decided he felt bad for being on his phone distracted so he turned it off and handed it to me. he did that a few more times throughout the 3 hours.. it was funny. he s 19 and homeless with 2 kids from different mothers but had a very difficult upbringing. So i love him and feel for him and we'll try to help him but ultimately its the Lord who can help him if he's willing to let Him. 

Saturday we went to a baptism in chelmsford of a man named Jose from Spain. it was a beautiful service. I especially loved seeing him be baptised and look so happy as he came out of the water. he was a heavy smoker before he met the sisters and loves the book of mormon and has a powerful testimony already. on the way home, elder withers and i freestyled (rapped) for about 15 minutes straight while driving back on the highway. we spit some mad game for a couple of white boys!

So the big news..... Transfers. 

Elder Withers is leaving! and Ill be staying. I am going to miss him dearly- it has been a blur being companions and I have absolutely loved it. He's such a great guy and an incredible leader and missionary and person- I love him and im so grateful for the Lord putting us together in this mission and this area so we could form this friendship. i know it will be a lifelong one. im super excited for his new area though! he's going into London to be in the north part of London with a really cool companion and they will have a great time there. London is awesome- im glad he's going to get a chance to serve there! 

My new companion will be ELder Burgess from (if i remember right) Bristol! which is in England! just west of London a ways. He was Elder Chronister's trainee right after he finished training me! So i know him quite well and already love the guy. He's great and im excited to be his companion! it'll be his first time being a zone leader so i get to show him the ropes. or try at least.. i still dont know what im doing most of the time so pray for him!! lol but really.. it wouldnt be wasted. hahahaha. 

love you all so much!!! This will be a big change and a chance to learn and grow more just like every transfer is. I am so happy to hear about all the exciting stuff you are all up to, and WOW i cant believe its almost summer vacation!!!!!! loved all the pictures and i am always praying for each of you!

God lives and is our Father- and Jesus is His Son and the way we can get back to our Father in Heaven one day. I am so grateful for His gospel and for the restoration! it is a great blessing and privilege to know these important truths.

Elder Jensen

p.s. ill send pics from my iPad!

After exchange on Wednesday.. Probably second to last time seeing him before he's off!

Elder Salisbury snapped a pic of his pie and accidentally got me in it.. The important thing was that pie. Mmmmm... So delicious. Made by sister Randall 

Chillin in our Toyota before football on Saturday morning munchin on some digestives. Heck yea

#Soaked

Dream Team

The wonderful Bueno family! From Brazil. Two of their sons weren't in the pic.. Love this family!

Week 54-June 6, 2016

Week 54-June 6, 2016

Dead Squirrels and Big Meetings

things are great! transfer is almost over. colchester is a great ward.

driving to Zone Meeting with the Sister Training Leader's in the backseat, we were on the phone with our Assistant (elder chronister) and i see a tiny little squirrel on the road inbetween the two lanes and we all go silent for a moment and watch as it starts to move and runs right into our lane and then the car goes *thump* .... the AP just keeps talking and we all just sit in shock with our mouths completely open. the convo goes on and then ends and the AP never even knew that an innocent life had just been extinguished. R.I.P. squirrel. Im sorry. there was nothing i could do!

we had ZOne meeting and Mission Leadership Council this week so we were on the road a lot this week. We woke up at 4 on thursday for MLC cause london traffic is crazy.. and we cant take a train cause we have to load up the car with loads of supplies like BOM's and pamphlets for our zone. MLC was great. it was Elder Chronister's last and during his departing testimony i felt so much love and gratitude for the friendship we made while serving together and then continuing to serve together in different ways throughout the past year. He goes home next week! Missions are life changing and hearing his testimony and his conviction and gratitude for the way his life has been changed was really cool. I hope i undergo the change i need to as well.

It passed our year mark so Elder WIthers can't drive on his american license anymore so i do all the driving btw. i love driving.. especially through the English rolling green hills.

We had a great zone meeting and it went well. I love our zone so much- each of the missionaries too! i just love getting to see them in person, since its such a geographically large zone and we dont get to see them often. its amazing to see them grow as individuals as well! we talked a lot about our calling and the divine method of revelation by which we receive our callings. i felt the spirit really strongly during a role-play we did while elder withers testified to me that he is an authorized reppresentative of Jesus Christ. He speaks with power- what a great companion to have. we are not looking forward to transfers next week.he has taught me so much and we have grown so close. 

we met a lot of really interesting people this week. in clacton, (another missionaries area) me and elder nelson met a kid who liked rapping so i beatboxed and he rapped about our shoes and about Jesus Christ and eventually we found out he had just lost his whole family and he actually lives in colchester so we got his number and hopefully we will see him soon. Then right after, I saw a guy we taught once or twice named Chris! he had moved to clacton and then we lost contact with him about 2 months ago and i just said "Chris!!!" and he looked up and it was the craziest thing seeing him all the way in clacton. turns out he got a place there and the elders in that area then taught him the next day and hopefully he will start to progress! while me and elder withers were tracting we met some interesting people too. some funny small buddhist man invited us in and started telling us how crazy religion is and how pointless it is and the damage it does to create lines between people and then we asked him if he believed in god and he said no because he is a scientist. thats my favorite thing to hear- that or the typical "i dont believe in god, i believe in science" . i just love hearing those things cause i think of Dad. anyways we eventually left but it was really fun to talk to him breifly.

Love you all!!! CONGRATS LYDIA! you'll be a great president of Chanteurs. You deserve it!!! and thanks to the rest of you for your updates this week! 

elder Jensen

Week 53-May 30, 2016

Week 53-May 30, 2016

Over the Hump and through the woods

Fam!

I have about 20 minutes to email cause we had tons of stuff we had to do today and its been nuts but I most of all just have two big announcements:

Marcel got baptised saturday 

and

Thank you for the hump day package!!!

It was literally so much fun opening the package. I think i just feel so connected to you guys when you send me letters or something in the mail- i love it! shoutout to whoever made those delicious square things in the ziploc bag- i ate almost all of them today and gave some to the sisters in the ward cause elder withers is on a diet and they loved them as well.

too many things happened this week to explain but thanks also for the skit ideas!!!!! they really helped. turns out we did something one of the sisters knew how to do which was cut out two holes in  a sheet to stick faces through and arm holes and one of the sets of sisters put their faces through and the other set stood right behind them and put their arms through and elder withers and i walked through a day in our lives as missionaries (funny things like working out and shaving and driving and throwing pass along cards and stopping people in town center etc.) while the sisters had to act it out. so it was hilarious because for instance the shaving bit we pulled out my shaving cream and put it into the one set of sisters hands and they without being able to see rubbed it on the other set of sisters faces. classic talent show skit. it was a big hit. elder withers is a funny guy and the sisters did such a good job hamming it up. 

just to update you on how it feels to be over the mark: it's pretty meaningless to me at this point but the few days leading up to it had me thinking a lot and it felt really weird. being elder wither's year mark as well we naturally talked a lot about it all week and eventually i just decided i didnt want it to be a distraction and now that its passed its really out of my mind. i realized how long but how quickly the past year has gone. times have sometimes flown by but other times were so painfully slow and to think i have another year is good and inspiring also because i want to do so much more this year and leave it all on the court as they say.

this week we will have MLC and our zone meetings again since its the first week of june and then the next week elder oaks comes. then transfers so this next two weeks will fly by and then elder withers and i will probably split. we are sad about that. he is a great missionary and has become such a close friend so that will be sad but thats part of a mission. 

love you all so much! i dont know what i would do without you. you are all such a source of strength for me. have fantastic weeks!!!

love, elder jensen

p.s. ill attach pics to a diff email from my iPad.

Found a woman from Zambia with a German sister on a blitz in Cambridge
and took a selfie to send to Alli! She's now got a baptismal date!!

Went on an exchange with Elder Lindsay from Utah. So good- we found for 4 1/2 hours in town centre that day and taught one lesson in the park by the lake. Great day and great elder. He taught me a lot.

Just Chillin'

Me and my package. Thanks <3. 

P.s. Notice the haircut. I cut elder withers and i's hair this week.

A bird pooed on his arm while we were driving and he had his arm resting outside the car... What are the chances?! 

We went to lunch for our year mark at a nice restaraunt after weekly planning.

Pancakes are rare here..

Marcel's baptism. Beautiful service! Wonderful to be a part of his conversion. He prayed to find the word of God when he moved here after looking around and not liking the churches here and the next day met the elders. That was a long time ago and different elders who have long since left the area but it strengthened my testimony that this is thenLords work each missionary just played a part in doing it. It was good to come into the area just before he took this step so I could hear his story and be a part of his experience joining the church. He's from Nigeria btw.