Monday: Just a normal p-day. We did do some shopping at Aldis
though. Basically it is like a smaller version of Costco. I WAS IN
HEAVEN! That night we had dinner with the Criders and then saw Brayan.
Exciting day. haha
Tuesday: Service day! We helped a sister pack cause she is moving
to Cali. Then we went to city hall and Montebellos. We met with the Grows
tonight. LOVE THEM! Then the real fun began! We went with the
Shallenbergers (our investigators), and the Fletchers to a couple shows
in Nauvoo. We saw "Sunset on the Mississippi" and then "Living Legends."
Both were absolutely amazing! The Living Legends group is actually from
BYU (trunky much?!?) and they travel around and perform. All the
Dancers are either descendants of Native Americans, Latin Americans, or
Polynesians. They just do a lot of dances that were from that culture.
So flippin sweet! The Poly dances made me pretty happy. Haha. :) It was
just a good night!
Wednesday: For some reason today, I just realized how tired I am.
This area just drains you emotionally, physically, and especially
spiritually. I kind of walked a round like a zombie today. We went to
Carthage today to see some of our investigators and we also set another
baptismal date! Her name is April and she is getting baptized on July
26. Remember to keep her in your prayers! Probably one of the coolest
things that has ever happened to me though was who we met that night. No
joke... we had dinner with an ex government assassin. Literally. He has
been retired about 12 years. The question of the night was, "Wanna know
how many people I have killed with a knife?" AHHHHHH! I feel so legit.
:)
Thursday: We got to do family history again today and I did a lot
of work on my Grandpa O's side. Jensen family- I found a lot of names
and will be sending the info to Jamie Brown so ask her if you want names
for the Temple. Thanks Jamie! :) After that, we had our district
meeting and it was awesome! We had a really good training about having
effective ward councils and then an even better training on the
Atonement. I love learning about the Atonement, cause there is always
something new that you learn. We had dinner with the Petersons and then
had an awesome lesson with Brayan. I can now saw I have watched, "The
Restoration" in Tagalog. :)
Friday: Today was kind of a run around day. We did our weekly planning, and mormon.org
time and then headed to Nauvoo. We had dinner with a cute senior couple
who are serving in the Temple and then we may or may not have gone to
"Sunset on the Mississippi" and "Living Legends" again with a family and
some less active members in our ward. :) I love serving in Nauvoo!
Saturday: Not gonna lie... today was kind of a rough day for me. My
sister got married today, and it was hard not being there to support
her. Today I really caught a glimpse of how much missions are a
sacrifice. This is really the first big thing I have missed since being
on my mission... It helped me ponder a lot about why I am on my mission.
I love asking myself that question because the answer is always
different. Today I hit 10 months and I thought about what those 10
months have meant to me. As I pondered, I realized that being a
missionary isn't easy. It takes everything that you have and everything
you didn't know you had. It is hard being away from family and mission
out on important moments in their lives. It is hard. But, at the same
time... I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. This is my mission... This
is my time to devote to the Lord. At no other time in my life will I be
able to give him 18 months completely and say, "Here. I don;t have
kids. I'm not married. I don't have bills. What do you want me to do?"
That is very special and sacred to me and I wouldn't change it for the
world. But, Congratulations Justine and Chris. I am so proud of both of
you and all that you have accomplished and where you have ended up. You
two are such great examples to me and I am excited for all that is in
store for you.
Sunday: HAPPY FATHERS DAY! :) It was a fun day that was focused on
Fathers obviously. Mark came to church again and that was the greatest
thing ever. We can really see that he is excited to get baptized and
that makes me so happy. In sacrament, I experienced my first homecoming
as a missionary. Gotta admit... I cried the whole time this sweet
Brother spoke about his mission. He got home on Thursday and it really
just touched my heart to hear about his experiences. Also... not gonna
lie... a couple of the tears may have been tears of fear. 8 months
people. That is all. BLAH! We had dinner with the Criders again tonight.
Brother Crider doesn't have any kids, but tells us frequently we are
his adopted daughters, so there was no better place for us to spend
Fathers Day. I hope you all had a wonderful Fathers day and that you
made sure you thanked the men in your life who have helped you become
all you can be.
Well... like I said, eventful week! It was a good/weird/exhausting/crazy week. Welcome to missionary life, I guess. :)
This new video totally made me cry. http://www.mormonchannel.
This topic is one I have thought a lot about lately. In a
different way though... When I watched this I asked myself, "Who and
what am I going to be after my mission?" This can be applied to so many
things! "Who do I want to be after a temple session?" Who do I want to
be after being a primary teacher?" Who do I want to be when Christ
comes?" It is so easy to go through the motions. But, its when we take
the Doctrine of Christ from our heads to our hearts that we become "true
Christians." That is what I invite each of you to do... ponder about
how you can be a better Christian. Pray and ask for he guidance of the
spirit. I KNOW that when we try to be better, we are blessed.
I love each of you very much! I am so grateful for all that you do
for me and all the support you give. THANKYOU! I hope you all have a
great week!
-Sister Jensen
"It's not the Mississippi... it's the missisloppy." - A 93 year old man from Warsaw. :)
 |
| Living Legends. :) MY favorite dance from New Zealand. Notice the frowns... I about peed my pants! |
 |
| Fathers Day with the Criders. :) |
 |
| Random truck in Warsaw, Il. What up. |
 |
| Our investigator Mark gave us some pics of when he was a kid. Haha this was the obvious thing of what to do with them. :) |
