Monday: I hope everyone had a great Memorial day! Holidays away from home still throw me off a little, but I am grateful to be here. Of course it was the normal p-day minus the emailing. We did our laundry, grocery shopping, the most intense game of volleyball I have ever played in my life. No biggie. A bunch of New Zealanders came, so you can imagine... a lot of blood, sweat, and tears were involved. We headed to the Peterson's house and got to do some geode hunting. Google them. They're cool. And we also got to swing on their GIANT swing. (See pics from last week.) It was a good holiday/p-day. :)
Tuesday: We did our normal service at City Hall and then nail painting at Montebellos. In between we did our emailing and I got the greatest news! MY cousin Allie decided to serve a mission! Allie- I am so proud of you! Just know that wherever you are called, is where the Lord needs you! It's always fun to get news like that. :) Later that day we got to see a less active and meet with some members. Then came the fun/sad/crazy part... Sister Jensen (the mission presidents wife) came out with us for a couple hours. President Jensen went out with the Zone Leaders so she wanted to go with us. It was fun having her here and learning from her. She gave me some news though that just broke my heart... Sister Cole (my last comp) was going home on Friday. At p-day, she had blew her knee out playing kickball and has to go home for surgery. She told me and my stomach turned upside down. I just cried because I remembered all the growth I had seen in her, and I was scared for Winterset. Sister Matley has only been there for 3 weeks and was now expected to take over the area. Honestly, I took a moment and just questioned why I was sent to Hamilton now. Why couldn't Heavenly Father have kept me in Winterset 1 more transfer so I could have been there? It's amazing how Heavenly Father works though. Like a loving parent, he calmed me down and I knew that the Lord was aware of me and my concerns. I knew that this was a lesson to be learned for all of us. Sister Matley, Sister Cole, and especially me. I am the type of person that wants to fix everything. I like to be in control of things, but this was my lesson. Winterset isn't MY area. It is the Lords. He knows what he is doing. Ahhhhh! You learn so many lessons on a mission. So I just ask that each of you keep Sister Cole in your prayers.
Wednesday: I am sure you are all sick of hearing family history miracles... but I am going to tell you another one anyway. My mom had told me last week that a lot of the work on her Dads side hadn't been done, so I was just scrolling around checking things out when I was impressed to click on a man named Robert. I checked out his info, and decided I would try to find out if he had a wife, and if he did find her info. Guys... can I just say that the Spirit of Elijah is amazing? By finding his wife and connecting the two, I was able to also find their two kids and then 4 grand kids. All of them combined needed over 32 temple ordinances. Tears. Its fine. Finding these names just makes me so grateful that I have family who is willing and able to go to the Temple! That was a good start to a good day. After that we headed to Keokuk to do exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. I am spoiled... I got to spend the day with Sister Barker, my momma. Hahah literally, she is one of my favorite people in the world. I don't think I have ever laughed so much with any body in a day. We did a lot of walking and just reminisced all the good times. :)
Thursday:Today we finished off our exchanges and then headed to district meeting. Sister Rasmussen and I got to do a training together on the Book of Mormon. It was really fun! Then we headed to Nancy's house. She is a nonmember, but her son was baptized by the senior couple in Nauvoo about 2 months ago. She is the sweetest! She is like a pro baker and did cake pops with us. 30 of them. And she wouldn't keep any of them. Hello 500 pounds! SOO GOOD!
Friday: Today was just a normal missionary day. Weekly planning, tracting, mormon.org time, all that good stuff. Heavenly Father did bless us with a miracle though. It was the end of the night, and really none of our tracting had been successful. We had time for one more house so we just prayed that Heavenly Father would bless us with 1 potential. So we knock and the door, and Perry answers. Most enthusiastic guy I have ever met. Not only is he now a potential, but he took a Book of Mormon, a restoration pamphlet, and gave us a referral. Ask and ye shall receive folks.
Saturday: We spent most of the day in Carthage trying to visit our investigators. Apparently no one gave us the memo that no one was suppose to answer the door when the missionaries knocked.... That night though we got to go to the Ward party! Nauvoo 3rd ward knows how to party. The theme was a cruise! They decked out the cultural hall with lights and signs and then had a bunch of tournaments and towel folding classes. Yep. It was so great!
Sunday: As a missionary, I love fast Sundays. It is always good to get a little extra help. :) We had more people than we usually do. After church we headed to dinner with the Mills. They are cute! They are OBSESSED with John Wayne so we got to talk about Winterset for a while. That made me happy. :) It was a good Sunday.
Well, this week has literally felt like a roller coaster. I am getting to the point in my mission though where it doesn't matter if it is a good week or a bad week, it goes fast. It's not fair. But I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to serve. This has been the biggest blessing in my life. I have met people that I cannot imagine my life without now. I have felt my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ closer to me than ever before. This is hard, but through all the tears and heartache... I have never been happier. This is one of my favorite mormon messages. I have learned this lesson MANY times on my mission. http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2714780496001
I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Know that I love you all and that I pray for you daily.
-Sister Jensen
What is the definition of a farmer?
Someone who is outstanding in his field. :)
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| It's a growin! :) |
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| Who cares if the tomato plant dies cause of lack of water. LOOK AT THESE LITTLE GUYS!!!! You better believe that a baby rabbit is on the "when I get home" bucket list. :) |
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| Cake pops with Nancy. :) We are pretty pro now. Its cool. |
