Monday: Pretty regular p-day, but we did get to have lunch with Sister Anders. She is a doll! Seriously the sweetest lady ever. She is my little Argentinian friend. :) Plus, she makes BOMB chili.
Tuesday: We had the truck this week, and we utilized it today. Uhmmmm.... 150 miles later. That is what happens when you live in the boonies and only get the truck every other week. :) We had service in Ogden and then we decided to visit Sister Slawson. She technically lives in another ward, but comes to ours. She seriously lives FOREVER away. But, it was worth it. We got to have lunch with her and then we shared the Restoration movie. It worked out well. We had made a goal this week to contact every less active on our side, so we decided to try each one on the way back to Boone. SUCH A MIRACLE! We were able to meet some that have not seen missionaries in years and although they didn't want us to teach them, at least they know who we are. :) Tender mercy. Also, I literally drove on the road that takes you to Winterset. Happy day. Also, it snowed today for the first time. And when I say it snowed... I mean it snowed. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!
Wednesday: Well. It snowed all day again. Pure bliss. :) It was a pretty normal day just full of awesome mormon.org time, dropped lessons, hot chocolate, and coordination. Plus, the Wards surprisingly took us out to dinner. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. They are awesome!
Thursday: We did quite a bit of service today which was awesome. I got to clean a little girls room and pick up all their toys. Did I sit there and play with the cool ones? You betcha. We were planning on doing weekly planning today, but when we came home to do it, the spirit pretty strongly told me to ask Sister Samford if she was okay cause she seemed off. We spent the next 2 hours crying and talking about the Atonement. It was a really cool experience... It is at those times that I am so grateful for the spirit and for His perfect promptings. I see so much of myself in Sister Samford in the fact that a lot of the things that she is struggling with, were things I struggled with at the beginning of my mission. It makes me so incredibly grateful for the Atonement and for the missionary it had helped me become, and that I am now able to share what I have learned with my sweet companion. The Gospel is so true.
Friday: Such a good day. I got to go home today. Well... to Des Moines at least. :) It felt so good to be back and a little crazy at the same time. We had a mission tour today with Elder Cardon of the Seventy and it was totally awesome! He is a very wise man. (Please go and look up his two talks. They are awesome!) He shared a lot with us, and really inspired us. I also, got to see so many people that I love. Doesn't get better than that. Oh... and we were also sent home with a brand spankin new truck. It literally had 7 miles on it. I'm still a little freaked out to drive it cause it is so nice, but it is working out well. :) Oh and fun fact... I AM 15 MONTHS OLD TODAY. Uh... how did that happen? No idea. Did I sing the Taylor Swift song all day long? Absolutely. That seriously freaks me out... I have learned a lot in these last 15 months and I am excited to see how the Lord will continue to stretch me these last 3 months. :)
Saturday: Super crazy day! We got to go to a baptism today for a girl in Ames. It was a pretty special thing actually cause she was one I taught when I was on exchanges in Ames. :) I LOVE BAPTISMS!!!! Plus, Alison got to come. (Oh and hello... Alison is getting baptized in 3 days. What-e-who-tee-what-e? We are stoked.) After that we headed to Walmart because a kid who is doing his Eagle-Scout project asked us to pass out fliers for the coat drive there. Yes it was snowing and yes, hot hands were our best friends. :) After that we headed back to Ames for Stake Conference. IT WAS SO GOOD! Elder Schwitzer of the Seventy came and he is just hilarious. Both he and his wife spoke, and they pretty much had the congregation in tears. SO funny.... yet so spiritual. I love that. :)
Sunday: Back to Ames again for the last session of Stake Conference. It was way good! We got to sing in the choir, Elder Schwitzer spoke again, and I received revelation. The best. After wards, I got to receive a blessing from Elder Woolley, one of my Zone Leaders. 2 things:
1. I am super grateful for the Priesthood. Seriously. I just sat there as they had their hands on my head and could not help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for the Priesthood power. We are so blessed!
2. The last time I received a blessing from Elder Woolley was the last night in the MTC. It was very cool to see how much he has grown and matured on his mission. It just made me excited to one day marry a return missionary and hopefully send my children on missions because so many blessings and growth come into your life through that sacrifice.
We also got to see Pam tonight. She is doing so good, and she now has a baptismal date of December 20. WOOOHOOOOOO!!! We are excited. Just praying really hard that the Lord will soften her husbands heart... according to His will of course. :)
Whew. What a week. Seriously. So many good things came our way and I thank my Father in Heaven so much for those things. One key thing I have learned on my mission is that humility and gratitude are key in this mortal journey.
I just want to share a very eye-opening experience with you this week. It is something that hit me very hard... We had driven to Des Moines with some of the Sisters serving in Ames and Sister Johansson had gotten permission to stop in Waukee and visit one of her investigators. Waukee is literally 15 minutes from Winterset. I wanted to so badly just ask if we could stop by some peoples houses that I missed so I could say hi for a minute, but I knew that I had not gotten permission. That hurt, because I knew we were SO CLOSE to all those people that changed my life forever. As we drove back to Boone, I couldn't help but relate that to Judgement day. I thought about all the people who during that time, will still reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They still will not understand how it could bless them. They will know someone though, someone they love dearly, who will have embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ completely. That person of course, will be blessed to reside in the Celestial Kingdom. For that person who did not accept the message, they will be so close to that same glory, but they chose not to get permission to enter. They will not be able to reside with those they love.
I don't even know if that made sense... but I hope it did. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and that I have a knowledge and understanding of everything that I need to do in order to walk back to the presence of my Father in Heaven and my Savior. I am grateful that I am a worthy Temple Recommend holder. I am grateful that I am a worthy Representative of Christ. I am just grateful to have the Gospel in my life and to know that I am on the straight and narrow path that leads to Exaltation. This is the hope that Mormon talks about in Moroni 7:41. It is the hope that can carry you through anything. I promise you that.
I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!
-Sister Jensen
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| So... we were just driving through Ogden (one of our towns) and I see this sign. PEOPLE!! I was standing 29 miles from the Raccoon River ward (my first area) boundaries. Yes. I freaked out a little. |
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| ...conquer the world.... or just Boone, IA for now. :) |
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| My Swedish Roots! Oh the towns you find in Iowa. :) |
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| Pretty typical picture. :) Left to right: Rogers, Zendaas, Rasmussen, me, Ramsey, Barker, Barney |
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| Ma girl Sister Rasmussen. This is our relationship in a picture... Sister Jensen does something weird and Sister Rasmussen just looks in horror cause she can't believe she knows me. :) |
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| My mamma is going home in 3 weeks... way to weird. |
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| Mission tour with Elder Cardon. :) |
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| It was a must. |
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| Father is Heaven spoils us way too much here in Boone... |
