My Rollercoaster Week!

Well, as you can guess by the title of this post, my week was constantly up and down, heartache and pure joy, laughter and tears. Just everything good and bad that could have happened this week, did happen. That's missionary life I guess. :) Here we go:

Monday: Monday was just...Monday. Haha One exciting thing that happened though was that it was the 14th of October, which means it was my "click day." My official 2 month mark. Seriously so crazy! It feels like I have been here forever, but no time at all. So to celebrate, I took a 2 hour nap. It was wonderful. :)

Tuesday:  Just a chill day. We did some finding and some walking. Our dinner appointment was awesome though! We had it with some members at their brothers house. Coolest house I have ever seen! It was like dome shaped and apparently is supposed to be tornado proof. I know where I'm goin if a tornado hits! ;) Anyways, we watched the cheesiest movie. Haha we aren't quite sure if it was mission approved, but they insisted and it was about the pioneers so we just went with it. Wonderful night! And they lived in the boonies so that literally took up our entire night so that was that.

Wednesday: DAY OF MIRACLES! Literally... miracle after miracle after miracle. Hands down one of the best days of my mission. It started out wonderful with our service at the Assisted Living home. We painted milk jugs! Haha it sounds lame I know, but it was so fun! We painted them like pumpkins, and ghosts, and witches, etc.  As missionaries, we really don't get a lot of time to have a creative outlet so it was wonderful. We probably liked it a little too much but we have no shame. After service, we had to make about 5,000 calls so we took some time to do that. In that hour that we made calls, we had appointments set up for the rest of our week. We literally had like no time left in our week! That was wonderful! When I first got here, we had a lot of time to walk. We are seeing the fruits our labors people and it is so great! We also were able to contact people that we have been trying to for weeks but who never called us back. Wednesday every single one of them answered and set appointments. Literally a miracle. We are blessed! We also got a couple referrals and that really doesn't happen a lot.  Let's just say that tears of joy were shed that day. :) We also had dinner with the Canovas again and they are just a darling family. And, it was potato soup and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. My favorite. :)

Thursday:  We had zone training and as always, it was fantastic. Our leaders always know what to say! They focused a lot on member-missionary work again, and also on just making sure that we aren't too hard on ourselves. It made me realize that I am! Most of the time, I think I am just the worst missionary ever. When we don't have a lot of work or when things aren't going good, I blame myself. Well the training really helped me realize that I am a good missionary. By being here and staying, I am a good missionary. It helped me realize that if I don't believe in myself, I can't believe in the people I am trying to help. Something to work on for sure. After training, we all went to lunch at the mall and that is always fun. The best part is probably the stares that we get. Haha we always seem to smile a little bigger when we notice people staring. :) After lunch, we headed back into Winterset for our doctors appointments. SHOTS!! I literally wanted to cry I was so scared. I hate shots all together but I just wanted my mom to be there with me. Haha luckily, I survived and I am still here. That's a real shocker I know. I also have to give a big shout out to my whole Jensen Family! I came home to the greatest letter that night from a bunch of my family members. Words of encouragement are the greatest thing you can get as a missionary, especially on a semi traumatizing day. Haha so it came at the perfect time. Thank you to you all!!!

Friday: Friday was kind of a rough day. We did our weekly planning, and then headed into Winterset to see one of investigators, and it was quite the lesson. It started out wonderful! We read the Book of Mormon with her and she was really into it. We were just so excited for her because she had accepted a baptismal date and was progressing so much! Well, at the end of the lesson we asked her how she was feeling about her baptism. She had absolutely no recollection of us asking her about accepting a date. Heart=shattered. Literally wanted to cry. She was our one super super solid investigator and she can't remember a thing. We have prayed a lot about her these last couple days and will see how this week goes. Friday night was fun though. We had dinner with all the missionaries in our ward at our mission leaders house. That is always fun, and it was nice to kind of get my mind off of things. We did find out though that one of the new missionaries we had gotten in our ward decided to go home Thursday, so we welcomed Elder Tappen as the newest Raccoon River missionary! We are glad he is in our ward now, but we are so sad for the Elder who decided to go home. This is hard, but it is worth it. To top the whole day off, I got a package from my mom. Haha seriously guys, my mom is the greatest. THANK YOU MOM!!! :)

Saturday: Saturday was supposed to be the greatest day. We had all of these appointments lined up and we had so many potential investigators to see and it should have been wonderful. Well, we also have this wonderful thing called agency. People were cancelling on us left and right. It was so crazy to just see all of our plans fade away. Luckily though, because Heavenly Father loves us, he let us keep some of our appointments which was good. :) We officially have a new investigator. His name is Cameron and he is a 14 year old boy who is so prepared to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a referral from one of our ward members who is his friend. We had a wonderful lesson with him and when we invited him to be baptized, he didn't even have to think before he said yes. Haha that is probably one of the greatest feelings ever. Inviting my brothers and Sisters to enter the waters of baptism and to make that covenant with their Heavenly Father. A feeling I would not trade for the world. So although Saturday was hard, our night made it a great day. God is good people. God is good. 

Sunday: It is so funny how fast things change on the mission! Just 7 short weeks ago, Sunday was the hardest day for me. It was the day I missed my family the most so I even kind of dreaded it. Now, it is the best part of the week! I look forward to Sunday more than any other day! The Raccoon River ward is absolutely amazing and getting to see every member once a week is wonderful! After church, all of us missionaries went to the Barber's house and had lunch with them and their 2 children and their families who live in our ward as well. We may or may not have stayed for 4 hours... haha. It was so fun! It did make me miss all of my Sunday night family dinners though. Those are one of the things I look forward to most about coming home. It reminded me about how blessed I am to be part of a family who is so close. That night, we went to the stake youth standards night with the Prices. It was so great! It was so funny because the family we sat by asked me where I was from so I told them, and they actually have a nephew who goes to Lone Peak who I worked with in my peer tutor class. How funny is that?? What are the chances right?? That was kind of cool. :)

Well, that was my week. Crazy right?? Oh, the life of a missionary. Haha really though... it is so crazy. I never would have thought. One thing that has really stuck with me though from my zone training on Thursday was the scripture 2 Timothy 4:7- "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." What a wonderful scripture. It goes along with a talk by President Monson called, "Be a finisher." What a wonderful talk. I invite all of you to read it. When I look at this scripture I think of my mission. I think of enduring to the end and being a finisher of my mission. But, I think that it can be applied on a larger scale... what is our end goal as members of this glorious church? The Celestial Kingdom. We can only do that if we endure to the end, and become "Finishers" as President Monson said. So I invite all of you to evaluate your life right now. Are you fighting a good fight? Are you finishing your course? Are you keeping the Faith? My dear family, as you cling to the scriptures and prayer, as you attend church EVERY Sunday, and as you come unto Christ in all that you do, you will be a finisher. You will be able to endure to the end with all of your might. I am grateful for the opportunity my Heavenly Father has given me to do this as a missionary. I WILL fight the good fight, I WILL keep the faith, and I WILL be a finisher. I owe my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ all that I have and all that I am. This is the least I could do for them.

I love you all and I am grateful for each of you every day. Never forget that I love you and that I miss you dearly. Keep the faith and endure to the end! I LOVE YOU!! :)

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

A picture of the Des Moines Stake missionaries at the Mormon Helping Hands project last Saturday. :)

My first shots without my Mom. Haha it was a little traumatizing, but luckily I have a companion who was willing to hold my hand like my mom always would. I am blessed! :)

As Sister Missionaries, we don't have pockets to carry around all of our stuff so we decorate our planners to make little pockets. Well, decorating a planner is kind of a milestone. That means that you made it through 6 weeks of being a missionary! WOOO! This planner will mark the end of my training and the next 5 weeks. Crazy right??

The Raccoon River Ward missionaries. :) L-R: Elder Hodges, Elder Tappen (Brazil visa waiter), Elder Kay, Elder Mealy AKA Demon eyes(Brazil visa waiter), me, and Sister Barker. Basically the best set of missionaries you have ever seen. Just sayin. :)

Me and Sister Barker with our ward Mission leader, Brother Jackson. He is wonderful! He has been a member for about 2 and a half years now.  We love him. :)

 

Marching Forward...and Cupcakes

Hello to you all again! It feels like I haven't emailed home in weeks, and at the same time it feels like no time at all. Haha mission time... so weird. This week was was transfers so the whole week was kind of weird and off, but still a good week! I am very happy that I am still serving in Raccoon River. WOOOO! Haha not a shocker, but still exciting. :) Although, they did rename the area. I am now serving in the Winterset, Iowa area. So cool! Alrighty, on with my day to day synopsis:

Monday: Because of transfers, our real p-day was Wednesday, but they still allowed us to come and email on Monday. So, Monday was a work day. We visited some of our investigators and some members and it was kind of just chill. We did a lot of walking that's for sure. 

Tuesday: Tuesday was a fantastic day! The Elders serving in the ward with us had met a lady last week who lived in our area so they referred her to us. So we met with her this day. No joke, 5 minutes into our lesson she was asking when she could be baptized. Can you believe that?? We were jumping for joy!  She is so prepared. The work is definitely being hastened! That night, us and the Elders went to a less active's apartment building to help her paint. Oh Elders... haha bless their hearts. We just laughed the entire time. It was quite fun. :)

Wednesday: P-DAY!!! WOOO! I love p-days. Especially today. Our "momma" Sister Price took us into West Des Moines for the day so that I could get all my winter stuff! It was so weird to go shopping in Kohl's and the mall... haha I just felt like I was back in Utah doin some shopping. It was great. :) She took us out to lunch after (Chipotle again. I am a little addicted), and then to Costco, and then to the most darling cupcake shop ever. Can you say spoiled?? Seriously though, Sister Price is the best! She really is like my mom away from my mom... haha. I don't quite know what I will do when I am transferred. I just have to put this in here for my mom cause I know that she will be soooo proud... for dinner that night we ate with a member and she made stuffed tomatoes. That's right.. stuffed tomatoes. If you know me, you know that I absolutely despise tomatoes. But, I ate every last bit. Haha it wasn't too bad. Wouldn't eat it again probably, but I am pretty proud of my self. :)

Thursday: Today was just emotionally draining... haha but in a good way. We had set up a church tour with one of our investigators and it went great! Seriously could not have gone better... she accepted a baptismal date and we are just thrilled. Once again, the Lord is hastening his work. And I get to be a part of it. How lucky am I?? We decided to have our traditional celebration at Frostees.  We walked up to the window and started to order and they literally stopped us and said, "We got this." Haha they know our orders! That was our goal and it happened. Success. :) One crazy thing that happened though was as we were eating, Sister Price called and told me that a woman named Becky was in their house to see me.  I freaked! Becky is an amazing Sister from my home ward in Utah. The company she works for has an office in Urbandale so she is here this week and came and stopped by!  Telling Sister Price that I couldn't come see her was really hard, but obedience brings blessings. :) She did however leave me the cutest box of cupcakes I have ever seen! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Becky! They were absolutely delicious. :)

Friday: Today was weird... we had weekly planning but ended up staying inside to do that allllll day. Literally we didn't leave the house till 5:30. NOT GOOD! We got some good planning done though... haha We had to head out to get to our appointment with the Scotts. Seriously, I love them.  On our way home, we decided to stop and see one of our investigators. Well who knew that would take a year to get there! Every year in Winterset, they do this thing called the Covered Bridge festival. Google it. It is massive. So basically, like every road in Winterset was shut down because they were setting up.  It was so fun to see, but definitely not fun to drive through. haha

Saturday: Today we spent most of the day in Des Moines installing fire alarms in peoples homes. Haha let me explain... the red cross approached the Mormon helping hands to help them launch this project of installing the detectors in peoples home. Hundreds of members from around our area showed up to help. It was wonderful! We are convinced we will be in the ensign or Mormon newsroom or something. Keep and eye out for me. :) Then we had district meeting. It was so fun to meet at the new Elders in our district! They are awesome! And now, I'm not the youngest. WOO! :) Because they were new, we played a get to know you game where we basically got to throw wadded up socks at each other. Haha it was great. :) 

Sunday: I was so excited for today. I definitely needed church... I just needed to be spiritually uplifted! And I was!! Church was absolutely amazing! They whole focus for the day was missionary work. Could it have been a better topic?? Our Bishop spoke in sacrament and it was just incredible. In relief society, the lesson was on missionary work as well and the teacher asked me and Sister Barker to each get up and tell the Sisters what things we sacrificed to be here, how we decided to come, and what blessings we have seen because we are here. What an amazing experience. Testifying to those Sisters was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. And something crazy happened this last transfer too... we got ANOTHER set of Elders in our ward! Can you believe that?? 6 Missionaries!!! It is crazy! There is a lot of work to be done in the Raccoon River ward. :) They are awesome Elders! Elder Kay has been out 3 months and Elder Van Leeuwen is fresh out of the MTC. They are hilarious. They fit into our missionary group perfectly. It was fun meeting them and kind of giving them the low down of the area. :) That night, the ward members invited us to attend Young Women in Excellence. That was so special for me cause it has been years since I have been to one of those. The young women in our ward are just amazing and it was fun to see the progress they have made through out the year. It was just a wonderful night.

Well, there is my week! It was good! :) I still just can't believe I am on a mission.Haha Sometimes, it just hits me and I freak out a little. But, I am so glad I am here. This truly is so hard. Being away from my family is still something I struggle with daily, but I am growing. I am being molded into the instrument that My Heavenly Father needs me to be so that I can find the people here in Iowa that I promised to find. It is a wonderful feeling to know that I will go home better than when I got here.

I say this every week, but I love you all and I miss you sooooooo much! I am constantly praying for all of you. Everyday I feel so blessed to be part of such and amazing family. You are all wonderful and I love you!!!

Until next week,

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

My new winter coat. Haha I kind of love it. :)

The aftermath of our awesome painting party part 2. :) Haha like 2 seconds after I got there I leaned up against the wall and painted my bum. No shame.

My yummy "Nutella" cupcake. This one is for you Mom! :)

Iowas "mommy and me" toilets. Haha makes me laugh so hard...

First Baptism!!!

This week, on Wednesday to be exact, will be my official "I have been away from home for 2 months" mark. Can you believe that?? I am literally shocked. Haha There have been a couple times I didn't think I would make it. I have though and it is because I have amazing family who supports me and an AMAZING Heavenly Father who loves me so much so he blesses me daily with a reason to stay.

I just have to start with the most important thing. I have to tell my big brother Taylor how proud I am of him. He received his mission call this week to Argentina. What an example! Taylor, you truly are a blessing in my life and I KNOW that you have been called to Argentina for a reason. There are people there who need to hear YOUR testimony of the restored gospel. Know that I love you and that you are always in my prayers. Everyone, make sure you give him a big hug for me when you see him!

Alright, because of a lack of time, I am just going to tell you a couple cool experiences from the week.

Monday: Kind of funny experience tonight. We were scheduled to have dinner with a member and they decided to just take us out. So we pull up to the restaurant and it is a bar. A legit bar.  It sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke... it was quite the experience. Haha...

Tuesday: We walked into a gas station for some drinks and the guy at the register started talking to us and we asked him if he knew who we were and he said, "Well yea, your missionaries. You're hittin the pavement for Jesus." Haha greatest thing I heard all day.

Wednesday: We found a new investigator! Her name is Linda and she is darling. She accepted the invitation to be baptized and we know that she will. She is quite the smoker though, but I know that if she will let it, the gospel will help her with that. I'll keep you updated!

Thursday: This day was kind of hard for me. We had district meeting and found out that an Elder I had come in with decided to go home. He was on a plane during district meeting. That was kind of hard for me. I couldn't quite decide if it was making me homesick or giving me a desire to work harder. Haha I still haven't decided... Thursday night was when our exchanges started with the STL's! So fun!

Friday: I got the most amazing Halloween package from my mom! Give her a giant hug for me when you see her. :)   Just a good day of planning and working. Friday night was super fun though! Most of you know that I have a secret cookie recipe, and on Friday I made "my cookies." They were bomb! The Price family loved them and they were a perfect treat to make for conference. :)

Saturday: What a great day! All the missionaries in our area (about 50) went to the stake center to watch conference. What a powerful experience! One of my favorite things said was from President Uchtdorf. "Doubt your doubt before you doubt your faith." What amazing counsel, especially for missionaries! Between the sessions, I, Sister Jensen, had my first baptism. Tyler was finally baptized and was confirmed the newest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What an amazing experience. To watch this 13 year old boy in white descend into the waters of baptism and be made clean... Wow. That is why I am here. I am here to help my brothers and sisters know how special the Gospel is. What a wonderful gift from my Heavenly Father. And to make the day even better, I went home to a package from my amazing sister with 17 PICTURES of my boys! Can you imagine?? Lets just say I was a happy camper. Haha BEST DAY EVER!!

Sunday: We had been invited by a member over to their house to watch general conference with a less active member of the ward. She fed us the most amazing breakfast! WAY better than the cereal we eat every day. ;) Sunday conference was awesome! I was hoping President Monson would announce some new Temples or something cause he didn't on Saturday, I guess that will have to wait till April. :) After the first session, we came back home and watched the second session with the Price Family. They are like our mission family so it was so fun to watch it with them!

Well, that is my crazy, amazing week! So much more happened, but because of time I couldn't share it all dang it! Just know though that I love you all! I truly am incredibly blessed to be part of such an amazing family who loves and supports me! You all are such great examples to me and I thank my Heavenly Father for you every day. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

One of the things I will miss most about Iowa. The amazing sunsets.

My district! Transfers happen this week so we just had to take a pic. :) Alright top row: Elder Leishman, Elder Leavitt (District Leader), Elder Mealy (Elder serving in my ward, Brazil Visa waiter), Elder Hodges (Also serving in my ward, us sisters  Elders Kneeling: Elder Payne, Elder Tappen(Brazil Visa waiter as well). Basically this is the greatest district ever!

Exchanges with our awesome Sister Training Leaders! Left to right: Hermana Collazos was with me, and then Hermana Stroud was with Sister Barker! We learned so much and it was a great experience

My sweet cookie making skills. :)

Tyler and his mom Ruth. :)

A picture I will cherish for the rest of my life. :)

The only other Sisters on our zone. Left to right: Sister Cannon, me, Sister Nye, Sister Barker. We are pretty tight. :)

In my 12 week training period, I get to be senior companion for a week 2 times. This week coming up is my week which means, I get to drive. Haha I haven't driven in 8 weeks so keep us in your prayers. :)

Settling In

Well. I would just like to start out by saying this was the longest week of my mission so far. SOOOO LONG! Sister Barker said it was for her as well. It just seemed to go on forever! I felt like I haven't emailed home in weeks! Time is so crazy on the mission...

I have just one shout out this week, but it's a pretty important one. This one goes out to my amazing brother Taylor. He submitted his mission papers and should be getting his call this week or next I think. How awesome is that?? My mom wrote that in her letter, and my heart just rejoiced! A little selfish thought came to mind too... I get to serve a mission at the same time as my brother. How blessed are we Tay?? :) He is an amazing example to me and Tay, I know that this will be one of the greatest things you will ever do. I always say this... but a mission is hard. really hard, but it is worth it. Make sure you all give him a hug for me when you see him and tell him I am proud of him!

Time for my usual week in a nutshell:

Monday: Monday is always good. I get to talk to my family, do my wash, take a nap, and play air hockey. So, life is usually pretty sweet. We switched it up a little this week though and got haircuts! Our sweet Bishop's wife has a salon in her house and does free missionary haircuts. Haha it was awesome. She even washed it and mom, you know how much I love that. :)

Tuesday: If I had to pick a day on my mission where there were so many ups and downs.. today would be that day. It started out fantastic with a trainers meeting with President and Sister Jensen and the AP's. They gave some awesome instruction and really just got us pumped up to get out and work. Afterwards we went to lunch and of course, it was Chipotle again. Haha I have an addiction people. No shame. That was when my homesickness hit me. I have been feeling so much better these last couple weeks and this week for some reason was just hard. Especially Tuesday. Of course though, we still had to go out and work. Well, because I have a loving Heavenly Father who loves to humble me, we found a new investigator. Our first one in 3 weeks! We are blessed here in Iowa! I also got a package from my mom that night. I just have to say that all moms are great, but I am pretty sure mine is the best. She always seems to know when to send letters and packages so they arrive just at the right time. :) There was one thing I heard on Tuesday that really stuck out to me, and something I really want to apply to everyday. YOMO. You're only a missionary once. YOMO!

Wednesday:  Very slow day. Nothing too exciting. But, I heard a quote that I wanted to share. "We don't know who is on the other side of that door, but the Lord does." Cool right??

Thursday: Every Thursday is district meeting which is always great! For reals, the best Elders are in my district. We can laugh hysterically together and then also have some amazing spiritual experiences together. Since I was still feeling homesick, I asked my district leader Elder Leavitt for a blessing. It was awesome because one of my zone leaders Elder Maughn, and then Elder Van Woerkam (AP) particaipated in it. How cool is that?? Definitely a blessing I will never forget. On fun thing was that this week it is homecoming at the high school in Winterset. Well, this is such a small town that everyone and their dog gets involved in high school stuff. So Thursday night literally everyone in town got toilet papered by somebody....including us! Haha the house was destroyed by toilet paper! Even our car! It was so fun, even though we had to maintain the dignity of our calling and not participate. Haha it took some restraint people. I just remembered my glory days of toilet papering the Burr family... life was good. :)

Friday: Slow day... again. The town was just dead cause people were getting ready for the big game that night! Our dinner appointment fell through so a sister in our ward was so darling and took us out to eat at Panda Express. Aren't our ward members awesome?!? When we got back to town, the game had started so there was literally NO ONE around. Haha we kind of just walked around aimlessly. We could hear the drums from miles away. So sweet! I also got a letter from my Uncle Kyle that night. Thank you so much Kyle for the amazing talk! I read it and just love it.

Saturday: Lots of ups and downs today. One of our investigators who we thought was doing so well, asked us to not contact her for a while. My heart was literally crushed. She said she just needed some time to figure out if this was what she wanted. Missionary work is so great and at times so heart breaking at others. Gotta find a balance I guess. Because it was kind of a rough morning, Frostees for lunch again. Haha I am pretty sure they know us by name there. Once again, no shame. :) That night we got to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast meeting. How amazing was that?!?! The messages that were shared inspired me so deeply. And just seeing the choir full of missionaries was overwhelming. Every once in a while it just hits me that I am a missionary. It's cool. :) If you didn't watch the broadcast.. DO! So uplifting and inspiring! This was also the day I received the letter from my mom telling me Taylor had submitted his papers. Lets just say, it was a great night. :)

Sunday: Fast Sundays are always fantastic! Especially in my ward! The testimonies that people share are just incredible! I used quite a couple tissues during that sacrament meeting. Shocker, I know. We also were asked to work in the nursery for second hour. What a hard thing to do when you can't hold children! Haha Sister Barker and I didn't quite know what to do. Quite the experience. Since it is the end of the month, we were running a little low on miles so we ended up doing our studies at the pavilion by our church. Haha we got some weird looks for sure. We always just seem to laugh a little louder and smile a little bigger when people who are not members walk by... I wonder why... ;) We had dinner a little early since we were starving. The family who had us join them is just darling! They are an older couple who are taking care of their 5 year old granddaughter. Dinner was exceptionally good! I guess though on fast Sunday, it usually is. Haha! On our way home, we stopped at our neighbors house. They are a wonderful family! They are not members of the church but we stop by about once a week to just say hi. They aren't quite ready to hear our lessons yet, so we are just going to love and friendship them into the church. Great plan I know!

Well, exciting week right?? We have better plans for this week so hopefully I will have more to tell you next Monday. Man, I miss all of you! I am so blessed to have a family that loves and supports me in all that I do. Heavenly Father must love me a lot because he sent me to be apart of the best family ever! Just know that I am constantly praying for you all! Remember to always thank your Father in Heaven for the things that you are privileged to have. Remember to thank him for the hard times as well. That sounds weird I know, but he is giving you the chance to draw nearer to him and to your Savior. What a blessing! I love you all and am so grateful for each and every one of you! 

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

First day wearin the rain coat. I absolutely love the rain so it was awesome! Luckily, we had a store in town that had a good sale. That is the court house behind me. Gorgeous right??

How I like to do weekly planning. I like to keep things fresh here in Iowa. :)

Our pet bird Oscar came and stayed with us again this week. We love him. :) Haha there is a couple in our ward and whenever they go out of town, the Price family birdsits for them. We love it.

The wise words from our panda excursion. They are taped to our car dashboard so we never forget them. :)

Me and Sister Barker with the AP's (assistants to the President) Elder Saunders (right) and Elder Van Woerkam (left). Elder Van Woerkam actually goes home in 2 weeks which is super weird. They are both just amazing people and missionaries!

Racoon River YEA!

What up people! Comin at ya again from Raccoon River, Iowa. I just have to begin by giving a couple more shoutouts since I was put in my place by someone for not giving these. ;) HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY to my Aunt Michelle and to her daughter Elle. Michelle is an amazing person because she just is.  Michelle and I have grown really close over the past couple years and I have loved it. I know that I can always go to her with anything and she will give great advice. My mom always joked and called her my "other mother Michelle" and it's true! She is an amazing person with the funnest personality. And Elle. Oh my Elle. She is a sassy, funny, darling girl. Elle can be cuddly and sweet and then 5 minutes later be screaming bloody murder, but I love it. :) She always told me she loved me (even if I had to coax it out of her.) I love my little Elle. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to my other cousins Josh Brown and Luke. They are such studs and are just funny. Josh returned home from his mission to Anaheim, California about a year ago and I just want to let him know how great of an example he is. Seeing him come home a changed person with a great love of the Gospel makes me excited for the changes I hope to see in myself. And Luke, ask that kid to tell you a joke and he will have you laughin in 5 seconds flat. He is fantastic. :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you all!

Well, things here in Iowa are goin good. Here's the day to day layout you have all been desperately dying to hear: Haha

Monday: P-days are always good. I get to hear from my family and I get a nap. Does it get better than that? Especially since my sleep deprivation is now kicking in.  The whole "wake up at 6:30 am every morning" thing is catching up with me. Big time. So I cherish my naps greatly.Haha We also had dinner with a darling family in the ward, and of course they have a 5 month old son. Not being able to hold de' babies gets harder and harder every day, but I am staying obedient people. No worries. 

Tuesday: Tuesday was great! We were able to go have zone training with President Jensen. He is such an amazing man and always knows just the right thing to say! We have been talking a lot lately about how to get the members of our ward involved in missionary work and he gave some great tips. We are excited to start implementing them and seeing the progress. :) After that we all went to lunch. Mom, you will appreciate this... I GOT CHIPOTLE! Haha for those of you who know me well, you know that Cafe Rio is my thing. Well, Chipotle is the closest thing out here and it was fantastic. I ate it and just thought of home the entire time. Especially you mom. :) Also, it sprinkled all day long and I LOVE rain. Like a little too much. I did just want to stay home in my pjs and watch movies all day, and then I remembered I am a missionary so we went out and did work. Haha, . 

Wednesday: Remember that rain I talked about from yesterday? Yea. We walked out Wednesday morning and it was like it never happened. We were back to the heat and humidity like it was the middle of July! I guess I should be used to it since Utah has bipolar weather as well, but I was hopeful. It was still a good day though! We did a lot of walking which was just great! I actually do love just walking around here because everyone is so friendly and it's like a picture perfect town. Like the one you see in the movies. When we walk, we pick out or favorite houses so it makes it kind of fun. :) 

Thursday: What a day.  It started out like any other day... we headed into Earlham to do some work. At about 2ish, we were in a home teaching a lesson when all the sudden the dads phone starts going off. He looks at it and tells us it's an alert saying that a storm was coming. We all looked outside and it was sunny as can be so we just kind of brushed it off. We ended the lesson, and left to start walking back to our car. Literally 2 seconds after we left their house... rain, lighting, thunder, branches from trees falling everywhere. It was a full on rain storm. We booked it as fast as 2 Sister missionaries in skirts could. It was one of the scariest but funniest moments of my life. We loved it!  Just imagine us running down the street skirts and hair flying everywhere and try not to laugh. Haha  It's not possible. Once we got to our car, we decided we had just endured a really scary situation and deserved a treat. Our next stop was the gas station for some hot chocolate and a donut.  Totally worth it. We wished we could have stayed in our car all day, but we had dinner planned with some members so we headed over to their house. They fed us Thai food. And mom, if you can believe it... I ate it! I am learning how to eat things other than chicken fingers! ;) It was actually pretty good. :) I also got a letter from my auntie Tracie! Thanks Auntie Trac! :)

Friday: Friday was just a normal missionary day. Wake up, eat, study, eat, tract, eat, teach. It was great! Sometimes it is just refreshing to have a normal day. We did get a little crazy that night though. Sometimes we sit downstairs with Ashton (the 16 year old girl, our "little sister") and laugh till we are all curled up on the floor in pain. Haha we love it! 

Saturday: Winterset is so fun because every Saturday they have a farmers market in town and we go and meet people and it is always so fun! We went to Frostees for lunch again because Sister Barker's click day was on Sunday. That's our place. We love our walking tacos!  After lunch we came to the library and did some lds.org time. I want to encourage you all, if you haven't already, to go there and watch the work of salvation videos. They are absolutely incredible! So uplifting and they really just enlighten you. So, please take a couple minutes and watch some. You will be so happy you did! 

Sunday: Sunday was a little hard for us. NONE of our investigators or the less actives we have been working with showed up for church. That was really hard... Sunday is always game time and this week we lost. Heavenly Father definitely humbled me. I am learning I can teach people lessons, but if I am not helping them build their faith, I am not fulfilling my purpose. I am learning how to be an effective missionary through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And it is wonderful. He is molding me into and instrument to use in His hands. It is hard, but it is glorious. We also were able to have our Sister Training Leaders train us on how to do a church tour. What an incredible experience. The church tour basically outlines the Plan of Salvation and it was wonderful. Since being on my mission, I have gained a new outlook on life. I am looking at it from an eternal perspective. The Plan of Happiness means more to me now than it ever has. It is a wonderful thing! 

Well, that is my week in a nutshell. I also wanted to share some great quotes I heard this week. "Wicked men obey because of fear. Good men obey because of love." "Become the person you were designed to be." I absolutely love being a missionary. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done, but also the most amazing thing. My testimony of this Gospel is growing more than I ever thought possible. My faith in prayer, scripture study, repentance, the atonement, and the power of God is growing. I can feel my Saviors love more than I ever had before and it is a feeling I cherish with all of my heart. I KNOW that my Redeemer lives and that this is his work and his glory. I know that he is guiding me through this

to lead me to the people here in Raccoon River East who are prepared. It is a comforting feeling knowing and feeling that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I love this Gospel with everything that I am and this is my time to prove that to Him. 

Please remember that I love you all, and more importantly that your Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ love you. This is a glorious time to live in. Always remember to be an example of the believers in word and in deed. Never be ashamed to share the light of Christ that each and every one of you have. Never be ashamed to bear your testimony. You never know who needs to hear yours personally. I love you all and keep you in every prayer. Stay faithful! Stay Awesome!

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa." 

After our 6 block "brisk walk" in the pouring rain to our car. We were SOAKED, but we loved every minute of it. At one point, I was on the sidewalk in fetal position laughing hysterically cause I had to pee and Sister Barker's skirt kept flying up. It was a sight to see I'll tell ya that. :)

I'M A MONTH OLD!

 

Hello everybody! How are you all doing?? I have heard about the crazy weather goin on in Utah so I hope you are all doing well. I have a couple shout-outs I need to do now before I forget. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my (future) brother-in-law Chris. I love Chris because of the amazing dad that he is, and also because he is just happy..and sometimes funny. :)  Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cousin Josh. He turned the big 16 and is now a licensed driver. Josh, just make sure you don't drive like me. Haha, it's not worth it! Be good!  Hopefully there are no other birthdays. These were the ones I heard about, but if there are any more... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Also, I never gave a shout out to my sweet cousin Alexis. She was baptized a couple weeks ago and is one of the sweetest girls I know. Lex, I love you and I am so proud of you! Please remember how you felt that day and know that I was thinking about you constantly. Make sure you tell your mom to send me some pics, okay? :) Alright last shout-out goes to the Transtrum clan. They all had a camping trip last weekend I think and all wrote me cute little notes of encouragement. THANK YOU! Lets just say that I may have cried reading them all. You guys are all the best and those notes meant more than you know!

Alright, I decided that with my weekly email (because I don't have a ton of time), I started writing down key things from each day and then I will just go through each day and tell you something awesome that happened. I figured it will just make life a little bit easier. So here we go!

Monday: Mt. Pisgah! The Forbes from our ward took us and it was just incredible! There was no one there and it was just so peaceful. They taught us how to Water-witch. Haha  Everybody go and google it cause it is quite interesting. Basically, you hold two iron rods (no pun intended...) in front of you and they will tell you where a well or a grave is. Kind of cool...and creepy, but mostly cool! Also, there has been a lot of talk here about the four missionaries who died while serving in the Iowa Des Moines Mission. Well, that story actually means a lot to me. On Heritage Tours last summer, they talked about that story and it was a very spiritual experience for me. Basically they asked us, "If you knew you weren't going to be coming home, would you still decide to serve your mission?" It was at that moment that I put my faith on the line and said yes. A plaque honoring those 4 missionaries is at Mt. Pisgah. I could not believe it. Such an incredible experience!

Tuesday: Every Tuesday, we get the opportunity to serve at the assisted living home in Winterset.  It is my favorite! We go and play bingo or a game with them for an hour and they just love it! We kind of were being punks on Tuesday though and decided to play a game with them. The Memory Game.Haha  It's the game where you flip the pictures over and you have to match them all. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life.  It was hilarious! They would always pick up the same tiles! Luckily, they are just all joksters and laughed at themselves when we told them. So basically, our only form of entertainment in Iowa is playing memory with the elderly. Life is good! :)

Wednesday: Incredible day! We had zone conference from 9-4 and it was just awesome. Elder Gay of the seventy came and spoke to us all day. It was incredible to hear stories of his mission to Spain and then when he served as a mission president in Ghana. He taught purely by the Spirit and everything he said just touched my heart. My notes from that day are words I refer back to frequently. It was also just fun to see all the other missionaries. Because our mission is so big though, it was only about half so I didn't see everyone but it was great. Then, because it was just such an amazing day, we decided to celebrate. Panda Express baby. With our budget, it was deluxe.Haha

Thursday: Very chill day! We went to a new area that we have the opportunity to open. Earlham, Iowa. Beautiful town, and so much work to be done in it! We had a great experience with a devout Lutheran family. We are excited to go back because they were very interested in the things we compared. Especially the Book of Mormon. I'll keep you updated on them. We also had a great night with a family in our ward! They took us to the park and we just played and ate pizza. We probably played a little to hard but it was fun! They are one of the families in our ward with a darling 7 month old baby girl. I don't think the whole, "You can't hold children" thing will get any easier with time for me...

Friday: Such a spiritually draining day, but in a good way! Thursday night I had gotten letters from the Brown family (Thank you!) and my dad. In my dad's letter, he wrote, "You can have one more good cry and then it is time to not be homesick anymore and enjoy your mission." I read that and realized that he was right. (Yes dad.. I just admitted you were right!) I prayed so hard at that moment to have an experience that would help me understand why I was here. I figured if I knew that, I wouldn't feel as homesick. Well, that experience came. We had planned on teaching a lesson with one of our investigators that night, but when we got there decided that we needed to just ask inspired questions instead. It was the greatest lesson I have had on my mission so far. We were teaching purely by the spirit, and we all felt that presence immensely. Well, at the end of our lesson, our investigator looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Why are you here?" And the words that I proclaimed were not my own. The Holy Ghost spoke through me to not only testify to our investigator, but to me as well. I finally understood why I was here. Since then, my homesickness has been better. I still miss it, but not to the point where I make myself sad. So dad, thank you for your tough words of encouragement. Keep em comin!

Saturday: CLICK DAY! WOOO! Basically, your click day is the day that you became a missionary. So because I went into the MTC on august 14th, the 14th of every month will be my click day. Can you believe I have been gone for a month?? It just baffles me. I feel like I have been gone for forever and about a week all at the same time. Time in the mission field really is a weird thing! Anyways, click days are great! My sweet companion wrote me a hilarious note, we went out for lunch, and we had a ward party that night! We had dutch oven dinners and cobbler. Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! SOO good! And then, we played kickball. In our skirts. Haha We are still working on the whole, maintain your dignity thing. But boy was it worth it! Such a fun ward!

Sunday: Sundays are always good. Sacrament is just great of course. It is fun because now that I am a missionary, church means so much more. My testimony of the importance of it has grown immensely! We had one investigator come to church which was great! Sunday night, we had dinner with the Tunneys. I told you last week that Sister Tunney is my mission mom so it was just great. It was here birthday too so we kind of partied. As much as missionaries can. Haha  Just a good day!

Well, that's my week people. Hope I didn't bore you too much. Haha  As our work picks up, I will have more to write, but that is it for now. I love you all and miss you! I can feel your prayers and am so grateful for them! And remember, letters are my favorite. ;) I LOVE YOU ALL!!

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

Beautiful Mt. Pisgah

 

 

 

 

 

The memorial for the 4 missionaries who died

Celebratory Click day lunch at Frostees! :)

Brother and Sister Forbes are the darling couple who took us to Mt. Pisgah. They have been members for about 3 years and are just incredible! 

 

 

 

 

Our generational pic at zone conference! So Sister Broome (green dress) trained my trainer Sister Barker. The one on the right is Sister Broomes new companion. So, there is me, my mom, my grandma, and my aunt. True Story. 

 

 

 

I'm officially a WEEK old!

Lets just all take a sec and think about the fact that I have been in Iowa for a week and 3 days now. It's kind of a miracle.  My first couple days here I didn't think I would make it this far but I am glad I stayed. :) This week was just another chill one. We are still working with Tyler and preparing him for baptism and we are hopeful. He is only 12 so he doesn't really talk, but he listens so we know he gets it. On Tuesday, we found another investigator! Her name is Miki and she is just incredible. We have taught her the restoration and the plan of salvation and she is understanding it so well. We have faith that she will be baptized soon. So now we have 2 investigators and life is good! I have to ask though, for those of you that have served, what were some of your favorite door approaches?? Me and Sister Barker really struggle with tracting cause we just don't know what to say when they answer the door. All suggestions are greatly appreciated! I realized this morning that I have really not told you a lot about my mission but I want to. So here goes the random facts:

- So I live with the Price family. Aaron and Lanae and they have 3 kids. Levi who is currently serving in Arizona (kind of fun) and has been out since July.  Ashton who is 15 and she is just awesome. She is like my little sister. She lives downstairs with us. And then Brooklyn who is 11. Darling girl. She loves owls and cats. Haha like she is obsessed with them. I love her! They are really an amazing family. Such a great example of the family I want one day. They sometimes invite us up for meals which is just great. Yesterday we had lunch with them after church. Ribs, corn, and potato salad. Kay, HI. Does it get any better than that?? I think not. They are just awesome!

-My ward is incredible. We have about 400 members but almost 250 are inactive. So, there is alot of work to be done here which is good. :) MY Bishop is just great.  Definitely not your normal "Utah Bishop." He has got a handle bar mustache, drives a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and wears cowboy boots to church every week. Haha so funny... So he is a convert to the church and has been a member for about 40 years. He shares his testimony every Sunday and it is just so powerful. I love my ward because at least 75% of the people that come are converts so the testimonies and the lessons that they share are just remarkable. I love hearing their conversion story cause it really testifies to me the power of the work I am here doing and how much lives are effected by just baptizing ONE person. Also, I have found my ward mom. Haha her name is Sister Tunney and she is awesome. So down to earth and just funny. I'll write more about her as time goes on.

-FUN FACT: The Des Moines Iowa Stake (my stake) has the most baptisms in all of North America. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? I just get so much comfort from hearing that. There are people here I just need to find them!

-Iowa is known for 4 things. Covered Bridges, field of dreams, John Wayne birthplace, and cornfields. We have 3 of those 4 things in our area. Can you say spoiled much?? We are excited to hopefully visit them on our p-days. :)

-Me and my companion, Sister Barker, are literally soul sisters. We quote constantly, we both love music and are constantly singing or humming, and we spoke in a British accent for 37 minutes last night. Go ahead and try to beat that. I'm pretty sure its impossible. We work so well together and I am so grateful that I got a companion who is so easy to love!

-Every Thursday we have district meeting, but before we do that, we all eat lunch together at the Jordan Creek mall. (The biggest mall in Iowa...is in our area. So rad.) It is so hard for me though because they have the most amazing theater right by the food court. Haha If you know me you know that going to the movies is one of my favorite things to do. I have to restrain myself every week from looking. I am having withdrawals big time. But, me and Sister Barker are convinced that after our mission we are going to come back and stay with the Prices, and spend a whole day in that theater. We are excited!

Well, that's kind of all the cool stuff I have to say. I am just livin the life. I will have more cool stuff to say as time goes on. Like tonight, some sweet members are taking us to Mt. Piska (I think that's how you spell it.) so I will write about that next week. We will do more work, and I will have more to tell.  

I really am feeling better about being here. As I continue to study and pray, I am coming to realize just how much God has prepared me for this. We have been studying the Pre mortal existence lately and it just gives me so much peace knowing that I accepted the call to come to Iowa long before I received that little white envelope. I know that I can do this because I decided I would before I even came to earth. I am learning to love the people here and how to see them as children of God who just need the Gospel in their lives. I am learning how to use the atonement to heal my homesickness, to make up for my weaknesses, to repent, to find happiness. I am learning that the atonement covers it all. I feel the love of my Savior Jesus Christ more than I ever have before and it is remarkable. I am learning how to love being here. I miss you all more than words describe but, this is where I need to be. I need to spend the next 18 months serving the people of Iowa. And I am loving it.

I hope that all is going well and that you are loving life. Always remember that God is aware of you and he wants you to be happy. He has given us ways to find happiness. Treasure those things. Also, remember that mail is encouraged. Haha Hearing from home is so great and I just love it. I love and miss you all!

-Sister Jensen

"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

Hangin loose in the fields of Iowa. I think I'm pretty cool. :)

We constantly have Nacho Libre smiles on our faces. I'm pretty sure we don't remember how to smile normal anymore. It's fine. No shame.

I made a resolution that I would not drink Dr. Pepper on my mission.  Well...I have failed miserably.  We needed a "pick me up" after a hard day and stopped at the gas station.  I have a feeling they may know us by name by the end of our time here. Haha  So good!