A Temple Trip and a Geneology Miracle

So... remember that one time that the entire month of May flew by? Yea. Me too. HOLY SMOKEYS! I basically blinked, and this week was gone. It was a full week though!
Monday: Definitely a weird p-day... We usually play volleyball with our district, but for some reason it got cancelled today. So we ended up "shopping" at Walmart. We are so classy. :) We also had to go to a meeting for this place we do service at.
Tuesday: Today during service at the elderly home, they had a big photo booth so of course Sister Rasmussen and I got about 500 pictures with the lil old ladies and each other. Good memories. :) Then we had dinner with the Grows. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard... haha. Their son was looking up phobias online and came across triscadeckaphobia. We decided that it is a fear of eating triscuits on the deck. :) Haha so great! Then that night, we went with our investigators the Shallenburgers to a lecture on Joseph F. Smith at the church building. It was awesome!
Wednesday: Today was one of the best days of my mission. Hands down. It all started with a family history miracle... I went in wanting to find a woman in my family line who only needed her endowment done. Elder Christenson (Him and his wife serve in the center), told me that that is almost impossible, because people usually need baptism and confirmation and not endowment. So we were looking at my family tree for about 30 minutes and doing so research... wouldn't ya know it. On my Dads side, I found a woman who had her baptism and confirmation done in 1999 and for some reason never had her endowment done. MIRACLE!!!! Elder Christensen literally could not believe his eyes. He almost started crying! He said in his 14 months of serving in the center, he has never seen that. Guys... the spirit of Elijah is amazing. Then what made it even better, was that I was able to walk across the street and take that family name to the Temple! I FINALLY WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!! God must have known that 9 months was way too long. I am obsessed with the Temple. Literally. I wanted to sit in the Celestial room all day. Obviously I couldn't... but I would have. It was such a beautiful experience. Especially being able to take my own family name. I have literally been on cloud 9 ever since. :)
Thursday: We got to go to Carthage early cause we had scheduled breakfast with a lady that we are working with. She is not technically an investigator... yet. :) After that we were able to take our investigator Mark on a tour of Carthage Jail. He loved it!! What a great resource. That night we met with the Hunts and they are just awesome! They have been members now for about 6 years, and they are so solid. Brother Hunt is a hoot!! It was a good night.
Friday: Such a crazy day! We got to sleep at the Warners (senior couple in Nauvoo) on Thursday night, cause we woke up at about 5 so we could get to Davenport for zone conference. So fun! I saw sooooo many missionaries that I have served with in the past, and it was fun to just catch up. We received some awesome trainings, and the spirit was so amazing! That really took up our entire day, so by the time we got back... it was time to go home.
Saturday: We were able to do a church tour today with our investigator Tracy and his wife Renee who is a less active. It was a really amazing church tour! We talked about baptism and eternal families, and it was really good. After that we headed to the Higleys and helped them pack and clean some things cause they are moving. I can now say I am a pro fridge cleaner. :) That night, we had dinner with a member in Carthage. She is the sweetest lady! Her name is Donna and she has been a member for about 3 years now.
Sunday: We had to do our weekly planning this morning, which was weird, but we are glad we had time. Church was strange! Basically half the ward was gone and we could not figure it out! Then it hit us... Memorial day! Holidays as a missionary aren't that fun... we like when people are home so we can sneak up on em. :) After church, we headed to dinner at the Saints. Then we did went around Nauvoo a little bit and passed out family history cards. Good night!
This week was crazy, but so good! With my family history miracle this week... I figured that an appropriate video would have to be about family history. :)
http://www.mormonchannel.org/youth-theme-2013?v=2034119583001
My testimony of family history has grown so much in my time here in Nauvoo. If a missionary who hasn't really used a computer in 9 months can do it, then you can do it! Let the Spirit of Elijah touch you, and I promise you it will. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!!
-Sister Jensen
How many South Americans does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A Brazilian.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
*Joke credited to Brother Hunt.

The original Raccoon River Ward missionaries.

Raccoon River reunion! :):) This is us in a picture.

You better believe we all sat and reminisced on the good 'ole Raccoon River days. :)

Zone Conference picture!

This is what happens on the 2 hour ride home from Zone Conference. :)

I flippin love the Senior couples in Nauvoo!!! We knock on their door to give them a flyer, and they send us home with flowers and brownies. SCORE!

This is what happens when you clean out a Sister missionary apartments vacuum. Nast. Wig anyone?

The Temple with ma companion. :) I am a little obsessed with Nauvoo

Hi Ho Hi Ho...It's Off To Work We Go

This has been quite an incredible week. Holy guacamole. I am absolutely exhausted! I honestly have never worked so hard in my life! The amount of work we do in one day here in Hamilton, is equal to the amount of work we did in 3 in Winterset. So much to do!!! I absolutely love this area though. I am really being pushed and it is such a blessing. Because I am spoiled getting to serve in Nauvoo, there has to be some kind of growth somewhere. On word: Antis. Oh my heavens... they are everywhere. It keeps things interesting though. :) I have to give a quick shout out here to my older brother Taylor. He is 21 today. He is OLD! Kidding, kidding. Happy birthday Tay! I love you! :)
Monday: P-days here are crazy! It is go go go. We do our studies at a members house while we do our laundry, and then email, and then Walmart, and then head to Keokuk to play Volleyball with our district. I thought p-days were suppose to be relaxing... hmmm... Luckily, I don't mind it though. That night, we had met with the Criders. They are awesome! They fed us soup and we showed them "Reflections of Christ." Good trade. :) Then we headed to Carthage to to help a member clean cause she just had jaw surgery. Super fun! I am going to be a pro cleaner by the time I come home. :)
Tuesday: On Tuesdays, we do service at City Hall. I love doing secretary work! Basically, in this area you  do a lot of service cause that is how we help soften the hearts of the people who may not have the best opinion of the church. So after city hall, we head to the senior home and we get to paint nails for an hour. Those ladies are adorable! Reminds me of my Winterset girls. :) That night we had an awesome lesson with Brayan, our recent convert. He was baptized the weekend before I got here and he is stellar. He is so prepared and has such a great testimony. Plus, we got to teach him about the priesthood. My favorite. :)
Wednesday: What day is it? HUMP DAY!!! What the heck. Um. Blah.  Months have just flown by. Honestly, I cannot believe I am halfway done with my mission. It freaks me out.:)  Every Wednesday, we get to go to the family history search center for a couple hours and work on that. This is so when the summer starts, and all the people start coming, we will know how to help them with family history. ATTENTION ALL FAMILY: I will be doing a lot of family history, so make sure you are checking for names you can take to the Temple. And also, any info you can give me to help me find people and enter them in is very appreciated. :) After that, we headed to Carthage and did some service at the hospital there. Do ya see what I mean about service? LOVE IT!!! That night we decided to celebrate since it was both of our hump days. The only obvious choice? Eat Mexican food and go to institute. Yep... good night. :)
Thursday: Today, during our lunch break we decided to do something fun. Tour at Carthage Jail= check. Guys... I am spoiled. Being there brought back so many wonderful memories of heritage tours. After that we visited some less actives and had a lesson with one of our investigators Ray. He is awesome! He is 22, but has the mental capacity of a 3 year old. He is a fun one to teach. :) That night we just went and around so I could meet some more people. Good night.
Friday: Today we woke up at 5 am cause we got invited to early morning seminary. Love it! :) Then, we had zone training in Nauvoo! It was so fun to see and meet all the missionaries in my zone. There were a lot! Our zone is actually the biggest in the mission, so it was a great meeting! After the meeting, all 28 of us headed to a little restaurant and the sweetest thing happened. A cute couple visiting Nauvoo payed for all 28 of us. Guys... this restaurant wasn't cheap, and they payed for it all. They are going to be so blessed!! Oh and fun fact: Nana and Pops- Haley Newell was at the restaurant and she was walking out as we were all walking in. It was so fun to see her!! After that we did family history finding. We are not aloud to proselyte in Nauvoo or talk about the church, but we can pass out family history cards. Then we had dinner with the Bishops wife and headed home!
Saturday: Saturday was a crazy day! Literally just running around all day. We saw a lot of our investigators and had some AMAZING lessons with them.
Sunday: Something was in the air at church, cause people were fallin asleep left and right! Hahaha literally everywhere we looked, people had the whole "head nod back and forth" thing goin. It was HILARIOUS! :) After church we had a couple meeting, and then we stopped by the senior couple's house to drop off a paper. Yea... 2 hours later. Haha they ended up feeding us and just laughing the whole night... I think Heavenly Father understands. :)
As you can tell, my week was jam packed! We had a lot of people to see, and a lot of things to do. I have already grown a lot though in my 1 week here. I have never had my testimony shut down and tried as much as I have this last week. Heavenly Father loves me so much though, that every time I get an anti comment, my testimony just grows stronger. HEAVENS TO BETSY I LOVE THE GOSPEL!!!!!
So Sister Rasmussen and I have been reading a book together this week called, "Believing Christ." It is an amazing book! I can't remember who it is by, but if you look it up it should come up. It is the story of the Bicycle. My mom in her email to me this week, included a video that fits PERFECTLY with what we are reading about: the Atonement. I absolutely love this video. https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-08-008-reclaimed#./2012-08-008-reclaimed?&_suid=140050960539808756507734014409
I have a firm testimony that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, un-celestial beings can be made celestial. If the world was full of perfect people, we wouldn't need a Savior. But boy, do I need him! We are imperfect, but because of Him, we can become perfect.
I pray that each of you will have a great week full of tender mercies. I love you all!
-Sister Jensen
*Still don't have anything on Illinois. But, I'm workin on it. :)

My view coming out of church every Sunday. Just be prepared for a lot of Nauvoo Temple pictures as long as I am serving here. :)

Pretty much pro cooks here :)

The local Hamilton Mexican restaurant knows whats up!!! Kingdoms of glory, say what? :)

HELLLLOOOO NAUVOO!!!

HJFSGAHLFBSAFGILGVHSAFEGLLRGHJEVFHSDGAHJLVGFHEJWVQHFLGEHWJLQVCHJEWVLQ. Literally... that is how my brain feels right now. In a good way though. :) It has been a very crazy week.
Monday & Tuesday: Literally, I spent these 2 days just saying bye to people. There just wasn't enough time in the day!!! I got to see a lot of people that I had taught in my time in Winterset and it was so good to catch up with them and just leave my testimony with them one more time. I got to see Miki! Do any of you remember Miki? Basically she is one of my favorite people in the world. She was the first non-member I ever taught on my mission. She has such a special place in my heart. I got to see her and catch up, and cry a little. It was great. :) Just a crazy couple days.
Wednesday: Packing day! Yay. When you have been in an area 9 months, you realize that you have WAYYYY too much "stuff." (Thanks mom!) :) I was done packing at about 1 and then we headed to the church to say bye to people. That was hard... I have gotten really close with a lot of these missionaries and it was hard to leave. That night we had dinner with the Turners which was great! They made bets on where I was going. :) Haha I didn't know how I felt about that. On our way home, we stopped at the Allen's and ended up being there for about 2 hours... haha oops. I just love them though!!!! Wednesday was just a crazy night... I didn't know how I was feeling.
Thursday: Transfers... I don't think it hit me that I was getting transferred until transfers. We met up with some other missionaries at the church and got a ride to Iowa City from a member in their ward. When we got to transfers, it was literally a big party. It was one of the biggest transfer meetings so you can imagine how many people I saw. I freaked out a little bit when I heard my momma Sister Barker was there though... haha I went and found her and when she saw me she immediately started crying. Haha I love her!!! We talked for quite a while and then headed in. Then it began... we got a couple trainings and then President started to announce the transfer doctrine. I just sat there waiting and waiting and he never called my name... literally the second to last area called was mine... When I found out I would be with Sister Rasmussen again we both freaked! We ran to hug each other in the chapel. I feel kind of bad cause I screamed, "Holy Crap" about 4 times as I was running in front of a congregation of missionaries... haha it's fine. No shame. After wards we just took hundreds of pics and then we headed home... to NAUVOO!!!! That's right... I am serving in Nauvoo. :) We actually live in Hamilton, but we are over Hamilton, Nauvoo, and Carthage, and then a couple little towns. I am so spoiled dangit! Hopefully I will get to go to the Temple soon. We live in a cute little apartment. I definitely miss the Prices, but I am adjusting. Thursday night, there was a RS event, so I got to meet a lot of the Sisters and they are so cool. I know I am going to love it here! It is weird though being the only missionaries in the ward... something to get used to.
Friday: We did our district meeting today and it was so fun! So Sister Barker is on my district, and then Elder Aston who was my zone leader in Winterset is my Zone Leader again. :) Haha apparently 7.5 months wasn't enough... Upside though: I am already his favorite. :) District meeting was fun! We also have a senior couple in my district but they weren't there Friday. I am excited to meet them! For the rest of the day after that, Sister Rasmussen just took me around to meet all the members! It is so weird being introduced... I am used to introducing! Long day, but a good day!
Saturday: We did our studies and then headed to the church to help the Evans (a family in the ward) set up for Mormon Prom. I have never hung so many streamers in my life. :) After that we headed to Carthage to do some work!  We went to Carthage Jail to meet the Senior couples there and also to do our weekly planning. I am excited to go there with an Investigator so I can do the tour again. :) We stayed there for a little bit and then headed to the Peels for dinner. Sister Peel made chicken roll-ups... my favorite. :) After dinner, we headed back to Hamilton to meet with an investigator. His name is Jack, and he is awesome! He was a referral from the Elders in Keokuk and he is so prepared. We taught him the restoration, and he just ate it up. We are excited to go back and teach him more.
Sunday: I LOVE THE NAUVOO 3RD WARD. Just saying... I miss Raccoon River a lot, but I feel comfortable here so I know I am going to love it. The ward members are so fantastic and have such a desire to do missionary work. Oh, the joys of working in Nauvoo. :) We have church from 2-5 (Weird!!) So before church every week, we go around and round up our investigators. It is awesome! Unfortunately, we didn't have anyone at church this week, but we keep praying for next week. After church we headed to the family history center across the street from the Temple so that Sister Rasmussen could skype. I was so excited for her and it was fun to meet her family. After that, we headed to dinner with the Raizors in Carthage. THEY ARE AMAZING!!! I was hysterically laughing the entire time. They said next time we come, we aren't using plates or utensils. I am excited. :) Then we headed to the Evans and I skyped my family! Holy moly, it was amazing!! It was awesome to see their beautiful faces and to hear their voices. It only made me a little trunky... :) Such a tender mercy! After that we headed home and got in bed. Haha oh... the life of a missionary. :)
Well, there is my week! Sorry it was kind of all over the place. Haha like I said... my brain is a little wacko lately. Just a lot of new things and I am just trying to organize all my thoughts. I am excited to be here though! I am excited to be in such a sacred place, full of amazing people. Sure, we have a lot of anti's, but that adds to the experience. :) We weren't able to fit in mormon.org time this week, so I am just sending one of my favorite videos. :)
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1370500727001
I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Remember I love you, God loves you, and Jesus Christ loves you! GOD SPEED!!!
-Sister Jensen
*I will have to find a good Illinois quote. Tune in next week for one. :)

I love my McCall family!!

Arzanis!!!! Left to right: Sister Arzani, Bishop, and then Bishops sister Dianne.

The Jacksons!

The Saxtons!!! (minus Chandler) :)

Ma Allens. :):)

Transfers were CRAZY!!! My old new comp on the left, Sister Rasmussen (we were companions in the MTC), and my Momma Sister Barker on the right! She is now my Sister Training leader and in my District. Haha so crazy...

Generation Pic. :)

Reunited and it feels so good!!! :) All of my MTC favorites!!!!!! Transfers rock.

I get this view about 4-6 times a week. Um... what?

We did our weekly planning on the grounds at Carthage Jail... AMAZING!!!

We make this drive almost every day!

Most spiritual place in the house. :)

We are on the Left! Home sweet home. :)

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow....

So, when your Mission President tells you that this will most likely be your last week in the area you have spent 9 MONTHS laboring in, it makes for a pretty crazy week. :) Even though I am not 100% sure I am leaving yet, I decided to still make this the best week ever since it is about a 99% chance I am.
Monday: On Monday, it rained. All day. Wanna know whats near the top of my "things I love list?" Rain. Yep! I was in heaven! We got to do a little work before we headed to the library to email, so we went and saw Sister Costello. We just sat and visited with her for a little bit, and shared a message and then went on with our p-day.  I was kind of a little bum though cause I kept thinking about how it was most likely my last p-day. DON'T DO THAT FUTURE MISSIONARIES!!! After games at the church, we headed to the Christensens. We got some awesome home-made food and then got to play with the boys for a little bit. And I got to make mom noises to their 2 month old baby girl. It was perfect. :) After that we headed to the Arzanis so I could get a haircut. Sister Arzani was so ashamed of me... word to the wise... don't wait 6 months to get a haircut. Woo.
Tuesday: Sister Koboldt took us out to lunch today. She is just so cute! For some reason we always make her cry! Haha I think they are good tears though. :) Then of course we had our weekly bingo, which was awesome. No one yelled at me to call louder this week. TENDER MERCY! Then I had a really cool experience... we were at the Greens having a lesson with them and we had decided the night before to just read the Book of Mormon with them. Well, we started reading and the spirit told me so strongly that that was not what they needed. So I asked for their computer and I pulled up this video (https://www.lds.org/youth/video/our-true-identity?lang=eng). We just talked about how much Heavenly Father loved them, and it was truly what they needed to hear. Karma was in tears by the end of it. Folks... this is why I am grateful for the spirit. Because it was the the end of the month, we had tons of left over miles so we got to drive to the BOONIES to visit this less-active. She was actually home! It was my first time meeting her, so I know Heavenly Father had a hand in that.
Wednesday: We got a new investigator today! Her name is Judy and she is awesome. We actually found her last week, but neither Sister Cole or I felt good about extending her a baptismal invite. Luckily, our district leader understands that the spirit trumps all. :) But, we did invite her today! She is excited about baptism. Now, it is just getting her to church! I never knew before my mission that that would be such a hard thing to do. After meeting with her, we got to go do crafts. I was the "hot glue gun girl" as they liked to call me. We decorated these little fences... made me feel pretty crafty. Then we got to go do service for this non-member family in Van Meter. It was so fun!!!! We got to wipe down all the wood in their house for like 4 hours, cause the mom was starting chemo the next day. We honestly walked into their house and it was like we were instant friends. Here's the catch... We never would have found them if our Bishops wife didn't give us her number and told us to call her. MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK AT IT'S FINEST! Your help matters people. On our way home, we got an interesting phone call... Binky told us that she was pretty upset about the date we extended to her last time we were there. I took about the next 20 minutes and tried to talk her off the ledge. I asked her one question, and I knew what her problem was. I asked her if she had prayed and asked her Heavenly Father about that date and what he thought... she was silent for a moment and finally said, "no." Counseling with our Father in Heaven is so important! When we do that, He will bless us with clarity and comfort. That is something Binky will have to learn through her own experiences. Luckily though, she didn't drop us she just told us to give her a week. TENDER MERCY!
Thursday: Today was kind of a crazy day! After studies we headed to Kathys house and helped her paint for a couple hours. I don't know for sure that I am leaving, but I decided to tell Kathy that it was a possibility just to prepare her. She immediately broke into tears and basically broke my heart. I feel so very blessed to be able to serve in a place that is so close to home, because I was able to tell her that I will be back next year. What a blessing! Dang, I just love her. After we got cleaned up, (yes... Kathy had a paint war. With my clothes.) we headed to district lunch at Costco. Haha that made me a little trunky... District meeting was awesome! Sister Cole gave her first training and she did so good! It was a proud mama moment. :) We had  plans with Linda and Ann tonight so we headed there after district meeting. We got to talk to them for a while, and then headed home.
Friday: Today was a weird weekly planning session... because this week is transfers, we weren't able to plan for much. After planning, we headed to Winterset and helped this member who just moved into our ward move some furniture. She is a hoot! She had us laughing for hours! :) Then Sister Capps was so sweet and took us out. I LOVE THE MEMBERS HERE! We got to decorate Brother McCalls car with gum so he can quit smoking... Saint George Temple... here comes the McCall family!! I am so excited for them!!!!!! :)
Saturday: So Friday night we planned and had our whole day planned out. We were suppose to spend most of the day today doing service for this family in our ward. No joke... Friday night at like 10 we get a call that we can't go cause the Elders were going. Well, there went all our plans. Luckily, we spiritually winged it though. :) We helped the Prices with yard work for about an hour, (their mulch looks great!), and then headed to Kathys again. After that we headed to Earlham so that I could see some members there and get some pictures. Then we had another awesome lesson with the Greens! We taught about faith and used fire. Yea... it was pretty sweet. :)
Sunday: One of the best Sundays I have had in this ward. Testimony meeting was amazing! I started bawling in the first testimony, and I looked over at Sister Cole and she too was just sobbing. We looked like blabbering fools, but we don't care. Then in Relief Society, we had the most amazing lesson on visiting teaching. I just love this ward, in case you didn't know already. I don't think I have ever hugged so many people than I did at church on Sunday. Wooo. After church, we took some time to just go around and visit members. The Barbers invited us over for dinner, so that was fun. A good send off from them. Saying bye to them literally broke my heart, But... I'll be back. :) Then we headed out to the Erdmans to say bye to them. We got there and they were pickin ticks off their dogs and squishing them. Haha that's ma Erdman fam. :) Then we headed to Winterset to say bye to the Penners. I am just going to miss all these people so much!
Well, that was my (last) week here in good ole' Winterset Iowa. My love for this place began day 1 and has grown so much with each day. All the people that I have net here, and the experiences I have had have truly changed me for the better. I have no doubt that All that I have done here has truly helped me more then the people I have helped. I read a talk this week called "Waiting on the road to Damascus." (http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages/topics/jesus-christ?v=1452683656001) It talks about the story of Saul and Joseph Smith and how a lot of people believe that they need to have an experience like that to know that this is truly the Lords Kingdom. That was me before my mission. Growing up, I always heard people talk about their "big experience" of when they knew the church was true. For a long time, I was mad that I was not having a "Joseph Smith" experience. I was truly waiting on my road to Damascus. In this talk, President Uchtdorf counsels us to not spend too long on our road to Damascus and to do something to get going. Winterset was that thing for me. I will always have a special place in my heart for this area, because it was here that I had my ah-ha moment. I do not need an experience like Saul or Joseph Smith to know that this is true... it is the simple, little whisperings of the Spirit at different times that confirms to us and grows or testimony that this truly is the Lords kingdom. The Lord himself taught that we learn line upon line, precept on precept. Why wouldn't a testimony be the same? While here on my mission, I have truly come to know with a surety, without a doubt in my mind... that Jesus IS the Christ. That He performed a very perfect atonement for his imperfect people. I know that God the father lives and that He loves us with a love we cannot comprehend. I have felt glimpses of that love for his children here in Winterset on many occasions. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that he, by the grace and power of God, translated the Book of Mormon. He was the first prophet of this dispensation, and we are still led by a prophet today. I am grateful for all that I have learned in my 9 months as a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ. He has pushed me, led me, carried me, and let me fly and those are the moments I am eternally grateful for. 
I hope you all have a wonderful week. This weekend is mothers day and I just need to rant on my mom for a minute... She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She is kind, funny, brilliant, beautiful, a bit sassy sometimes, and truly just wonderful. Mom, happy mothers day. :) And that goes to all you other out there too! I pray that you may each feel of your divine role as a mother and truly feel of the ones you have touched so deeply. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!
-Sister Jensen
"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

HAHAHA! We laughed for days about this one. :)

Our companionship in a picture. :)

Round-about cemetary? Sure.

Joan. She will be a member ONE DAY!!!!! :)

Beverly  :)

THE PENNERS!!!!!!!

Ma Erdmans. :)

The Barber Clan!!! :)

The Johnsons! Basically the cutest family ever! If I could choose one baby in the ward to hold.. it would be Jameson. Cause he reminds me of my Zainers. :)

Sister Ratliff (sitting down), and Sister McVey!

Only in Earlham. :)

Brother McCalls car!!!!!! :)

Sister Capps and Quentin!

When you are serving in the town where John Wayne was born, ya gotta get a pic with his statue. :)

My dearest Linda and Ann. :)

The district. :)

Top row: Elder Deering (ZL), Elder Hoskins, Elder Garner, Elder Blackburn, Elder Aston (ZL), Elder Bolinder, Elder Dickson, Elder Dragon

Bottom row: Sister Cole, Elder Jensen (WOOT WOOT!), Elder Hollan (DL)

And The Beat Goes On

As transfers draw nearer, I'm pretty sure the days go faster. It's freakin me out!!!! It was a good week though. Lots of laughter and miracles. :)
Monday: It was just a regular p-day but we got to go out to dinner with our Bishop and his wife, the Barbers, and a less-active family in the ward. SO GREAT! I love them. :)
Tuesday: Today we had exchanges with the Hermanas. Sister Cole went to Des Moines for the day (or as she likes to call it... Mexico), and Hermana Howell came here to Winterset with me. :) Just like old times. I seriously just love her. We talked about life and all things related and just had a great time! We got to attend the Relief Society book club cause they had read, "The Power of Everyday Missionaries." (YOU SHOULD ALL READ IT!!) and they invited us to come and give our thoughts. The best part though had to be the homemade Café Rio. Yep. It was a good night! :)
Wednesday: We met the Hermanas at the stake center to finish up our exchanges and that took up most of our morning. We did some service when we got into town and then saw Karissa. She is doing so well! She is so strong and has so much faith for a little 10 year old. It literally blows me away every time we have a lesson. After that we drove into the wilderness to visit a less-active member. We shared a sweet message on the atonement with her and she sent us home with salsa and ramen. Super random, but we aint complanin. :)
Thursday: District meeting was so amazing today! We got a training from one of our zone leaders and then from our district leader. They are both "pound the pulpit" kind of Elders so it was a good pump-up meeting. :) After wards we got to go see Kathy and do some hard labor. I think I have worn pants more than skirts this week. ITS GREAT! We got to move some furniture around for her, so that was fun. We had to hurry and change after that cause we had an appt with the Scotts. The Scotts are moving in about a week and it makes me want to cry. They have been such an example to me so it was great to see them one last time.
Friday: Weekly plan all day long? Sure. Why not. We had a little bit of time before an appt. at the Jacksons so we knocked some doors. At least we got a nice breeze as they were slammed in our face. Iowans are so humble. :) Kidding kidding!! I LOVE THEM! So we had dinner at the Jacksons with all the Elders and of course it was fun and we just laughed the whole time. That night we had the most amazing drive home. We rolled our windows down (it was 80 outside), turned the heat on in the car, and listened to piano hymns. Wow. Definitely what I needed.
Saturday: SUCH A BUSY DAY!!! We were just goin goin goin. After studies, we headed to Linda and Anns house and helped them clean their kitchen. That took up a big chunk of our morning, and then after we had to go home and shower and get ready for the day. By the time we got to Winerset it was about 3 pm. That didn't leave us with much time! We hurried and did Mormon.org time and then headed over to Binkys house. She is doing so good! She has been reading the Book of Mormon a lot and absolutely loves it! She completely relates to it, so that is just awesome. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation and she had so many questions, but by the end of the lesson she just kept saying that she knew it was true. HOLY MOLY!!! We extended a date to her for June 28. It makes me sad knowing that I wont see her be baptized, but also excited that another Sister will be able to come and teach her. I guess ya gotta spread the wealth sometimes, eh? :) r.
Sunday: Weirdest Sunday on my mission so far. Haha I was like the child magnet today... I had about 3 kids surrounding me during all of sacrament wanting to color with my scripture markers. Apparently I need to be more prepared cause the back of every page of our ward directory now has drawings of rainbows and butterflies. Ya know I am a sucker for cute kids!! Then on our way to Sunday school we got roped into subbing a primary class. Haha it was great. :) Then during relief society, half way through the lesson, the Bishop poked his head in and said, "Sisters, just wanted to make you aware we are now in a tornado warning." Um..... WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! My heart=in my stomach. The coolest thing happened though... the Bishops sweet wife suggested that we all take a minute and pray. So she said the sweetest prayer and immediately I felt peace and knew it would all be okay. Heavenly Father is so awesome isn't he? :) So we finished up at church and headed home. We did some studies and ate some lunch and then headed to the Thomass' for dinner. They are such a cool family and we just laughed. A lot. Then we had a sweet lesson on member-missionary work. Shocker. It was a good Sunday!
Well, there is my week! It literally feels like maybe two days have passed since my last email. TIME! BAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! It freaks me out... especially the fact that I am comin up on my half way mark... This is the best thing I have ever done and I feel like I am finally getting to the point where I truly realize that. I am so blessed!
Okay, so I am sure that most of you have seen this video. I watched it again during Mormon.org time and just sat there bawling like a baby. NO shame. Anywho... I just love how it portrays so many different cultures, but they all have one thing in common... They are children of a loving Heavenly Father.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2014/04?cid=HPMO042114721&vid=3408500022001&lang=eng
I know that each of us is so loved by our Father in Heaven. he is so aware of us, and knows us so perfectly. He knows what we need, and when we need it. Never doubt that.
I pray that each of you will have a great week full of many tender mercies! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!
-Sister Jensen
"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

Best of the Best!

What a week. Hahaha wow.... it was just interesting. It legit FLEW by. So fast. I guess missionary time tends to do that a lot though.
Monday: Pretty sweet thing happened today! The First Presidency of the church saw that our mission was really obedient, so they decided to kind of reward us a little. They gave each companionship with a car 1500 miles a month. THAT MEANS WE GET 300 EXTRA EVERY MONTH!!! We literally yelled for joy. That will help so much! That night we hung out with the Tunney's and it was awesome. Brother Tunney sent each of us home with a dozen pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. You better believe we ate them all. Yum.
Tuesday: We had interviews with President Jensen today! I love that man! My interview was kind of crazy... it went a little something like this...
"So, Sister Jensen you've been in Winterset for 6 months now?"
"Uh... add about 3 months to that..."
"What?!?! Oh Sister Jensen, you are definitely getting transferred."
DAGGER TO THE HEART. Seriously, he said that and my heart dropped to my stomach. I pretty much knew I was getting transferred in a couple weeks, but just to hear him say that freaked me out. Pretty crazy stuff. I also got to meet with Sister Jensen and she is just so cute!!! She seriously reminds me so much of my Nana so obviously I just adore her. Somehow, we got on the topic of going home. It freaked me out. I just kept thinking... I still have 10 months. I got time. But then I started realizing how FAST these last 9 months have flown and I know it will be here before I know it. FREAKS ME OUT. It's fine. That night, we met with the Forbes.  We had an AMAZING lesson with them on the Plan of Salvation. Hey, remember that one time I loved being a missionary? Yep.
Wednesday: We got to start our day off pretty fun at the Turners house. Hahaha We all headed outside to play for a little bit. Basically the children attacked us with wooden swords. (I still have bruises.) After that we got to go to service and hand out cake. That was fun. :) The rest if the day was just a blur. It went so fast.
Thursday: Today we spent about 3 hours in the car shop getting a new tire. Yay. That took up most of our time. Then we got to go see Karissa and it was a SAWEET lesson. We taught her about how her body is a temple. She loved it!!!! She is just so amazing. Sersiouly... I am going to miss her so much. After that we headed to West Des Moines for dinner with the Elgs. Their house is darling and Sister Elg is an amazing cook.  We had a really good Easter lesson with them and then headed home for the night.
Friday: Definitely not the day we were expecting. We did half our weekly planning and then started heading out for a lesson we had in Earlham. We got down the driveway and realized something wasn't right with the car... we spent the next 3 hours getting 2 more tires put on our car. Just one of those weeks people. We only had about an hour to do work after we got out of there so we headed to Earlham to see a less-active.
Saturday: Oh my heavens. Just imagine a 90 acre farm that hasn't had any yard work done on it since the fall... yep. That's where we spent ALL afternoon cleaning it up. I am so sore... We got to go with the Prices to this ladies house... her husband was a member but she is not. He passed away about a month ago so she needed a lot of help on their farm. We worked straight for about 4 hours... luckily, it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY! We got home around 3, and finished our studies and then headed out. We got to go see Beverly! We got to paint her nails a pretty Easter purple, and read her a sweet Easter story. She is so cute! After that, the day just flew by again! We just did a lot of driving around checking in on people. The town was LOADED with people cause Winterset was having it's monthly Bike Night. Haha yep... motorcycles EVERYWHERE. We gonna convert em all. Kidding. :)
Sunday: HAPPY EASTER!!! Today was amazing!! One of the most powerful sacrament meetings I have attended. The Bishopric spoke and those men are just amazing. They all spoke with such power and love. They have truly been called by God to their callings. Church was just amazing basically. And literally everyone came to us and made sure we had plans for Easter. Haha I LOVE THIS WARD!!!! I kind of just want to take them with me wherever I am transferred. No shame. After church we went home and played this SWEET game with the Prices. I am not sure what I did exactly, but I know I ended up with a TON of candy so I'm good. :) Then we headed to the Tunney's! Haha so awesome. We had some amazing food (obviously) and then watched this cartoon bible video of the resurrection. Then we played monkey in the middle. In the house. With a volleyball. YES. So fun. :) I really had such an amazing Easter. It is always hard being away from my family during these holidays but I honestly cannot imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else right now.
Well, there is my week. It was definitely a crazy week and not what we were expecting, but it was what the Lord knew we needed. I hope that you all had an amazing Easter Sunday! I am just so grateful that we have the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have met a lot of people on my mission so far who are completely blinded (mostly by choice) that they have someone who suffered specifically and individually for them. We are so blessed! He has given us so much, and asked for so little in return. I love the story of the rich young ruler... I can definitely look back and see times in my life when I was stubborn like this guy. I didn't want to see the bigger picture of what I would receive if I just did what my Savior asked me to do.
https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/christ-and-the-rich-young-ruler?lang=eng
I love this holiday. It is a time of reflection and improvement. I think that we can all become better then we were yesterday. We just gotta work at it. "Never let it rest till your good is better and your better is best! :) (Thanks Trina!)
I hope you all have a marvelous week! I pray that you will be safe, and that you will feel the love your Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ have for you. I LOVE YOU!!!
-Sister Jensen
"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

We love Easter. So much.

Typical Tunney fam pic. :) Easter was the best!

Perfectly placed sign :)

Sword fights after lunch? I think YES!

When a member gives you dried seaweed crisps... ya gotta try em.

Yay for coordination at the Jacksons! :)

D&C 6:9

"Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed." One of my favorite things about being a missionary, is seeing promises like this be fulfilled. WHAT A WEEK!
Monday: It was just our regular p-day. We did our email, and grocery shopping and then headed to the church for games. It was a little bit warmer today so instead of playing inside we all went outside and played ultimate Frisbee. Haha that was fun. :) Then we had dinner with the Arzanis. I just love them! Sister Arzani cooked this amazing meal for us, and then didn't even eat cause she had to work. Then after dinner, Bishop took us all outside and talked to us about his Harley for about 30 minutes. Haha that man is passionate about his bike. :) We all just kept joking that he definitely isn't a Utah Mormon. We love him!
Tuesday: One of the most amazing days on my mission.  Most of you know that the last couple weeks have just been really hard... we just weren't finding any success so we spent a lot of our time on our knees praying, fasting, and studying. And the Lord heard our pleas... we invited two of his precious daughters to be baptized today. What a blessing! I really can't think back to a time in this area where we found 2 new investigators in one day. We were very blessed. We are really excited to continue with Susie and Binky and I will keep you updated! That night ended just perfectly with a visit to the Watson's. We got to hear all about Brother Watson's conversion and his mission to the islands of Fiji. Then we role played with him as an antagonist. Haha that was fun. It was just a great day!
Wednesday: Apparently Heavenly Father decided we needed some more blessings cause we found another new investigator today. Her name is Kim and she is awesome! When we invited her to be baptized, she was pretty excited, so that is good. :) She is so much like my family... haha she loves to talk so I just love her. :) It was a fun lesson! That night we got to go see Karissa and talked to her about missionary work. She was so excited when she found out that she could be a missionary just like us. Haha I love that girl!
Thursday: CRAZY DAY! We had district meeting. The trainings were awesome and definitely things that I needed to work on. Afterwards we went to Van Meter for a little bit and did some PPHD. (Prepared People Hunt Down.) My favorite. :) Then we headed to the Christensen's. They actually ended up taking us to the Thomas' house for a work party they were having. The experience we had there just confirmed to me how much I love the spirit. That morning, we were trying to figure out what we wanted to share with the Christensen's and we decided to watch "Reflections of Christ" with them because it is almost Easter. Well, at this work party, a non-member had come. Seriously, "Reflections of Christ" was perfect! He felt the spirit super strong and just thanked us so much afterwards for sharing that with him. Haha I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!
Friday: Just your normal weekly planning Friday.  We went and saw Kathy. She is just amazing. She has such a desire to do what's right and she really has just changed my life. She is definitely one I am going to miss a lot when I leave... We were able to have a SWEET lesson with her about Jesus Christ and we all just pretty much sat there and cried. It was da best. Then we had dinner with the Jacksons! Yay! Haha seriously us and the Elders just sit there and laugh about all the HILARIOUS things Brother Jackson says. That man... so awesome. Haha  After that we went and saw Linda and Ann and just talked with them for a little bit. I love those 2 ladies.
Saturday: I am not super sure where Saturday went. It literally FLEW by. When we got into town we went and did Mormon.org time and then afterwards headed to Frostees for some ice cream cause it was 80 DEGREES TODAY! No joke. It was awesome. :) After that we went and saw Susie and kind of had a Book of Mormon smack down with her. Those are my favorite. :) Then we did some knocking and street contacting and then went and saw Beverly. We shared a message with her and then she gave us chocolate. Good trade I would say!
Sunday: Today, we really understood what everyone meant when they kept telling us about "tornado season." We walk out for church and it is FREEZING and POURING RAIN. Are ya kiddin me Iowa? I am just happy we made it to church! There were some great talks shared and lessons given. I don't think you guys realize how much I love this ward. It's a problem. After church, the Saxton's had invited us over for dinner so that was fun! We went and helped make everything and it was delicious! We got to share a message with them and us and the Elders sat down with Sister Saxton to talk about some families in the ward. Chill night. Can I just say though that I love Sister Price? Haha on our way home Sister Cole and I were talking about how we really just needed a little something sweet. We walk into the house and Sister Price says, "I made cookies. Do ya want one?" Do we want one... HA! So delicious!
Well, there is my week. Simply put... a week of complete miracles. This week has been a very spiritual and tender week for me. I feel like I grew a lot this week which is something that I am very grateful for. My faith in the Savior was strengthened more than I could have thought through this whole trial=blessings time. This last week, we have done a lot of Easter lessons. Asking people to focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is something that I have tried to do as well, and it has been a very strengthening experience. I have a couple of links to share with each of you this week. I ENCOURAGE you to take the time to look at each one. I PROMISE you that they will greatly increase the spirit in your life this Easter season.
https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng&cid=email-shared\ (ONE OF MY FAVORITE VIDEOS EVER!!!!!)
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1101418662001#.U0mKCxL45OU.email
http://easter.mormon.org/
Along with these witnesses of the Saviors resurrection, I add my testimony and my witness that he lives! He is risen and he is still here with us. One of my favorite quotes as a missionary has been D&C 84:88. I know without a doubt that my Savior has been with me everyday for these last 8 months. He has changed me in ways I didn't think were possible. 8 months ago today I left everything that I knew to become one of His chosen representatives. I look back on who I was 8 months ago, and just think to myself how far I have come. And it is all because of Him. Truly... He is my Savior and Redeemer. He is my advocate with the Father. He is my older brother. And He is my friend. I love the Savior Jesus Christ with all of my heart. He is truly the "Redeemer of my Soul."
I encourage each of you this Easter season to make it more meaningful than just being a day filled with treats and presents. Celebrate it for what it truly is... the Resurrection of our risen Lord.
I love you all very much and pray that you may have a great week. Remember who you are and what you stand for. :) God bless!
-Sister Jensen
"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa."

Hahahahaha. I am pretty sure my BISHOP is the coolest guy ever. :)

For service on Wednesday, we played this game with all the old ladies where we tried to see how many words we could make out of "Chrysanthemum." Haha it was intense. Those ladies were on FIRE! :)

80 degress on Saturday... snowing today. Welcome to "tornado season" in Iowa.

Frostees opened back up this weekend... haha you know that's my favorite! :) I walked up to the window and the owner was like, "Oh my gosh, you're still here?" Haha that made me smile... and then she even remembered my order. So great. :)