Pageant Superfan

What a week! I am completely exhausted, but I have never been happier. I received a lot of tender mercies this week... nothing new though. :)
Monday: Nothing too exciting, except for the fact that I got to eat lunch with my sweet Grandparents in Nauvoo. Does it get better? I think not! (Insert teacher from "Incredibles" voice here.)
Tuesday: Just our normal Tuesday full of shirtless people, second hand smoke, and service. :) We found a new investigator today named Diane! She is a cute old granny who is stoked to be baptized. We just gotta get her to church. :) We had the opportunity to go to Pageant tonight and I got to see my sweet cousin, Allie! :)
Wednesday: We got to do family history today of course and then we went to Sister Munsons funeral. It was a really beautiful service, and it was fun to reflect on the things she taught me in my 3 months of knowing her. We went to Carthage after that, and did some service for a non-member. I have never pulled so many weeds in my life! So rewarding. :) We went to pageant again tonight! I love the British Pageant so any time I can see it, I am a happy camper.
Thursday: Our last district meeting of the transfer! So weird how fast these 6 weeks have flown by... We went to pageant again tonight and I got to see so many people! The Tunneys and the Prices who are from Winterset were here and Sister Matley who is serving there right now was here, so she got to fill me in on all the details of what is happening! I still love Winterset just as much as I did 3 months ago. I always will.
Friday: Just weekly planning today and then running some errands, and then pageant again with the Shallenbergers. I'm pretty sure the people at pageant know me as Sister Crybaby. No shame.
Saturday: We got to go to the temple today. :) I missed it so much! It was so fun too though, cause some other Sisters had come for Pageant, so I got to see Sister Muirbrook! She is so darling, and I really missed her. We worked pageant tonight and I swear it was like a mission reunion. So many of our missionaries were there from around the mission! It was so fun, and of course I forget my camera. :(
Sunday: Right after church today, we got to watch a cute 8 year old from our ward be baptized and it was really touching. I love the Spirit! We got to see "Our Story Goes On" again tonight with the Shallenbergers, and it was just as amazing as the first time! I even got to sit right next to the Newell family, from the ward I lived in in Alpine! So cool. :)
Well... it was a good week, but exhausting. We weren't in bed till about 11:30 almost every night, and that has really taken a lot out of me, but I seriously would not trade any of this for the world.
I love being a missionary. I love being HIS missionary. This is an experience I will cherish for an eternity.
I love you all and I pray for you. I hope that you have a wonderful week, and that you take time to express your love for all those around you... especially your Savior Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father. I LOVE YOU!!
-Sister Jensen

Sunset on the Missisloppy. :)

I'M OBSESSED!!!!!!

This is what happens when you are at pageant every night... Nauvoo-leprosy at its finest! :)

Trailer parks like to be special apparently...

My sweet cousin Allie came to Nauvoo and we got to talk for a little bit. :) She leaves for her mission to Ohio in a couple months, so it was fun to see her.

MY FAMILY! :)

SWEEEET WEEK!

Okay... so this is gonna be another one of those lame, "I ran out of time, and can't type very fast" emails. Sorry!
Monday: The Warners took us out to dinner tonight for Sister Rasmussen's birthday, and it was just so fun. We all got to talk about our investigators and get advice... I love having them so close. :)
Tuesday: Nothing too exciting today, but we did get to work the pageant tonight! I saw a lot of missionaries from around the mission who had come to watch, so that was cool. We didn't have the opportunity to stay cause we didn't have anyone with us, but it was still fun to proselyte there.
Wednesday: Today was a little bit hard... Sister Munson (the sweet member we go read the Ensign with every week) has very aggressive cancer and her family told us it was time to say bye... So we had the opportunity to go and say one last prayer with her. As I spoke, I had this overwhelming feeling that I was praying words that were not my own. It was a very overwhelming and tender moment for the 3 of us...each of us felt so many angels in her room. Such an amazing, sacred experience.
Thursday: Today was just a run around day. Pageant is taking up a lot of our time, so when we have any time... it is spent finding and visiting investigators.
Friday: Zone Conference today! Yay!! There were only 2 zones there and we usually have about 5 or 6, so that was weird, but it was so fun! I got to see so many people. Also, Sister Barker, Sister Pratt, Sister Rasmussen, and myself all got to sing a number which was special. I have truly learned to love expressing my testimony through song on my mission. After the conference we spent some time in Carthage, and then had to get home cause some Sisters were coming to spend the night with us. It was so fun to have them with us. I love new Sisters.
Saturday: We got to help out at a carnival for about 3 hours which was good. We didn't really talk to anyone, but they all saw the Badge and that is all we can ask for. :) We got to go to pageant tonight, cause we worked it and because we had the Shallenbergers come. The best part of the day... actually the week... happened at pageant. I knew they were there and I was trying not to be distracted... we were getting our seats ready and I turn around. There they are. Both of them. Staring at me and smiling. Yep... I got to see my sweet grandparents. Words cannot even describe how I felt when I saw them. I hugged Nana and then I hugged Pops. (Don't worry... I got permission from President Jensen!) They were here. In my little sacred place. In my home. Pure joy is all that describes it. To top it all off, we sat right behind them for the pageant. Wasn't even planned. The Lord is so amazing people.
Sunday: We got to do weekly planning before church and then headed to Nauvoo. Sacrament was packed of course. My favorite... makes me feel like I am back in Utah. :) We had a very unexpected lesson with our new investigator, William. He is 14 and has more questions than anyone I know. And they are good questions.. we were pretty stumped. But, his grandma bore the most powerful testimony and I know he felt it. We are excited to continue to work with him.
And here we are again at another Monday. My day was made as I sat in Grandpa Johns Cafe and ate with my Grandparents and other family members and friends. We got to sit and chat for about and hour, and it was amazing. They are two of the most influential people in my life, so for me to be able to share with them this sacred little place is something I will cherish forever.
I have really had an amazing week... I feel like I grew a lot this week. I don't even know how to explain it, but I am different this week. In a good way. I want to share with you one of my favorite Hymns, especially since serving here. We sang it in Sacrament, and it really touched me and I feel inspired to share it with you.
https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise?lang=eng
I have really understood a lot about those early saints since serving here as you can imagine. I have wondered to myself so many times why they did what they did. They knew it would be hard... so why? My favorite verse of this song explains to ME why...
That glorious rest will then commence
Which prophets did foretell,
When Saints will reign with Christ on earth,
And in his presence dwell
A thousand years, oh, glorious day!
Dear Lord, prepare my heart
To stand with thee on Zion's mount
And nevermore to part.
They knew that rest would eventually come. They knew that God would honor his promises if they did. They gloried in the thought of those thousand years when they would be allowed to worship their Lord and Savior on the Earth with no persecution and fear. They knew they were being prepared. I look so forward to that day when I can sit with my Savior and those early saints who paved the way for ME and my posterity. And I glory in the joys and pains of life... because each little thing prepares me to worship Him. I love this gospel. I love my mission. And I love my Savior and King, Jesus Christ.
I pray that you all have a wonderful week full of miracles and love. I Love you all!
-Sister Jensen

"Ma girls." :) Sister Ramsey served with Sister Barker and I when we were in Winterset.

The originals from my good ole' Winterset days. :)

Zone Conference!

We got to have Sister Whipple and Sister Dixon come and spend the night with us! They are serving in Des Moines and had come down for the pageant. (Sister Whipple is in the red, and Sister Dixon in the Blue. Sister Dixon is one of the Sister Training Leaders for Winterset, so we got to talk all about that.) :)

No joke.. that is a real samurai sword. Don't know if that's allowed... but hey... When in Nauvoo right? :)

Two of my favorite people (aka... Nana and Pops) in the world came to Nauvoo, and I got permission to see them. :) Life=complete.

Pageant Time!

It's amazing how time works. Throughout the week, I just kept thinking it was the longest week ever. Looking back at it now, it flew by. We saw so many miracles and had a lot of heartbreaks, but I am grateful for each moment because it taught me something different.
Monday: I didn't have a ton of time to email on Monday because we had an awesome bi-zone p-day. With pageant starting this week, they invited our zone and the Quincy zone to Nauvoo to be trained a little on what they wanted us to do when we worked it. It was so fun seeing so many other missionaries and just getting to have a fun day! So we did some trainings and then they got us all tickets to go on a wagon ride and to see a play called, "The Promise." Haha that is definitely not one to see as a Sister surrounded by Elders. Awkward... haha. Haha at one part the actors were pretty close and I look down the row and ALL... and I mean ALL the Elders were squirming in their seat. Haha so great. :)
Tuesday: Because of the big p-day yesterday, we got to finish our laundry and do our grocery shopping today before service. I have definitely been a missionary for too long because I felt super weird doing p-day things on a Tuesday. So we did our service at City Hall and then headed to Montebellos to paint some nails. We ended up running out of time because we had an appt. with a lady who lived about 20 minutes outside of town. Reba is awesome! She is really good friends with Sister Grow and has met with Sisters for years. We got there and she had like a buffet going! Cheese and crackers, candy, cookies. She spoils us. :) We are just trying to work through a lot of her concerns. After that we headed to the Grows and it was good. Sister Grow was havin a rough day, and just needed some girls in the house to even it out. (They have 4 teenage boys!) After that we came back to Hamilton and did some finding.
Wednesday: We got to do family history this morning and I don't know what was with the Spirit of Elijah today, but it hit me like a brick. It is amazing for me to see how badly these people want to be found, and how much the spirit can enlighten your mind to find them. After that, we went to Carthage to do our service there at the hospital, and then went out to track down some of our potentials. We weren't having any luck, so we came back to Hamilton and went and saw Sister Munson. Reading the Ensign with her every week has been one of my favorite things about serving here. She is one of the strongest women I have ever met! WE GOT TO WORK THE PAGEANT TONIGHT!!! Basically that means we just walk around and talk to people who came, just like we normally would on the street. It is really fun! We got to meet a lot of people from around the world. Seeing them all come to Nauvoo has made me very grateful to have the opportunity to serve here. I am in such a sacred place, and at a very special time. We also got to see the British Pageant which was playing tonight. This is the first and only year they will be showing it here in Nauvoo. And we found out on Monday that we actually get to be in the pageant. :) At the end, they talk about how the gospel has gone to all of the world, so they have all the missionaries come on stage and sing Called to Serve. You better believe I bawled like a baby the whole time... on stage. That was such a touching and powerful experience for me. I love being His missionary!
Thursday: Today was kind of rough... because of pageant last night... we didn't get home till around 11:30 so the lack of sleep really got to me. We had a really amazing district meeting today. I love my district. :) I am usually laughing hysterically by the end of each lunch, which makes every one else laugh. We have fun. :) We spent some time in Warsaw and Hamilton today and also did Mormon.org time. We went and saw a less-active member that neither of us have met before. She is so darling! She is a single mom with 2 daughters who are 7 and 3. Sister Rasmussen and I both feel very strongly that we need to help her get to the Temple. Prayers are appreciated!
Friday: We didn't get to weekly plan today because it was just too crazy. We had a sweet lesson with a lady named Roseanne, and she is our newest investigator. The Bishops wife came with us, and it was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever had on my mission. I love the spirit! We went home and had a quick break and then headed to Carthage to check on some people. We saw some less actives and did some finding. We also got another investigator! Her name is Linda. She's pretty cool. :) We had dinner with the Raisors tonight and it was really fun. We got to work the British pageant again tonight and again, it was an amazing experience!
Saturday: We had breakfast with some non-members who live down the street from us. (Our landlords son actually!) We had to eat pretty quick though cause we had a lesson with Betty! In our mission, we are asked to invite our investigators to be baptized on the first lesson, and then set a specific date on the second lesson. Well... this was our second lesson so her date is Sept. 27! We are pretty excited for her! She said that if she got a for sure answer, she would be baptized. PRAYERS!!! We got to do weekie p today and that took up a couple hours, and after that we headed to Carthage to do some finding and see some Less actives. Today was just not a very good day for me... basically I felt like poop... all day. I think I may have had like a 24 hour thing so I was pretty miserable. It is days like this when I am grateful for grace and the Atonement. We  decided to go and hang out with the Criders for our dinner hour. She taught Sister Rasmussen how to crochet while I sat on the floor in pain. It was great!
Sunday: BRAYAN PASSED THE SACRAMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY!!!! I was so proud of him... I just watched him during the sacrament and I cannot even express the joy I felt. Not only was he renewing his newly made covenants, but he was helping others to renew theirs. It was just a really special day today. Next step for him is the Temple! :):) After church, we had our meetings and then had dinner with the Beisks. We had to leave there pretty quick, cause we were going with Alyssa to see the Shallenbergers. It is nice having someone that will come to lessons with us. :)
Well... that was my week. Some downs, and a lot of ups! I just love being a missionary. Today is kind of a special day... I am officially 11 months old. It is just so weird to me. I remember being brand new like it was yesterday... I have loved my mission. It has brought me closer to my Savior in ways I didn't think were possible. One of my favorite things I have loved about my mission has been seeing my ability to feel and recognize the spirit increase. I love the Holy Ghost. I love feeling his presence and his love. He has comforted me through many tough days on my mission... I know that when I feel His presence, it is the love of my Heavenly Father. I love this video!
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-002-comfort-in-trials?category=mormon-channel-programs&lang=eng
I encourage each of you to read Chapter 4 in Preach my Gospel about recognizing the spirit. Learning of Him is so critical to our eternal progression.
I love each of you and pray that you may have a great week! Take time to notice the miracles... at little or as big as they may be. :)
-Sister Jensen

Cuz I'm Happy!

I just have to apologize in advance for the shortness of this letter.... today is a crazy p-day, so I don't have a ton of time! I just have to give one shout out though to my cousin Chloe! She entered the MTC this week for her mission in Chili and I am so proud of her!! Chloe... good luck! I know that you will do amazing in Chili!
Okay so instead of my Monday-Sunday run down, I'm just gonna share with you some of the highlights from each day. :)
Monday: Elder... in stilettos. Epic.
Tuesday: Having members give you clothes is the best! Sis. R and I just had a big "shopping" night. Got some new skirts. :)
Wednesday: Today I got to see Sister Lloyd!! She went home in December. She came and spent a couple days with Sister Barker and I in Winterset before she went home. This was her second area, so she came back to visit some people and we got to go to a show with her and the Shallenbergers. So fun! She gave us so much advice about the area, and just to be obedient and go home with no regrets. I agree with her that missions go by way too fast!
Thursday: Today we had zone training, which is always fun! I got to see a a lot of new missionaries cause transfers were a couple weeks ago. We hung out with with the Raisors tonight. A picnic and smoke bombs. :) Nothin better.
Friday: HAPPY 4TH!!!! I hope you all had an amazing day! Our day was good... kind of just felt like a normal day. We had plans to see a lot of less actives in Carthage but they all fell through... so we ended up going to the Raisors  again to use their restroom and ended up staying a couple hours. Haha it was a good way to spend the holiday though. On our way home, we stopped at Montebellos and walked around to the rooms to sing patriotic songs to the residents. They loved it. :) That night, all cars had to be grounded at 6, so the Evans came and picked us up and we headed back to Carthage. Basically, I love this ward. About 14 families from the ward all met up at the park, and we had a barbecue and played softball (felt so good to play again) and then watched the fireworks. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better 4th. :)
Saturday: We got to do family history today and I saw so many miracles! It rained like CRAZY today! (Hence the flooding river.)
Sunday: Today was Sister Rasmussen's 20th birthday! And we also found a new investigator! Her name is Betty. :) I will keep you updated! We went to the Criders tonight and had an awesome dinner, and then played trouble and related it to the Gospel. So fun! :)
Sorry this is short, but that was my week! I will have to tell you all the crazy shenanigans going on this week, next time I email. Make you wait for it. :)
Because I'm a missionary... I follow up. I hope that each of you had the opportunity to share your testimony in sacrament yesterday. I did, and it was a wonderful experience. I have learned to love sharing my testimony since being on my mission.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Take time to notice the miracles! Love you all!
-Sister Jensen

It's safe to say that we are having a lot of corn.

Bro. Raisor asked us if we could use sparklers... well we prayed and you can clearly see what our answer was. It's cool.... obedience brings blessings. :)

No words.

Sister Lloyd!! So weird to see her, but so good! Basically she told me to enjoy all the time left on my mission, cause being home is the worst. Yay.

These are the kinds of cats you find around Carthage. So precious....or really scary!

This is Jens Peterson. We are buddies. 1. Because our name is basically the same. 2. Because we both do a rad frown.

Yea... that river isn't supposed to be there... who knew there was so much rain here!!!

Sweet Testimony Growth

Well... another week bites the dust. Remember when June started yesterday? PSYCH! Does anyone else feel like this year is flying? It's fine.
Monday: Nothing super special happened today... just your normal p-day. Elder Jones did give me a nickname during volleyball... Say hello to "The Cannon." :)
Tuesday: Well, of course we did all of our service today. I am going to be a pro envelope stuffer by the end of my time here! Kathryn (who works at Montebellos) took us out to lunch... at the Mexican Restaurant. :) MY FAV! After service, we did our mormon.org time in Carthage and then headed to meet with the Raisors. They invited Brayan over, and we just had a fun dinner. The kids were all over Brayan, and he took it like a champ. I'm so excited to be a mom. :) We had a little time before coming home, so we did some Formers finding in Hamilton. Don't mind us... just thrusting in our sickle.
Wednesday: Of course, we did some more family history.( Nana- I have found a TON of names on Papas side, but I need to go through and verify them all but I will send you the info when I'm done. It might take a couple weeks!) After that we headed to Carthage again for service at the hospital and then we went to Marks house to have a lesson with him. He is doing okay... he could use a couple extra prayers right now. Then we had an amazing lesson with April. Guys... she is as prepared as they come. She has such a fire in her and she just smiles the entire time we are there. Haha she literally sits on the end of her chair cause she is so excited. I love her.
Thursday: BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!! I saw my family today... :) Well, my Winterset family that is. That's right.... THE PRICES CAME TO NAUVOO!! Oh my heavens, I about died. We had district meeting and we were all having lunch and then they walked in. So Sister Barker got to see them too. We were in Heaven! That just made my week. :) We came back to Hamilton after that and just did a lot of running around. Saw some members and some less actives. Did some finding... all that good stuff. We met with the Petersons, and we got to hear all about Alyssas mission to Taiwan. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry... haha. I see how hard it is for her being home, and it freaks me out. I still got 8 months though. I'm good. :) We had a lesson with the Shallenbergers tonight. We watched the Restoration video with them and it went good.
Friday: Weekie P took up most of our afternoon, and then we drove to Carthage to have another lesson with Mark. Today was a pretty special day in Carthage... it was the Commemoration for the Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was one of the most touching programs I have ever seen. My testimony of the Prophet Joseph and his mission has grown so much on my mission. Especially serving here. I know without a doubt that he was called of God. It was just very special for me personally to remember him and the Patriarch Hyrum. I will never forget that experience. We went to that with the sweet couple serving in the Family history center, and they took us out to dinner afterwards which took up the rest of our night. Before we went home, we went to Keokuk to pick up Sister Barker and Sister Pratt for exchanges the next day. We just had a little sleepover and it was fun. :)
Saturday: I got to go with Sister Pratt for exchanges and she is just amazing! She is from Mesa, AZ so we bonded over that for a while. :) We saw a lot of miracles on exchanges.... we got some sweet potentials and taught some really amazing lessons. It was a good day.
Sunday: We had an interesting lesson with the Shallenbergers this morning... we have decided to just give them some space for two weeks so they can decide what they want. They could really use your prayers right now... Church was absolutely amazing today! April came again, and Alyssa have her homecoming talk!  Because it was the 5th Sunday, the whole ward (minus the primary) got together and Bishop Smith gave the one of the most amazing lessons on missionary work I have ever heard. I was so pumped up and I know the ward was too. Wanna know what the best part was though? April got up and bore her testimony. GUYS! April has only been to church twice and has been taught for like 4 weeks. For all those who just fainted... come back now. I was literally in shock! SHE IS SO PREPARED!!!!!!!!! We hung out with the Grows tonight, which obviously is one of my favorite things ever, and then we headed to the Pageant stage to see an amazing show called, "Our Story Goes On." They basically kind of act out the Plan on Salvation. All you need to know is that it is a complete tear-jerker. Bawling... for days. It's fine. Such a good day.
Well, that was our week here for the Hamilton Sisters, and what a week it was! I personally grew a lot this week... I learned a lot about myself and the atonement and how it not only is changing the people we are teaching, but it is changing me. I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. It has meant everything to me on my mission. It has carried me through things that I never thought I could handle. Times when I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Looking back... those were the times the Lord helped me grow the most. How grateful I am for his love and his personal concern for me and my mission. I love my Savior with all of my heart, and I want each of you to know that.
My invitation this week comes because of April. Next Sunday is fast and testimony meeting and I want to invite all of you to get up in sacrament and bear your testimony of the Savior. If April can do it, each of us can do it. One of my favorite quotes I have heard on my mission so far is, "More people gain a testimony bearing one, than on their knees praying for one." I believe that with all of my heart. Each of you has a very unique testimony, and it is meant to be shared.
I love each of you very much. I thank my Heavenly Father for my family and friends everyday. Thank you for your examples and your love. I pray that you have a wonderful week!
-Sister Jensen

MY FAMILY!!! :)

The best view in the whole town. :)

A Bit of Home Is Good For the Soul

Holy Moly what a week! It was honestly just one wonder after another...
Monday: Having non-Monday P-days is always weird... we still emailed and then headed to the Criders to help them clean. We got there and there was beautiful skies and then about 20 minutes later we hear one burst of thunder and the rains came down, and the floods came up. Seriously... so cool. That night we had dinner in Carthage with the Raisors, the Saunders, and the Peels. What up birthday party!!!  We played "Who's got the button?" So fun. :)
Tuesday: I received a miracle today that was better than anything I could have imagined... a little back story here. We are NEVER in Carthage on Tuesdays. Literally never. So for us to be in Carthage today was a complete miracle and act of God. SO we are just drivin around to go finding and we drive past the jail and we see a charter bus... My first thought was, "Hmmmm.... A charter bus. There is no way that is Heritage Tours." We decided to check it out. We get out of the car and I walk up to one of the men and ask him where they are all from. He says Utah County. Hmmm... I ask him if they are on a church history tour called Heritage Tours. "Well, yea we are. How do you know about that?" AHAHHSJKGSAFHGYLSAGBEVHSGHUILHGIFGYIYGRUIBAFHVGASYLGHVU:BEHFBVGUIEW:GHAFUIWE:H! I about lost my mind... I asked him if Brother Eliason had done the tour again this year and he said, "Yea... he is standing over there." So of course I started walking towards him... Haha it took him about two seconds to recognize me and about 1 second to burst into tears at which point I started crying. Such a tender moment for me. For those of you who don't know... I went on Heritage Tours 2 years ago and it completely changed my life. So to be able to see them and especially Bro. Eliason was one of the biggest tender mercies of my mission. I was literally on cloud 9 the rest of the day. Ahhh.
Wednesday: P-day. Woo woot! We got the chance to go to the Temple as a district and that was just an amazing opportunity! I absolutely love my district so to be able to be in the Temple with them was such a tender mercy. After that we did our normal volleyball and basketball then headed to the church for institute and on our way home we saw Heritage Tours again singing the Commitment song in front of the Temple! I wanted to jump out of the car and sing with them... No worries though... I composed myself. :)
Thursday: We did a lot of service today and we also got stuck in another GIANT storm. We had to walk about a mile in flash floods. It was great! :) Oh, and the Warners took us to dinner. I love them.
Friday: We had district meeting today and it was so fun! We played the sock game to get to know everyone. Have I said that I love my district? Cause I do. :) Probably one of the grossest/best moments of my mission happened after the meeting. It was just us and the ZL in the hallway and I saw a GIANT black cricket that literally looked like a beetle. Haha I turned to Elder Bankhead and told him I would give him $15 if he ate it. 10 minutes later he was $15 bucks richer. Haha I will show you all the video in 8 months. :) After that we did some cherry pickin and then headed to the Shallenbergers. They need all the prayers they can get! They have been taught by missionaries for about 3 years now, and they haven't had a baptismal date for about 2.5 of those. Well... we extended them a date of Aug 2. Please please please pray for them!
Saturday: We did some family history in the morning and then had an awesome church tour with April! She absolutely loved the feeling in the church. Shocker! We also taught her the Plan of Salvation in the chapel and it was a really cool experience for all of us.
Sunday: April finally came to church!!!!!! The choir sang in sacrament and she even came up with us to sing. Haha she is flippin sweet! There was another crazy storm today so we got soaked after church, but we headed to the Smiths for dinner! Their son came home from his mission last week and him and Brayan are good friends now so they invited him over to.  Halfway through our lesson the power went out cause of the storm so we got to study by candle light. :) On our way home we stopped by the Petersons because their daughter got home from her mission in Taiwan yesterday. She is amazing!!! She is literally our best friend already and she is so excited to help us. I LOVE RETURNED MISSIONARIES!!!!!
Sorry this email is crazy... my mind is always so jumbled. (That's called missionary brain!) It really was just a great week though!
I wanted to include a video this week that is from one of my absolute favorite talks ever!
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=911029449001
I encourage all of you to watch this video and to read the actual talk!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/an-high-priest-of-good-things-to-come?lang=eng
I have a very firm testimony in the Lords timing and in his mercy. He knows us perfectly and He knows what we need. Trust him and the blessing WILL come... in his timing.
I love you all and pray that you have a great week!
-Sister Jensen

Brother Eliason. :) We went to take the picture and he started to put his arm around me... haha I think he remembered he couldn't do that when I cringed a little... he said, "Well... if I can't hug ya I'll just stand as close as I can to ya." I LOVE HIM!!!

Temple with the District. :) L to R: Sister Barker, Sister Pratt, me, Sister Rasmussen, Sister Warner, Elder Warner, Elder Wardell, Elder Jones (DL)

Some Cherry Pickin with the Evans! :)

After our mile in the storm. :)

Giant storm took down a GIANT tree down the street from us!

Poly Dancing and an Assassin.. HUH?! :)

It was a pretty eventful week if I do say so myself!

Monday: Just a normal p-day. We did do some shopping at Aldis though. Basically it is like a smaller version of Costco. I WAS IN HEAVEN! That night we had dinner with the Criders and then saw Brayan. Exciting day. haha

Tuesday:  Service day!  We helped a sister pack cause she is moving to Cali. Then we went to city hall and Montebellos. We met with the Grows tonight. LOVE THEM! Then the real fun began! We went with the Shallenbergers (our investigators), and the Fletchers to a couple shows in Nauvoo. We saw "Sunset on the Mississippi" and then "Living Legends." Both were absolutely amazing! The Living Legends group is actually from BYU (trunky much?!?) and they travel around and perform. All the Dancers are either descendants of Native Americans, Latin Americans, or Polynesians. They just do a lot of dances that were from that culture. So flippin sweet! The Poly dances made me pretty happy. Haha. :) It was just a good night!

Wednesday: For some reason today, I just realized how tired I am. This area just drains you emotionally, physically, and especially spiritually. I kind of walked a round like a zombie today. We went to Carthage today to see some of our investigators and we also set another baptismal date! Her name is April and she is getting baptized on July 26. Remember to keep her in your prayers! Probably one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me though was who we met that night. No joke... we had dinner with an ex government assassin. Literally. He has been retired about 12 years. The question of the night was, "Wanna know how many people I have killed with a knife?" AHHHHHH! I feel so legit. :)

Thursday: We got to do family history again today and I did a lot of work on my Grandpa O's side. Jensen family- I found a lot of names and will be sending the info to Jamie Brown so ask her if you want names for the Temple. Thanks Jamie! :) After that, we had our district meeting and it was awesome! We had a really good training about having effective ward councils and then an even better training on the Atonement. I love learning about the Atonement, cause there is always something new that you learn. We had dinner with the Petersons and then had an awesome lesson with Brayan. I can now saw I have watched, "The Restoration" in Tagalog. :) 

Friday: Today was kind of a run around day. We did our weekly planning, and mormon.org time and then headed to Nauvoo. We had dinner with a cute senior couple who are serving in the Temple and then we may or may not have gone to "Sunset on the Mississippi" and "Living Legends" again with a family and some less active members in our ward. :) I love serving in Nauvoo! 

Saturday: Not gonna lie... today was kind of a rough day for me. My sister got married today, and it was hard not being there to support her. Today I really caught a glimpse of how much missions are a sacrifice. This is really the first big thing I have missed since being on my mission... It helped me ponder a lot about why I am on my mission. I love asking myself that question because the answer is always different. Today I hit 10 months and I thought about what those 10 months have meant to me. As I pondered, I realized that being a missionary isn't easy. It takes everything that you have and everything you didn't know you had. It is hard being away from family and mission out on important moments in their lives. It is hard. But, at the same time... I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. This is my mission... This is my time to devote to the Lord. At no other time in my life will I be able to give him 18 months  completely and say, "Here. I don;t have kids. I'm not married. I don't have bills. What do you want me to do?" That is very special and sacred to me and I wouldn't change it for the world. But, Congratulations Justine and Chris. I am so proud of both of you and all that you have accomplished and where you have ended up. You two are such great examples to me and I am excited for all that is in store for you. 

Sunday: HAPPY FATHERS DAY! :) It was a fun day that was focused on Fathers obviously. Mark came to church again and that was the greatest thing ever. We can really see that he is excited to get baptized and that makes me so happy. In sacrament, I experienced my first homecoming as a missionary. Gotta admit... I cried the whole time this sweet Brother spoke about his mission. He got home on Thursday and it really just touched my heart to hear about his experiences. Also... not gonna lie... a couple of the tears may have been tears of fear. 8 months people. That is all. BLAH! We had dinner with the Criders again tonight. Brother Crider doesn't have any kids, but tells us frequently we are his adopted daughters, so there was no better place for us to spend Fathers Day. I hope you all had a wonderful Fathers day and that you made sure you thanked the men in your life who have helped you become all you can be. 

Well... like I said, eventful week! It was a good/weird/exhausting/crazy week. Welcome to missionary life, I guess. :) 

This new video totally made me cry. http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?im=true&v=3609934299001

This topic is one I have thought a lot about lately. In a different way though... When I watched this I asked myself, "Who and what am I going to be after my mission?" This can be applied to so many things! "Who do I want to be after a temple session?" Who do I want to be after being a primary teacher?" Who do I want to be when Christ comes?" It is so easy to go through the motions. But, its when we take the Doctrine of Christ from our heads to our hearts that we become "true Christians." That is what I invite each of you to do... ponder about how you can be a better Christian. Pray and ask for he guidance of the spirit. I KNOW that when we try to be better, we are blessed. 

I love each of you very much! I am so grateful for all that you do for me and all the support you give. THANKYOU! I hope you all have a great week!

-Sister Jensen

"It's not the Mississippi... it's the missisloppy." - A 93 year old man from Warsaw. :)

Living Legends. :) MY favorite dance from New Zealand. Notice the frowns... I about peed my pants!

Fathers Day with the Criders. :)

Random truck in Warsaw, Il. What up.

Our investigator Mark gave us some pics of when he was a kid. Haha this was the obvious thing of what to do with them. :)