Semana de Mudanças October 19, 2015

Hey there!

This week was super crazy. We got a phone call from our district leader on Thursday telling us of a change that had taken place here in the mission. To tell you the truth, I don't know if it is just our mission, all of Brazil, or the entire world. Who knows. But...here's what he told us. We, the missionaries, would no longer teach less-active members. We can only go to visit them if we are teaching an investigator in their house (ie family member or friend). So that totally changed our plan of action for our area. We were really starting to focus on reactivating less-active members, but that no longer is our responsibility. That is now for the members to do.

That means that we have a lot of work to do with the ward members. Church attendance has been terrible these past few weeks, and we have got a lot of work to do in the ward, but we are going to have to do it in a different way now with the new rules and regulations. It will be a strange transition, but I know that in the end, it will be a really good thing and help out everyone.

Other than that, our week was pretty chill. We decided to cut all of our investigators, and now without less-actives to teach, we almost have no one in our teaching pool. Just our recent converts. With that being said, we are now on the hunt for new investigators and starting from ground zero in our proselyting efforts.

Olha, sempre teremos dificuldades, mas o Senhor sempre vai preparar o caminho para nós. A obra Dele continuará e só vai mais rápido até o dia da Sua volta aqui na terra. Me sinto muito grata por ser a serva Dele agora e por esse tempo especial de me dedicar a esse trabalho. Isso realmente é a obra da salvação, e todos nós precisamos trabalhar não somente para a salvação dos outros, mas para nossa própria salvação também. Amo esse evangelho e todas as bênçãos que temos por causa dele. 

Amo muito vocês!

Sister Jensen

ps. mom, I finally have pictures to send! This here is a less-active member that we were teaching, but now we can't teach her anymore. Oh, and now you can finally see my wonderful companion, Sister Lobo! Love you!

Semana das Emoções Diferentes October 12, 2015

Oi todo mundo!

This week was great! I had the wonderful privilege to hear of a miracle today. Yes we have had difficulties and sad experiences this week, but lots of good things too.

Today we were in the mission office, and I was talking with an Elder that is serving in my old area in Araraquara. He told me something that made me cry right then and there in the office. Remember the family of Daniel and Nadia that I love so much? Well, he told me of a wonderful miracle that has been happening with them. This Thursday, Daniel and Nadia are going to get married! And better yet, Nadia will finally be able to be baptized. This Saturday, she will join her children and be baptized. I am so incredibly happy for her, and I know that soon after Daniel will be baptized too. I can already imagine this family all in white at the temple not too long from now.

In sad news, today we were in the mission office because Sister Meza was called in for an interview. We found out that Sister Furtado was being emergency transfered to an area in Franca. This means that we will now be living with Sister Almeida. She is from Colombia, but has been living in Manaus for several years, so she is practically Brazillian. 

Another wonderful miracle is that Roberta was confirmed yesterday! A month and a half later, this wonderful lady has been able to continue progressing in the church! And we will continue to visit her to help her continue to progress.

So, that is it for our news of the week. It was a great week, but with a bitter-sweet ending.

Este evangelho realmente foi restaurado pelo profeta Joseph Smith. e é a única maneira de voltar a nosso Pai Celestial. Quando usamos a expiação do Seu Filho, Jesus Cristo, temos força suficiente para enfrentar nossos desafios. Eu sei que Ele nos ajudará com todos nossos fardos, e que com Ele, tudo é possível. Amo este evangelho e sou grata por ser missionária agora.

Com todo meu amor,

Sister Jensen

Semana da Conferência October 5, 2015

Hey there everyone!

So, this last week was great, but hard at the same time. We had lots and lots of miracles, and I'm so grateful to have been a part of them.

We had an absolutley wonderful time watching conference this last weekend. I got to watch it in english with two other american sisters in our zone (sister clement and sister stowell). It was so wierd to hear all the different accents because I had forgotten that so many exist in english. Wow. But it was so good and I really missed home a lot. From hearing the now Elder Clark speak as a 70 instead of my college president was really fun, and it made me really miss BYU-I. I felt so much love from Heavenly Father as I watched that conference with two of the beloved sisters of my zone. The adversary may be strong, but the Lord's army is always stronger. I could see that so clearly this weekend as we went to conference. I will never forget the way the world and the gospel have such a stark difference one from another.

Anyway, this week I was super sad because my wonderful companion is having the same problems that I had when I got here in Brazil. Really swollen feet and lots of bug bites. But her bug bites aren't from mosquitos, and we spent the whole morning today in the emergency room to get it all figured out. She now has a cream that she will pass on the bites and hopefully things will just get better from there. Prayers for Sister Lobo would be great right now because I can see it's killing her right now. She has such a strong desire to go out and work, but between her swollen feet and the bug bites, we have to spend a little more time at home soaking her feet and resting them.

Olha, eu espero que todos vocês gostaram da conferência geral. Eu tinha muitas experiências maravilhosas ao assistir a conferência. Nós temos um profeta vivo, e ele recebe revelação de Deus par todos. Temos o sacerdócio, o mesmo poder de Deus aqui, agora na terra e ele nunca será tirada até a volta de Cristo. Ele é a cabeça dessa igreja e sempre será. Eu amo este evangelho e sou tão grata pela oportunidade de passar esse ano e meio servindo meu Salvador.

Amo vocês! Tenham uma boa semana!

Sister Jensen

Semana das Experiências Novas September 28, 2015

Hey there friends and family!

This week was full of craziness! Between the time that we spent in training to train our new missionaries, getting all their stuff to the houses with their interviews with President Brum and everything, Tuesday was quite the day.

But, let me tell you all about my new companion, Sister Lobo. She is great! I am so excited to work with her! She is super dedicated to the work and will be a great force to the mission here. She is from La Paz, Bolívia and I love her. Sorry mom, I still don't have pictures with her, but I'll get some this week and send them your way. I promise.

Other than that, stuff is going pretty normal around here. Oh, remember our baptism of Roberta and Yohann her son? Well, Roberta has been in the hospital/intensive care unit with her sweet 1 yr 8 month daughter Barbara for the last few weeks. Because of that, she still hasn't been confirmed yet, but Yohann was confirmed yesterday. I talked with Roberta's mom yesterday though and she said that Barbara is doing much better, which makes me feel better, because last time I saw her, she seemed like a completely different little girl and it made me so sad. I know though that with the Lord's help she will get better and all will be well. Lots of prayers for the Defacio family right now.

Hey, I love you all and feel so blessed to know all of you and I also feel so blessed to be here in Brazil serving the Lord.

Amo vocês!

Sister Jensen

Semana da Transferência‏ September 21, 2015

Hey there everyone! 

This week was transfers and what a transfer! I am staying here in Ipiranga, but Sister Lourenço left to go to São José do Rio Preto. That basically means that I need a new compaion...that I will meet only tomorrow. So, yeah. I get to train this transfer! I am super excited but a little anxious at the same time because it's a lot of responsability and I have never done it before. Yikes! It will turn out great though. I am looking forward to learn a lot here this next transfer and everything.

With a year past and gone on my mission, there is just a little more time for me here on the Lord's errand here in Brazil. I seriously only have 4 more transfers here. It feels like such little time that I have here, and I am going to miss it a lot. I have learned so much and still have the oportunity to learn lots more. I want to thank you all for your love and support that brings me through this when I feel like I'm not enough. You are all great and I will see you here in...5 and a half months more or less!

Olha, o evangelho de Jesus Cristo é a única maneira de encontrar a verdadeira felicidade nesta vida e para toda eternidade. Eu sei que Cristo vive, e que Ele é nosso Salvador e Redentor. Ele fez tudo para nos dar chance de ser o nosso melhor e voltar a presença de nosso Pai Celestial um dia. Nós temos valor infinito e conseguimos ser muito mais que achemos. A Expiação de Cristo é nosso chave para fazer tudo nesta vida.

Amo vocês!

Sister Jensen

ps. this is a zone pic our last week together before transfers. yeah. tons of sisters in this zone!

Sister Lima da Silva and I at multi zone conference. It was so fun to see her again! I love her!

The four of us in the house this last transfer. I love these sisters!

Sister Lourenço, Elder P. Silva (one of our zone leaders) and 

Elder de Jesus (our district leader) at the zone conference the other week

Última Semana da Transferência‏ September 14, 2015

Hey there, here it goes to the last email of the transfer!

That's right! Transfers are this week, meaning that we get the phone call Saturday night and transfer on Monday. Crazy! And the next transfer is only 5 weeks, and the one after that is 7, and then I have two more transfers and I'm home! Wow! Crazy things happen the week that you hit one year! I seriously can't believe that the mission has gone by this fast. I will be home before I know it!

But beyond that, everything is going great here! We had an awesome multi-zone conference this last week with the zones in Ribeirão Preto, Araraquara, and Franca. It was WONDERFUL! Presidente Brum really is a man called from God and has authority to lead this mission. I am so grateful to have him serving as my mission president! 

Hey, the gospel is TRUE! And it is truly the only way we can attain all the joy in this life and for all eternity! I am so grateful for this little bit of time that I have to serve here in Brazil and the wonderful experiences that I'm having. It's certainly not easy, but it is worth it---without a doubt in the world! Thanks for the support from everyone! I love you all and am super excited to see you all here in 6 months!

Love you!

Sister Jensen

The sisters I live with and our sister training leaders

Sister Araújo, me, Sister Meza, Sister Lourenço, Sister Furtado, and Sister Gutierrez

The box of chocolate I got in the multi-zone conference as a

birthday present from President and Sister Brum!

Semana dos Gatos‏ September 7, 2015

Hey there!

So this week was really interesting here. Today is independence day (happy independence day everyone!) and so we were really stressed out about finding and internet café to write in (because EVERYTHING is closed), but the one by our house was open no problem! What a relief! We literally spent all of our p-day up until now deep cleaning our house. It really needed to be done, and we have multi-zone conference this Thursday, which means that Sister Brum (President Brum's wife) will probably visit our house during the conference to see if we are taking care of it. So...that's kind of important. 

Anyway, other than that, life has been pretty chill here. We are trying to work with lots of less active members here, which will be great. But...we had a little adventure this week. This last Thursday, we had interviews with President Brum (which was WONDERFUL!) so we had to move our weekly planning to Friday. Because of some appointments we had made before knowing this, we ended up doing our planning at night. While doing so, we started to hear a cat meowing outside our house. We looked to see what it was, and a lady had put a teeny tiny kitten in our garage/front area thingy. My companion saw her running away after leaving the cat. We went out, grabbed the kitten, washed it (it was filthy---saddest thing ever) and gave it a little milk to drink. We then had to finish our planning and with the rest of the time that we had that night, we had to walk around doing contacts to find a home for that cute little kitten. Seriously---what a great way to have an excuse to talk to people! We finally found someone, and it all worked out just fine, but it was seriously an adventure!

Hey, things are going great here, and I love you all and hope for the best.

Com amor,

Sister Jensen

PS. this pic is our zone here in Ribeirão---Zona Oeste

Here is one of the pics of the cat. It is under one of the kitchen chairs. It shows just how small it was.

Batismo!‏ August 31, 2015

Hey everyone!

Surprize of the week for all of you listening in your homes long and far from here...we had two baptisms yesterday. Cool beans! Roberta and her son Yoha (Johann) were baptized yesterday after church and will be confirmed next week in sacrament meeting. What a cool chance to be a part of the change in these people´s lives.

Truly, the Lord has a work to do and nothing will stop it. The adversary will stop at nothing to try though. My companion is still sick, and we will probably end up in the doctor again this week. Yeah. Fun stuff. But don't worry. She is a real trooper and I love her so much and it will all work out just great!

Hey, I love you all, and this gospel is true!

O Senhor está na cabeça da igreja Dele e sempre estará. Este evangelho e o único caminho para felicidade e paz que ha na terra. Tenho o grande privilégio de servir aqui como representante oficial Dele. Não ha outro caminho. Não ha outra esperança. Ele era tudo, Ele é tudo, e Ele sempre será tudo para nós.

Amo vocês!

Sister Jensen

ps. my 20th birthday was awesome last week! thanks for the awesome package mom!

My fun little birthday cake that the sisters in our house did for me!

Birthday package! I loved it!

Vou Ficar Velha esta Semana!‏ August 24, 2015

Oi todos!

hey there, y'all! This week was one unlike anything else I have seen on my mission. Wow! Sick comp is no fun! Sister Lourenço was super sick this last week and is still feeling a little off. We spent 2 days in the hospital here just to find out that she doesn't have dengue (thank heaven!) and that all her tests came back normal. So...we basically never even found out what was happening with her, but oh well. She is feeling much better now.

We FINALLY have a map of our area here. That is going to make a huge difference! I am super excited to work here---the area is TINY---something that I have never, ever experienced before, and there is a lot of work to do here. We have TONS of less actives in the ward (like 700 of the 800 members) and lots of receptive people to find and teach here as well. 

Olha, este evangelho é a única coisa que nós traz a alegria eterna. Só isso pode nós ajudar. Cristo é nossa fonte de esperança e Ele nunca nós deixará sozinhos. Ele é nossa luz  na escuridão desse mundo. Eu amo este evangelho e sou muito grata por ter este tempo de servir nosso Salvador.

Amo vocês!

Sister Jensen

ps. this photo is us with Daniel and Nádia´s family. I love that family so much!

Semana Perdida August 17, 2015

Hey there everyone!

So, sorry mom, I forgot my memory card at home, so baptism pictures will have to be next week. Anyway, this week was super stressful. Both my companion and I are new in this area, so neither of us knows anything. We spent the whole week practically lost in our area. I love my companion and the other sisters we live with (Sister Meza from Mexico and Sister Furtado (her trainee) from Belèm, Pará, Brazil). It's a wonderful atmostphere. But, we still have a TON of organizing to do in our area book, because it is a complete disaster, and we still have to find where we can buy a map of the city because we don't know anything about our area. I have never felt so lost in my life! But that's okay. I'm where the Lord needs me to be and I will do what He wants me to do here.

Love you all!

Sister Jensen

Oi de Ipiranga, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil! August 11, 2015

Hey there!

So...we got transfer calls on Saturday, and...I went back to Ribeirão Preto. Sorry I didn't have time to email yesterday because we were traveling all day. Anyway, I am here in Ipiranga, and it is going to be a wonderful transfer. My companion is Sister Lourenço and she has 7 months on the mission, and is from Alagoas (another Nordestina!). I am really going to miss Sister Lima da Silva, but I am super duper excited to serve with my new companion. She is super sweet and we already get a long super well. We live with two other sisters, one of which is basically at the end of her mission, and her companion will be a brand new missionary that arrives today. So, basically we haven't met one of the Sisters yet, but we are excited.

I feel so grateful for all the time that I had in Araraquara. It was truly a wonderful experience that I will never forget. I will have to send all the pictures from there next week though because I forgot my camera at home. I just have my flashdrive with me right now. 

Anyway, Araraquara was a miracle area for me. Sure, it wasn't always the easiest, but I feel like I grew so much there, and I was able to see some wonderful fruits of our work there. We had the baptism of four of the five kids of Daniel and Nádia. Their kids (Daniel, Gabriel, Juliana, and Adam) that were old enough to be baptized were so excited that Saturday afternoon! And cute little Daví whos 5 was so angry and frustrated that he couldn't be baptized yet--you will have to see in the photos that I will send next week--it's super cute. This family is absolutely amazing, and I feel super blessed that we got to meet them. They were warmly received by the ward. They will be such a strength to the church here.

Com meu amor,

Sister Jensen

Oi de Ribeirão Preto!‏ August 3, 2015

Hey there! This week's letter is coming to you straight from Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil! 

We are here until tomorrow night because my companion has to be here for the leadership training...which means that she will probably be a sister training leader next week. Which means that I will probably stay in Araraquara but with a new companion. Wow! I'm excited though and know that all will be great.

Hey, we have an awesome miracle that will happen this Saturday. I have been waiting my whole mission for this...we will have four baptisms---of a family! Four of the five kids of Daniel and Nadia will get baptized this Saturday morning. The youngest won't because he is only five (but he really, really wants to get baptized) and the parents won't because they have to get married. The mom really wants to get married and baptized, but the dad is being stubborn. We love this family so much and really want the best for them. They understand the gospel SUPER DUPER well and are truly incredible people. Everyone is excited and it is going to be just great!

Other than that, we aren't really teaching anyone, but I am loving it here. We still are having problems like any other area in any other mission, but we truly see the hand of the Lord every day in the work.

I love you all, and hope the best for all of you!

Sister Jensen

ps. check this out---i got sunburned! it has been so many months since i got sunburned--and in the winter too!

Semana Incrível, Cheia de Milagres July 27, 2015

Hey there!

This week was absolutely great! We are absolutely exhausted (because we worked our tails off and had a helping hands project) but everything is great as can be. I am so excited for these next few weeks to finish off this transfer with a bang!

We had the wonderful opportunity to invite Daniel and Nadia's family to be baptized again. And... the four of the five kids older than 8 are more excited than anything to be baptized. One of them kept asking my companion yesterday in church over and over again when he could be baptized. They will be baptized August 8th, and we are all super duper excited. They understand really well the importance of the gospel and what they will have to do to live it. They are the best!

With another week of 100 contacts, we have a few new investigators, but I feel that no blessing could be greater than that of seeing people so excited to continue to get the blessings of the gospel. 

I love you all and hope nothing but the best for all of you. The gospel is true, and when we put our trust in the Lord, all things will work out for good. We just need to remember to have faith and wait for things to happen in His time and in His way.

Com tudo meu amor!

Sister Jensen

I will try to answer all the questions that the kids are asking.

Where do you email us?
 We email in an internet cafe that is super close to our house in downtown Araraquara.

How do you do your laundry? Where do you do it? And do you have dryers?

We have a washing machine that works normal--nothing too different. its in our apartment in our kitchen. we don't have a dryer, but we have clotheslines in our kitchen in the part with the washing machine where we hang our clothes to dry.
 
Are you still walking lots or do you take the bus?

We still walk a lot, but we take the bus about four times a week normally.
 
The food at the service project looked amazing! Is this normally how you eat?

The food was yummy! We normally eat rice and beans, some meat, and usually a salad and sometimes pasta. I am not eating pasta anymore though. I went gluten free about three weeks ago because I wasn't feeling too well and that helped a lot. I tried eating gluten this last week and my stomach was hurting for three days, so that's it for gluten for me! The food is really yummy here though!
 
Besides grocery shopping each P day do you shop for other things or shop at other places?
Yes. Sometimes we need other things in our apartment, or we want to buy things. they have little dollar store type things that we go to to shop for the other random things usually. 

What do you do on p days besides email us and grocery shop?

I write other letters, we do other errands around the city, sometimes we sleep or if we are really excited, we watch the testaments :) Usually we don't have too much time to do other things.

Semana de Milagres e Dificuldades July 20, 2015

Hey there all you great people!

This week was crazy. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster! I have never seen such craziness in my life! We started out the week just great--we had an investigator in church last sunday, various less actives there that had never been wehile I was serving here, and lots of good stuff. 

Later that night, we got a call from some elders in our zone with a referral from someone that visited their ward, has already seen a baptismal service, been to a ward activity, and has friends that are members. There is nothing better than that. Not too long after, our district leader called us to pass that same referral that the stake president had passed to them. Yes. The same person--a young man named Renaldo. We are super excited to teach him, and help him to accept the gospel.

Our investigator that was in church last sunday was Olavo. He is a young man that we are teaching that just happens to be a friend of a member of our ward! He is great, and we are trying to help him gain a testimony. He really likes the church, now it's just to help him see that the church is not just a good thing, but the only way that he can truly find eternal happiness.

We are also teaching the family of one of our doormen (I think that's the word in english) of our apartment. His name is Daniel, and his wife's name is Nadia. They have 5 kids, and are super family oriented. It's super fun to teach them, and they also have lots of friends that are members in our ward.

The week was hard, because we are feeling less and less support from the bishop, but everything will work out. We are finding other ways to get the members involved and help them see the joys and blessings of missionary work.

This gospel is true, and it truly is the only way that we will find eternal joy and everlasting peace. There are no shortcuts in life, but one straight and narrow path that leads us exactly where we want to be.

Love you all!

Sister Jensen

Semana de Contatos e Divisão‏ July 13, 2015

Hey there!

This week was a little crazy. We did 106 contacts (whoot!) and had a wonderful exchange with our Sister Training Leaders. They are great!

Gosh. I don't hardly know what to say this week! I do have to say though that I said many a times that I seriously can't believe that I have a brother that's a missionary too! What a cool thing! There is just about nothing better than serving a mission and helping all the people that the Lord puts in our way. It is so amazing to see the love that He has and to try our best to serve all these people wherever we might be serving.

Oh, we had an absolutley wonderful zone meeting this week. My zone is amazing, and I feel super blessed to have great zone leaders. I left there so excited to keep up this work here. This city is going to explode with missionary work, and I can be a part of it! The Lord has a huge work going on, and nothing can stop it.

Love you all!

Sister Jensen

ps. the pic is my awesome zone!

Here's us and our sister training leaders, Sister Huamani from Peru and 

Sister de Oliveira from the south of Brazil!

Semana Difícil Demais!‏ July 6, 2015

Hey there everyone!

Yesterday was probably the hardest day I have had on my whole mission, but the rest of the week was really great!

I got to see a young man in the ward open his mission call to serve in Natal, Brazil, got to go to a super fun ward activity (Festa Junina--a super fun winter festival they have here) and other good stuff too. 

Yesterday was hard because we had to cut Patrícia and Alex. I cried a little when I had to tell Patrícia. I am surprized that I wasn't totally bawling, because it was seriously the hardest thing I have done here yet, and I have already had super hard things on the mission. It is absolutley amazing to see how much Heavenly Father loves His children. I really was able to feel that love for this family. We told Patrícia that we can't visit them until she starts to show her effort and start reading the Book of Mormon again and start going to church again. She told us yesterday that Alex right now doesn't want anything to do with the church because his aunt kept on saying ridiculous and untrue things to him. It will take more time for this family to get to that point as an eternal family, but I know that they can be someday. I really truly can see it, and I just cannot wait until that day comes for them.

Other than that, like I said, this week was great. I just have to keep working and we will have a way to help everyone here.

I love you all, and I miss everyone a ton. This gospel is true, Jesus Christ is our Savior, and the Atonement is real. It's power is infinite and eternal. Without it, we are nothing, but with it, we have infinite worth and potential.

Com todo meu amor,

Sister Jensen

ps. this pic is of an absolutley adorable teeny tiny pineapple that we found yesterday.

Here's some sugar cane that I ate!

Here's the decor for my 9 months

Sister Beserra and I at the multi-zone conference

My district last transfer

Oi da Araraquara de Novo! June 29, 2015

Hey there everyone!

Here's to another transfer here in Araraquara! I stayed here with Sister Lima da Silva for another transfer. More fun here in the sun! Well, it's actually winter here, but it really doesn't seem like winter to me. Oh, random good news, we got our shower fixed today! No more cold showers in the winter! It has been about six months since I have taken a shower with hot water. Our shower broke when I was in Ribeirão Preto, and our shower has never been working here. It's not bad at all to take a cold shower when its super hot, and you are gross and sweaty after a long day of work, but in the winter it's a little different. 

Anyway, this week was great, and it really flew by! We had a multi zone conference, and it was amazing! President Brum really is called of God to lead this mission. I always leave those conferences with loads of things that I want to get better at, and with so much enthusiasm to do those things. It's super great. He really receives inspiration for us. 

The area here is doing great! We don't really have any new investigators, but all the ones that we are working with are same old, same old. I am determined to have a change around here though because I love these people so much and I want them to get all the blessings that are available for them.

Amo muito vocês e espero que tenham uma boa semana!

Tchau!

Sister Jensen

Última Semana da Transferência‏ June 22, 2015

Hey there!

I seriously can't believe it! We are already here in the last week of the transfer. That means we will get that one phone call here Saturday night. Yikes! Who knows what will happen!

Anyway, this week was great, and hard, and great!

We did almost 100 contacts (whoot whoot!) and that is super good for our area right now. We had a day without a single lesson (that reminded me way too much of some days serving in the states and also my first area here in Brazil) and some super great lessons too all the other days. We have been finding some great people here. We haven't been able to teach them much though still, so I'll update you guys on them as we really get things going. I hope to have more time here in this area. I love it so much here, and I don't know if I'm ready to leave. I will only know here this Saturday if I stay or leave. This week will fly by though because we have a multi-zone conference tomorrow. Those are always cool. Anyway, transfers will be here before I know it.

Patrícia and Alex are doing great! We didn't get to teach Alex this week because he was working. I love their family to death and hope to see them one day here not too far away at the temple as a forever family. They are truly amazing! Faith moves mountains, and I know it will continue to work miracles with this family as well.

Amo muito vocês e espero que vocês estejam bem. Este evangelho e verdadeiro. Esta é a igreja restaurada de Jesus Cristo, e Ele ainda está dirigindo ela. Temos tudo que precisamos para voltar a nosso Pai Celestial com nossas amadas famílias.

Tchau! 

Sister Jensen

Metade da Missão Aqui! (Whoot! Whoot!)‏ June 15, 2015

Hey there all you great people!

Guess what? Here in two days, I will complete 9 months on the mission! I seriously don't believe it yet. All of a sudden, the time flew past me and left me here in the dust. I have already spent more than 6 months here in Brazil, and now...I have 9 months here. That's really not that much time when you stop and think about it. Seriously. The "mish" is soaring by.

This week was great, and normal, and hard all at the same time. We had a harder time having lessons this week, and don't have any new investigators. That's kind of a bummer, but we are going to work our tails off this week to change that.

But...we still have lots of great investigators that we have been teaching for a while.

Let's start with Patrícia and Alex. Alex is working this week when we visit their family, so we wont see him for a while. He is still reading the Book of Mormon though, which is great! It is making a difference in his life. He still is being stubborn about the whole marriage thing, and that is driving Patrícia crazy. It is just one of those things that will happen in the Lord's time, and we just have to do all we can to strengthen his faith, and continue to help the rest of their family.

We are also teaching Alex's mom (Josefa) and sister (Josi). To tell the truth, we are teaching his mom more than his sister. Josefa is trying so hard to find a way to strengthen her faith and find hope in this life. We invited her to be baptized yesterday, and she accepted! Sadly, we found out that same day that she isn't married. She is in the same situation as Patrícia. She wants to marry her husband so badly, but he doesn't want to. Sound familiar? Anyway, we are going to keep pressing forward with these families and they will be one big happy eternal family one day. I just know it!

Hey there, I love you all with all my heart and miss you a lot, but I wouldn't trade this experience to serve the Lord. It has already flown by, and now I am on that downhill slide. Wow! This gospel truly was restored and is here on the earth just for us. All of us. It's not just here to make noise and flash lights. It is here to actually help us with our greatest goal---that of returning to our Heavenly Father's presence someday with Jesus Christ, and our families. There is no greater truth than this, no knowledge more valuable, no opportunity greater than this that we have now to follow Him.

Amo vocês muito!

Sister Jensen