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.