District of Columbia!

     Aloha! So this week was such a great one! We celebrated my 1 month in the field this week & you know where we went.... to go get free Froyo! Thee best. I'm pretty sure I am gaining weight in my forearms... so I have so much to look forward to(:  Weekly dying of laughter moment: I have laughed so hard in almost all of our lessons... its so bad. But this week we were checking on some members & we were talking with this member's mom & she gave us a glass of water. Which I was SO grateful for in this humid HOT heat.  My companion knocks her teeth so loud with the glass & I couldn't hold it in. The things you laugh at as missionary! So great.
     We volunteered again at the cute nursing home & they are such sweethearts. We talked to this one grandma and she said that we don't even speak English & all we do is smile! Then another grandma asked where we were from & so we said Utah & she couldn't stop laughing for like 3 minutes! Then another gma said that laughing is good for you cause you fill up with air & fall to the ground! Ahh so cute.
     We had a rough day on Wednesday.  We were about to give up and go home for curfew. Then the last door we knocked on was this families door & it was such a blessing. She has so much faith & God had prepared her for years to be so accepting and humble of our message. We talked to her about The Book of Mormon & she was so so excited to read it, she like pulled if from our hands! Since she was a family we had to pass her, but I know she will be baptized. So much love for her. Those are the moments that just put you in the best determined mood to find all those people who have been prepared by our Heavenly Father!
     So we went to DC today!! So much fun!! Since DC is out of our mission bounds we are allowed to go every 6 weeks...shocker, ALL DC South is in Virginia! 😀 & uhh we took one wrong turn & ended up in DC, out of our mission bounds... the streets here are SO confusing! So we had to make the trek back to VA, so then we could just walk right back over! We went to the Natural History Museum, where Night at the Museum was filmed!! && the National Archives. Couldn't help but think of myself as Nicholas Cage! Plus all the other sights you see in between. I sure feel like death right now from walking in the heat, but it was so worth it! The greatest part was we took a taxi back to our car at the Arlington Cemetery! Grateful. It's been a good time here. Hope everything is going well with all ya'll! Much love. Stay close to the gospel. You can do hard things!!


xoxo, sister jensen

August 15, 2016

     Fam & friends! So much has happened this week! I wish I could just bring you all with me on this adventure. We got to volunteer at a nursing home and it was thee best. We got to set up for a birthday party and this 102 year old lady was wondering why it was her birthday, and she just had it a month before! Then she turns to my companion and I and said, "I can't hear!" (While music was playing in the background) so cute!
     We built a fort for weekly planning. We are children! Best fort I've ever made.
     Oh my gosh there is this frozen yogurt place that gives yogurt to missionaries for free, so you all know I will be there every other day! It was so good. Yumm.
     Haha so since we are in a YSA ward, we just watch everyone flirt... so so awkward. It's painful sometimes. Plus everyone is on internships here from BYU and everyone is heading back, so our ward is getting small. But I still love YSA!

     We got a new investigator that we knocked on his door and during our lesson he was so interested to learn more, because of how we leave our families & love for 18 months. So its worth it if he gets baptized! Our lesson was so spiritual. I'm excited to see where this goes.

     I just want you all to know that no effort is wasted. So continuously give all you have. I read the coolest conference talk by a seventies. He is a heart surgeon and he was working on an infant and it was a really complicated surgery that he stopped the surgery and went to go pray in the corner. He told Heavenly Father that he can't do it alone. He heard Heavenly Father clearly tell him, "Do your best. Together we can do it." & I love that! We are NEVER alone. You are never by yourself, God is with you! Ya'll should listen to He Paid It All by Brandon Heat. Such a testimony builder song about the atonement. Oh & also watch the gospel shall roll forth on lds.org. Spiritual. Okay I love you all! Thanks for all the love. 
     Pics: I fulfilled my #1 dream as a little girl of going to The American Girl store! & we had a little too much fun at the mall. If you ever get the chance to go to Tysons Corner. Do it.

xoxo, sister jensen

August 8, 2016

Arlington National Cemetery!

     Hey hey hey everybody! So this week was amazing! So many good things happened! We had zone conference on Tuesday and I got to play a musical number with the #1 tenor singer of Idaho, so it was pretty cool and the Spirit was so strong! Plus it was I Know My Redeemer Lives, and that's my fav hymn, so I wanted to cry, but if I did I would've screwed up! Haha! And then we all sang Called To Serve and I was overcome with gratitude & love for my Savior to call me to His work. I just want you all to know that Heavenly Father & Jesus are VERY much aware of you and love you so so much. My testimony continuously grows everyday and I can't even express to you all how much I love this gospel and our Savior.
     Umm it's been raining a TON and I am loving it!! Like pouring rain. Wayyyyy happy driving in the pouring rain under thee greenest tree! So dang pretty. Oh & I saw a cow. I was so excited! But bugs here are AWFUL... President gave us all a can of spray. We get eaten alive! And no matter what time of day it is stop and crawl traffic. Hate it. Lots. And being YSA we cover 8 big cities so we travel everywhere! We drive a lot & we listen to everything we have, including Christmas music, yes Christmas in July & August. Changes things up a little bit(: and I love it.
     So last Tuesday we went to the post office to mail a letter, and a sweet women comes up to us talking! We knew she was Mormon, and she was adorable! Then when I was at the temple later that day the same women was there, so we talked for awhile! Then Saturday when I went to the temple again, for our recent convert. Anyways we were walking past the pictures of the temple presidents & she was the temple president's wife! Ahh I was mind blown excited! But I was able to help with baptisms, so I got to be in the font room with her. She was smiling the entire time! I felt the Spirit so much just being able to watch this amazing work be done! It was an amazing day!
     We went to Arlington Cemetery today and it was so fun! And so hot! I love when you can tell the people who are LDS cause they yell at you, "Hi sisters!!" So fun! We feel famous. The Mormon world is so small. I know people's cousins, am people's cousins, people who graduated from Morgan high, people who live nearby, been to Morgan, dated people from Morgan ... it's crazy! & Morgan isn't big! Too many connections. But I LOVE you all & wish you all the best.

xoxo, sister jensen


August 1, 2016

Eating challenge conquered!

     Holy cow can't believe a week has passed. We went to the temple today, YAY!, so we moved our pday, Just FYI! But so many exciting things happened this week! We have seen so many tiny miracles happen!
     First was we felt like we needed to see a recent move in and so we finally found the building, which I looked right at the building and didn't see the number till the 2nd time around. We passed this guy and we both turned around to give him a card, he ended up letting us in to a SUPER secure apartment building (super fancy! Like you need a key to even click what floor in the elevator) but he lead us all the way up and if we weren't there at that specific time we wouldn't have been able to get to this members home! She answers the door crying! We were just what she needed. Love her to death!
     Second miracle was the eating challenge! Haha! (: We went to breakfast with elders and a ward missionary on Saturday morning! We got to drive past Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon on our way to breakfast! And you could see the Washington Monument and The Capital in the background. I LOVE IT HERE! But anyways my comp and I got the same breakfast and the manager walks by saying, can you finish that? I of course said, is that a challenge? He said if you do I'll buy you guys dessert! Uhh once you add dessert to a challenge I am bound to finish it! So we both ate all our chicken, bacon, and pancakes! First time trying chicken and pancakes, so it was weird... but we did get banana pudding and we ate that too but of course with some help! So weight gain is heading my way soon! Yay. Usually I forget to explain my email title, but this one I couldn't miss (:
     I obviously love pictures so, everyone send me pics! I love seeing all your guys cute faces!
And it's wayyyyy too hot. Humidity is not my friend. When you have naturally straight straight hair you know it's too humid when you hair curls a little bit haha (: 
     Long crazy all over the place email, but I love you all so much. Thanks for all the love and support.


Pic explanation: Utah street sign. Much love.
Our rewards from our eating challenge.
Got to go to the temple with my MTC companion!!

     Helllllllo everyone! I have so much to tell y'all, but kinda too lazy to write it all, so we will see how this plays out! But first thing first, I LOVE it here. It is so pretty!! Like my trainer is amazed how excited i get over the trees! Oh and the houses here are incredible, so more like mansions! Everyone that we are currently teaching are from India, Germany, Austria, and so on! So it makes everything exciting. We have 12 or more copies of the Book of Mormon in different languages. Oh and the pamphlets we have are in wayyyyy too many languages to count! But I am in a YSA ward here in Arlington, but we are the Langley sisters! My trainer is Sister Willes from Riverton, UT. She is thee cutest and we are almost the same person! It was truly inspired that we are together for 12 weeks! The 2nd night I was here we went over to the ward mission leader's house and had a greenie meal. It was so cute! EVERYTHING was green!
     Okay President & Sister Huntsman are thee absolute BEST! The minute we got off the plane they bought 20 missionaries frozen yogurt! Instantly fell in love. This is how cool president is, in the mission home there are pictures of him just chilling with President Monson! So cool. And our Bishop, Bishop Holdaway of the YSA ward is amazing! I guess he is high up there for Marriott Hotels! So VA is pretty awesome.
     Last night after going to the leasing office I got scared by a freaking raccoon in the bushes! There were two of them trying to get to the roof. I was so thrown off guard. They were cute though! 
     Everybody here always talks about and refers to Utah, so I feel like I haven't left. Haha! Those Utah mountains are life savers. We always take wrong turns and have to go around three loops until we get back on track... happens all the time, so I am ALWAYS turned around & never know where I am! Oh and there was a tractor on the side of the freeway and I freaked out, i was so excited! Never thought I would say that... haha! (:

But everything is amazing and I love it here! Love you all!! 

xoxo, sister jensen

     Hey hey hey all friends & family! I am so happy that it is finally pday! And all day today we have napped and emailed. Best day ever. The temple is closed for cleaning, so we have to entertain ourselves...But seriously I LOVE the MTC so much. What an amazing holy place. So much has happened this past week! First off when I got dropped off my best friend, Laynie, was able to be my host! (: tender mercy. Then a couple hours after that I got to see my other best friend, Mckayla! It has been so fun all being in the MTC together and seeing each other everywhere! Makes the MTC that much better. 💗
     So 743 missionaries arrived the day I did along with 171 new mission presidents! It was AMAZING having mission presidents everywhere, Thomas S. Monson, the first presidency, and the quorum of the twelve apostles were all here the first five days I was here! It was so cool, but they wouldn't even let missionaries into their building and there were security guards everywhere! Them being here mixed everything up like our schedules and rooms! We ate in the gym, but we newbies didn't know anything different!
     Once we got here we had orientation with all the newbies and we sang Called To Serve & Army of Helaman with a gym full of missionaries, it was thee best experience... until there was a HUGE spider crawling on the railing next to me. My comps biggest fear is spiders, so thanks spider for driving out the Spirit fast. Arg.
     I have been beyond blessed with my comp, roommates, and district. My comp is my ultimate best friend now. We have so much fun together! She is from AZ and is a convert for almost 2 years now. She went to BYU so she knows like everyone here, so we have a lot of friends! She is also going to D.C. I laugh at everything anyway and then we laugh together in the worst situations! Not good, so we are working on that! My district has 8 Elders & 4 Sisters. 5 are going to D.C., 3 going to Oakland, & 4 going to Denver. I haven't been with them all day, and I miss them all so much!

     There are many more memories that have happened this week, but we mostly just sit in a classroom. We teach these investigators, some are members and some aren't, but you never know. And our two girls are like talking to a wall... so that has been fun. We are getting somewhere though! 

Love you all! Have a great week!


P.S. I love pictures, so sorry there might be a lot. (:
xoxo, sister jensen 

June 30, 2016

     Hello again! Can't believe how fast time flies but at the same time it is so so slow. This week was so crazy! So... we decided that we are in acting school. All we do is role play... and I hate acting and am really bad at it. My comp just laughs at me as I role play!  And your maturity levels drops fast when you are stuck inside gates... Mormon jokes have never been so funny! Haha I just love it here, but I'm ready for D.C. I leave Wednesday morning @ 2:30 in the morning! They deprive you of sleep and then they do this. Not cool. But there are 16 of us going to D.C. together, so that's gonna be fun!
     My district and I were able to usher at 3 MTC devotionals! That was so much fun. We talked in British accents one time and everyone's reaction was priceless. For the 4th of July we had a devotional and we're able to go to the parking lot to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks. So that was awesome because the 4th of July is almost my favorite holiday! Then when we had to go to sleep you could hear the fireworks, which made me upset... The devotional was cool because they had people from all different countries walk down the stairs with their flags and we all stood up when our country was read off. Then they had us stand according to where we will be serving. I love that in one gym almost every country and language is represented and that 2000 missionaries are going to preach the gospel EVERYWHERE in the world. It was powerful and you could feel the Spirit so strong.
   

Guys I love this gospel more than anything and am so honored to be a missionary. I have never been so happy or laughed so hard. It was fast Sunday and my stomach growled like it had a demon in it when it was dead silent... so of course i was bent over laughing so hard and my district was also laughing and i felt so bad for disturbing the peace. Oh and one of our investigators committed to baptism! It's fake but still, we were so happy!! I have so many stories to tell. But i love you all! Much love.

xoxo, sister jensen
July 7, 2016