"Come back in 10 years!"

Hey hey heyyyyyy everyone!! How is everyone doing?! So this week was great! I'm half way done with my mission... eww. Gross, 9 months flew by! 😢 We knocked a lot of doors this week (which felt so good to be back knocking doors a lot 😂) & we asked a man when we could come back to share more. He said, "Come back in 10 years!" Well thank you kind sir for being completely honest. 😂 I will put a note in here to remind missionaries 10 years from now to stop by!  Also, I asked a little boy to give me a high five & he growled at me... haha alright! 

One night we left a tuna casserole that a member gave us in our car & it had to stay there the next day cause we didn't have time or resources to throw it away. No worries, it didn't stink. But then more than 24 hours later we take it to the trash can & we find a perfect ottoman!! So we came back & got it & now we have a super nice Ottoman in our apt. Awesome series of events! God was sure aware of us! 

I hope you all had a chance to watch Womens General Conference Session! It was so good. I loved President Eryings talk about the Holy Ghost. It truly is one of thee greatest gifts God has given us. (John 14:26) The Spirit has played a HUGE role in my life as well as my own conversion to this gospel. In Gal. 5:22 it talks about the fruits of the Spirit & it's so awesome to look back on your own life & see how much the Holy Ghost has been apart of it! It's always been so hard for me to discern the Spirit, but I have learned that if it is anything good it's from God & to act upon it. You look back & realize the spirit was there the whole time. It's awesome!! Ahh I love you all. PLEASE WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE!! You will find so many answers to your questions & IT WILL BLESS YOUR LIFE!! I am obviously excited 💗 

xoxo, sister jensen 

The 9 month sisters!! 💗 ft. the elders. 

 Bunny x-ing. Typical. 🐇

 T.C. Williams High school! Where Remember the Titans was filmed! 👍 

Thy will be done

Hello again!! Transfers are this week & Sister Cannon & I will be staying together in Franconia! That's a huge answer to my prayers! So glad I get to serve the people here for at least another six weeks. Just a follow-up for those who actually  read my emails, that I can finally introduce ourselves to people in Spanish!! Huge accomplishment I'd say for my non understanding Español brain. 😂 

This week we had a "big" snowstorm! Haha it's totally different back east then home! So we had to stay inside till dinner on Tuesday because of this storm! But here the snow is ice, so driving conditions were bad. I think we only got two inches. Wednesday we were walking up a little slope (that's pure ice) to an apt. & couldn't get up to save our lives. Haha I was laughing so hard! We both kept sliding down & on the way down the slope after the apt & I fell flat on my bottom & a member comes out of the house laughing & said, "Sister Jensen are you okay?" Haha we all couldn't stop laughing. 😂 

This week I have seen a lot of our investigators take a leap in faith. It has been so cool to watch our investigators apply repentance & faith into their lives. Miracles keep coming & I just stand back amazed at how much God is blessing me. One day we asked an investigator to pray & she has been hesitant to pray in front of people, but has a lot of faith & did it. After I asked how she felt & she said, "like I want to throw up!" Hahaha she is amazing! 

This week D&C 109:44 has been on my mind a lot. (Probably because it's my background, haha) I have learned a lot about submitting to His will the nine months I've been on my mission. Submitting to His will is yes, sometimes very difficult, but I testify that is is the best thing that you can ever do for yourself. We all want the best life, we all want happiness, we all want things & you know the best place to get all that is? The Lord. & how will we achieve His PERFECT plan for us? Submitting to His will. I've found the most happiness & success when I humble myself & submit to His will. Thy will be done, O Lord, and not mine. I truly love this gospel will all my heart. 

I LOVE you all. Have an amazing week! Remember who you are & what you stand for! 💗 

D&C 109:44 "But thy word must be fulfilled. Help thy servants to say, with thy grace assisting them: Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours."

xoxo, sister jensen

Pics:

Coolest. District. Ever. 

District pic ft. myself 

Trainers @ return & report 

Thee best mission president ever! "If your not going through challenges & difficulties, you're not getting your moneys worth." -President Huntsman 😂💗  

Old Town, Alexandria, VA 

Miracle Week!!

Oh. My. Gosh. So many miracles it's amazing!!

Funny stories: so one night we were knocking doors & we walked up to an old man & he walked fast the other direction, so we moved on. Soon he had gotten his neighbor & they were coming to lay down the law to us. So we went to talk to them & he found out we were missionaries & not hoodlums trying to steal car parts. Haha too funny. 

& the other day we were eating at Wendy's & a random guy was talking to us for 10 minutes ish & all of a sudden cops showed up & stood around us... we excused ourselves & they had a good talk with this man. I think he was there all day talking to people...  

So some Elders sent us a family they were teaching because they moved into our area, so now they are our investigators. Sorry elders. They are my favorite. They are getting baptized April 1st!!!! Our first lesson with them the daughter said, "Mom what's the word? Oh ya! So I want to be baptized!!" Ahhh oh my gosh!! Then we went over another day & I gave her a picture of the D.C. temple & she just starts crying. She loved it so much! I am so so beyond excited for them to get baptized & obviously they are too!  So thanks to the efforts of other missionaries our job has been easy. Seriously so easy, God has prepared them & they found us. It sure has made everything worth it to wait for this exciting moment. 

We have met amazing people this week & our teaching pool just keeps getting bigger & bigger. Such a miracle & something that is so new to me! 🤗  

Hope you all are doing amazing. What can I do to help all of you?! 💗 

xoxo, sister jensen 

Lots of pictures this week of Sister Cannon & I! 

Twinned & didn't even mean to. Kinda embarrassing 😂

Potomac River! 

Moved.

Hola! Well this week went by crazy fast. For reals. My subject about describes our week! So heading home from district meeting we get a call that we were moving.... umm today!! So change of plans we went home to pack!! It was raining so they postponed it to the next day, put Sister Cannon & I were ready to go! We actually moved into our area which is a good change into a very nice retro cabin patriotic looking place (you can tell we have thought long & hard about these adjectives)!  So we were sure excited!! 

On every first Saturday of the month our mission does a "car fast" where we don't use our car that day. So because of this we were able to meet so many cool people!! Everyone that day was telling us their life stories, which was amazing to learn about their trials & their faith. Everyone had something in common, can you guess what? God & The Savior. Everyone has fully relied on their faith in God & Jesus Christ no matter what their faith might be. I admire these people here for everything that they have gone through & accomplished. There is a saying, "Someone you don't love, has a story you haven't heard." Which I believe to be true. As we take time to get to know one another & listen to our hard times as well as our good times, your love & desire to help them grows. Which is exactly what missionary life is all about! Ahh I love it so much. Learning more about people is what I LOVE. Everyone is so amazing in their own way, because we are all children of God. 

I love you all & hope everything is going well for you.

St. John 14:18 💕

xoxo, sister jensen

March 6, 2017

Pics:

George Washington's Masonic Memorial! We didn't know too much about masons so we loved going there & learning more about them. We were able to go to the top & see over Alexandria, VA & in the distance you could see D.C. 💗

 💕 Our weekly Wednesday get together for Book of Mormon reading & dessert! 

Pretty trees!! 

Our cool patriotic carpets💕 

Having too much fun moving! 

The morning of moving & you realize you have NOTHING to cook with... good thing we have hands & 2 pans! #blessings

"Are you Christian? I LOVE YOU!!"

Hello Hello!! This week has been awesome! (Just like every other week) So a fun fact about Franconia.. so Franconia road runs right in the middle of our area & there are 18 churches on this road. (We counted 😂) I heard its in the Geniuses book of world records, but obviously have no source in finding out if that's true or not, but it's way cool & A LOT different then Utah! Since we stand on so many door steps every day & see lots of different rugs, doors, wreaths, etc... I feel like I am getting more & more picky for my future door. 🙊 haha 

Yesterday a Muslim guy approached us so happy & said, "Are you Christian? I Love you!" So much love coming out of this man it was awesome. He was thee sweetest! I love being able to share the restoration with everybody no matter their belief! We also met this other guy (I mean we meet a lot of guys, but this guy was cool) he was super friendly & his shirt said "Yes". I asked what that meant & he said it was his baptism shirt! I was like okay yeah let's talk baptism!! He let us in & asked us to share our message with him... uhh I was like a deer in the headlights! Nobody asks us to share our message! Wahoo so after I got over the initial shock we shared some of the restoration! 😊 but they were moving... sad. 

The Mt. Vernon stake puts on every year a Mini MTC for the youth! & we as missionaries were able to participate. So we were able to take 2 sisters out with us for 2 hours! It was so much fun. They had some paper names tags, practice taught all day, had districts & companions etc... it was so cute!! 

As a mission we focus on a Christlike attribute a transfer. This transfer we are focusing on Charity & Love!! It's been awesome to work on this attribute & see everything fall into place because of the love you have for these people. We all should always have love for everyone because we are all sons & daughters of God, but yes I totally understand... that's hard sometimes. But as we develop charity & love negative thoughts & feelings,  judging others, avoiding others, whatever it may be will all go away as we pray for help from God to love everyone. Love is definitely something I have developed more & more of on my mission. Love for the amazing people here in VA & people at home (aka all of you). I invite you all to work on Charity & Love! I know that as you do you will see a difference & change in yourself that you will be proud of. Christ is the PERFECT example, so I suggest following him! [Moroni 7:47] 

I LOVE (haha) all of you & wish you all the best💗 

xoxo, sister jensen

Pics:

Mini MTC 

Want your life less complicated? Here's the answer from God's chosen prophet!

Happy Birthday George Washington!

Happy Presidents Day everyone!! Today we went to George Washington's house (Mt. Vernon) it was thee best way to celebrate Presidents Day! Mt. Vernon is so dang cool. If any of you get the chance, go! There were a lot of people there today but a lot of them were Mormon so we met some cool tourists! We walked on a dirt road & smelt cow manure & I never knew that smell could make me so happy!! It felt like I was home again!!! 🐄

Miracles: so our investigator, can't get baptized for like 5 more months. We are done teaching the lessons, so we are studying Preach My Gospel (missionary study book) & preparing him to serve a mission!! I never thought I would be studying PMG with an investigator! He is so awesome. 

We found 2 new amazing investigators last Monday night! We have been able to go back & teach them & that lesson was so so good! We were so excited. They are so cool & they are keeping commitments!! Wahoo. 

A lot of people we run into at night always tell us to be careful & to watch out, but as many times as I have heard that (& am grateful for them caring) I have not once been scared. I am grateful for the protection that we as missionaries have & the protection that the gospel brings into our lives. As we study the scriptures, go to church, say our prayers & keep the commandments we ourselves will be protected against anything that comes our way! My love for this gospel continues to grow every single day. I LOVE YOU ALL. Thanks for all the prayers & support, I sure can feel them. 💕

xoxo, sister jensen

Mt. Vernon Pics: 

A COW!!! 

Beautiful Potomac River & Sister Cannon 

GEORGE WASHINGTON (apparently we stood on the wrong side... ladies I guess stand on the right in the olden days) 

Soldiers! 

Back of GW house 

Front of GW house 

GW & Mrs. Washington's tomb 

"You need to back me up!"

     Hola!! I know I say this every week, but this week was eventful! This week we have seen God's hand in everything we do. Lots of little miracles! Like we were talking to this family cutting up a coconut outside & they said come into our house. They were a super nice Muslim family that even gave us some of their fresh coconut. Yummy!

      We went to check on a potential and ended up talking to his mom who sisters used to visit & she was just thinking that she wanted us to stop by her house! She said, "I don't know who you guys are, but come on in. For a second I thought you two were the Mormon girls!" Haha of course we said we are!  Later she said I'm never going to join our church, but we will see about that 😂 

& we also went to check on another person & we heard someone on the phone inside. Couple seconds later a guy turns around the corner with his CANE READY TO SWING at us! Haha he put it down within seconds of realizing we are two teenage girls & he would win anyway! We ended up talking to him forever & will hopefully be able to go back & teach him! The people here are so great! 💕

 My new companion is Sister Cannon from South Jordan, Ut. She has greenie fire like no other, it's awesome!! She literally loves everything we do. It's thee cutest!! So anytime I need to go in reverse she has to stand behind the back the car & back me up. So obviously no one is in that habit first coming out to the field, so she always hops in the car I look at her & say, "You need to back me up please!" She just stares at me weird & says, "Oh that kind of back me up!" Hahaha its so funny. Mission rules are the best! 

Something that has come up a lot in the last week is the scripture D&C 82:10. "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." The Lord WANTS to bless us & has to when we do everything He wants us to! The Lord is ready & willing to pour down blessings to us!! It's up to us if we are ready & willing ourselves to receive those blessings. You're hard work will pay off. He will bless you. We all want blessing right? Continue to work hard & live in harmony with the gospel & you will be blessed more than you can imagine. I know you will be happier & healthier.

Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday!! It was a great day! Not being a teenager sure is weird though... ahh! 🙊love yall!! Let me know of there is anything I can do for you! 😊 

  

xoxo, sister jensen 

February 13, 2017

Bye Sis. H 

SISTER CANNON 

Celebrating Sister Cannon's first day in the field 💗

Pretty VA 

Makin' a good wish 

My fav. Sister Tankersley