SURPRISE!!!!!

As of 8:37 P.M. on December 31, 2010,
this is EXACTLY where Sister Jensen is right now.
That's right, she's headed home! Just in time for the new year!

She departed from Manila in the Philippines yesterday (our time) and flew to Tokyo, and then from Tokyo to New York (really!), and from New York to Salt Lake City.

This is an honorable medical release. She just needs to come home and get healthy.

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday Mom

Dear Family,
It was wonderful to talk to you on Christmas. Well Christmas for me, Eve for you. Either way I am so glad that we get to call home at Christmas; it really cheered me up. I am glad to hear that the family parties went well and that everyone had a safe, warm Christmas.
We went out to do member visits, focusing on the RC and LA but we worked in almost all of both of our areas and practically no one was home, everyone here goes to the "province" for the holidays so our numbers are exceedingly low. But it is not about the numbers it is about those we were able to share the Christmas Spirit with.
Health wise I am kind of really struggling at the moment. I was able to talk to Sister DeLaMare today, she says again that I am going to take my many meds and we will wait and see. Sigh. We do that with our investigators who aren't progressing, we will visit them again, give them another chance, wait again. Some stay in the other section for months without progressing just to make sure that they have their fair chance. It is a good method but for those waiting, it is a little hard to just wait sometimes. Random tangent.
Not much to report about the work, honestly we were only able to go out and work for a few days this week. Sigh. The Church is True. Our Christmas Conference was beautiful. I was the chorister and we sang just about every single Christmas hymn in the hymnal. I was glad that I could help out. I also had the opportunity to bear my testimony, that was a spiritually uplifting experience. Every time we go to meetings like that or district meeting this morning, I feel the Spirit so strong and all I want to do it go share this gospel. Then we go eat or take the long long bus and jeepney rides home and somehow that feeling wavers. I am trying with all my heart, might, mind, and strength to serve, I really am.
They love fireworks here, there are stands and stands for fireworks in the streets and kids are playing with them everywhere. When they come running at you with their ears covered I have learned that you should stop and cover your ears. If not you get a big headache from all the bangs and flashes by the end of the day. Also dodging firecrackers that people light and throw in the street make for fun work. We were advised to come in early New Years Eve. I am grateful.
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and really rememberd the reason for the holiday. Also as you plan for 2011 that you keep Spiritual goals in mind as well, Spiritual goals are just as important as your physical goals as well.
Well thank you all for your prayers and support, it is what is keeping me going. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful heritage of faith to come from.
Have a wonderful New Year's.
Mom, Happy Birthday. I love you so much, it meant the world to me to talk to you last week.
Mahal kita,
Sister Jensen

Merry Christmas

Malagayang Pasko!
Or Merry Christmas in English.
What a week! I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by, whoosh and Monday again. This last week we had Temple lighting tour on Friday and we were tour guides for it on Saturday. I wore my first red shirt on the mission on Saturday and I am thinking it will also be the last. Everyone "Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Happy Valentines day" you just can't wear red here, which in unfortunate since it is a lovely color. The lights and the Spirit at the temple were beautiful, I am so grateful that we get the opportunity to share with our investigators the Spirit that is available even outside the temple.
What else, I am on antibiotics again, sinus infection they think. Either way, I had to buy a few new handkierchiefs while out tracting this week, I also really miss a washing machine while washing them...shudder. On Wednesday we found out that we are actually further away and one really expensive taxi ride away from the hospital. Also we found out that when the Doctor doesn't come in, they just expect you to somehow magically know, or call ahead of time to find out. Well I didn't have his number and didn't know that he called in sick so we have scheduled another appointment with him for this Thursday. In the mean time I am just trying to enjoy the work and take it one step at a time. I am truly grateful for all of your prayers I really feel so loved and watched over. What an adventure!
I am so excited for a phone call. Honestly 6 months is a long time, be prepared because I am pretty sure I am going to bawl through it. Luckily for you family, there is an amazing member here that served his mission in Provo and lived in Salt Lake for years, his daughter missed her friends so much in Utah that when they moved back to the Philippines they bought a phone line to Utah and Skype and said that I am welcome to use it to call you, in their air-conditioned office room. Talk about the greatest tender mercy I could have prayed for!
What else. We had another baptism on Saturday. This Brother is so prepared for this gospel, it has been amazing to work with him so far, he showed up early and was wearing his newly purchased white shirt and tie and black pants for his confirmation. I also tied his tie for him a few days ago, just proof that all those times I was playing with your ties dad and Clark there was a purpose. He is the first in his family to accept the gospel and completely gave up drinking and smoking and hasn't looked back. Also we have another investigator who I was sitting by at one of our Sacrament meetings yesterday and one of the speakers talked about only having one set of earrings, well she had 2 and we haven't taught her about that yet. Well she immediately said "I am stopping now" and took the other set out after the meeting. What Faith!
We have Christmas conference on Christmas eve. I am excited for that. It sounds like it should be a good spiritual boost. It doesn't really feel like Christmas to me, it is still hot as July and the decorations here are few and far between. I don't recognize most of the music as Christmas so I am still confused about that. I am grateful for wonderful wards and members who support the missionaries. Also for those at home who have taken missionaries into your homes and helped them out. A blessing for one of us is a blessing for us all.
Merry Christmas all of you. I hope that in all the hustle bustle of the season you have been able to take sometime to remember the Savior whose birth we are celebrating. It is because He lived and atoned for us that we have purpose to our lives now. Christ is the reason, love the motivation, the gospel our message. This Church is TRUE, never ever doubt that, we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every one of us. We are His children, He has a plan for us and happiness in this life and eternal salvation in the world to come are possible because He loved us enough to send His son Jesus Christ to save us. What a blessing!

Love you,
Sister Jensen

Quezon City

Hello Family,
I am glad to hear from you all. I am looking forward to hearing
from you. The call info is this, we can call anytime conducive to our
missionary schedule from noon Christmas Eve to 6pm the day after
Christmas. I am not sure when our mission Christmas conference is, I
expect that will be the deciding factor of when I call you. We get 30
min and can use Skype if we can find somewhere that is open and has
skype.
I am glad Sis DeLaMare is keeping you in the loop, I go back into
the doctors on Wednesday, I am hoping we come up with some solution
because I am really starting to wear down.
My new areas are big and there is a lot of traffic and pollution. I
have 2 areas, Bagbag and Baesa. We had a baptism this weekend, he was
late for sacrament meeting, we were praying so hard he would show up
so he could be confirmed. I also got to speak in both wards yesterday.
What a blessing we got permission to take investigators to the
Christmas Devotional that was broadcast yesterday, yes I cried through
it. I am still working hard, but with all of these health issues it
has been really hard these past few days to settle into a new area and
get used to a new companion and new people and reexplain to everyone
who offers us food why it is I can't eat it. Sigh.
I was studying this week and I came across the quote about the
atonement, how everything is made fair through it. It took me back to
the days of working at LDS seeing the faith of my patients, their
examples of faith has really helped me these past few days. Also thank
you so much for the package, whoever put jello in it should be
sainted, I have been craving jello for the past 3 months.
What else. My companion is Sister Galvez, she is from Dumageti (sp?)
she is 2 transfers ahead of me, I am her first American companion and
she doesn't know much English. She loves to be cutsie and wear make-up
and text, I feel a little like I am back with my trainer, but this
time I am more prepared, still I am trying to find a way to show her
that yes I can help teach, not just testify at the end. Sigh. Our
entire district is American except for her, so today she was saying
she felt a little weird, I just chuckled and sighed, that is how the
American's usually always feel. It was weird to hear it from a native.
I am going to try better next week to help her get involved.
We had one of our wards Christmas parties on Saturday. Wow, totally
different than in America. They don't listen to Christmas music, I
have yet to hear Christmas music played on the street, it is still all
pop band and 80's, like what they were listening to in June when I got
here. Weird.
There are only 2 of us in the apartment, but it is huge, 2
bathrooms, although one is so nasty we just leave the door closed,
there are 2 bedrooms upstairs but one looks like it had an earth quake
and all the floor tiles are broken and shifted...weird apartment. Also
the light bulbs in our working CR are out also in the room where we keep
our clothes, and iron. That is made for some interesting
experiences...life in an adventure here. Also they start construction
across the street at unholy hours and the dogs next door barking has
made for some interesting nights. Sis Galvez just sleeps through it, I
wonder if it's something I will just get used to??
Well I think that is about all that is new.
I love you and can't wait to hear from you.
Mahal ko po kayo,
ingat,
Sister Jensen

Where ever you feel love it feels like Christmas

Hello Family,

Well, surprise I am being transfered tomorrow. Actually Sister Reyes and I are being pulled out of the area. I have felt a transfer coming for the past few days and have been denying it. Good thing I got up this morning and washed my sheets, I couldn't sleep. I have been having some pretty weird dreams lately, maybe this is a start of their fruition. We shall see. What else.
We saw another miracle this week, Wenard the boy that was sick last week and we were told that we could not continue his baptism, well we asked his cousins and sister to pray for him and he was given a blessing and he made a fast recovery. It was so humbling to watch his cousins kneel at the end of our lessons and pray for him to be able to be baptized with them. Happily we were able to watch all 5 of them baptized and confirmed and bear their testimony. Wenard's testimony came with so much power it surprised both Sister Reyes and I. Astig. [Astig means "Cool." - Emily]
I am going to really miss this area, it is where I have really begun to feel at home, I know the area and where I am going. I, like you Dad, do not like to be lost or have no idea where I am going.
I have not heard from St Luke's [Hospital] yet, and we have not had time to go back anyway. There really is no time on a mission to be sick. My advice just don't get sick, don't drink the water, juice is your enemy, ayaw ko siya [I don't like it]! Yes we are still working!
Christmas is just around the corner and a new area, grabe ["worried"], it is going to be stressful and challenging but the Lord must have some plan for me.
We had Zone Conference this past week. It was amazing we talked about using the Book of Mormon and the Spirit's role in conversion. Powerful. Zone Conference really energizes us to work harder to go out in the field and use what we have just practiced, to gain those skills that others have and use them in our work. It really is effective to learn then practice then review then practice again. It is also a lot more fun now that I understand more of the language and have investigators that have real concerns that I want to help resolve.
I think I am being transfered close to the Hospital in Quezon City Zone. At least that is what the weekly report said. We will see if they updated it too early, and if that is actually where I am going tomorrow morning. Good thing I have already done most of my laundry.
Well I think that is about it for the week. The church is true, so true, never doubt that. When times get hard that just means that there is something that we need to learn. Scary though. That is where Faith comes in. Amazing how this gospel really makes perfect sense, doubt not, fear not. Have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, follow it until the end. It is amazing to see others grasp this plan and see it in their eyes. That right there is the joy of serving a mission.
I love you all. Please stay safe and warm with all of the snow.
Love,
Sister Jensen