Sister Jensen is HOME!

You are all invited to come to Sister Jensen's homecoming talk!

She will be speaking on Sunday, January 29th at 12:45 p.m:

Bountiful 24th Ward 

720 E 550 N

Bountiful, UT 84010

You are also invited to come to our house afterwards for treats and catching up:

The Jensens

806 North 650 East

Bountiful, UT 84010

My Last Email as Sister Jensen

FAMILY!!!!
  I don't know what to say or how to even start this last email. What started out as a normal mission to the Philippines has expanded into a life changing event that has taken through every emotion and a few countries. I have gone from; English to Tagalog to English again, from trainee to trainer, from shy to bold, and from old me to an older more knowledgeable me. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has expanded and strengthened. I have been able to teach the Gospel to those who had no idea there was even a God, to those who have needed more guidance and direction in their life, or just more peace and comfort. This Gospel is applicable to every person everywhere all around the world. That is the wonderful thing about this message is that it can effect everyone, it has that power to change the world if people would just listen and follow Christ's example. Thankfully there is always agency involved so not everyone will listen but everyone gets that chance to listen, that chance to change.

We were able to go to a baptism in the Williamston ward this past Friday, the Mason family was a part member family the mom was a less active but now their daughter who is 17 and the dad are members of the ward and their mom is active again. There were so many people that attended the service that it had to be moved into the chapel for the opening program. The ward has begun to catch the missionary fire and are starting to realize that there are others all around them that could use the gospel. There have been so many leaders of the church come and tour the area and make the promise that if these people will just reach out in fellowship and bring others into the church that this stake would have to be divided within the next 5 years. We are still struggling, it is quite difficult to share the gospel with those we know, we are afraid of losing friendships or not knowing what to say. As missionaries we have the responsibility to teach the Restored Gospel, we take care of the doctrinal conversion, as members we have an obligation to help with the social conversion. So many of our investigators are baptized because when they came to church they were befriended and they were able to feel comfortable and the Spirit was then able to work. Those who did not have many friends or people come up and say hello...it is quite a bit more difficult to get them to come back to church. When we weekly plan we are taught to think about each of our investigators and how we can get them to church, whether they had a negative experience in the past or how we can help them continue to have a positive experience in the future. Solid members that are always reaching out in friendship and love are the best.
  One family like this is the Evans family in the Lansing ward. They are great fellowshippers. We mentioned that we needed help with Bronjal and Pratibha and last night over dinner we were talking about how we can help them and Brother Evans suggested they go on a double date with them. They are becoming their friends not just their fellowshippers. I love that! As Elder Snow and Collins have been teaching to members and dinner appointments "We need to first become their friends before we share the gospel with them."  They are asking the families in the area to find a friend and invite the over for dinner or a social activity. Then after that invite them over for FHE, then invite them to a church activity, then to church, then to meet the missionaries. We have reach out in love and befriend others that is the only way this Gospel is going to spread throughout the world.

Well enough of my soap box, you will hear enough of me on Sunday. I am still having the hardest time comprehending that I will be home in just a few days. I  have tried so hard to work so hard that I haven't even noticed that the time has been passing. I always said that I just want to look up one day to have someone tell me that it is my time to leave and I have been blessed with that desire. We have appointments all of tonight and tomorrow morning. We are staying busy up until the last moment. I hope that my entire life that I can continue to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I have loved being a missionary, it has been the best decision I have ever had to make...twice. :)
Thank you for all of your support. I could not have made it to where

I am with out all of your support and love.

See you soon.

Mahal ko po kayo!

Ingat,

Sister Rebecca Jensen

"I know the Book of Mormon is true and will make a lifetime study of it." - Eryun‏

JENSEN FAMILY!!!!
        Eryun is baptized and confirmed!! HORRAY!! It was a wonderful and powerful experience for all those involved. He asked us if he could share his testimony after he was baptized and I was not expecting the power and strength of his testimony of the Book of Mormon and his knowledge that he is a son of God. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard on my mission. I love to hear the testimonies of those that were recently baptized; their testimony comes with such power and simplicity. He will receive the Aaronic Priesthood next Sunday, when he came out of his interview he looked so excited he could hardly stand still. He is so excited for his wife to come join him and to learn about the gospel as well. She finally has her visa and they are looking at plane tickets for mid February. This is going to be one amazing baptism, where he gets to baptize her......I am super jealous of the missionaries that get to teach her. In his testimony he called us angels, it was amazing the Spirit that came while he testified. He is going to do great things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes there are a lot of exclamation points, I happen to be very excited!) 
   Bronjal and Pratibha came to church this Sunday. We finally asked Jodi Evans to come with us to a lesson and they connected so well. They and the Evans family have a lot of similarities and they have become friends quickly. They came to church with the Evans and sat with them and loved church. We were also able to teach the 10 commandments with Sister Evans and she added a lot of insight and strength to the lesson, it was beautiful! We are excited to see them again tonight and see how they felt about church and what questions they have. (Brother Evans reminds me a lot of Clark, it is quite fun!) 
  Joy is an amazing woman, she is very strong in her faith and is struggling with a need for the Book of Mormon. We brought Sister Hatch with us to our lesson this morning and it was an intense lesson. Sister Hatch was able to connect the Bible with the Book of Mormon in a way that was revelatory to all present and how they do go hand in hand. It was amazing! With time and love Joy will come to see the fullness of the Gospel, at the moment she is too comfortable where she is at, we are still planning on meeting with her and helping her do service at her house next Saturday the 21st. 
    Sister Jones in Kalamazoo is amazing. I was very impressed by her sincerity to do this work and her desire to love and serve the people. It was a blast to go and serve with her. We tracted apartments for 3 hours solid and were still laughing and having fun at the end. Missionary work should be like that, it is about having fun and enjoying life because you are being blessed with the Spirit and with happiness. 
   Hiva is finally being baptized this Saturday. After about 6 months of meeting with us he has finally committed to a date and time!!! I get to say the opening prayer, how sweet of him to ask. I love being included in even a small way at these baptisms. We have had so many of them lately it is quite a boost to the Spirit. 
  Study has lately been a haven of peace and rest and I love it and look forward to it daily. It is one thing that I have a goal to keep throughout my life, a solid time to spend in the scriptures feasting upon the words of Christ. I have been so grateful to read the words of Alma to his sons talking about his own conversion. There is so much power in his testimony because he has felt the power of the atonement. He truly understood what it was like to feel such pain and sorrow and then to feel such light. Reading it has given me a greater desire to share this light and freedom with others. Just like Alma we too can help others find that peace, find that clarity in their lives. It is a beautiful and a wonderful thing.
  My time here is winding to a close. You only get a few more of these letters before I will be home. Don't worry I am still sprinting hard towards the finish line. 

I will be in Caro Thursday night until Saturday morning, please pray that it is good weather. Elder DeHart and Ransley happily volunteered to drive us...hallelujah!...so that will help greatly. What a blessing it is to go and do trade-offs and be able to help these sisters. 
  I love you all so much. I know that this Gospel is true, the more I teach it the more I feel of its power and the great and glorious plan of our Heavenly Father. We are so blessed to be doing what we are doing. 
 Mahal ko po kayo.
Ingat,
Sister Jensen 

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Dear Family, 
   HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
   It is a clear and freezing cold day. We had a very long appointment this morning and her house there was not a lot of heat and we froze, that is when I think I officially realized that we are in Michigan during an official winter. It has been very mild this year but we have been getting a little snow everyday for the past few days and it is finally cold enough that it is sticking.  
     Eryun told us last week that he would like to be baptized January 7th and we are going forward with that. His questions have been amazing lately, very detailed about what is happening in the Book of Mormon. Some of them are amazing. We have been reflecting lately on how the Gospel has helped him progress and to see how his English has improved so drastically in just 2 months is a testimony to me that God has great things in store for Eryun. When we met him neither of us could understand each other and now he is coming to church weekly and reading from the Book of Mormon and doing so many things that without the help of God would have been impossible. 
   Ryan and Lily had us over for dinner this past week. We talked about missionary work and they asked if they would need to go knock doors like we do. It was sweet. We talked to them about sharing the gospel with their friends and relatives and Ryan is very excited to share what he knows with others especially those in China one day. Ryan was able to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday and be ordained to the office of Priest. He will do great things with that! They were also excited to hear that if they do serve a mission when they are older they are each others’ companions, they are very in love and it has been a blessing to be around such a wonderful couple. They left this week for Virginia with a promise that they will be in contact when they get there and that they will keep us updated when big events happen. Also when they are sealed I will be traveling to whichever temple they are sealed in. I love them so much, what a blessing it has been to watch them grow in the Gospel. 
  Steaven came to church this Sunday. We were not expecting him to come so when he walked in we were both very happy. He stayed for all three hours and called later Sunday night to tell us he enjoyed the service and that he would be coming again. We are going to pass him to the elders in the University ward this week. He is doing well and sincerely desires to learn more and to become better.
  Sister Bogar and Sister Baker went and taught Pedro while I was in Owosso, it went well. They started off talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ but he had a lot of questions about the fall of Adam and Eve and so they covered part of the Plan of Salvation. We meet again with him this afternoon to pass him to the elders in the University ward we know that he will be well taken care of and his needs met. 
  Exchanges went well with Sister Thackeray last week. She was feeling a little overwhelmed at all the responsibility that she has had placed upon her. We spend a few hours out finding and we practiced in companion study. It was a lot of fun to be around her again and to see how far she has come in such a short time. It is amazing how much we grow then there is a need for it. 
  It is Sister Bogar's Birthday today. I feel a little bad since I won't even be here to help her celebrate, I leave for WMU this afternoon and don't get back until mid Thursday. It should be an adventure. I am just grateful that I don't have to drive. :D 
  New Years Eve was an adventure. We cleaned the baptismal font. It was embarrassing the last baptisms to have floaties...those are gone. The rest of the evening was not how I wanted it...I am glad that I only had one of those on my mission. 
  I made gingerbread bread yesterday and it turned out dry...it still tastes good but was super dry. I am wondering if it was our oven or what? I don't make it enough to know what happened to make it that way. When I get home I am going to experiment with a full kitchen...be warned. I also made banana bread for Sister Bogar's Birthday. Not quite cake but the Elders keep giving us bananas and I want to use them up before I leave and to my time is ticking. 
  I cannot believe how quickly January has come; it feels like it was just April. Time just moves faster and faster for me, Sister Bogar still says that it is agonizingly slow for her...oh the days of being new. We are still working on being better. The quote on the back of this planner is "In the search for our best selves, several questions will guide our thinking; Am I what I want to be? Am I closer to the Savor today than I was yesterday? Will I be closer yet tomorrow? Do I have the courage to change for the better?" -President Thomas S Monson 
  How true that is. 
I love you all.

Mahal ko po kayo

Sister Rebecca Jensen 

Snow and a change of plans‏

Dear Family,
   Sorry this email is coming late. There is some crazy snow outside and there has been all day, also we found out that Sister Bogar doesn't get driving privileges for quite sometime so we had to cancel our trade offs with Caro and we are trading off with Owosso tomorrow instead. It turns out well because when I called Sister Thackeray she sounded all too happy to spend some time with me. She said that she needs some help. So once again God moves in mysterious ways and I am supposed to be in Owosso tomorrow.
   I got a new temple recommend on Saturday. Hooray I don't have be expired there as well. [Hers expired in the Philippines, too.] Seriously a big relief to have a current recommend. I can't wait to use it again!
  It was great to talk to you on Sunday. Amazing to think of how different that phone call was from the last Christmas phone call I made. I am much happier here and now. As for those we are working with, they are all blessings to have and to teach.   
Ryan and Lily (Recent Converts) are just amazing. We were able to meet with them and talk to them about the Priesthood and preparing for it. Also preparing to enter into the temple and enduring to the end. The Spirit at our lesson was so strong it strengthened my testimony in the power of families and the importance of a strong father and mother. What a blessing it has been to teach them. They read the Gospel Principles manual and the Book of Mormon together. I love how their spiritual journey is only strengthened and enhanced by their relationship and love for one another and for God. I see now why we focus on teaching families.
   Eryun is coming to church now regularly and feeling right at home. He also came to our Christmas Eve activity and loved being around the other investigators and missionaries. He told us that this Wednesday he will tell us what he has decided about being baptized. He knows he wants to be baptized he is just not sure if he wants to wait for his wife or if he wants to go ahead first and then be there to baptize her when she finally comes in America in February. It is a big decision but Eryun loves to pray and he is sensitive to the Spirit, I know that he will make the right decision for him and his family.
   Branjal and Pratibha are doing well. Pratibha has completed reading the Book of Mormon and loves it, she wants to come to church. Branjal keeps forgetting to read the Book of Mormon and pray so we have been reading with him the past two visits. They planned on coming to church but didn't realize that the bus did not work on Christmas. We are working on coordinating a ride for them and hope that the Evan's family can fellowship them.
   Pedro was born in Texas but raised in Mexico. He meet the missionaries in Mexico and talked with them. He is 17 but already in college at MSU. He is super smart and grew up very religious. Pedro would spend extra time with his ministers growing up and they would have him teach classes to kids his age and go with them to pray for people. As we were sharing the restoration with him, he really enjoyed it and had a lot of insights. He also came to our Christmas Eve party and his truck was broken down so he walked all the way from Spartan Village just to come (that is over 2 miles). We are hoping to pass him off to Elders DeHart and Ransley, we think that both he and Elder DeHart are too smart for their own good so they should be able to connect and hopefully they can help Pedro put his spiritual and intellectual side together in the form of an awesome testimony.
     Today has been very interesting. A lot of snow, boots that would not have traction today. Teaching a lesson on the bus on the way to the bus terminal in Lansing. Being asked for money three times and once for this man's funeral because he was shot outside the bus terminal we were standing in and realizing that I sat next to that man a few weeks ago on the bus. Small world. Having my companion hit on by just about every man in the room. Feeling like we wanted to tesseract out of there because of the unwanted attention and iffy people surrounding us. Surprisingly having a guy named Steavan come up to us and ask what Church we belonged to and wanted to learn more. He had studied a little about Latter Day Saints in College and wanted to read the Book of Mormon. We taught him a brief Restoration while standing there and gave him a copy to read. He emailed Sister Bogar tonight and said that he has read the introduction and wants to learn more. Also when this slightly questionable man came and talked to us he stood there all tall and ominous in the back, his presence was very reassuring. I am grateful that God does protect us and that he is always sending people who are prepared into our paths. We have been praying for those who have been prepared to be placed in our path and to help them recognize us or to us recognize them, and lately we have seen those prayers answered in so many ways. What blessings!!
   I love you all very much. Happy New Year. Happy Birthday Mom!!!
Mahal ko po Kayo!
Ingat,
Sister Becky Jensen 

Note on the Last Transfer

I am happy to announce (or remind you) that Sister Jensen will return with honor on January 25, 2012. She is in the final weeks of her mission, and is enjoying (most) every minute of it. In order to avoid becoming distracted from the work of the Lord, she has asked that those of us at home please refrain from talking about her impending release in our notes and letters to her. She is excited to see all of you again, and LOVES to hear from you, but also doesn't want to deal with feeling "trunky".

We anticipate that her homecoming* will be Sunday, January 29.
(*Er- speaking as a returned missionary.)

I will provide more details as I learn them.

Thanks,
Emily Jensen
The PageMaster

" 'Tis the singing of a street corner choir, going home and getting warm by the fire"

Dear Family,
What a week it has been. Ryan and Lily Wong are now baptized and confirmed and they are happy as can be. It was a joyous baptism that was full of the Spirit. After Elder Ransley baptized Lily she waited on the stairs so that she could see Ryan baptized and after he was baptized they hugged. Talk about awesome. The Spirit was so strong, baptizing families is amazing!! We had a good showing of support from the ward and a lot of the young couples have really stepped up to be their friends. Eryun and Cloud came. My 4 favorite Asians all together for a baptism...I was exceedingly happy. I will have to send you that picture soon. I forgot my camera cord or you would be getting it now. It is one I will always cherish.
Eryun is doing really well. He came to Ryan and Lily's baptism. He wants to be baptized and when he found out that if he is baptized that if he is worthy when his wife comes to America he could baptize her I don't think he could have smiled bigger. We met with him and Brother McIntosh from the Williamston ward at the MSU library last week and talked about the 10 commandments. Eryun prayed at the close for help in keeping the commandments, it was a beautiful prayer.
Cloud is doing great! He came to support Ryan and Lily as they were baptized this Saturday. Also while waiting for the baptism he explained to Eryun about Baptism and confirmation and showed him the font and described what it felt like. He is such a wonderful teacher and fellow-shipper. I know that the university ward will take good care of him but it is still hard to leave the ward. We talked to him about going and doing baptisms for the dead with the ward on January 7th and after church yesterday he went by himself and talked to the bishop about getting a temple recommend!!! He is fantastic and strong and his testimony is amazing. He talks to his family often and they completely support him joining the church! It is great to see that our recent converts are self sufficient, the are converted to the gospel and not Sister Bogar or I, they don't need us anymore, yes they love us around but they also have friends and know that they can do things themselves. It is great. Also some of our Asian converts have been getting letters from members of the 70 and I guess that the church is really interested in them! How exciting!
Mary is a new investigator we picked up this week. We met her door knocking with Sister Thackeray and when we came back on Friday she had an entire spread of food, hot cinnamon rolls and crackers, cookies, chips and salsa...and much more!!! She is in her late 20's and works as an EMT. Mary grew up Christian but was very interested to learn more about what we believe. We taught her the restoration and at the end she asked if she could come to church. She said that she will be off work for Christmas Sunday and will come. We are super excited to be teaching her, her prayer was also beautiful thanking God for sending sisters with the truth and friendship.
I have been super tired this week. Sister Thackeray came to stay with us while she was waiting for her trainee and I slept on the floor. No one should start training exhausted so I let her have my bed. Yesterday was rough I was all kinds of emotional, just feeling drained then some people said some very unkind things to us about missing some meetings that we tried to go to. We were told it was at 11 and it was not and we were not made aware and we got chastised for not coming. I had to leave Williamston ward because I couldn't stop crying. Needless to say I am SO TIRED. Don't worry I am taking this week off from exchanges which means that I get to be in my area the entire week! I am super excited since this is the last time I can say that. I will be in Caro next week then I am going to Kalamazoo, then Portland then Owosso and then I will be going home. Weird to have it planned out until the end.
I cannot believe that there is less than a week until Christmas. How quickly time passes.
I got to see Elder Clawson and Sister Scheffer before they left. It was so weird to see them and to not be going away with them. It feels right though. There is not a single doubt in my mind, I am needed here one more transfer. We had a good week this week. We got a car, it is shiny and new and smells new car esk.
Thank you all for your prayers and your letters. I got my big card from the Ward yesterday. It is awesome and I have no clue once again to do with a card that big. But I am grateful for all the support from the ward. It is such a joy to get letters in the mail. I don't think that joy will ever go away.
I love you all. Have a Merry Christmas. Family I will talk to you Sunday night.
Merry Christmas.
Mahal ko po kayo,
Ingat,
Sister Rebecca Jensen

The Sweet and Tender Mercies of the Lord

Dear Family,
We had the most amazing baptism this past Saturday. It was his birthday on Wednesday and Rachel and Roy, the fellowshippers we invited to our lesson with him, made him a cake and wrote a card for him, it was just great to see that support. We called Cloud on Friday to make sure that everything was okay and he said he was preparing, when we asked what he said that it was his testimony. He is amazing!!! After Cloud, Shutian and Zhong were baptized and welcomed into the ward Cloud hopped up and shared his testimony. He started really sad talking about how he came to America to study but was so lonely; how he would walk the streets alone and just feel empty and homesick. Then one day he was walking alone on campus and "an angel stopped me and shared a message with me, she lead me to my new family and my new home." He looked right at me and said thank you. I could not stop smiling. I remember being out contacting with Sister Thackeray and stopping Cloud, he was alone and looking at the leaves changing color. It is amazing to think of the small things that we do, and how big of a difference they make for others. It was the most beautiful testimony. After the baptism a lot of the other missionaries and even President and Sister Hess came to talk with me about finding Cloud and teaching him, his knowledge of the Gospel is quite impressive, but honestly I didn't do anything. It was all the Lord; I was just an instrument in His hand. Cloud was prepared; I just had the blessing of opening my mouth.
Ryan and Lilly are doing so well. They have been planning out their baptism and are so excited for it. They came to the baptism on Saturday and after the service Lilly leaned over and said happily "that will be us next week." It was a tender moment. The ward loves them and is sad to see them leave to quickly after they are baptized. Bishop Rivers said that he would help us in contacting their new ward over in Virginia so that this transition goes as smoothly as possible.
Eryun is also doing great. He came to church this week in a suit. We extended a baptismal invitation last week and he was hesitating because of his family, but now that Cloud and Ryan and Lilly are all taking that step he has been talking about it. Not if he will be baptized but when. That makes us happy. He is coming to Ryan and Lilly's Baptism, he was really nervous about Cloud's saying it was like a rehearsal for his own baptism and he was not ready for that, but on Sunday he asked if he could come to their baptism. Oh course YES!
I was on exchanges in Owosso this past week with Sister Thackeray. It was quite fun to be serving with her again. She had a lot of questions about training and about how I do/did things. It was quite flattering to have her ask me all of these questions. To be honest the answers were really simple, be obedient, pray often and pray specifically, speak openly and honestly with your companion and others and be happy. That is the key to successful missionary work. After I got back Sister Bogar and I felt some tension. I didn't want to address it since we were both feeling ill...but on Saturday we talked it out. Turns out this mission has drastically changed since I got here. The rules have gotten a lot stricter and the way they do things has changed. Turns out my leaders actually listened as I talked. The other sisters call me the "White Handbook Nazi" or Mary Poppins, I thought it was just a funny joke but they don't like it. I never understood why, I am just trying to help the work go forward. Sister Scheffer was here before I came and has been able to see the change and she talked about that with my companion. We decided that we are okay that it has changed because it has changed for the better. It hurt a little that the others sisters talk about me, and I don't understand why it would be a bad thing to be so obedient and to help the mission become better. I am serving because I love the Lord and that is all that matters. All of my companionship's have been happy and successful and I think that is what matters.
We had the Williamston ward Christmas party on Saturday night. It was amazing. The decorations were between wedding reception-meets-Santa. The food was buffet and those always scare me but the program was great. We asked Sister Schlosher if she needed help and she said that she needed help with the curtains and moving things on and off the stage. I didn't do stage crew for nothing. I was able to do the curtains and help move stuff on and off stage and everything went without a hitch. It was great to be able to useful.
I will be staying in the MSU 3 Lansing Stake Sisters Area with Sister Bogar for my last transfer. All of the sisters are staying the 2 new ones that are coming out, one will go with Sister Thackeray to replace Sister Scheffer and the other with be a triad with the Mt Pleasant Sisters. Good times I tell you. Also President asked me to add Western Michigan University Sisters to my list of exchanges. That one will be a 36 hour exchange since we are going with the Assistants when they exchange with the Zone Leaders in the area. Both Elder Ransley and Elder DeHart are staying as Assistants again, Elder Ransley has been an Assistant now for the past 7 months...yup.........
Thank you for all of the letters it sounds like everyone is doing well. I hope that you all enjoy the holiday season. This is the season beloved of the year, sing a rhyme Christmas time soon will be here. I love this season, we get to be so open about talk Christ with so many people. I wish that everyone was so open about Christ all year round.
I love you all very much.
Mahal ko po kayo,
Ingat,
Sister Becca Jensen

Change of Address

For those of you who want to send Sister Jensen a Christmas note or package, both the mission home address and Sister Jensen's apartment address have changed in the last few weeks.

Please send your letters, packages, goodies, and love to the following addresses.

Apartment address:

Sister Rebecca Jensen

Apt. 4912 South Hagadorn #205

East Lansing, MI 48823

Mission home address:

Michigan Lansing Mission

1400 Abbott Road, Suite 330

East Lansing, MI 48823

A Lighthouse and a Car Ride from Caro

Dearest Family,

I am glad to hear that everyone is okay even with all of the wind and craziness that has been going on in Northern Utah.

What a week it has been. It feels like more than that since I last wrote. I did exchanges in Caro last Monday-Wednesday morning. Oh Monday we had the Sisters P-day we went to a lighthouse and then we came back and we made ginger bread houses and decorated the mission home. I got to put the garland up on the banister, what was way too much fun. Then everyone else watched Muppet Christmas Carol...it just made me too homesick so my companionship went and helped Elder Ransley and Elder DeHart put the lights up on the roof. It was a lot better than getting trunky.

I drove back to Caro on Monday night after the Sisters p-day, we dropped off the Mt Pleasant sisters so it took us 3 hours to get there. Talk about a long drive! While there we did a lot more driving. It is the thumb of Michigan and there are a lot of unique people there. The work was difficult but we were still able to pick up a new investigator and 3 return appointments. When we got in the car after finding Sister Froisland turned to me and said that she has never in her life had such a good day finding and we did all of that in an hour. What a blessing it is to be able to come to these sisters areas and work with them and strengthen them. Every single area I have been to we have found great success while working there. It is a miracle that I can go and give them a spiritual boost and some advice of how to become better. I love it! It is amazing what love can come for these sisters as we pray for them. I have been amazed at the love that has come from kneeling many times a day and pleading for each sister to feel the spirit and work together in unity and love. The Caro apartment was not up to Sister Jensen clean and with the extreme snow warning and really bad tires we came in at 7:30 and I was able to Pinesol until the floors sparkled and vacuumed until the room felt clean. It was great to go to bed and just sigh feeling quite accomplished. The Assistants were going to come pick us up and with all the snow they were not sure if they were going to be able to come. They called on Tuesday night and said Snow or Shine we are coming to get you. It was fantastic. We also got permission to drive the shortest and safest way home which was surprisingly through Flint. That was an amazing car ride with all the fresh snow outside and all of the fields it was beautiful. Also it was great because I didn't freak out being driven on the really snowy icy roads, I didn't even have to reach for the Tums! Happiness.

Sister Bogar is doing well. She is absolutely amazing, a hard worker, and willing to learn and grow and take on so much responsibility while I am gone on exchanges. I am so blessed to have Sister Bogar as a companion. I love her so much!!!!

Danny met with us after two weeks of being out of town and doing group work. When we met with him we knew something was up because he was pacing out front of the institute. We came in and he sat down and looked straight ahead and told us that he no longer wants to meet with us he just wants to study the Bible alone. He had such a strong testimony before he went to visit his family in San Fransisco we think that he was Antied while there. We tried to help him feel the Spirit to recall that testimony that he once had but he would not let it in. It was heart breaking to see. We have been blessed to see him on the bus every day since that happened, the ward is also stepping up to call him and see how he is doing. It was his birthday yesterday so a perfect opportunity to call and say hello. We are not giving up on him yet.
Cloud is absolutely amazing. We met with him twice last week. We taught him about tithing and fasting and also about the Law of Chastity. It was great to hear him come up with examples from what he has seen, "they are so stupid" he would say over and over again. His simple and pure faith is amazing. What a blessing it is to be able to teach him. He will be baptized this Saturday at 10am and we are all so excited!

Ryan and Lilly are set for baptism on December 17. They told us at the ward Christmas party that they want to be baptized before the move. It was a tender mercy to have them come together as a couple and pray about this decision. There is a power in teaching couples like Ryan and Lilly, it has taught me so much about how a real companionship should work. You can feel the love they have for each other and the Lord just by standing around them, it is in their smile and the way the look at each other. I love it! It is an honor to be learning so much from them while we try and teach them the Gospel. They were able to come to all of Church and all of the Stake Christmas activity and the broadcast and they loved all of it. They were also able to give Eryun another investigator of ours a ride to and from the activity. What a beautiful couple.
Eryun is doing well. He came to the activity yesterday night in a suit!! He said that he noticed that he was different than the other men while in pants and a jacket. He is also emulating the men in the ward, his prayers have become more specific. He is always smiling when we talk with him and teach him. We invited him to be baptized and he is praying about January 7th. He said that he needs to talk to his wife in China before he can accept. He is reading a lot from the Book of Mormon and says that he doesn't understand it all but he likes how he feels and the story it tells. He was also able to come to church and the activity last night.

Branjal and Pratibha are doing well. Pratibha has read in the Book of Mormon up to Mosiah and she radiates while she talks about it. Branjal has been quite busy and has not had a chance to read much of it, so our appointments lately we have been spending in the Book of Mormon. We talked about baptism and the importance of Church. We had planned on inviting them to be baptized but Pratibha was quite nauseated (she is also pregnant) and kept running in and out of the room so we kept our visit short and didn't want them to make that big decision while feeling that way.

The Lansing ward is amazing, they have been so great to fellowship our investigators and to help them feel loved and at home. We are still struggling to work with the Williamston ward, it is quite difficult for us to go finding in their boundaries because of the distance and the time that is involved. Also we tried to go finding in Nob Hill and were asked to leave. We are still trying to work hard and find people to teach in that ward. We talked to Bishop Rawson and he is still trying to work with us and his members to help us find people to teach in his ward boundaries.

The Christmas Devotional was fantastic last night. We had 3 investigators there so it was even better!! I love our Prophet and his counselors they are so full of the Spirit and wisdom.
This week looks good. I will be doing 2 exchanges, tonight until Wednesday morning in Owosso with Sister Thackerary and then on Friday with Sister Topchiyska. Please pray they go well.
I think that is about it.

If anyone is wondering what to give me for Christmas here it is: I want handwritten letters with details about their lives. I just want to know how everyone is doing.

That is all.

I love you all so much. Thank you for all of your prayers and support, it does make a difference.
Ingat,
Mahal ko po kayo.
Sister Rebecca Jensen

Sisters Preparation Day Monday

Dear Family,
Well if you are going to write to me this week I will be able to read it next Thursday. We have a sisters p-day with Sister Hess on Monday and afterwards I will be doing exchanges with the Caro sisters out in the thumb of Michigan so I will not be able to e-mail like normal on Monday. Sorry about that.
Thanksgiving was interesting. I really do not like eating food that I am not familiar with or that I don't know what the ingredients are and we had a lot of that. We had 3 back to back appointments. The first one knew that I couldn't have milk and their food was the creamiest! It was insane. Also when we showed up to their house they handed us a duster and a vacuum and told us to get to work so the house would be ready for their guests. I guess when they talked to the Elders about having us over cleaning was involved and we just missed the memo.
We were able to meet with Ryan and Lilly. They came with us to the Lambert's for Thanksgiving. Well, they met us there but it was amazing. The Brother Lambert is a chef so the food was good. Better than that we were able to have a lesson with them before dinner. Being a recently married couple with a new child they had their wedding certificate on the wall and pictures and Ryan and Lilly just stared at the pictures and oogled and their baby. We talked about Eternal marriage and just about everyone was in tears by the end, it was amazing. Ryan and Lilly just have a marriage certificate from the Government they never had a ceremony so when he heard about temple marriage he told Lilly that he would make it up to her, that he would take her to the temple to be married a year after they are baptized. It was sweet. Also his thankful at dinner was Lilly, he said that life was bland without her and now that she was with him life had color again. Talk about adorable. We extended a bapt date for them but since they are moving to Virgina at the end of December they are hesitant to be baptized before they leave.
Our third and final dinner appointment was with Brother and Sister Abenroth they are great. She studied Exercise Science at BYU with a music minor. She also plays the violin. It was awesome how much we had in common. Her dinner I have to say was my favorite. Plain and simple. At the other houses I at a lot of veggies because the rest of everything had cream sauces. There are blessings for that since I got to have 3 dinners and I wasn't sick or exceedingly full at the end like Sister Bogar, she was quite full. It was a little comical. This last dinner we had with Elder Coon and Elder Collins. It was my first dinner appointment with them and it was nice to get to know them better.
We did service this morning, we helped this kid with his Eagle Scout project, we laid bark chips down on a path in a park. It was interesting since one of the wheel barrows was terrible the tires were both flat and that made pushing it through mud just a pain. It also means that my arms are quite tired now.
I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Keys this Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. We were able to help her with some quality finding we got 8 return appointments. It was sweet. We were at the library and the Assistants came to finish a college application and to do some facebook lessons and we were able to talk with them. It was nice to finally get on the same page again. Often when they need to tell us something they just tell Sister Keys and sometimes we get it and sometimes we don't, it can be frustrating at times.
My companion and I are doing well. We had an interesting dinner appointment in Holt yesterday night. We got there and we took our shoes off to be polite-I wish I had not- they have a million birds all over and the floor was not the cleanest. Also the feet of my nylons have a lot of holes and so I was just standing on bird droppings. We got home and I went straight to the sink and washed them a million times with soap. We were able to have a lovely dinner and lesson and to keep our cool while we were with them but...wow...I commit here to live a simple life. I love cleanliness!!!
I get to make counsel calls to the rest of the sisters in the Lansing District now. Exciting right. Now I have no time to write in my journal or get ready for bed and finish updating the area book and fill out all the awesome paperwork that comes along with everything. With more responsibility comes more recording. Actually I am quite grateful that I get to call them and see how they are doing. I did train half of them so it is nice to be able to check up on them. Lately they have been correcting themselves and when they do that they giggle and say "Whose your trainer?" It is kind of funny. Also on the phone they have taken to saying "goodnight Mom." I realize that we aren't supposed to do things like that but it is really sweet and I don't know how exactly you correct that.
I hope that you had a wonderful time going to get a Christmas tree. It is almost 60 degrees here. I am in a light jacket and loving it!!! I hope that the weather is as nice there as it is here. I am also hoping that we don't get too much snow before I leave. Missionary work gets harder when it gets colder. People just don't want to stop when they are freezing.
Cloud is awesome and came to the Thanksgiving party. He helped Roy with his talent for the talent show. Roy was riding his unicycle and Cloud threw a candy and Roy caught it in his mouth as he rode past. After Roy caught it Cloud fist pumped. I don't think I could have smiled bigger. It was great to see him fellowshipped and accepted and having a great time! Also he has started to tell everyone that he is going to be baptized December 10th. It is really exciting to see him to happy.
Eryun is praying!!! He came to 4 hours of church last week and he called this morning to tell us that he can't make it tomorrow because he has a meeting at 1pm. We told him that he could come at 9am and he is going to come!! His desire to be good is so sincere it is just amazing. I love being able to teach these people who want to learn about God so much.
We still go out and find quite a bit, this week campus has been a ghost town. Li-an investigator that we passed to Sister Keys- he didn't understand that all of the cafeterias were going to close so he called us on Thursday freaking out because he had no food. It was quite amusing. We were able to give him some of our food, enough to get him through a few days. It is weird how everyone left, it went from thousands upon thousands of people to just a handful. I can't even imagine what Christmas break is going to be like.
Well I think that is about it for the week. I am still just plugging away. Well actually more like running to the finish line!!! Hurrah!
Mahal ko po kayo!
Ingat,
Sister Rebecca Jensen

How did it get to be Thanksgiving already?!? I feel like I got to Michigan yesterday, not 7 months ago!?!?

Dear Family,

What a week it has been. We were able to listen to Elder Nash speak twice. First it was with investigators and the university ward. It was amazing. When he shook my hand he paused and thanked me for my strong spirit. Sister Bogar was asked to speak at Zone Conference and afterwards he came and talked to us. He said that he could tell I was a great trainer because of how well Sister Bogar did. I don't know how true that is but I was flattered. We brought Eryun and Cloud to hear him speak on Thursday. Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE ASIANS!!!!! Cloud is amazing. He was able to come to hear Elder Nash speak on Thursday. After the meeting was over Elder Nash came and shook his hand and said to him "you are needed here." Cloud loved that, he also stared at the picture of the Salt Lake Temple and asked how he can go inside someday. He is so excited for December 10th so that he can be baptized. Also have I mentioned that Cloud has the most amazing Asian hair I have ever seen. Weird statement, yes, but it is true. While we were talking to him about keeping the Sabbath day holy he said "Our bodies are like temples and so when we rest them it is like repairing our temples and that makes God happy." He is such a wonderful blessing and I learn so much from him each week.

Danny came and watched the Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration movie on Friday. At the end of it he took a deep breath and said that was good. He will be in California this week for Thanksgiving but is excited to meet with us again next week. We are still working on baptism and consistent scripture study.

John Sanders is a less active. He has been struggling lately because of a different church that he has been attending. John has been asking to meet with all 3 sets of missionaries and quite enjoys the attention. Sister Bogar met with him on Friday and we were able to help him with the language in his prayers making them more respectful. I have been surprised how many people and members of our wards use "you" instead of thee, thine, and thou. We are trying to help support him while still maintaining the fact that he should not get too attached to missionary support, we cannot always be right there for him.

Gaurav Arora is a new investigator for us Elder Powell and Elder Hill transitioned him to us last week since he is recently married. We met with him and his wife this week and talked over our purpose in helping them grow closer together as a family and to God. He is a very spiritual man and we were able to talk about prayer and baptism. His wife Lilly actually brought up baptism. They are in the middle of a move to Chicago so we will only be able to see them on weekends when they come up to spend time with Lilly's son John who just turned 6. They also have the cutest little puppy, he is a pure bred golden lab puppy named Cesar. You can't get better than that.

Ryan and Lilly are golden. Lilly was able to go see a doctor and she is feeling a lot more calm and not getting sick as often. Yay for Doctors and yay for starting families. In our lesson we were asking how Lilly was doing and the concerned look on Ryan’s face was just priceless. He truly loves her SO MUCH you can just feel it when you are around them. Also she shyly admitted that she gets the weirdest cravings for these Chinese dishes the exotic ones and that Ryan has been all around Lansing looking for ingredients. How sweet is that. They were able to come to part of the Joseph Smith movie and were so sad that they had missed some and asked if we had a copy that they would borrow. We gave it to them yesterday and they said that they would watch it. They came to Church and Ryan even wore a suit and tie!! They love church and the feeling that is always there.

Eryun is so trusting, we taught him about the Restoration this past week and he was so excited to learn that we have a prophet on the earth today. He light up and exclaimed that is exciting! He also came to hear Elder Nash speak and loved it. He commented about how quickly the time past while he was listening to Elder Nash. Also he came to Church really early yesterday so we took him with us to the Williamston Sunday School and then to all 3 hours of the Lansing ward and he loved every minute and is excited to come back next week.

I did exchanges with the Portland Sisters this week. It was quite an adventure. Let’s just say that I learned a lot and there is a lot that we are praying for help addressing. But now that we are aware of what is going on we can help. Information is the key to revelation. It will come, plus after talking to the elders about it we are all working on a game plan. I get to go on exchanges this Tuesday with Sister Keys. I am so happy, I haven’t been able to work an entire day with just Sister Keys in almost 2 months. Insanity.

On the way home from Zone Conference Elder Ransley and Elder DeHart let us stop by and see the Chubb family. It was just about the happiest thing ever. I love that couple so much. What made it even more special is that they light up when we walked in their apartment. I got a big long hug from Sister Chubb and then I just got to sit by her chair and listen to her talk. It is odd how connected we get to those that we serve.

Well I think that is about it for this week. We have 3 dinners scheduled for Thanksgiving so I won't be missing out on much. I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. I keep remembering President HoChing's encouragement "When you see the finish line you don't stop but you run even faster." I feel like that is what I am doing. The time is far spent but there is still so much to be done. We do keep a busy schedule but because of that we were able to hit standards this week. It has taken me 3 weeks in every area that I have opened to hit them. Here is the key to success and happiness OBEDIENCE and heartfelt sincere prayer. With the Lord on our side we can all things. What a beautiful promise.
I love you all. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
ingat,
Sister Rebecca Jensen

Expired...

Dear Family,

Guess what?!? I am now expired...at least my ministerial certificate is. Sad day is what that is. They are working on getting me an updated one, but who knows how quickly that will come.

Also with this new area, we are slowly building up a teaching pool. Our schedule is looking more full this week, also we actually have dinner appointments this week. I don't necessarily love the food that comes with them but it really is more efficient as a missionary since we do get to know the members and help them trust us and we get to teach. It will be good to teach more with Sister Bogar she is really good at making people feel really good about themselves. She cut hair for 7 years and has had to listen to a lot of people talk and she is good at it.

Cloud: He came to church last week we were able to give him a copy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet. We talked about it at our meeting this week. He came with it all read and he said that he had questions last week but after reading the pamphlet and praying everything made sense. We also taught the Word of Wisdom and he was a little concerned about tea, as we were talking more about it, he stopped us and said it doesn't matter I just won't drink it. What a blessing he is to us. He will be coming to hear Elder Nash speak on Thursday.

Danny: Is doing great, still reading, still praying. He knows the church is true, he knows that Joseph Smith is a true prophet, he just wants to be absolutely sure before baptism. He keeps talking about it as if it will be soon, every lesson we talk about setting a date, yet he still does not have one. He hasn't missed a week of church since we met him.

Ryan and Lilly are also amazing. We were able to teach them the Plan of Salvation. They had a lot of sincere questions and they really liked how the gospel answered them. Lilly had planned to come to the gratitude dinner and they both wanted to come to church but Lilly is pregnant and is experiencing quite a bit of nausea associated with that. They are reading from the Book of Mormon and progressing well.

Branjal and Pratibha: are a couple from India, we have met with them twice now. They have a lot of good questions about God and have spent a lot of time thinking about Him. The Spirit was really strong at our last lesson where we talked more about the Plan of Salvation and our purpose here on earth.

We are still feeling our way around our new area looking for those married couples. Also we finally have ward boundaries and ward directories so this week we are going to set up appointments with the younger couples in the ward and get to know them better. This will help us better understand how we are going to use them as fellowshippers and also ask for referrals!

In the Book of Mormon today there was a scripture that really hit me, it talks about in the resurrection those who were wicked will be wicked still, and those who were righteous will be righteous still, and those who were happy will be happy still, and unhappy, unhappy still. What hit me was that happiness is a choice, not just now. Just as we choose to keep the commandments, we choose our attitude. This week has been really difficult for me, it was my original release date and with it came a lot of feelings about going home early and all that came with that. It has been a struggle to put on a smile and go forward but everyday I have tried to smile and be happy and go find souls to save. I know there is a purpose to all things, there is a reason God called me here, I know that He will never let me go through anything alone. What a comfort that is to know. I can and will choose to be happy for it is my choice!

I will be doing exchanges with Sister Ricks Tuesday in Portland, and the following week I am planning on going to Owosso and working with Sister Thackerary. We are using members to drive us to the areas to save miles on the car and are just going to follow the Spirit and hope that I can be of some help and support and guidance to these wonderful sisters. I love them all so much and am grateful that I can help them in any way that I can.

What else...we walk and walk and walk and walk and walk and run to catch buses and walk. I don't remember feeling this tired, but that is good it means that we are busy. Please still pray that we work well with our 3 wards. Sometimes I still feel quite confused as to the vision of what we are specifically trying to do in the area. Again Find, teach, baptize...yet I understand that, but what about all the hundreds of members that we now get to work with. That is this week's task to understand, we now have ward maps and directories and off we go! We are starting by visiting all of the recently married couples and those who are between 18-mid 30's.
Also Elder Nash from the 70 is doing a mission tour this week and we we get to go up to Mt Pleasant to hear him speak on Saturday. I am quite excited, it is Mt Pleasant and a general authority, couldn't get better!!

I love you all, thank you for all of your support.
Mahal ko po kayo,
Ingat,
Sister Rebecca Jensen

What an Adventure Life is...‏

Family,

Can I just say that I have the coolest companion ever!!! Her name is Sister Bogar and she is from Mesa Arizona, she is half African American. She graduated from U of A in Life Sciences with a focus in forestry and wants to go back to Med school but do some homeopathic something. She is my tallest companion to date and still not as tall as me...we do walk super fast together, well we again when my ankle stops being silly and swollen-I don't know what happened I just woke up a few days ago and there is was (yes I am "RICE"-ing it). She is already working as my equal in finding, teaching, and keeping track of everything. No freak out moments!! What a blessing, we will see many miracles. She, like sister keys, is also a vegetarian. :)

Danny is doing great! He canceled our appointment this past week but was at church on Sunday. He has not missed a week at church since we met him. I was able to talk to him after church and he was inspired by Archie's faith and his desire to be baptized. Danny said that he is thinking that he will soon follow. He was asking a lot of questions about what will his responsibilities be after he is a baptized member of the church. I was so excited to hear this, we have been praying that he would finally get some spark to his faith and get baptized. We meet with him again on Tuesday.
Ryan and Liddy are an amazing married couple that Elder DeHart and Ransley found. We had a transition lesson that was about the Spirit and answers to prayers. They have been praying together as husband and wife and say they feel more courage, happiness, and closer together. They also announced that they are starting a family!!!! (Ryan- totally thought his name was Lion until yesterday-said that with a huge smile on his face. I think that was my favorite way I have ever heard that news stated. "We are starting a family." Happiness!!) Libby is due in June! They came to the Lansing ward yesterday and loved ever minute of it. Sunday school was about the responsibilities of husbands and wives in the home! Julia and Brandon Carlson are their fellowshippers who sat with them through the meetings and Julia will be at our lesson on Wednesday, she will also be driving Liddy to the Relief Society Gratitude dinner on Saturday. They accepted a baptismal commitment, we will extend a date this week.
Cloud has been reading the Book of Mormon and said that it is incredible. He loved church and was asking a lot of questions about what will his baptism be like on December 10th. Grace was there to help answer what her baptism was like, she gave a beautiful testimony of baptism and confirmation. We are meeting again with Cloud on Saturday. He works next Sunday so he will not be attending Church but I am hoping that we can get him involved in the ward and surrounded with good friends as he doesn't have many friends now and is looking for a good group of people to be around.
We were able to meet with the Bishops of the Lansing and Williamston wards yesterday and help them better understand our role in their wards. They are very excited to have Sisters in their wards.They are willing to support us in any way that we need. The Relief Society in the Lansing ward practically cheered when we announced that we will be working with their ward. It is wonderful to feel so welcomed and loved. It makes the desire to serve them come easily. We were at church for 12 hours yesterday. Between our 3 wards and attending all of their sacrament meetings and some of their Sunday school and one relief society. Teaching investigators from the university ward during part of Williamston's Sunday School and then attending Archie's baptism at 5:30. We just had a totally spiritual fast Sunday. I heard a ton of testimonies and felt the Spirit very strongly.
President Hess called Sister Keys and I last Tuesday and talked to us for quite some time. He was able to clarify what my area is and why the Elders talked to us. There was quite a bit of miscommunication between us and clearing that up brought the Spirit back and has made life much more beautiful. I am seeing more and more over my mission just how important clear communication really is, I suppose this is one of those lessons that I will use for the rest of my life. Clearly let people know what you expect, clearly let them know what you are doing and why. If there is confusion ask questions and clear things up before they are taken the wrong way or blown out of proportion.
There is still no snow here but the weather today is warm and windy, so according to my experience in the past we will have snow soon. That is fine, we moved upstairs in the living center so that Sister Keys and her trainee Sister Topchiyska (she is from Bulgaria but has lived in the US for 7 years, she speaks 5 languages fluently and is amazing.) still live down stairs. We eat lunch together and if we don't have a dinner appointment we also eat with them. Cooking for 4 is much more fun than just for 2. Sister Keys and I do love to cook as well so that makes it more convenient.
It is good to hear that even though life has had quite a few bumps lately that everyone is still strong in the faith and continuing onward. This gospel is true, what a joy it is to share it with others. I pass my "I should be going home today mark" on Thursday. There is a little bit of trepidation about it to be honest. I know I need to be here, but at the same time that pull and twang of the heart is hard to ignore. I will work through it. Sister Keys' Birthday is this Saturday, that should help to keep me distracted. Plus we are getting quite busy, working with 3 wards and wards who have not had sisters in a while-we have had quite a few referrals come in to us from members in the past few days. They are wonderful tender mercies.
I love you all. Please let me know if there is anything more I can be doing for any of you. I just keep praying for you and hoping that all is going well.

Mahal ko po kayo!!
Ingat,
Sister Rebecca Jensen