Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July Jensen Family!!!!

What a week it has been. I am sufficiently grateful that it is now once again preparation day and that I get a chance to rest and not go knock on doors. Nothing says "get off my porch" like tracting around a holiday. Seriously we have been yelled at and rejected more this week than ever before. It has not been pleasant, but the Spirit has been there to comfort and keep us going. Sister Wright is getting tired of the phrase, "I am doing this because I love the Lord, and The Church is still true." I say them a lot. On the plus side we met some awesome people and picked up 2 new investigators. One of them we talked to at his daughters house, his other daughter is the pastor of the Potter's House church, (its a nondenominational church that a lot of people go to because there are rock bands and food) well while we were talking we asked what that church was all about since we had heard of it but didn't know much. Before I knew it he had dialed his daughter and was handing the phone to me. So there I stood on the street talking to a minister of a different church. I asked about Sunday services and then she asked about ours, it was a good missionary opportunity to share about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. We stayed on friendly terms and at the end we both thanked each other for helping us understand our faiths a little more. Then we taught her father and his friend the next evening and gave them both baptismal dates! It was an awesome lesson, we pounded out the great apostasy then the importance of the restoration followed by the first vision, testimony and then the baptismal commitment! It was a miracle and made this week so much better, truly a tender mercy!!! Another tender mercy is that on Wednesday I got a letter from Sister Siufanua and Sister Sargent from the Philippines Quezon City Mission. They still love me. Remember all of those days I felt like I had abandoned them and was just in agony, well that was just the advisary trying to get me down. It sounds like big changes have taken place, my batch from the MTC is split about in half with the North mission now. Elder Calder is the AP for the new mission president, Elder Haws a Zone Leader staying in PQCM, the sisters are senior companions opening new areas. How wonderful it was to hear that they are doing well and that they still talk of me and miss me there. Also with the new mission and one sister extending the new release dates will be November 10, December 1, and December 22. So I will fit right in coming home mid December. While I was reading these letters Sister Wright watched me rush around the apartment in happiness and shed tears of joy at finally hearing from my friends. What a blessing that was. Also yesterday I finally finished Alma in my Aklat ni Mormon, I will finish the entire book before I come home! Even if I give up my lunches in November to read it will be done! I started to teach Sister Wright how to congregate verbs in Tagalog, just the simple Mag, Um, I, and In verbs. Those seem to be coming along well. Before I know it I will be teaching VAOL, crazy!! But at the same time a great refresher course for me while I prepare to teach during meal times. This week out tracting we have come across a surprising number of people with girlfriends...the disturbing part about this is that they are girls themselves. I never knew that so many people were choosing to live in sin. Who knew that that was such a problem in nice quiet Mt Pleasant Michigan. We also found out that one of our investigators is engaged to a girl. That is just sad, we were planning to teach her the law of chastity yesterday and she wasn't there when we came for our appointment. Even after we had called and confirmed. Frustration. We were both prompted to go over to the Griffths home Friday evening, when we pulled up Sister Girffths was outside and we were finally able to meet her. Their had been an argument right before we came over and we asked if we could go inside and talk with them. The Spirit is no longer dwelling in that home and the effects of its absence is seen and felt. Brother Girffths asked for a large print copy of the Book of Mormon so he can start reading it again. By the time we left we Sister Griffths had apologized and we were able to leave with a prayer. They need the Gospel and the peace it brings now more than ever, it is sad to see how they reject what they need most. Fun story for you all. Thursday evening we were scheduled to go see the Griffths family but it didn't feel right to me. We sat in the car for a few minutes pondering what we should do when Bruce street flashed into my mind. I grabbed my brain (my binder of knowledge that I have organized lists of members according to areas-I finally finished it on Thursday it is huge :D) So I looked up who lived on Bruce street and there was Annie Sheldon, a less active that we have been trying to get a hold of for the past transfer. We drove to her house and got there just as she was walking in the door. We were able to share a message with her and schedule a return appointment for next week. What a blessing it is to have the Lord guiding this work!!! I am glad to hear that Girls camp went well and that everyone made it to and from and through it safely. I hope that since it is July now that parade stuff won't be crazy for mom and dad. I cannot believe how quickly June just flew past. I hope that time continues to speed along it makes life much more interesting when months blur into days and days feel like weeks and when people ask what has happened you respond with month old news. Its awesome being a missionary! We get to meet the President this next Friday over in Midland. I am really excited. The missionaries have been praying for them since they found out his name and everyone is really excited to meet them. This is my fourth set of mission parents, I think it is easier this time around because I have already seen three different styles and ways of going about the work. I know that this Church is true. The Book of Mormon brings peace and happiness in a way that nothing else can. Hang in there!! I hope and pray everyone has a safe holiday.

Mahal ko po kayo!

Ingat, Sister Jensen

Happy Christmas in June!!

Hello Family,

It feels like it has been much longer than a week since I have last had the chance to e-mail home. What a week it has been. One which I never wish to repeat-yes there were miracles-yes the Spirit has been increasingly strong...but still I am glad to have it past. With transfers we have been hosting Sister King another missionary over in Caro who was waiting for her new trainee to arrive. Unfortunately they were supposed to fly through Chicago and with the storm their flight was cancelled and it had us all praying that they would get here this week. It was stressful, I was super grateful I wasn't Elder Ransley or DeHart our Assistants, they were calling back and forth to us and trying to get housing worked out for everyone along with flights and shifting training dates...yup glad that I am just a sister. Although I did finally get to meet Elder DeHart-he is the new Assistant to President Jones and he grew up with Elder Calder who was in my MTC district. It was my one year mark of leaving the MTC for the Philippines and arriving in the Philippines on the 22 and 24, those days were really hard for me to be here in Michigan. I am not even going to try and express the feeling that I have felt this week concerning that event...and the fact that I am not in the Philippines to celebrate that mark...lets just say that I washed all 4 of my handkerchiefs and have been super tired all week. We picked up a new investigator this week, we met her on campus she asked us to walk with her to go get coffee and talk while we walked. I have never taught the Restoration while walking to have someone get coffee but we did. Then we met her the next day for a real appointment and we retaught the Restoration. Her name is Linda and she is awesome, I hope that she sincerely reads and prays about the Book of Mormon. Julz had a lot of doubts this week, she gave up caffinated coffee and when we reextended the commitment for ALL coffee she said that she was going to have to think about it. We tried to resolve the concern but she still asked for time. We spent the lesson reading 1 Nephi 8 and explained about the Tree of Life. She really enjoyed that and said that she would give the Book of Mormon another try. She did say that she loved having us over and the feeling that she feels when we come! Ida dropped us. Sad day. She called us over and told us that she was having a lot of health issues and just felt that Satan was trying to keep her away from the truth and that because of these issues she just wanted to take a break. We desperately tried to help her understand that yes Satan is trying to pull you away and that this Gospel is the way to happiness and truth. We committed her to pray and told her that we would come back in a few weeks. Sister Mills who is less active has been praying!!! The moment we walked into the door we could feel a difference. The house felt cleaner, she was kinder, there was more light in her countenance and the Spirit was in our lesson! We taught about Hope, we shared Ether 12:4 and how faith+hope=a more stable life. Near the end of the lesson she paused for a moment then cleared her throat then asked if there was some way that she could pay for or get a copy of the Book of Mormon. YES!!! Thank heavens I had a copy in my bag that we happily gave her. What a difference the gospel has made just in the past month of this sisters life. When I first met her we left her house singing hymns and bearing testimony because she was so against the church, and now with prayer and love she is desiring to read the Book of Mormon and all of those concerns that were HUGE when we first met her are now not as important to her. What a blessing! In personal study today I finished the Book of Mormon. What a joy it is to once again take Moroni's challenge and feel the Holy Ghost strengthen my testimony in the Book of Mormon and the power of prayer. Reading those last chapters of Ether and watching all of those millions of people choose wickedness and sin is just heartbreaking. I am grateful that Moroni included his father's letters to him, those letters are a beautiful tender mercy to have included. You can just feel Mormon's love for Moroni and his desire for him to continue strong in the faith. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, I know that there isn't a concern or challenge we face in this life that cannot be helped by the Book of Mormon. While studying it for 30 min daily I am consistently blessed with the strength I need to fulfill my purpose as a missionary. It is a miracle that we have the Book of Mormon and I am grateful for all those that sacrificed of their lives and time to make it so that I can read it daily!! I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it heals our hearts and can bring comfort to our souls on days where nothing and no one else can. This week I taught Sister Wright how to pray in Tagalog. Listening to her pray in tagalog reminds me of those days kneeling with Sister McCormack by our bunkbed in the MTC struggling with all the ng sounds and saying the same phrases over and over again. I am grateful that I can now atleast start all of our companion prayers in tagalog the Spirit that comes while speaking that lauguage is one that I miss dearly. We were able to have dinner with the Prin and Villahermossa family this week, they are from the Philippines and most of the entire meal was in Tagalog. I think that the elders and my companion just glazed over at some point but I sure had a wonderful time. Just so you all know the Hickey family the Filipino family that I have been trying to work with filed for divorce this week. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Just because they are separating legally doesn't mean that Sister Hickey still doesn't need the gospel, in fact she just needs it even more! We are hoping to catch her at home someday soon, she has crazy work hours. Sigh. The Church is true even when sad things like this happen. We are still called to invite others to come to Christ, but honestly watching others use their agency to choose to follow Satan is not fun. 2 Nephi 2:27 I am so glad to hear that all of the family functions went well. Mom good luck at Girls camp this week. Grandma Jensen I will be praying that all goes well for you this Wednesday! Grandparents Love, congratulations on completing your service at SDCH, your legacy of helping those residents to the temple will not be forgotten anytime soon. I am so blessed to come from such a wonderful family!! I love you all

Mahal ko po kayo!

Ingat lagi, Sister Jensen

What a Week

Kumusta Jensen Family,

I send my love and warm wishes home. I am super grateful that the weather here has also been pretty temperate, especially since we have been spending about 2-4 hours daily tracting the area. We really have not had much success this week, we have talked to hundreds of people and most of them "have that taken care of, but thank you anyway and you have a great day, I hope you find success." I love how they hope that we find success because the world needs it, and they don't. Slight eye roll. I still love the work, don't get me wrong but on occasions tracting for hours has its toll. We got transfer calls on Friday, I have never been more grateful to hear Elder Adams and Elder Hunter call and tell us that we will be staying. This next transfer will be 7 weeks long to make up for this past 5 week transfer. Those have been adjusted so that President Hess can come in and get settled a little before he has to do the shifting. He will officially take over the mission June 29th! I cannot believe how quickly the time is flying past. I have already spend 2 months here! Wow. :D Last Sunday we went to find a less active out by our dinner appointment and there were dogs. I seem to have a calming effect on most animals, I think it comes from the lessons I learned from Rupert my snake. The fact that he could sense when I was scared and nervous and he would act weird when I was, but if I was calm then he would just coil happily around my fingers. Well when we got out of the car this dog came up to my side so I scratched its head and made sure it was comfortable with me, then we got out of the car and were walking towards the house. Well about halfway to the house I noticed that it started to growl and act funny. Sister Wright hates dogs and she is not the most peaceful person around them, well I guess somewhere between walking to the house and those nerves the dog decided to go for her. It was honestly terrifying to watch the dog charge my companion. Luckily I we were able to stop, I was able to call it back over towards me and we both slowly backed up and got into the car. I am so grateful for the protection of the Spirit and that this situation was only a scare not anything more serious. Either way we both crossed this LA off of our list to visit and will give them over to the Elders and their Home Teachers. I finally begged to borrow a members vacuum this week and was able to vacuum our apartment. Quality of life just increased tenfold. I wake up happier, exercise doesn't leave me feeling like I have played in dirt and it just looks so much better. I am so grateful that someone invented the vacuum and that somehow Mom and Dad you raised me loving to clean. So much so that when days go really bad I find solace it ironing my shirts for the next day or washing part of the floor with pine-sol. Yes, I am weird. We met SO MANY people this week that are either talking about divorce or are mid divorce papers. I am so sick of divorce! We have a huge stack of old Ensigns and most of them have articles about strengthening marriage, making sure that there is healthy communication and love in the relationship so that divorce doesn't even come up. I know that those are all of the prevention measures but how do you help someone reconcile their marriage when they are on the verge of filing for divorce, when they have even stopped living in the same household. I struggle to comprehend all of the feelings that these people go through and how we are supposed to help them understand that the only thing that will really save their marriage is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Plain and simple, there is it, the gospel as restored through Joseph Smith will save any marriage, not only save it but help it last into the Eternities. It is so easy to see how the gospel will help them, I just am having trouble getting that message across to people since they just don't seem to be listening to us when we testify that this gospel can save your marriage. Some say that they don't even want it saved. What a wicked world that we live in now, where husbands and wives don't even want to stay together to raise their families. Enough of that soapbox. Onto the fun part of the week, we got to go split wood for the Hammer family. I love this family, they are completely awesome! They even ordered me a pizza without cheese without my reminding them :) Happiness. We spent yesterday afternoon stacking wood and using their wood splitter to split the logs that the Elders had worked on earlier. I had so much fun being out in the woods (ie their 11 acre yard) and just working hard, also I got really good at stacking wood and being able to tell the different woods apart. It was really fun. We are teaching a new sister her name is Julz, she has just graduated from CMU and is totally changing her life. She has given up drugs, alcohol, smoking, and as we taught her the Plan of Salvation she was drinking coffee and asked about that, so we talked about the WOW. She seriously drank the last of that cup and said that is it I am done drinking coffee. I am proud of her, we are praying that she gets her answer about the truthfulness of the BOM and she prays this week and that she will come to church this week. The Hickey's are struggling emotionally but still determined to endure to the end. We went over and had FHE with them on Tuesday. The lesson was about studying the scriptures which they both said they are struggling to do. So we challenged them to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. They both agreed and we then challenged them to read 10 minutes a day minimum from the Book of Mormon so that they can reach their goal. Brother Hickey has been having trouble sleeping and we were able to promise him more peace of mind and ability to sleep if he reads the Book of Mormon daily. We have been keeping up with him through facebook, checking on his daily reading. So far he has not missed a day! President I am not sure what to do about Sister Hickey, the party went well last week. We fasted for her on Tuesday, also that we would know what we can do to help her. We pray for her constantly, in every prayer, the Hickey family is always on my mind, I seriously eat, sleep, and live Hickey. We went to go teach her the Restoration yesterday and she was not home, we talked to her neighbor Aimee (she is also Filipino). She told us that Alma had been picked up by a friend a few hours ago. We then invited Aimee to learn about the gospel, she declined saying that she used to be a ministers wife and there is so much confusion in the world that she doesn't want to move from her set beliefs. We gave it our all to invite her to learn more, but felt that we needed to not pressure her. Then we saw that Mark Hickey had come home so we went and talked with him, he told us that Alma is up North for a weekend with a friend, we told him that if he needed anything to feel free to call us. I felt devastated when I heard that news. We have been praying that Sister Hickey would be prepared for us Friday to hear the message of the restoration. Sister Wright and I both felt good and excited about it, then we got there not only is she gone but she was on a weekend trip with a "friend." We are going to try back this Sunday when Mark said she returns home, I will work for this family as hard as I can. I know that this gospel can heal any relationship, not only heal it but help it last into the eternities. I still have hope that things will work out but it pains my soul to see Brother and Sister Hickey still arguing, still talking about divorce papers. I know that as a missionary we can do things that no one else can do, that with faith and the Spirit all things are possible. I know that I have been sent here to help them, I just plead many times on my knees daily to know what it is that this family needs to unify them. We got up early to play tennis. Sister Wright played through college and has gone to Hawaii for tournaments. So the game was on. Luckily, once again Mom and Dad, I owe you for all those tennis lessons we took in the summer. I actually didn't do too bad. We only had one ball leave the fencing! It was a gorgeous morning to be out playing. Also the flowers are just beautiful up here, there are more iris' than I have ever seen in my life. Some that even smell like root beer! I have been teaching Sister Wright the names of the flowers as we walk past them. Who knew I had so many flower names memorized. I guess those Jensen useless trivia jeans are kicking in at an early age. This week could you all send me your testimonies about FAITH. Yes I am serious, write it down, email it, somehow send it to me. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all! Happy Birthday Clark! Happy Father's Day Dad! Happy Birthday Monica!! Welcome home Jake!! Have a great week, and enjoy the longest day of the year!

Mahal ko po Kayo!!

Ingat, Sister Rebecca Jensen

Sorry its kind of short, not much to talk about this week

Disneyland eh?? Was someone going to mention that or were you just hoping that I wouldn't find out?? I hope that all is going well and that you are having fun. I am keeping busy enough around here to not miss a trip to Disneyland...well maybe not...

We had Zone Conference in Midland yesterday, it was a lovely drive there and we got there in time to help the Elders set up chairs and talk to some of them and practice Hymn 26 for the special musical number we sang. It was a beautiful conference; the Spirit was just amazing. It was President and Sister Jone's last Zone Conference so there was a lot of emotions going into this conference. They explained about the Hess' and talked about what the process of getting a call to become a Mission President is like, it was really interesting to hear the process of them coming out to the MLM and to hear about President Hess and his sacrifice to come out here as well. I guess he just retired last week so that he could come be our new President. What a blessing to have such wonderful people willing to follow the Lord and help us become better missionaries. We had a testimony meeting to close the conference, first we watched a part of President Hollands talk he gave at the MTC this January right after his mom passed away, it was talking about the Apostleship. Talk about powerful...then it was open for testimonies. I haven't felt the Spirit that strong in a very long time. It was a beautiful meeting that left us all edified and excited to get out and work.

Yes the weather has been up and down and up and down and hotter than all get out back to cold. I am currently enjoying the cooler side of mission life it is 55 degrees and I love it. It has been in the upper 90's and I enjoy that as well but it does slow down the work. This week has been a good one we have been doing a ton of finding. In the heat it hasn't been so much fun, but we have met some really awesome people. One is named Halli and she comes from a very religious family. Well she has explored a lot of different religions and she had many questions about our church. We also met a guy named Eric that also had a lot of questions. What was exciting about these visits was that we were able to answer their concerns, we were able to testify that through a modern day prophet we know the answers to their questions. Then to commit them to pray for themselves to know the truth, it is just amazing what we as missionaries get to do!! We go back to Sister Hickey's (the Filipina) today for a party. Our entire p-day has been hijacked by the needs of our investigators and members...I am really happy to be of service and support them all but I would also really love a nap. The Church is still absolutely true even if I do look like a very tired missionary. We had an interesting lesson with a less active this past week we were teaching the Restoration, usually a safe thing to do, we got into the Great Apostasy where all of the Apostles were killed and that Priesthood authority was taken off of the earth. Well she totally freaked out and would not let us move on until we talked about how John stayed on the earth. It turned into her yelling at us and Sister Wright and I trying to calm her down and testify that yes he was/is still on the earth the Christ's church was not during that time, that authority was not there to organize His church again. We ended with a prayer and tried to leave in peace...we didn't make a return appointment but are praying that she calms down. Lesson learned from that one, faith=ability to look past the smaller details to see the big beautiful picture of the restoration whereas shaken/weak faith=stuck on points of doctrine and easily offended. She did call us later and ask for us to pray for her grandson who is now in prison, she said that that is why she was so aggressive. Either way I am grateful for the protection and direction of the Spirit. President Jones did tell us that the number of sisters in this mission will double by January and that is not just the apostles sending them to Michigan, the number of sisters volunteering for service has doubled. WOOT!!! I love it, I am so grateful to have heeded that call and to be a servant of the Lord. I hope that all is going well with everyone at home. I am continually praying for you all. Thank you for your letters and prayers I appreciate them more than I can express. I hope you all have a great last week of "Spring" or whatever this season is trying to be.

Mahal ko po kayo!!

Ingat, Sister Rebecca Jensen

P.S. A member of our ward that I we were able to work with this week works for a factory that builds pontoon boats. I love how random Michigan is. The people here are amazing.

I love you all!!!‏

Hello Jensen Family,

I can't believe what a busy week it has been for everyone that I got a letter from. I am glad to come from such a busy righteous family.
My week has been a great week, we were given a lead to where the mom of that Filipino family lives, on Henry Street they said. Well if anyone looks up Henry Street they will notice that it is a good 1/2 mile long. Of course we tracted the entire thing. And yes we finally found her, she was about to close the door after saying she wanted a break from the Church when I blabbered out "Can I just talk to a Filipina it has been so long since I have been able to just talk with one" well that opened her up and an hour later we were enjoying glasses of cold water and talking away happily about the Philippines. She even invited us back for a party she is throwing next Saturday. We are still praying for her a lot, that her heart will be softened and she will have the desire to listen to the gospel again and give her family another chance. I know that it was a miracle to even get into her house, to even find her house, I am positive that we had heavenly help and that I had help during that conversation to know what to say. I opened my mouth in faith and it was filled. What a blessing!!!
Other then that not much has happened, we extended 2 baptismal dates to our investigators Rich and Ida, then we had to give Rich over to the elders. That was terrible, getting so attached to these people and desiring their welfare then giving them over to Elders. Luckily we trust the Elders and we trust the Lord so things will work out but it is still hard. They both accepted July 10th dates though so I am hoping to see some baptisms in this area!! Another good thing is that Sister Holland a recent convert that was taught 100% in the library and never let anyone home to meet her husband or kids invited us over for next Tuesday!!! We are praying to help unify their family and the Hickey's in this gospel before I am transferred.
I woke up and was in a cleaning mood today...yes I know I get carried away but everything felt so dirty. I used a lot of my quarters and we washed the car inside and out, then I made us detail the inside. Then we cleaned the inside of our apartment, I am still missing a vacuum (our RS is supposedly working on that). Then Sister Wright took a nap while I finished cleaning and wrote letters and answered phone calls. We are going to play volley ball with the YSA after this. We were trying to e-mail this morning but the system was down so we had to come back now. I have decided that this library reminds me of the SLC library it is circular and kind of looks the same. Ashley as a civil engineer you will love how we have to turn left here in Michigan. There are no left turns, well in the small cities there are but big cities not really you have to turn right and then do a U turn to get going left. Awesome isn't is...actually it is really nice sometimes and a pain at others. I think it is very creative to come up with that system of turning.
We had an awesome district meeting this past week, the Spirit was really strong, we talked about the conference talk that was about "to be and to do" then we connected that to Christlike attributes of Charity and Love. We received a lot of revelation for our area and were just completely edified by that meeting. Sister Wright and I both agreed that we are grateful for times that we get to gather as missionaries and be fed by the Spirit.
I think that is about it for the week, the work continues, time is just flying past I cannot believe that it is June already!! The weather continues to be hot and muggy and the trees are just lovely with all the green. What a blessing it is to be serving another mission. I am so glad that I get to come back out and serve again to have a great happy experience this time, I can now look people in the eye and say that I am a happy and successful missionary who loves the Lord and loves this work and can see miracles daily!!! I was able to do that in the Philippines but the mask of pain was so great sometimes it made the view of these things foggy.
I love you all and am so grateful for all of you!!!
Take care,
Mahal ko po kayo!!
Sister Rebecca Jensen

What a week it has been!

Kumusta Family?
I cannot believe what a long week and a half it has been since I last wrote home. Saturday night I just got off the phone with Elder Poulsen (from Bountiful as well!) he is out District Leader and was checking up on our day, then our Zone Leaders called to do some coordination and confirm our meetings that next day. When I got off the phone with them I called an investigator and had just put down the phone when President Jones called. What a night!!! He told us that he got our presidents letters and wanted to more fully explain how we were to work with Elder Adams and Elder Hunter, we were to meet over lunch on Tuesday. What an awesome President!!
Well on our way to go to the restaurant we stopped by to see a former investigator, well they were not home and it was a call pad button thing, our FI was in E and randomly I found myself pushing H. Well a man in his late 20's named Rich came out and talked to us and I invited him to learn more, we set up a time to return that night and went to lunch. President told me that he has prayed hard about it and that he feels that I am in the MLM for the Filipino people that need to hear the gospel. Wow. I guess this would be my niche and it is opening up to me bit by bit. We went back to Rich's that night and he was very interested in our message, it was more like a gospel conversation than a lesson and we left with a soft baptismal commitment. He also loves to flyfish so we had a fun conversation about that. We are preparing to pass him to the Elders this week, I found out that Elder Adams is an avid fly fisher from Idaho, that commonality should help the transition. Also President had us go on splits after District meeting, it was Elder Adams, Elder Poulsen and I, then Elder Hunter, Elder Davis and Sister Wright. We did an hour blitz of CMU campus so that we could learn how to personal contact and what is where on this campus. I learned so much and had a so much fun learning from these Elders, I grew a lot in that short hour. There is nothing like learning from the pro's Elder Adams has worked on college campus' for 9 months of his mission so he is very used to walking up to people and talking to them. Sister Wright and I agree that it helped both of us understand what we are doing here on campus, our first time doing it alone went really well we flowed back and forth allowing each other to speak yet both working as one. It was awesome!!!
We had dinner with the Hammer family this past week as well, most of them are out at BYU, which is awesome. They were asking for the brief life story and mine ended up the extended version but they all fly fish and the Brother Hammer and his son Adam both studied Exercise Science while at BYU and there was a lot to talk about. Sister Hammer also made me a special dinner casserole in its own tiny dish so that I could eat with everyone else. This ward is just amazing, I am astounded by how many professors we have living in our ward.
Also I have been able to meet with and talk with the 4 different families in our ward that speak Tagalog. It feels so good to use it again, but it takes me a lot longer to respond and understand what they are saying. That makes me a little sad, it just means that I need more time around them talking to them listening to them, which can be painful at times but it will be worth it to get my skills back to where they were or even better. Sister Wright is still progressing well in her Tagalog lessons, we are learning how to bear short testimonies in Tagalog at the moment.
We went up to Petoskey this weekend. We had beautiful weather on Friday for our trainings and it rained on Saturday for our games. Well it was a miracle that the rain stopped while we were out playing and once we were done it started back up. The faith of 70+ missionaries was evident with that. I really loved these trainings, we are finally using the 8 fundamentals of PMG that we started to use in the PQCM last fall, there is power in these principles and the way we practice teaching. What happens is one companionship teaches one member of the other companionship and the one that is not being taught evaluates. I used to be uncomfortable with this in the Philippines like all they would correct was my Tagalog but this time we really got into the lessons and while teaching a real investigators concerns revelation is received. I left that meeting to excited to go work it was amazing. Oh at the lunch appointment President looked at me and told me that I was the one driving the entire weekend. Woot for me driving. I really appreciated that, we also drove up the Caro sisters, that was interesting. Sister King has a sister that is assigned to serve in Medford Oregon right now. We had 6 sisters sleeping in Gaylord for the night, I somehow got the small love seat and didn't sleep much. With all of the talking and moving around of other sisters I just gave up sleeping and did a lot of thinking. I am also glad that we rarely have that many sisters in one place at a time the emotions are just way too high for me. I did have a chance to talk with Sister Miner a lot, we did some crying and laughing. It is odd how I am the youngest in this mission yet I still have the tendency to play counselor and mentor and lead these sisters.
We got new mattresses this week, that was a big bonus, I went from a very comfortable mattress that left me smelling like mold so one that I can feel just about every spring but is not moldy. I am just glad that I no longer have to smell that horrible moldy smell all over me and that I at least have a mattress to sleep on.
While we have been sitting here we have had 3 phone calls one returned letter and 2 cancelled appointments for today. We even had a YSA coming for those appointments. Sigh. Agency and the holiday weekend are not good combinations while serving a mission. It is starting to warm up, yesterday it was almost 90's, I keep having all of these Philippines flashbacks, it is weird to describe but a lot of the things that I had forgotten are coming back with this heat and humidity. Needless to say we have started to sing as we walk (Sister Wright does as well) just to keep our minds occupied. I am grateful that I don't mind the heat anymore, Sister Wright was not having fun yesterday and it honestly felt good to me. I am so weird.
I know that this gospel is true and that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all things are made right. I know that this work is hard because salvation is not cheap or easy. I am so grateful to be out here serving the Lord and helping others understand this gospel. I pray for you all daily and know that you are being watched over.
Mahal ko po kayo.
Sister-Rebecca Jensen

Greeting from Mount Pleasant and CMU‏

Dear Family,
I am sitting in the Park Library on the Central Michigan University campus, it is quite a lovely campus and a very very nice library. They have BYU beat for amount of sunlight and open space, it just has a very calm feel about it. Mind you about 25,000 students went home for the summer to campus is like a waste land, but I have really enjoyed walking around campus. The one downer is being around all of these buildings and library I have the greatest desire to be back in school, not even kidding I just long to be learning again. I love the classroom setting being able to learn among peers and professors. One awesome thing is that as part of the CMU missionary program in the area we get to be online a lot more often, doing things on Facebook especially.
I do have so say that I got the coolest package this week and it completely made my week happier and I absolutely love it. So thank you SO MUCH for sending it!!!
We work with the Zone Leaders in this area we are to split the work Females with the Sisters and Males with the Elders, but we also get to teach the new member lessons and do all the other missionary things. We have been finding out very quickly that we don't know much of what we are doing with the elders but they are sure fast to correct us when they notice that we aren't working like they want us to.................
My companion is Sister Wright, she is awesome. She is from St George and went to BYU for a while and lived across the street from me when I lived in Moon. Meaning that I probably walked past her a few times a week and didn't even know it. She is my tallest companion and still not close to my height, she does love to walk (which is good because I have made us walk quite a bit in the last few days). She has had only 3 months of being a missionary so I get to help her understand the joys and pains of missionary life and since we are both opening this area together we have seen many of them in just the past few days.
The miracles this week have been just fantastic. We were out tracting yesterday and the house that we were trying to visit (one of those come back later people) they weren't home so we tracted down their street and we knocked into this guy who seriously way excited to see us, we asked why and he showed us his phone as said that he had been trying to call the church all day. Wow. He "called" us there. The number was for the church building so no one was answering. We would have taught him there but he is in a half way house and since we have elders we thought it might be safer that way. He asked us for a Book of Mormon as we were finishing up, we gladly gave it to him along with a challenge to start from the beginning and pray about it. He was really excited and I hope that after what he has been through is prepared to change his life.
We also were able to visit with a less active sister who after we got to know her a little bit we both paused, not sure of what to say I just prayed that the spirit would be there and guide our lesson, well as I was doing that this sister opened up and told us her life story her concerns and her issue about not being able to pay tithing because of financial problems right now in her life. Well I turned to Malachi 3 and shared those scriptures, she still was not understanding the need to pay her tithing not just when it was convenient but always. I talked about the Filipino people and President Hinckley's promise to them. Then I shared 2 Nephi 4:32 about how we need to rely on the arm of the Lord not the arm of flesh. I.e.: pay your tithing and God will take care of you, trust in check into cash and you are going to continue staying in debt. Then what came out of my mouth next still amazes me, I said something to the effect of: As a representative of Jesus Christ I promise you that if you pay your tithing, God will open up the windows of heaven and will bless you beyond anything you can comprehend and you will be out of debt. I felt the Spirit from the tip of my head to the souls of my feet, I haven't felt the Spirit testify through me that strong in a long time and it felt so wonderful to know that I in someway was able to be a mouth piece of the Lord.
I have really felt the pressure of this assignment, yet I have never felt more peace than this week either. I have received more promptings, more revelation, and seen the hand of the Lord more than for this area than at any other time in my life. I am really growing and growing quickly. I already have most of the area down and it has only been a few days. Miracle!!!
As for the Filipinos, I have met the Hickey Family, they are the reason I am here and the Elder's didn't even let us have time to get to know them. It was in start the lesson, teach the lesson, close the lesson run out the door. I feel like these elders are either afraid of us or just don't want anything to do with us because as we have been going with them to appointments they pull their chairs our 5 feet from ours and practically have to yell across to the person or they answer our questions and leave as fast as possible, never mind that we have a million more questions about the area. Sigh. It is going to take some getting used to. We keep praying to earn their trust but I am not sure how that is going to happen, everything we do seems to come up short and not the way they wanted it. But I know that the Lord trusts us and that He is happy with the work because I sure feel the Spirit strong and its peace and guidance so I am going to go with the Lord on this one and the Elders will catch up in time.
Language study has been going really well with Sister Wright, she took some Spanish in school and so the words are not as hard for her to say. Blessing. Another blessing is that I have been given bit by bit what I should teach and in what order it would make more sense. I know that I am being guided as I teach this language!!! I may never have the opportunity to teach in the MTC or to really use my Tagalog elsewhere but I am sure glad that I get to share this beautiful language with my companions.
So when we moved into our apartment we didn't even have silverware. All the walls were completely white, except for a few whiteboards that had a calendar and some old information written on them. We have been frantically trying to find pictures from Ensigns and putting them on the walls. I bought some pine-sol and went to town on our kitchen floor. We don't have a broom or vacuum or anything yet (the Relief Society President said that she would get right on that). I scrubbed that floor until it was pine fresh and clean, that helped me calm down a lot. Then I cleaned the walls and the bathroom....honestly did these elders never clean. We didn't have any scrubbing bubbles but I had enough fun with Clorox. It is looking a lot better and starting to feel more livable.
If you can't tell I am grateful for you letters and support, the peace and comfort that I feel from your prayers is pinakagunda sa kaluluwa ko. Please keep it up, there is no way to describe how much it helps me continue in this work and how calm I have felt while doing it.
I know that this Gospel is true!!! If you have any doubt read the Book of Mormon, there is no better source of truth and to see and feel of God's love for His children than the history and contents of that blessed book.
Mahal na Mahal ko po kayo!!
Sister Rebecca Jensen