First Baptism

Oct. 22

Hey mom some things got switched around and i have pday today so dont be suprised when i dont respond on tuesday Bye :)

Oct, 17

Hey Pops,

Life is good. The baptism was great the guy has been prepared for years and just waited for an oportunity to arise. We really didnt do anything to convert him. That does sound frustrating about your mission. But i would rather baptise one good firm person than 200 children and people without testimonies. Oh ok Jennifer Murry truffles mom. Its really hard to learn everybodys name here too. I think i need to pay more attention as well.

Ah Alyeska i remember that place good times. An uplander huh sounds kind of like the land cruiser. Should be a good car for her. Good im glad to hear the chickens are getting better. Last report i heard sounded like they were all dying of plauge. Dont feel bad about the snowmachining thing. Its never been my favorite thing to do. Yeah its fun but if i had to choose i have other things i would rather do like hiking and stuff.

So we get a chance to have a mission tour this week. President Costa the area 70 of Brazil is going to talk to us. It should be pretty cool. Transfers are coming up on the 30th and i think i will finally move areas. It should be interesting to finally see another part of Bahia.

Anyway Until next week
 Love Elder Jensen

October 17

Hey Mom,

Yes I got by first baptism on Saturday. We baptised him in a pool at the church. Then confirmed him the next day in church.  We dont work very much in the area with the ocean so no this wasnt it.  Ive put a couple of photos in this email now that i know how to get them there i will be putting a couple on every week or so. 

Yea John does things like this. Hes kind of a wierdo about it. I have no doubt that you are a tough cookie :)

I wondered if they would ever date. I figured that he liked her and i didnt know if she liked him. That should be good for him. I remember Camoflauge boy. :) good times
Dad mentioned your displeasure for the car but he was insistent that its a good deal and thats what counts.

Im glad that the chickens are fulfilling there purpose now. Its always frustrating to have animals that do nothing. I heard that they are going to have so many sisters now that they will open up 50 new missions. That should be interesting huh.
Acaraje looks really nasty doesnt it? Im telling you though that it gets better every time you eat it. Im gonna try and learn how to make it and bring the recipe home.
Oh good more cousins! Holy crap how big is this family going to get haha?
Anyway i dont have a lot of time today  Love you 
Elder Jensen

October 9

Hey Pops,

Im doing well. Today was an awesome Pday my companion and i had the opportunity to go to the beach. Sadly though we couldnt go in the water just touch it and sigh. Its beautiful down here. I wish that i could get pictures uploaded for you but i have a couple of problems. For one the batteries just dont last for more than a couple of Photos. I dont know if its the batteries or the camera. So i have to fork out the money for rechargables and a charger here soon. The other problem is that i dont have a cable for the camera. Wow a cassette! I remember those that seems like so long ago. It really is a blessing to have the internet and sattelites.

It looks like we will finally have a baptism this week! We found a guy that got a book of mormon from his friend about 4 years ago and had a testimony before we taught him anything. He watched general conference and is very excited to be baptized. Remember that promise that says the windows of heaven will be opened and there will be so many blessings that you cant receive them? Ya that sounds about right. :)

That sucks about the freezer but thats ok just stick the stuff outside :) Here it is the begining of spring actually. I have heard that the hottest month of the year is actually December. That will be a switch. Roasting to death instead of freezing. To be honest the hardest part of the heat isnt the heat itself. Its keeping hydrated.

I have not seen a scrap of jerky here at all actually. Ya that does sound like she is a little bit anxious :) Hows the Campaign? I havent heard a lot about it but it sounds like Romney is doing very well this time around. I had a chance to vote but when the time came to mail the stuff i couldnt find it. Oh well theres always another election. I keep hearing that people have written to me but i havent been getting that many letters. Oh well all in due time.
Love you Old man :)

October 9

Dear Mom,

Yes i got to watch all of conference. We got the keys to the bishops office and watched it there. That announcement is huge. It means that the second coming is right around the corner. And there will be more options for marrige when i get back ;) hahaha just kidding

I dunno about the whole Colby leaving at 18. I enjoyed the time i had to work in a job that was 100% my own. But whatever he decides is good. Atlanta Georgia huh? That should be good for him to experience a little of the southern side of life. Bring on the missionaries we need them. We are struggling here with the lack of missionaries. Some areas are just shutting down and the missionaries are being pulled. 

Ya i dont have a doubt that Joe is bitter about it. For him the mission was everything. That was really the only thing that kept him from getting married. Its all in the Lords plan though and im sure there is a purpose for it. Probably it will develop and really come into use later in his life.

I heard about the Despicable me 2 before the mission it should be super funny. Hotel translvania i saw a commercial for that it looked cute. Note i was not watching tv on purpose the investigators and members often have tvs on when we are there.  What happened with grandmas dogs?

I cant believe that Colby is a senior! I thought he was a junior still. I cant believe it. Its amazing how time flies here. Since i wont be able to send anything on Thursday Happy anniversary!!! Whoo Party!

If nothing else the mission will teach him about spending money wisely especially if he gets sent to a poor place. Thats good that they bought choir robes it always looks nicer than uneven messes.

You will see about John. He is pretty much a classic bad boss. He always comes in and messes with things. Get ready to have the counter all reareanged. He also will probably pull you over for a random interview. My advice would be talk to him for a little bit get him to realize that you are there and then work your butt off.

As far as the mice go i kill them with a rubber mallet we have in the house. I dont have the money to waste on a trap. I hope those pants fit too if not im sure i can find somebody they will fit and trade something really good for them. 

Im telling you that food is good and i really hope that i have an opportunity to share it with you all when i get back. So it looks like we will finally baptize this Saturday! We found a guy that got a book of mormon from a friend like four years ago and has been studying it ever since. He finally got sundays off on a regular basis so he can come to church a few weeks ago. He watched General conference and is very excited to be baptized.

Oh we had a chance to go to the beach today. It was awesome. I got sunburned and found some really cool shells im going to bring home. Yes sometimes we can go to the beach. I only touched the water in the ocean; which was perfect and beautiful. But sadly i have to wait another year and a half to go swimming.

Anyway i love you and miss you too.
love your Son

October 2

Dear Mom,

Oh good im glad that Frank got my letter. Im trying to do a little but i dont want to push it since im just doing the letter thing. I have not received any letters from Seth yet but i hope i get them soon. Haha she mentioned that you told her specifically not to tell me. I laughed. I wrote a letter to Jake today and am looking for an opportunity to send it. How are they as a family? 

 The puppies should be fine. Look at Daisy. Whos dog is Sam? So the snow dance worked huh? Well i sure feel sorry for you in this 85 degree weather :)
Im not even going to bother asking what it is because i know you wont tell me. Oh those shoe holder in placer things are completely useless dont buy them for anyone else. If anyone goes to a humid place dont bring cotton garments they mold very quickley. They have to be 100% nylon.

Yes i get to watch conference on Sunday with the ward. The snakes down here are pretty bad. But whats worse is the mice. I have already killed four in our house. Its dumb i think they are all dead now but im not sure.
Anyway i am doing alot better about the letter thing. Oh they have this food down here that looks really gross but tastes delicious. You should look it up. Its called Acaraje.

I love you
Elder Jensen

September 28

Querido Mãe,

I am glad that the letters finally got there. Although i heard that a couple of them got sent back. Please advize Sister Bettridge that i will be sending her letter as soon as i can. There have been problems with the postage so i will see what i can do. That is a ton of Water! Thats crazy. I am not missing the cold and dark here. Although its about to get really hot. We are in the eve of summer here and i am just waiting to roast alive. Thats good that they are widening the road but thats stupid that they are not putting in a turn lane. I dont mind him driving my car as long as he takes care of it. Its already the last game? Wow that was quick. Today completes Five months out of the house for me. It seems like yesterday i was in the CTM. Thats cool that Trevor won good for him. Emma is your shadow isnt she. Has she still been silly or has she started to grow out of it?

Ya i know the feeling about work part. It was like that with Adam. Wyler always has been a jerk. Dont mind him. There is a lot of drama there im remembering all the stuff. Joci has been writing me letters and telling me about her adventures in Utah. Sabrina has also been writing me and told me that you are going to be a prostitute :) I laughed at that story.  

So my companion is from a state in the North called Piaui (Pee ah wii) and is a very cool guy. He is a scholar and a story teller so i am always learning and being entertained. So far its just been fruitless as a pine tree. We do have one young man that is just waiting for permission of the parents to be baptized. We will go there with him this sunday and talk it over with his parents. We have another woman who was a Jehovas witness who is also ready for baptism but just needs to do it. She keeps saying that its really close and she has to learn more. So we are just waiting and praying for her. Other than that we have one girl who is 18 but looks like 15 who is just needing to go to church and learn a few more things. She ,jokingly, asked me for marrige but Elder Ribeiro ,my companion, says that when people joke there is always some truth to it. I believe it with her. She has already called me beautiful several times. Its pretty annoying. But she is actually learning about the gospel and so far is keeping all the commitments. We think that the law of Chastity is going to be a tough one though.

Anyway I love you and will talk to you later

Elder Jensen