November 30

Dear Mom,

I did realize that it was Thanksgiving actually. I couldnt get anybody from the US to email me. I was waiting on important answers from the SLC chruch department and they were not in the offices.

President Hart's family came to visit him this week. They did a special music thing yesterday for Christmas time. They had Brody who is in the Motab and his wife Corrine with their three little girls play. They all play very well. Their last kid is the only one that does not play. The girls play violin and Brody plays piano. It was quite a success.

The holidays they have that we dont...They have a lot of holidays that we dont. Pretty much every catholic saint you can imagine has a holiday. They always do the same things to celebrate them though...Drink beer and party. There is no real cultural thing here it is just "have fun".

What movie did you watch?

I will not be transfered this time. Only in January. The transfer is on the tenth of December. My office trainee will gethere and my work load will lighten significantly. I am excited for the change. It will be nice to have a little break from all the work. However it does make me a little nervous. After the office i will enter into my last area. Then i will be home. It should be fine though. 

This week we baptized on Wednesday and today we will also baptize. I will send a picture of the two baptisms on Monday.

I did get the box. It was opened... I was afraid that the ants would get to it before i would. There are a lot of ants in our house. Plus it is a good thing i did. The junior mints were broken and were starting to leak everywhere. It would have been a mess. I am saving all the stuff for christmas though. Dont worry about that.

Thank you so much mom for sending me things and taking care of me. It means a lot. :)

Love you

November 25

Dear Pops,

That is a very good idea that i have heard of. It is such a simple thing isnt it? Just shining somebodys shoes can make their day. Usually what i try to do is make them a cake or brownies or something of the sort. I am not very good at shining shoes.

Mom mentioned the freezing rain that you guys had. That sounds crazy! Only in Alaska would you have freezing rain this time of year. How have things been with my car? Mom sent a picture of it all ripped apart. The first thing that i thought was "Trevor wrecked my car!" I was rather afraid that it had finally happened. I was relieved to read that it was getting fixed and not broken. 

Good luck on your wolf trapping. I hope to see a pelt when i get home :)]

Love you Dad

November 23

Dear Mom,

I really dothank you for doing all that you have done for me. I know that i was difficult at times and more than a little rebellious but as i have said. Things are good now.

I have a story that is rather short but i thought it was funny. Last Friday Sister Hart ,the mission President's wife and my second mom, called me asking if i knew what a certain phone number was. I said that i didnt know what it was off the top of my head. She then asked me if I had my phone. Remember that she called my phone to talk to me. After a moment of silence I decided to be the sarcastic person I am. I said that i had lost my phone. She laughed about that and then she asked "When did you lose your phone?" I just start cracking up hahahaha it was so funny. It totally passed right over her head. I went back and explained to her that she called my phone. She got a kick out of that. :)

Reminded me of some of our experiences. Where are your sunglasses? ;)

Things are going well here. We are starting to see the work get back into progress now. The sisters have really helped the ward get some gas and start to move. We have really tried to help the ward become a missionary ward. The church is relatively new here and still does not have that base of really good members. It seems like every area that i pass in is like this. My companion is training another missionary to be the secretary. He has been doing that for the past month. I dont know if i mentioned that. It has been good to have someone buffer the annoyingness. This way i can at least get some time alone. I am happy today. I actually got to sit down and write my book. I got about seven pages written. I am very excited to be able to really get into it and see the story flow onto the keyboard.

I got a little worried when you sent me a picture of my car. The first thing that i thought was "No! Trevor wrecked my car!" I was relieved to read your email and find out that that is not the case. So apparently my memory card has a virus on it and the computer will not display the pictures. I will switch to another memory card and start taking pictures again.

Anyway I love you mom :) Have a good week

November 18

Dear Mom,

Sorry I couldnt email you this last saturday. We were invited to lunch with some members and the sisters and then president had us over for dinner since it was my new companions birthday yesterday. 

Concerning the reason for which i went to the mission. I had decided that i would serve a mission a long time ago. It was something that i was always told that i would do. It was expected of me. Especially since Trulan went and did not finish. I felt responsible to set the pattern. I went because you all expected it of me. I came to the mission and ran into a lot of problems. I was very insecure. I had a very hard time making my own decisions and was not sure what my role was or who i was. I started to wonder why i was there and what i was doing. I was very afraid. I knew that i wouldn't come home. I could not bear the shame and disappointment that would follow that decision. Had i done that i probably would have become inactive in the church. I knew that i couldnt do that. Having decided this I knew that something was missing. Then it dawned on me. I had never personally gained my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I began to think about it and as i thought about it that was the key. If that book was true then the church would be true and the work i was doing really would be the most important thing that i could be doing. That was when ,for the first time, I felt that my prayer was answered. In spite of all the inner conflict that i had I felt an overwhelming peace. Something that I had not felt in a very long time. That moment was pivotal in my growth and development as well as my salvation. Had i not had that answer i would be in a very different place right now. That was the first step in my journey not only to help myself understand who i am and what role i play but in the salvation of others as well. Because of that i have been able to help several people be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I know that he is the head of this church and that he is our savior. Every time that i read the scriptures i remember Him and how much he loves me. I remember the time of that prayer and wonder at how a God could look upon me and have that kind of mercy and patience. It is something incomprehensible and marvelous that he could love me so much. That is the reason that i stayed on the mission. Because i knew that if i had left then i would be spitting that love back into His face. I know that that love needs to be shared with all whom we meet.

I am very grateful that you were able to feed those Elders. You saved their day. I know how it is to have a lunch or dinner appointment fall through. I will be transfered to my last area on the twenty first of January. 

Thank you for letting me dress myself :) I think i am able to do that. hahaha

Anyway I dont have that much time. I love you mom :)

November 11

Dear Mom,

Well that is too bad that the doctors were unable to correctly identify the signs of cancer within her. Especially after I received and email from Grandpa saying that everything was ok. Aunt Leisa sounds like she is having a rough couple of weeks. I hope that she gets better.

That is funny that Trevor was the one to come up with the idea. His motives are so different from that of Colby or I. I am glad that they are getting it done though. It sounds like the project has been going on for a long time.

One thing that really frustrates me. People that say they will do something but don't do it because it wasn't convenient or they thought it was too hard. Where are our spines people? Commit yourself already! I came to the mission for the wrong reasons yet i would never quit. I would be too ashamed to ever do that. Oh well what do you do.

Things have started to pick up in our ward. The presence of the Sisters has given people a boost of confidence. We are starting to put our plans into action. The sisters have made a big difference and that has made me very happy. It is difficult to see the ward you are in so dead and disheartened. 

President Hart had a friend visit him from the states and I got to talk to her briefly. We talked about college and what opportunities that I have. She said that it was already the time to start looking and applying for college. The time has come to start planning my arrival. That is an interesting and frightening thought.

Well I love you Mother. :)

Nov. 4

Dear Mom,

First off I want to say that i was not scared of the rat. Everyone else was.

That is ok. I wont mind paying a little bit more to have Christmas. I am glad that Grandpa had that opportunity to work still and not be in a financial retirement crisis.

I didn't have a chance to email on Saturday. I fasted for something else. But Colby is in my prayers and i am not worried about him getting his visa.  Colby will have to get used to eating strange things. People get upset if you don't eat the food. 

I was just trying to see the act score. That is all that i wanted to see. It is ok dont worry about it. I couldn't even get on anyway.

Andrea got engaged? Wow that is cool. I guess that is Utah for you. Mandi got married? That was fast. Is she living in Alaska? 

For the past five weeks we have had zero baptisms. It has been rather disappointing. OH President did something that he said he would never do. He put Sisters in Salvador. I am their district leader. Salvador is pretty dangerous so President said that he would never put sisters here. However the stake presidents have requested them and our ward is rather...less alive so he decided to put them with us. It will be very good for the ward since we dont have time to take care of them.

Yeah sorry i dont have time to email this week. I will email you more extensively on Saturday. 

Love you mom :)

Oct. 26

Dear Mom,

I promise that i wont open the box until Christmas. Don't worry  about the glasses just keep them until i get home. It is not worth having them get lost or damaged or paying a fine. It is too much hassle. That is good that they were able to remove it without any complications. I am very grateful that we live in a day and age that all this technology is available to us. I am glad that you have extended your merciful hand towards aunt Lisa and tried to talk to her. I hope that she sees your effort and takes comfort in it.

That is way cool that Dad is getting to travel to so many places.  It would be cool to travel so much. Taxes seem like they are a big pain in the butt. I remember the one time that Dad showed me how and it was confusing. 

So far the young lady is all ready to be baptized. It looks like she and her sister will go tomorrow to watch the meeting. There are quite a few bugs down here but i hardly ever use the bug spray. It is just not something that i have thought about using.

I have been thinking a lot about coming home these days. I have a general idea of what is going to happen but there are so many variables and things that i don't have a lot of control over that it is hard to say what will happen. I know that i want to go to college to major in English. However i do not know where i will go to college. Do you have my information about the time that i took the ACT? I would like to be able to look at my score from here and try to "shop" for colleges.

I am trying not to worry about home but with me officially having a year and six months on the mission as of yesterday it is a little hard. It is ok though it will pass. My time in the office is halfway over. I only have three more months here and then i am off to my last area.

I have not heard a whole lot on the whole visa thing. We are getting i think seven Americans who's visas came through so that is a good sign. Whatever the purpose was of him going to the Provo MTC as a Portuguese speaker he was supposed to go there. Do not worry about that. It all fits into the Master's plan.

I love you mom. Have a good week :)

Oct. 19

Dear Mom,

That´s ok about the letter last week. It happens. I am glad that you two had a good time on your anniversary.

We decided to not wear our nametags in case something happened. You know how crazy people are about these soccer games. It was better to go like that than to risk some incident.

Why was dad in Nome?

He sent the same letter to me i think. I was very suprised to hear that he did that. I was so proud of him.

Unfortunately my life is boring now too. My companion and i are having difficulties. He is one of those types that is 150% with everything and never shuts up. While i am trying to get my stuff done he doesnt leave me alone. Everybody asks me how things are going with my companion. He annoyes everybody. I have done my best to ignore things that normally get me mad and i have done well so far.

We were looking for a less active and when we knocked on his door a woman answered. We asked if he was home and she said that he had moved fifteen days ago. We asked her some questions and she said that she already went to church and was almost baptized. We asked her what the problem was and she said that she didnt feel like she had a response from God. So we went in and taught her a lesson. We explained the importance of baptism and how God responds to our prayers. At the end she asked Heavenly Father in prayer to show her the way and to touch her heart by Saturday so that she could be baptized on Sunday. We followed up with her on the next day ,Thursday, and she read and prayed. She said she felt good when she read but was still unsure about being baptized. Yesterday when we went to talk to her she was not home. As we asked her neighbors we found her sister who was also not baptized and agreed to listen to the lesson today. We are very pleased that we found these two people. We have high hopes that they will be baptized soon. If all goes well we will baptize the first tomorrow.

I got thinking the other day. I only have six months left. I got a really wierd feeling and imagined myself getting home. It was super strange. I cant imagine the mission ending. It has so much finality to it. It is hard to imagine the continuation of my life.

Anyway Love you :)

Oct. 14

Dear Pops,

My week was good. Tuesday night i was falling to sleep ever so slowly and about midnight one of the assistants came into my room and started yelling about a rat in the house. Groggily i went down the stairs to the kitchen to see the other assistant ,E Clark an elder from my district in the MTC, in garment bottoms wielding a broom stick. Elder Amormino ,the brazilian assistant, said that Elder Clark jumped about a foot in the air when he saw the rat. He said it was hilarious. I believe it. Elder Clark is six foot four and a strong guy. He looked ashamed that he had jumped at the sight of a rat. But was trying to laugh it off. So we seal off the kitchen and surround the stove where the rat has ran off to. We ignite the oven and wait. All of a sudden we look under and see a tail. Armed with broomsticks we commence our attack. Out comes a six inch rat running all over the place. He tries to run up my pj pants and i start stamping frantically all the while keeping my calm so as to not bring ridicule upon my head. The rat is very fast and makes a leap of about a foot in the air aiming for the glass pane of the closed door. Smacking against the glass he scurries again but the was kicked by Amormino. He sails through the air and smacks against my hand that is resting on my thigh. Startled he falls on the ground and scurries under the fridge. With no way out we assault him with broom sticks until his death comes. 

It was a big rat. I dont know how he got into our house. He had gotten into a big bag of protein. That explains his size hahaha. I am always hot here. I will still freeze when i get home. It is ok though i bought a sweater here. It is actually a nice sweater. I got it for 20 bucks.

Good luck on your hunt
Love

Oct. 14

Dear Ma,

I heard about the reassignment. He seems to be taking a good attitude about things. He seems like he really has gotten the missionary spirit. What i meant is that i have never been robbed. 

That is too bad about Grandma. I will pray for her.

I am glad that Aunt Leisa is being released. That is a good sign of recovery.

I really hope that Trevor can continue to grow and have success in his football career. It will be good for him to have achievements in that area of his life. 

This week i had a snake try to bite me. My companion contacted a college student on the bus and she came to general conference with us. She found out that her college is close to where we go to lunch. So she brought two of her friends to eat with us. We thought awesome we get to eat and teach a lesson at the same time. This one friend she brought though is from the baptist church and was apparently fascinated by the tall quiet american. She asked lots of questions and we actually did not get to teach anything. The next day they also ate lunch with us ,just Iris the girl on the bus and Nivea the girl with lots of questions, and all the questions are about what we can do as missionaries. Nivea is totally focused on me and where i live etc. She told me firmly that she will visit me in Alaska and she also told me that i am gorgeous (which is true ;) )

We will talk to them and tell them that they have no chance and we are here to do our job. I did find it rather funny though.

Anyway hope you got a laugh :)

Love

Oct. 8

my week was pretty good, Monday night i got sick and couldn't get to sleep till 3:30 am so im tired but a nap on p-day helped. conference was great we watched all of it and got alot out of it. ya mom said he got some good tackles in. that's to bad, did you get any pictures of the tracks? if so i would love to have them. well i hope you know which trip to choose if you have to, praying helps. ya there's been light snow on the mountains here its really cool looking. well they do love to snowmobile so i hope you guys get alot of snow so you can go alot. not yet, and i think we can call from the airport when i leave for my re-assignment so if its not really early i will. i get my re-assignment this weds or thurs so i can send a email home when i do so i'll let you know. love you too and i keep you in my prayers. ya its easy to tell who is valiant and who isnt. i will

love you to pa

Love Elder Jensen

Oct. 7

Dear Mom,

That is a very neat concept that Jake could be at Colby´s side right now. I think that it is true. I have absoloutley no idea who is at my side. Whoever they are they are doing a good job. I have not had anybody try to rob me to this day. :)

When you want to suprise him with a gift just go to the bank and make a withdrawl and then use the cash to buy the gift.

This week was good. I worked stuff out with my companion. He is still annoying but at least we set some groudn rules and are more understanding of one another. General Conference was awesome. We had quite a few people that we are teaching go. Rebecca is a quiet girl who is about 23 years old. She is not sure about being baptized yet. She believes it is true but does not have the response she needs yet.  

Life around here is pretty much the same thing everyday. All i have to tell you is nitty gritty stuff. I wake up and i am super tired. Study a little bit. Go to the office and spend all day doing boring things. yay. That is my life in a nutshell.

Sorry for the late response. Conference robbed our pday

Sept 30

September 28,2013

Dear Mom,

I will come home in April. Probaby on the fifteenth. I dont have that ticket bought just yet. They usually buy them a month ahead of time on our mission.

 

There are certaintly a lot of things to do in the office. I have stuff that just appears out of nowhere most of the time.

 

I hope colbys emails to you are more entertaining than the ones he sends to me. So far all i have gotten is tell me stories of Brazil. I dont really have a lot to go off of. He seems like he is doing well though.

 

Im sure Trevor is having a hard time just sitting around at the game. I did as well.  My problem before was that i could never be aggressive. I had so much internal conflict in me that i couldnt bring myself to do it. If i could do it again now i would do better but its a little late now. Oh well we live and we learn. Tell Trevor to keep doing his best and one day it will pay off.

 

That family that i was telling you about is getting baptized tomorrow! They are ready to take the next step and follow the savior. I will  send a picture next time. :)

 

I had another one of my friends go home today. His knee is giving him problems. Its too bad but there is nothing that we could do for him. He just needs to not walk and unfortunately he cant do that on the mission. Im fine though. I understand the process. There are times that i feel like going home but it always passes.

 

My companion is annoying. He talks too much and always has to be right. He even has a high nasaly voice. Oh well it is a good thing that i have become more tolerant.

 

Love you mom :)

September 21,2013

Dear Mom,

This week was really hectic. The new missionaries were supposed to get here on tuesday at about two o´clock in the afternoon. We were supposed to get everything done early and it would  be smooth as cake. Then we get a phone call that the bus driver took them to the wrong airport and they were now going on a plane that would get here at five in the afternoon. I had to run around changing tickets and telling people about the new schedule all by myself. My trainer had gone to his new area. At the end of the day it all worked out. It never ends though. There is always something i can do.

Things have gotten a lot better now that i am actually in charge of what i do. I dont like being the employee who takes orders all day. I need to be able to make my own descisions or i dont pay attention and then make stupid mistakes.

Today is the last saturdays of the american AP so we are going to do a big bbq. It should be fun.

I had a couple of my good friends go home this week. It was interesting to see them go. I am excited to get home but not really prepared for it. I think i am going to be a little bit lost when i get there.

Anyway we are teaching one family that is really good. The only really problem that they have is that the man is a bus driver and works like a fool. He is the most excited about being baptized but has not yet been to church. His wife and their daughter have been to church but are not as excited about the church. They like it and say that they are looking for a change but they are still sitting on the wall a little. I feel that when the man is able to go they will all be baptized.

Anyway love you lots :)

September 14,2013

Dear Mom,

Being the Financial Secretary deffinitley has its perks. Today President took us sandboarding. Of course i ate it big time. Here are the pictueres of my stupidity. It was really fun though. :)

We are planning on baptizing a young lady tomorrow. She seems like she is very ready to make the change and follow Christ. She is an excelllent girl who will help the ward a lot.

I am glad that Colby has that easiness with Português. It is a difficult language to learn. I am really excited to be able to plan activities without you guys knowing ;)

This week i was really feeling the stress of the office. Transfers are on tuesday and i had to buy a whole ton of tickets and arrange schedules and a million other things that needed to be done. I was pushed to my limit. I almost hit my Brazilian companion. He is a good missionary but really annoying. He is really animated about everything he does and talks a lot. When i get stressed out i start making even stupider mistakes than i make usually. So naturally i was goofing up a lot. 

I am glad that in spite of all the difficulties things are going well. Colby told me that he needs to get his utah accent back. If he has companions from the south i can only imagine how he is speaking. haha

I will get some pictures uploaded soon. I finally filled up my 2 gig memory card and have started the other one. I dont like to take my camera places because of the risk of getting robbed. OH well a lot of other people have pictures of me and will put them on Facebook for me to get them later.

The weather has been the same as when i got here. Rainy and Hot!

Love your goofy awkward son :)

Sandboarding, didn't go well for my hairy beasted son. :)

September 7, with a little help from Dad

Oh and i almost forgot. Happy Birthday :)

September 7,2013

Dearest Ma,

This week is going to be short on my part. President gave us permission to watch a real Soccer game tonight. :)

I really dont know what to say. Time is passing by so fast here. My training period of six weeks for the Office is almost up. I am a little nervous about having my companion leave. Its not that it is hard work its just that i dont want to forget anything.

That is very interesting to see the difference between your two children leaving. It will be interesting to see what happens when Trevor leaves. Dont worry about Colby i will keep in contact with him. He can do it he is your son and my brother. The MTC is a very good place filled with the spirit. There is a lot of goofing off done but in the end he will learn the difference. Between life before and during the mission. How do you feel now that you have two sons in the missionary field?

Those boys had better leave my sister alone or they wont know what is coming to them here in seven months.

Anyway really have to go. We proselyted this morning because the game is going to take a long time.

See you next week :)

Love your firstborn 

Elder Coulson Jensen

August 24,2013

Dear Pops,

According to my knees i deffinitely am old. Every time i get up they creak and pop. Of course that is because of all the walking. This week was good but stressful. There are a lot of people wanting my attention and a lot to remember. I forget things every once in a while and leave somebody upset. However it´s a good position to be in. We have a much closer relationship with the President and we learn a whole new skill set. I am expected to resolve peoples problems and help them with their needs. It is difficult but the Lord prepares who he chooses. I am grateful for the opportunity to work here and learn all these things. 

Mom told me about the conference. I am very happy that you could see and hear an apostle. That is one thing that is not frequently seen here in Brazil. I am glad that he is putting emphasis on the member missionary thing. That is one of the things that i have learned on the mission. Without help from the members it becomes very difficult for a missionary to have success and for the kingdom to grow.

I will not get an opportunity to go to the temple. Here in Brazil we have 6 functioning temples with one being built and another that was announced. The closest temple to me is 12 hours away by bus. So i will just have to see the new video when i get back.

I am glad that they could experience release time seminary. I always prefered that to early morning. Emma is a very friendly individual she will make friends soon.

In the office we have to be very flexible. That is probably the biggest lesson we have. Also the need to make decisions. We need to quickley analyze a situation and quickly act to get it resolved. It is good to learn these things. As you know i wasnt the biggest decision maker before hand. I feel much more confident in what i want in life and am ready to make decisions that need to be made. I will try my best to get into BYU when i get back to furthur my education.

Anyway I love you Dad

August 24,2013

Dearest Mother,

First off i would like to state how jealous i am that you got to listen to an apostle. We dont get those kinds of opportunities that often here in Brazil. Second off i would like to state that you are buying a lot of cool toys and i hope that they are all still there when i get back.

I really do hope that Colby speaks longer than i did. However i doubt he will. Its kind of a family trait ;) 

I agree with you about the whole temple prayer thing. If you dont listen to what is being communicated to you it doesnt mean anything. You can decide pretty much whatever you want and feel good about it. Oh well it is his decision. He will almost certaintly regret it. These two years really are the best of our lives. As Cache and I return home along with others he will realize that he lost the best opportunity to learn and grow that ever existed for him.

Dont worry about Emma getting to Hawaii before you Mom. When your son becomes rich he will take both of his parents there along with his incredible future wife to just spend a three days doing nothing but relaxing ;)

I can relate to you as far as the office work goes. That is basically my job now. Oddly enough i like it. Granted it is really stressful and tiring. I get to the office at about 9 am and then leave there at 5 ish. We have to suffer through horrible traffic for another hour and a half or so and then we work until nine thirty and then take another bus ride home. We end up getting home at ten and still we need to plan and get ready for bed. Its really incredible that here with the assistents ,who are supposed to be the examples of the mission, I have gotten to sleep on time once this whole transfer. Its ridiculous that these guys have no respect for somebodys sleep. They stay out late and wake up early. I honestly dont know how they do it. Today im pretty sure i slept in till nine. Oh well it is a very good area and we do recieve many blessings for having to do so much work. 

So they want me to hurry up with this because they are silly to work. Thank you for your support. Love you mom :)

August 16,2013

Dear Mom,

Congratulations on your book of mormon place!  Its an amazing feeling to do missionary work isnt it? 

As far as that list goes everything is necessary except the passport holder. The mission office keeps the passport so he will never have to worry about it. The rain jacket is completely necessary. Where he is going is going to have a lot of water. Look up weather patterns in Brazil and you will see that that area rains just about every day. 

As far as the finger thing with the sisters i dont know what you are talking about.

Im very glad that Trevor has the opportunity to at least play on the scrimmages. I think what the coaches might be putting him there to incite him to work harder and become an excellent player. When you cant achieve something that you really want the motivation becomes even greater. Its really easy to lose sight of that perspective and think that we are just not able to do the things that we want to. I hope that Trevor can see that its probably a test and not a punishment.

I got that picture thank you. Its a sweet moose.

Emma started High school? Dad gummit that means she is like growing up. Thats a crazy thought.

So Brett went home huh? Where was he serving again? I really hope he does gain a testimony. The first thing you need ,as I have discovered, Is a testimony. The second is attitude and the third motivation. Granted i am still learning the second two things. Fortunately the Lord is the best teacher there is. The mission is the best place for young people. I am convinced that this is why the Lord called the young people to do missionary work in these last days. I feel that we are here principally to learn and grow. When i started to do this i began to feel a lot better about when i was teaching. I could honestly tell people that living the gospel was a good choice that changes lives.

As far as my new calling i have a lot to learn. After this first two weeks it has been difficult and rewarding. We baptized a young boy this past sunday. I will send a picture in when i have more time. Mom i love you. Have a blessed week :)

August 9

Dear Dad,

So i just got a bomb dropped on my mind. I will be transfered tomorrow. I will be the new financial secretary of the mission for the next six months. My mind is still reeling. I dont really know what to write. Congratulate my sister for me. Mom has told me that you are getting good work done. Keep it up old man :) Love Elder Jensen

August 9

Im a little dissapointed.  I just got this ward to start walking on its own. I called out the young men. My ward is actually starting to do missionary work after a lot of pushing and shoving. This week i went to visit the young men in our ward and i found three of the five active ones in a house playing video games. I asked for their help finding less actives and they blew me off. When i was leaving i talked to the young girl who lives there about another less active we are working with. One of the young men left as i was talking to her and she asked him when he would help us. He said he wasnt interested and i asked him why and he said because. Then i said well im glad you think that salvation is a joke. He said yep thats right. I got mad at that. Its rather frustrating when the people who should help you the most dont do anything at all. Other than that my week was great. The members are actually starting to fill the lunch calender and they are doing their best to help us.

However the Lord knows what he wants and i wont argue it. This means that i only have two more areas left. Sectretaries always stay for six months. We always leave the mission three weeks before our visa runs out so i only have 8 months left. Crazy thought huh?

August 9,2013

Dear Pops,

My Pdays are now on saturdays. I just re read the email i sent to you on monday and counted 12 different times i used a pronoun refering to myself. That is incorrect. Thank you for the concern about my egoism. It seemed to me with my companion who didnt speak portuguese that i was doing it alone. However the truth is i can think of several times when he made excellent suggestions even when he couldnt speak what he wanted to. Then thinking about the Lord´s side it wouldnt be possible without him. I have thought much about your email and have tried hard to remove the word i out of my vocab. 

The work here in the office is much different than that of normal missionary work. It is crucial that we are accurate in our doings here or the money is all messed up. We usually get here at 9 in the morning and leave at 5 to go to our area and proselyte. Then we rush around trying to make up for lost time with our investigators. Fortunately our ward is amazing and are extremely willing to help us. We eat lunch with a member only two days a week and the rest of the time we either eat something from the store or go to a restaurant. We get an extra supply of money for this. Along with the phone that has unlimited minutes and texting we have a close place to the president and his wife. Today we went to the zoo and lunch with him and his sons family that are visiting.  I had asked him why he made me secretary when there were so many other missionaries that could fill the spot. He told me that i have the qualities that it takes to work here. He says he needs good missionaries here because of the limited time in the field we have.

I still dont understand why he chose me to fill this position but i am honored that he thinks that highly of me. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve here and to learn all these things. I was thinking about this and some words of my patriarcal blessing came to mind. That i will be able to decide what was needed and wanted. Along with a few other similar lines. It was interesting to have the impression that i have the opportunity to develop and refine this gift. 

I hope that you are all well my father. I love you so much and wish you well.

Love your firstborn

Elder Jensen

August 5,2013

Dear Mother,

I have not heard your book of mormon placing story just mention of it. Your new job deffinitly sounds like it would have a story or two. That is so crazy that Emma will be driving when i get back. Not to mention the fact that she will be in High school. Trevor sounds like he is doing well. They both sent me emails this week so that should be good to hear from them. Its nice to hear from them. Im glad things are going well at home even though things might be stressful.

This week we have done lots of walking. We have been imploring the members to help us. They are used to typical thoughts that the missionries are the ones who do the missionary work. As we all think at one moment or the other. We have been working our tails off to try and make some sense out of this ward. We were rewarded with a semi productive ward council meeting yesterday and a baptism. We had been teaching this lady who had depression for a long time. She stopped smoking and drinking coffee and was really excited to be baptized. Then she went traveling for a month. She had originally told us tat it would be fifteen days. So when she didnt come back we got worried. When she returned however she looked happier she had lost weight and was even more excited about the church. So this sunday we had the opportunity to help her come closer to Christ. It is always a pleasure to do so.

So as far as the me getting sick all the time its going to get better. It always happens this time of year in brazil. Everybody gets sick. Because its so dirty here when it rains all the nastiness gets thrown up into the air when it rains. So everybody gets sick. I have decided to do something that has helped all aspects of my life. The only food that i buy is fruits and vegetables. I have lost weight and i feel great about it. Granted its only been about three pounds but its still good to feel light again. Transfers are tomorrow and we are still waiting to see if i will go or not but i dont think i will. Any way whatever happens know that i am well and am serving the Lord the best i can. :)

Love Elder Jensen

July 29,2013

Dear Mom,

The visa waiting has become a problem but you are correct the Lords time is different. Many times the missionaries need to learn something or they need to help somebody in that particular area. It could be a good thing that he goes to a states mission for a while. I am super excited for Colby and cant wait until he gets to brazil. The name is Nova Esperança. (Esperansa) The weather has continued to be the same thing and its been good. I got sick again though. A virus came through and got me with it. Im feeling better now. My Short term missionary went home today. We went yesterday to a special training in Feira de Santana and then left him there to catch a bus to his home this morning early. Me and my companion were sad and glad to see him go. Things will be easier now but it was fun to have him with us. After the meeting we hitched a ride into Salvador to renew my visa and to register my companion. So we got home at like seven at night that´s why the email is so late. This past week has been good. We were starting to get the rythym down and the work was better. Now we should be able to go full speed and get this ward into action. Other than that no real news. Thanks mom i love you :)

July 22, 2013

Dear Pops,

I am so very glad that you are being blessed. It must be a difficult thing to have so many projects and so little time. I´m sure you can handle it though you are the man :) this week has been good and i will tell the story to you. Thank goodness for copy paste.

So my zone leaders came to do a division but i was already decided that i would stay home. So one of them took my companion to work. They wandered around trying to find the people i had planned to visit. They called me all the time asking for directions. So as they arrive at our first appointment they started talking to the kids and asked some questions about who had been to church etc. So then one of the girls said that she had been and that she had liked it. He asked her what stopped her from being baptized. She said her Dad. So they got permission interviewed her and that was that. There was also another girl there her sister i think who always really liked us and is very innocent. I didnt think she needed to be baptized but she expressed interest and was interviewed as well. She passed she understands the difference between good and bad. So as the day wore on they called me more times and told me that the baptism would be that night at seven. When the hour came i got dressed and went over. I let my companion batptize even though he was kind of nervous about it since he doesnt speak very well yet. The first one ,Carla who is completely normal, was like a dream. She went down and came up with no complaints at all. Jessica ,the other one, was another story. Haha poor girl was afraid of the water. She descended the steps ever so slowly holding onto the walls. One step at a time she came. We offered her much encouragement and nice words. Finally she grabbed onto the railing and wouldnt let go. She stepped into the water determined to be baptized but afraid of falling. So after some contemplation on our part we decided that she would have to hold onto my companions shoulders and he would have to go in with her. We got her to do that after some fussing and my companion said the prayer. He grabbed her by the shoulders kicked her legs out from under her and fell into the water. Sploosh! We all thought that she would kick and scream like no other. However contrary to all our beliefs she arose with the biggest smile on her face like she had recieved the best present ever. The meeting was very good we had a few members there for support. My companion unfortunately did not have a change of garments and was soaking wet for the rest of the meeting. We visited them at home. Their grandmother who attended the baptism and signed the form said that Jessica used to get really mad and would hit things all the time. Since she was baptized she apparently has been an angel. It really was a cool thing to hear. Sunday they were confirmed and Carla sang with the young women in a special music number.

I feel good about our ward now. I am starting to really get the ball rolling on my end and am trying to show the ward that i am doing my part. Thank you very much for your prayers. My greenie is doing well. He is a very apt learner and has a lot of potential. Since he served in the states with a former AP as a companion he has lots of great ideas and a very good perspective as to what the mission should be like. He has helped me get out of the relaxed rut i was in since my last companion lost the drive to work because he knew he was leaving. Thank you so much for you prayers and God bless your work.

Love Elder Jensen

Jully 22,2013

Dear Mom,

Congratulations on your new job. I knew that things would work out. Its just a trial of patience. When things look down you really just have to wait. For example this week was bad and really good. I got hit with a virus last week and it took me out. I am still a little bit stuffy and have a little bit of a cough but i am doing much better. We baptized two young girls this week and the story is a good one. So my zone leaders came to do a division but i was already decided that i would stay home. So one of them took my companion to work. They wandered around trying to find the people i had planned to visit. They called me all the time asking for directions. So as they arrive at our first appointment they started talking to the kids and asked some questions about who had been to church etc. So then one of the girls said that she had been and that she had liked it. He asked her what stopped her from being baptized. She said her Dad. So they got permission interviewed her and that was that. There was also another girl there her sister i think who always really liked us and is very innocent. I didnt think she needed to be baptized but she expressed interest and was interviewed as well. She passed she understands the difference between good and bad. So as the day wore on they called me more times and told me that the baptism would be that night at seven. When the hour came i got dressed and went over. I let my companion batptize even though he was kind of nervous about it since he doesnt speak very well yet. The first one ,Carla who is completely normal, was like a dream. She went down and came up with no complaints at all. Jessica ,the other one, was another story. Haha poor girl was afraid of the water. She descended the steps ever so slowly holding onto the walls. One step at a time she came. We offered her much encouragement and nice words. Finally she grabbed onto the railing and wouldnt let go. She stepped into the water determined to be baptized but afraid of falling. So after some contemplation on our part we decided that she would have to hold onto my companions shoulders and he would have to go in with her. We got her to do that after some fussing and my companion said the prayer. He grabbed her by the shoulders kicked her legs out from under her and fell into the water. Sploosh! We all thought that she would kick and scream like no other. However contrary to all our beliefs she arose with the biggest smile on her face like she had recieved the best present ever. The meeting was very good we had a few members there for support. My companion unfortunately did not have a change of garments and was soaking wet for the rest of the meeting. We visited them at home. Their grandmother who attended the baptism and signed the form said that Jessica used to get really mad and would hit things all the time. Since she was baptized she apparently has been an angel. It really was a cool thing to hear. Sunday they were confirmed and Carla sang with the young women in a special music number.

So that´s my story this week. I will talk to Trevor about the whole football thing. Why is Emma always sick or hurt? Anyway have a good week :) 

Love Elder Jensen

July 14,2013

Dear Mom,

The visa waiting has become a problem but you are correct the Lords time is different. Many times the missionaries need to learn something or they need to help somebody in that particular area. It could be a good thing that he goes to a states mission for a while. I am super excited for Colby and cant wait until he gets to brazil. The name is Nova Esperança. (Esperansa) The weather has continued to be the same thing and its been good. I got sick again though. A virus came through and got me with it. Im feeling better now. My Short term missionary went home today. We went yesterday to a special training in Feira de Santana and then left him there to catch a bus to his home this morning early. Me and my companion were sad and glad to see him go. Things will be easier now but it was fun to have him with us. After the meeting we hitched a ride into Salvador to renew my visa and to register my companion. So we got home at like seven at night that´s why the email is so late. This past week has been good. We were starting to get the rythym down and the work was better. Now we should be able to go full speed and get this ward into action. Other than that no real news. Thanks mom i love you :)

July 15,2013

Dear Mom,

Hahaha That´s my bro! Has to follow the tradition. :) Im glad to know that i wasnt forgotten by Joe. He hasnt emailed me since he said he was getting married. Oh well im sure he is plenty busy. Colby i am glad is growing up. All of us reach that point eventually. Unfortunately there are several missionaries that dont reach that point until much later and give their companions much grief. Fortunately my companion is not that type.

Ah stupid JWs they complicate everything. A lot of people dont even talk to us because they think that we are JWs. Im not worried about the visa thing. If he waits then it is because he was needed elsewhere. Not a problem at all.

I´m glad that Lyssa recieved my letters. I was getting worried that they were lost. Speaking of letters. I recieved another of the betridge letters.

I have no idea where i got the yellow fever shot. I remember that we had to go to Anchorage.

I actually have not recieved an email from emma in quite some time. I was wondering if she was writing or not.

Thats messed up that they would treat you like that as a customer. They should get reprimanded for that. Dont stress too much mom. Stress is the number one life reducer. That is one thing that i have learned here on the mission. When you are stressed you cant feel the spirit as well. There are two attributes that can do away with stress Humility and Patience. With these two attributes you can overcome stress and feel much more peace and tranquility in your life. The trust you put in the Lord will help you overcome and grow spiritually. Make a conscious effort to develop these attributes and you will see the difference in your life.

Mmm mosquitos sounds...yummy. Worse comes to worse they can eat tree bark right? I hear its good fiber hahaha    This week there is just a little news. The work here has slowed to a crawl. The members are not helping very much. We get money to lunch and dont have many opportunities to visit the members. I was at a ward council meeting yesterday and it wasnt very funcional. People arent doing their visits because their partners dont want to do them. They arent doing their stuff and are expected to try and tell others to do them. Its a difficult situation. Then they started arguing about food storage. It was rather ridiculous. I had to bring everyone to a calm and remind them that we where in the house of God. When the ward doesnt work right the missionary work doesnt work right.

Anyway thanks for you support Love you Mom have a great week

July 15,2013

Dear pops,

This week was good and bad for us. Saturday i got sick with some kind of virus that went through. Fortunately its just a cold thing. Then that same day we found out that i needed to go to Salvador on Monday to renew my visa and register my companion with the federal police. Then we got a call from President that my short term missionary would go home that day. It was good and bad news. He is a likeable guy with drive to work and learn. He was impeding progress of my greenie a little so it´s good to have just two of us now. So yesterday we got invited to get a free ride half of the way to Salvador to attend a special meeting with president Hart. From there we learned of multi stake goals and plan of action and watched some good videos from the church. Then we hitched a ride with President and left the short term missionary with other Elders. He left today and we got home at 7 from Salvador. Now that we have the whole time to focus on the ward and not so much on the training of the two greenies we are ready to go full speed to get the ward back into gear.

I am really  glad you guys got to experience the adventure camp. That sounds like such a fun time. I would have loved to come. I am excited to come back home. I never thought i would miss mountains or cool weather so much. It truly is a blessed place.

I cant believe that emma is driving already! That is a crazy thought. It will be good to have our whole family independent though. Other than what was stated above nothing really happened this week.

Love you dad thanks for the support

July 10,2013

Hey Pops,

Things are going well this week. My companions are learning very well and have taken well to the council that i give them. I am glad that i was given this opportunity to help these two good men. However the work here has slowed to a crawl. The members are not helping very much. We get money to lunch and dont have many opportunities to visit the members. I was at a ward council meeting yesterday and it wasnt very funcional. People arent doing their visits because their partners dont want to do them. They arent doing their stuff and are expected to try and tell others to do them. Its a difficult situation. Then they started arguing about food storage. It was rather ridiculous. I had to bring everyone to a calm and remind them that we where in the house of God. When the ward doesnt work right the missionary work doesnt work right.

 We do have one lady that says she wants to be baptized. Her son was baptized quite some time ago and she feels good about the church. She says that she feels good about the baptism but doesnt have a firm conviction about Joseph Smith. So guess who our focus is going to be this week. With a little faith and prayer Nivalda will be baptized this week.

Good luck on the survival camp. Man i wish i could go. I have been itching to do something like that. Saturday we went to a service project ,all five of us, and we mixed cement for eight hours. It was the old fashioned way with a hoe and shovels. It was a lot of work and i am still sore today. But i feel good about the service and the opportunity i had to use my muscles for something other than flipping pages and walking.

I am extremely happy that the Lord is taking good care of you. It has been a little difficult this week. As i have related the ward is in a low swing right now. I have been feeling very sad these past few days. The prospect of having the people i am trying to bring to Christ being turned away because of cold sholders is a disheartening thing. However I have faith that the Lord has a purpose in all these things. All i can do is hold my head and testimony high and work like there is no tomorrow.

Love you dad and have a great week :)

Doing Service

July 10,2013

Dear Mom,

Hahaha That´s my bro! Has to follow the tradition. :) Im glad to know that i wasnt forgotten by Joe. He hasnt emailed me since he said he was getting married. Oh well im sure he is plenty busy. Colby i am glad is growing up. All of us reach that point eventually. Unfortunately there are several missionaries that dont reach that point until much later and give their companions much grief. Fortunately my companion is not that type.

Ah stupid JWs they complicate everything. A lot of people dont even talk to us because they think that we are JWs. Im not worried about the visa thing. If he waits then it is because he was needed elsewhere. Not a problem at all.

I´m glad that Lyssa recieved my letters. I was getting worried that they were lost. Speaking of letters. I recieved another of the betridge letters. But to be honest i have no interest in writing to them. I dont even know them. If they were still in our ward that would be one thing but anyway. I dont want to seem rude.

I have no idea where i got the yellow fever shot. I remember that we had to go to Anchorage.

I actually have not recieved an email from emma in quite some time. I was wondering if she was writing or not.

Thats messed up that they would treat you like that as a customer. They should get reprimanded for that. Dont stress too much mom. Stress is the number one life reducer. That is one thing that i have learned here on the mission. When you are stressed you cant feel the spirit as well. There are two attributes that can do away with stress Humility and Patience. With these two attributes you can overcome stress and feel much more peace and tranquility in your life. The trust you put in the Lord will help you overcome and grow spiritually. Make a conscious effort to develop these attributes and you will see the difference in your life.

Mmm mosquitos sounds...yummy. Worse comes to worse they can eat tree bark right? I hear its good fiber hahaha    This week there is just a little news. The work here has slowed to a crawl. The members are not helping very much. We get money to lunch and dont have many opportunities to visit the members. I was at a ward council meeting yesterday and it wasnt very funcional. People arent doing their visits because their partners dont want to do them. They arent doing their stuff and are expected to try and tell others to do them. Its a difficult situation. Then they started arguing about food storage. It was rather ridiculous. I had to bring everyone to a calm and remind them that we where in the house of God. When the ward doesnt work right the missionary work doesnt work right.

Anyway thanks for you support Love you Mom have a great week

Picture

July 1,2013

Dear Mom,

That should be good for you to spend more time with family on saturday. It would be nice to be there with you all sharing these experiences. Colby i am proud of. He seems to be doing well. I missed his first date!? Dang it! I wanted to tease him. Oh well i will be there for Emmas first date. Heeheehee >:)

I will follow her the whole time.

Emma has always been loving and free giving. That is a very good attribute. I am very glad that she got that trait from Dad. I am as ever grateful for the things which i have recieved from my loving parents. Fourth of july here unfortunately has no meaning or significance. I would love to light fireworks and have a BBQ but i think i will have to settle for just the BBQ.

The weather has been good. For about the past month it has been raining on and off. Everything is green and there are lots of birds. As far as what Colby needs its pretty simple. Peanut butter, Lots of polyester ties not silk, pictures of the family his guns the dogs house etc, reglar flip flops for the shower, waterproof shoes there will be lots of rain in his region. I really like the hush puppy brand. Its been an excelent shoe for me. He needs to take good care of his shoes. No scuffing. The most important thing is that he will be comfortable in his shoes. Do exactly like we did one pair for more formal occasions and the other for day to day tracting. Lots of little personal care products he gets here. Bring deodorant that he likes and bring like five or six sticks. He can trade for good stuff with that. Get a seperate bible book of mormon comb. Hangers are important. Get good strong ones. Bring at least two towels. If you can get that microfiber one and then a regular thick one. For traveling purposes he will want the microfiber. Dont bring the shoe horns they are useless garbage. Duct tape of course.  I will think more about it and tell you.

News for this week. I am a trainer! So transfers happened on tuesday i stayed in the city and received a short term missionary ,a young man waiting for his mission call that will stay with me for the next few weeks, and on thursday i got a call from the assistents saying that a missionaries visa came through and i would train him. So on Friday i went to salvador to pick him up and President let the short term missionary stay to help me work. Its good experience for him. I have attached a picture of us to the email. President also put two more sisters in the neighboring city so now there is a lot of feminine talk in the district. Thats all for this week Love you

June 10.2013

Dear Mom,

Well this week was rather dreadful actually. I managed to get another infection. Fortunately I am feeling fine now. Its looking like the medicine for the first one worked again. Dont worry about the packages i really dont need anything. I will have to buy some socks but they are cheap here so dont worry about sending me some. This week we have been going to a lot of ward meetings and talking with the ward leaders to try and get the ward active in the work. The young ladies are the ones who help the most and have the best friendship with the missionaries. We baptized again on saturday. A little girl who is nine years old. We are going to try really hard to teach her mom now. Her cousin is helping her with going to church and everything. Here we let a lot of people go in our group. You can only teach them for so long if they never go to church. Usually if they dont go to church for two weeks in a row we let them go. We are teaching one lady who is a single mother who has one kid who is 6 i think and is only 23 years old. Its actually a fairly common situation here. Its very difficult to see a man get married and then stay married for a long time. To get married here you need 200 royals which is quite a bit of money for them. However they still spend their money on phones and televisions. So when they tell us they dont have money we look at them like yeah right. So is the work. I was reflecting yesterday on how much i have grown on the mission. I also thought about how i got here. It made me think of my sweet mother and all she has done for me. I thought of all the times that you have cared for me and loved me even though i didnt deserve it. Thank you mom for being such a good example for me. I know i was a difficult child but the young man that I have become has been worth it.

I figured that Mandi wouldnt take long to get married. Oh how good for Lyssa! Im glad that she has somebody to love and talk to. She always was kind of a reserved shy person. Hayden will get married soon? Wow that was fast. Didnt he get home in December? Wish them luck on the trek for me. I wish i had a story to tell you this week but i dont have anything. I dont remember much since i was sick. I love you mom :)

June 17,2013

Dear Mom,

I agree that the movie theater is not the right place for you. Under those circumstances it would be impossible to gain respect from anyone. Without the respect of your team you cant do much. I see that here on the mission. If a DL or ZL doesnt have the respect of the rest the zone or district always has a hard time. I am praying for you often that you will be able to find a balance between work and being a mom. Dont worry all these things will be for your good. Not unlike the Prophet Joseph Smith you are going through a hard time. He was promised many blessings after his struggles. The same shall be with all our sufferings. This life and these difficult moments are but a passing glimpse in our eternal existence. 

I hope that hot weather will return in april 2014. If not i am going to freeze to death! I thought of something you could send to me. A pair of thermal garments. Since it will be the last package that i will get i am going to want them when i come home.

I hear about movies every once in a while and am getting excited to watch them. I will have to spend a week watching all the movies that i missed.

Colby is Colby as usual then huh. He will change for the better on his mission.

This week there is just one story. We had planned to work with a young lady that is 18 and preparing to go on a mission. We went to her house and she was complaining a lot about her hand hurting. I asked her questions about how it got hurt and she said she slept on it wrong. I thought nothing of it and told her to ice it and it would be fine. Her mother got there right then and went to grab her hand to look at it. When she did Lais ,the young lady, started to cry from the pain. So i looked at her hand one more time. It was pretty swollen and there was faint bruising. She couldnt move her hand in any direction without pain and it hurt to even move her fingers. So i told her to take some tylenol and not to move her hand. So off we went. She complained for the next hour or so of pain and i decided she needed something more than tylenol. Fortunately i rembered my sling from when i hurt my arm. We went home and got it. As she was putting it on the neighbor kids decided to light off a bomb ten feet from us. So half deaf i continued to help her put on the sling. After that she didnt complain anymore. Yesterday she said that her hand was completely better and thanked me for the help. I dont know what she did to sleep on it that hard but it was a pretty good nap she took haha

Other than that nothing really happened this week. We spent a lot of time knocking on doors. Its very tiring work.

Anyway i love you mom