June 24, 2009

I Love Everything...Even Kidney Stones!

Hola,

I am super excited to get one last package! In it you could add: stuffing, chicken in a biscuit, Cheese Whiz, Reese's Pieces, packages of instant hot cocoa, good Q-tips that actually have some cotton, makeup remover and candy (other than Snickers which I can get here). Oh, and a hole puncher we can use to make holes for our binders. Thanks so much!

Tell the new missionary to bring a pair of garden gloves for service projects, but to put her name in them because it is highly probable they will be stolen.

Happy birthday to Nata and Jason! I sent home treats for your birthdays in the package you got like 3 months ago… I over plan.

So we found a great apartment and the papers are already signed. The office elders have to arrange for light and gas to work and install some kitchen cabinets. It looks like we´ll be getting in the new place in the end of the month. Which to us feels super far away. The new place is a block from the church and a block from the train station! It was literally handed to us on a silver platter by the Lord. The move is overwhelming and won't be easy. We have no boxes, no truck, and no time. Moving will come out of p-day and proselyting time and I don´t have much desire to sacrifice either of them. :)

I made Brown Sugar Chicken and sent it home with President and Sister Benton after Zone Conference. All she had to do was bake it and serve with rice. I hope they liked it.

In Zone Conference President Benton talked about how we should all study our Patriarchal Blessings and put them in scripture form and add foot notes. I about died because I had already decided that I was going to do that the next time I have access to a computer. He read my mind.

We have 4 kids that have baptismal dates and 3 of them were in church with us last Sunday – the other was sick. Nicolas – age 11, Brian – age 12, Yamila – age 10, and Romina – age 14. It is usually easier to baptize kids because they don´t work on Sundays, smoke, drink, or have problems with the Law of Chastity…nor are they waiting for a divorce!

We had to really pull some teeth to get them in church with us, but in the end, it was worth all the money we spent in remises (taxis). If all goes according to plan, the 4 of them will be baptized together on the 12 of July! Pray for them, please… they are our hope for the transfer!

FYI- we learned not to trust local kiosk type joints on the street corner to do our photocopies. They will try to totally pull one on ya. They will do the photocopies and send you out the door and then when you look at the photos you realize that there was next to no toner in the machine. I of course returned and made them do it again, but it totally astounds me how they would do that to the customer. Hello – imagine going to a copy store and having them try to send you away with crummy copies…

My companion and I won the prize (for having good numbers) and were allowed to pick a companionship of Elders and have them come work in our area for 3 hours. We chose the other companionship of Elders that had the best numbers from their District. Maybe they will find us a family we can baptize!

There is this dog that we named Alejo and his 2 followers that terrorize us all 15 blocks from where we get off the bus to the front door of our apartment. They just bug us the whole way home. Alejo barks and barks and acts like he´s going to bite you, but so far hasn´t. He just lives on that street and for some reason picks us every night to follow home. It´s really annoying. I´m glad we´re moving, we won´t pass Alejo and his gang anymore! He is so filthy that I shudder to think of what he carries in his fur. I´m not going to miss Alejo.

Before I forget… I was totally mistaken when I said we were the first sisters ever to walk the streets of San Antonio de Padua. It is not true. It made me feel cool for a while to think I was the pioneering sister missionary in the big bad world of Elder town, but then I was informed that sisters have been here before. So anyways, it was fun while it lasted.

It all depends on how much room I have in my suitcases if I will bring the sleeping bag home. My Argentine companion also sleeps in one, but it is not a thing they all do. If I don´t have room, I´ll leave it with some missionary that will be very grateful.

I would like to take advantage of this time to thank you Mom and Dad for never going inactive. When I think about how many times throughout our lives we have the chance to say “no more!” and quit… there are a lot of times. But you two never gave up. You never said “I´m just too offended to go back to church” or anything of the sort. Were it not for your faith and testimonies – I would not be a missionary in Argentina in this moment. I am eternally grateful for the commitment that you have shown to honor and keep your covenants. I owe you a great deal for giving me such an example of faith and dedication to the truth. Here in Padau there are a ton of people that are super offended and say, “I will never come back” and I am so glad that that was not something that entered our home. I mean it. You should be very proud to be active in the church. So many are not.

This past week I almost fell on my back in the street when I stepped on a banana peel. Yeah, that really happens, and it really is slippery! I about died laughing that I had done it. In my defense… It was dark and I didn´t see it on the sidewalk, but boy did I laugh. Thank heavens I caught myself and didn´t fall!

My back still hurts, but this time I know why. It is because my great winter coat is pretty heavy and even more so when I have my scripture bag crossing my chest--it just makes it feel even heavier. It can´t go under my coat or the coat won´t close. I even took out my Triple and now I am just walking around with pamphlets but it still really hurts. That is just part of life in winter. I am pretty sure the only solution is pray for spring.

So on Sunday afternoon we did something that I have wanted to do all mission long. We took a 2 hour nap! The heater running, the shutters closed so it is pitch black in the room, we set the cell phone and slept for 2 blissful hours. Before you panic and call the President to beg for forgiveness for my sin… allow me to explain just why we did so. It just so happens that kidney stone number 4 decided to pass. Hehe. (2 at BYU and 2 in Argentina!) I woke up Sunday morning and knew I was in for a party. I carefully read the packages of drugs you sent so as to not overdose and kill myself and took the necessary medication – determined to take it in stride. Unfortunately the Promethazine didn´t take care of the nausea and I was already throwing up before we left for church. We took a remis (taxi) to go and get one of our investigators. I was very ill. We picked her up and went to the church. I got out of the car and walked for the chapel door. I had 2 options: try to run to the bathroom and throw up the last 6 feet before I made it to the bathroom OR try to walk to the bathroom and throw up pretty much the whole way there. What would you choose? I walked 6 steps and made a break for it. Companion or no companion I had to get to a restroom! I put my hand over my mouth to try to contain what was already coming out, but my hand only held a tiny bit. Then the vomit escaped my hand and started to fill the right sleeve of my dry clean only winter coat. I am not even kidding. It reached clear up to my elbows inside my long sleeved blouse and coat. It was one of the most disgusting feelings I have ever had. I finished throwing up in the toilet, but the mess I left on the bathroom door and the floor around the stall was quite pathetic. It got in my hair, on my scarf, on my coat, in my coat, on my skirt and I had nothing to change into. My companion and the investigator came strolling into the bathroom and we tried to play cool and make it seem like nothing. We said things like “oh, I´ll just clean this right up and we´ll be fine.” Hello – it was a joke! The poor woman probably thought to herself “these crazy Mormons go to church even when they´re dead sick.” Anyways… I sent my comp with the investigator to Relief Society and finished cleaning up. I had to take off my shirt, and coat and wore my comp´s coat the rest of the 3 hours of church. I took off my skirt, washed it, and put it back on – cold and wet. I tried to wash my hair, but missed some spots. I felt better and we went to go get our other investigators and finish out the meetings. After church we had to send them off in a remis and it took like 20 minutes for it to get there. By then my pain had come back and I was pacing and fighting back tears and no one besides my companion knew why. We finally walked to the station, took a taxi, went home, ate our sack lunch and decided to go to bed. She was also pretty sick with a nasty cold, so we took 2 hours to try to get well and at 4:00 we went back out to work and finish the week – we did our contacts and taught 2 lessons! The pain hasn´t returned, so I either passed one, or it was just moving around and didn´t really drop. Either way I am proud to say that I didn´t shed a single tear. I know the Lord helped me and that all in all, it wasn´t that bad. That was my Father´s day… I´m SURE yours was better. But we had 4 investigators in church – 3 of whom have baptismal dates!

I decided this week that for us to have true success and see miracles this transfer I have to believe that we will receive them… that´s all. My own lack of faith and doubtful thoughts were like poison that I was drinking drop by drop. Now instead of thinking, “what if we don´t baptize this transfer… I´ll just die!” I think “how cool is it that we are going to have 4 baptisms with a white wash transfer!” I decided that I have to believe and have more faith. My own doubts were wearing me down. So now I believe perfectly that we will have miracles and we will. It is that simple. Choose to win. Choose to succeed, choose to receive blessings and you will. Try it with me!

Jason – everyone knows I´m all business. Your advice has proven helpful.
Nata – have a great time in Spain – buy me a scarf of something, k?
Mommy – thanks in advance for the awesome package you will send me. As you can tell I am hungry for the states! I have this transfer and 3 more. I am so pumped! Prepare to see some serious changes in me in these last few months.
Daddy - I bought you a cool present today. You are going to love it!

I love you so much. Study the scriptures every day. Have FHE every week. Never go inactive!

All the love and joy that I possess,
Hermana Stacey Jensen