Jensens Don't Get Flashed--Knock On Wood!

Greetings Family and Friends!

Stacey's e-mail this past week started out by explaining that she had received an inappropriate letter from one of her investigators and that she was worried she would be transferred, hence the "not being flashed" reference in the title of this post. While it made her understandably uncomfortable she was able to quickly get past it and wrote:

Before you worry about me for even one second, stop yourself. Ím completely protected and there are several members and leaders who know all about what happened and are on call to guard me, especially in the chapel. The bishop would have spoken to him if he had shown up at church and he told us in the best English he could muster that he was ready to "drop the Amér. with love" how cute is our bishop! He is taking care of us and so are many other people. We are completely safe and I dońt even feel worried now.That is the power of the atonement, because at first even though I knew that I had done nothing wrong, I still felt upset… just because it ís so out of the norm as far as things that happen in our lives here on the mission. I called the Zone Leaders Saturday morning during companion study and told them that I still felt uncomfortable about it. Elder Vernon said , "Hermana, pray to feel peace and the Lord will help you feel better." So I prayed again, and my companion prayed for me and within an hour or two… I wasńt thinking about it, and when we got back to the pension that night I wasn't bothered by it at all anymore. The next day I got up and went to the chapel prepared to face him. Thankfully he didńt show up--but anyway… by the end of Sunday I was completely over it. It is truly amazing, time heals all wounds, but the atonement healed my wound without much time having to pass. I truly felt the love of the Lord as I was able to literally get over the trauma so quickly and refocus on the work. Now it feels like it happened years ago and it doesńt hurt me.

Here is a little more of her letter:

Daddy, I heard about the BYU game through the grapevine of the Elders. But they didńt seem to know we were ever tied. It made me sad, to be sure, but you had prepared me, so it didńt last long. Who is our Vice President? Nobody here seems to know.

Mommy – about the story you sent me about the tired elder on the plane… I feel just about that exhausted already and Íve got a year to go! My feet are the worst… and the heat is just insane. We love the neck cooler bandanas, except for the fact that after 4 or 5 short days of using them they are pretty dirty and smelly!

So yeah, remember the baptismal goal of 5? Looks like wére going to get 3. (Hayde and Florencia and Gerardo will all be baptized on the 6th of December!) What happened with Pablo? Well he FINALLY recognized that he needs to get baptized, but ready for this… he is leaving for Uruguay on Saturday and cańt get baptized on the Friday before he goes because he smokes 2 cigarettes a day. TWO! We are teaching people who smoke 30-40 and he only smokes 2 and yet that is now what is keeping him from baptism. There is a rule in the mission that you have to be 2 weeks sober of any Word of Wisdom problem before getting baptized. So yeah, héll be long gone before he is able to quit--and unfortunately he doesńt have much faith to believe that he can quit. Ím so tired of the doctors in this country telling people that 4-5 cigarettes a day is actually good for you. As if! You have no idea how often people try to tell us that. So yeah… wéll be having 3 baptisms… which is still one better than the goal of 2 that the zone leaders gave us, but I sure wanted 5.

Ím pretty sure that Ím not going to be too homesick over the holidays because my mind cannot believe that it could possibly be Christmas if it is this hot. So yeah, Thanksgiving and Christmas will come and go before my mind gets convinced that all of that is actually happening. The Elders said that it really is just like that… you dońt even realize Christmas is passing you by. Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday… eat lots of apple pie and think of me (because I have recently come to love apple pie).

Mommy, guess what I like to do with all the smokers. I do muscle testing with them! Empty fist first, then with a cigarette in the other hand and then the clincher is when I take the cigarette away and replace it with a BOM and do it again and they are as strong as they were the first time. Unfortunately not a single one of them has given me the reaction Íd like. Not a single one said… "whoa, yoúre right, Ím never smoking again… and yeah, Ím going to read this book!" But I keep doing it because maybe it'll sink in to one of them.

I sent off a Christmas package and was a little sad not to receive the word that you received it… it should have gotten there, or be arriving ASAP. I sent 2 CDs and 1 DVD of digital pictures (I just ruined the surprise… which I didńt want to do, but I need to know if you got them because then I cań erase my memory cards.) But if you did get all 3 (meaning that no one tampered with the package I sent home) then tell me so I can erase the memory cards and start all over again!

We went to the temple today and loved it. I have been in Argentina for 4 months now and my Castellano is pretty good, but I still do't understand a lot of what is said to me. Íd say I get about 80-85%. I almost always get the message, but the details sail right over my head and then when they follow-up question me about the details it is pretty awkward. I really hope that I overcome this during the coming year. My comp and I are getting along great and working hard.

Daddy, I am so glad you had a blast reffing the BYU vs. U Alumni game. How cool that you got to see Lavell! I love you tons and really enjoyed your letter.

Mommy, please dońt worry about me. I promise that I am in good hands and that my leaders will not hesitate to flash me at the drop of a hat if I am ever remotely near danger.

NataJasa – take good care of each other and know that while you are cold… I am sweating my brains out!

I love you all so much and want you to know that I can testify that nothing can stop this work… not love letters from investigators, not the insane heat, nothing. We are here to win. 3 baptisms or 5. I am fighting with all I have each and every day and getting better each day.

I love you so!

Wubba,
Hermana Jensen
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1 COMMENTS:

ajohns37 said...
Stacey has such strength and a cute sense of humor. The challenges missionaries go through on their missions will help them throughout their life. Thanks for such an amazing daughter and a fun blog spot. All our love, The Johns family
DECEMBER 1, 2008 8:27 AM