It´s Really Just A Transfer-- To Another Area...

Stacey received some sad news on Friday about a friend who had passed away. Since it has always been my goal to have this site represent both the highs and lows of serving a mission, much like the mountains and valleys we each experience in our own daily lives, I have included this weeks letter. In it you will hear her express sadness, shock and grief, but as she closes she reminds us of the truths we know and believe in and the strength we can each gain from being committed and determined to move onward and upward....come what may. And so we will.

~Karen ~

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Matthew Alan Peterson 8/11/1986 ~ 5/19/2009 was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 11th 1986 to loving and proud parents Darwin Grant Peterson, Jr. and Celinda Kay Peterson. He passed away at the age of 22 in South Jordan, Utah on May 19th 2009. He was a faithful servant of God and had served an honorable mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His mission and his faith were the pride and joy of his life. He was dedicated to truth and being an honorable man. He lived his life honorably and dedicated himself to striving to better himself. He was a happy positive young man who worked hard and did well in school. He was always willing to help in another's time of need. He looked to the future and never looked behind. He was known for his wonderful sense of humor that brought the joyful sound of laughter into any room he was in. He made friends easily and was loved by everyone who knew him. He will be remembered for the characteristics that best describe him Honor, Morality, Valiance, Righteousness, Humor, Faithfulness, Talented, Charitable, and Positive. He will be missed and always remembered by his loved ones who remain, which are his father Darwin Peterson, mother Celinda Peterson, brother Christopher Peterson, sister Crystal Versluis, brother-in-law Jordan Versluis, sister April Ferguson, brother-in-law Chadwick Ferguson, and nephews James and Andrew Versluis and Michael Ferguson, and his dear friend Stephen Nelson and the entire Nelson family whom he loved dearly as he loved his own family. A memorial will be held to honor this special man, brother, son, uncle, and friend on Tuesday, the 26th of May at 6:00 p.m. at the LDS chapel located at 1540 W. 10400 S. South Jordan, Utah.

A small family grave side service will be held in Chesaw, Washington for Matthew.
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5/26/09

First off, thanks for informing me as you did about Matt´s death. Having Hermana Benton call and tell me was the right choice because it gave me some time to try to come to terms with it all.

At first I felt like the Lord only let me carry 5% of it... and I was coping quite well. Then little by little He started letting me carry more and more. I would say I´m up to about 35-40% and it´s about 20% more than I would like to be carrying.

I am glad you found the pictures under my bed. I have more on a CD somewhere of when the three of us hiked Donut Falls, but it is obviously too late now. I hope the pictures you found were good ones. I feel truly sad about it all even though I know all that I do about the Plan of Salvation. It doesn´t change the fact that it´s just sad. I have been praying a ton for Stephen and the rest of the Nelson and Peterson family.

Herman Benton called me at 10 pm on Friday and broke the news to me. I was so shocked and confused that I couldn´t remember even half of what she said. I was in denial until I said the companion prayer that night and then was super sad lying in bed trying to sleep. I woke up randomly and have ever since then-- and it´s amazing how your mind can cling to something. I wake up to go to the bathroom and without even consciously thinking it occurs to me that Matt died, and I can´t quite seem to forget it or push it away.

Wouldn´t you know it that the very next day we were teaching the Plan of Salvation to a mother who's son had recently died as well. It was a lesson that left me quite confused about myself. I taught it all in a much more real way than I ever had before, but I was confused that I didn´t cry. She was crying a ton, and I almost felt her pain, but my heart was so numb that I just kept testifying and teaching--but I felt like I was in some other world.

For my own weird healing process I decided to write Matt a letter. I felt a little better after doing it. I turned to my getting over death scripture; Joel 2:12-13

“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

Talk about a coincidence... we were fasting when I found out. I have so many questions and feel powerless and so far away from the answers I need.

Today I read a talk a Stake President gave and he talked about a vision he had of the spirit world. He said that it was really like this giant school or library where many of the spirits are running around doing family history work. And anyway the point of it is to think of it like a transfer... you are just going to a different area, to do a different, but more important work. I´m trying to see it all like that.

So I promise I am keeping this email as positive as I can. It doesn´t help much that this has been such a draining transfer. It looks like it will be my first without baptisms because all of our investigators are struggling. I have fought almost 6 months in this area and was hoping to leave it on a high, full of incredible miracles worth the trial of my faith.

On the bright side, I learned how to make tortas fritas and tarta this week. They are both yummy. I made little torta fritas in the shape of a baptism (which is a figure of waves – like in water – and then an arrow pointing down in the water... I´ll explain better when I can draw you one.)

Also another thing to be thankful for since we´re playing “the glad game” is that next p-day is temple p-day. I have needed that for so long, once every transfer is just not enough for my soul.

Speaking of temples... the pictures you sent me of the Oquirrh Temple are amazing. Was it already dedicated? I can´t believe how spoiled we are to live within 15 minutes of 3 temples. It is a gorgeous one. I can´t wait to go to the 2 new temples when I get home.

Speaking of going home... interviews with the President this week and the news about Matt made me all reverse trunky. I don´t want to go home... in part because I don´t feel prepared to face what awaits me. Don´t let that feeling make you sad. Just try to understand that it is one way that my spirit is reacting to what is happening. It´s like a big denial thing.

Allow me to explain... we had interviews with the President and he showed me my little paper with my picture and the boxes that represent each transfer and according to the paper I only have 3 left. It was downright weird to see this paper saying that I am a “dying missionary.” I got all nervous because there are so many goals and dreams I haven´t reached yet, like baptizing a complete family. I thought to myself, “wow, I´ll be leaving before I know it... how scary is that!” And then that night I found out about Matt and it made me all weird – for lack of a better word for it.

We had a few days of major heat again.....and then we got caught in the freezing flooding rain yesterday. The weather here is literally unpredictable. I am sure it is totally predictable for those that can refer to the news every night, but since we can´t we hit the streets without umbrellas because we are just plain uninformed!

Good news for you guys... I don´t know if you knew this already, but inside the suitcase I sent home there is a white box (the same one you used the last time you sent me a package) Open the suitcase and remove only the white box. Inside you will find presents for you to enjoy--I hope you yike them!

Bytheway......I love pears and eat 2 of them a day!

The other day the police stopped us and questioned us saying that they had been called because we were behaving suspiciously. The only thing we can think of is that I took a picture of a grocery store sign that I thought was cool. If someone saw me do it, they might have called the police because sometimes they think Yankees are CIA. But the police were very friendly and let us go without a problem. I was all excited to show them my clergy certificate, but he was like, “no, no, it´s OK” and they left.

I will be transferred on the 8th of June and will be so happy to find my way in a new area. This area has been so hard. I have suffered (and of course grown) so much here. I guess I should have said I have grown (and suffered) so much here. That is what Dad said, "The mission can be rewarding and hard or hard and rewarding." I am trying to choose the right way of saying it and living it. Easier said than done.

I appreciate your desires for me to not be sad. If I could just snap my fingers and not be sad I would definitely do it. I would like to thank you for your prayers because I am keenly aware that I have only been able to cope as I have as a result of your prayers and everyone else who is praying for me.

It´s true what we say, “it just goes to show that we never know how long we will be here in this probationary state.”

I don´t know what else to say this week. If I go on, I´ll just say things less than positive. I´m just so heavy... does that make sense? I feel like I am literally under this big, dark cloud. I can´t shake it. I pray and pray and pray and pray and know He listens and is helping me a ton, but still feel so heavy. I feel guilty for feeling this way and that just makes me feel worse.

Oh, one happy thing that I can say is that my companion and I had a good long companionship inventory last Thursday and resolved our differences. We have gone 5 days without a single problem and we get along just like we did the first 2 blissful weeks. We laugh, we joke, we share... I´m not depressed all day long, and even when I am I still joke around with her. I´m just sad when I´m not really busy. You´d think then that that would make my grief quite bearable because I´m a busy missionary, but at the same time not so much because we have almost nobody to teach so the “busy” part is substituted for “street contacting and being rejected all day long.”

I´m sorry. I don´t mean to be negative. I don´t want to complain... I know it doesn´t help you guys at all. I know that it is the last thing you need to read. You deserve a 5 page letter saying “all is well, it´s ok, I´ve totally accepted and overcome Matt´s death, we are baptizing 3 families this Saturday and I lost 5 pounds from walking so much and eating such well-balanced meals prepared by the members!” That´s what you deserve to read. I know. I know. Complaining only makes things worse. I know, I know. I´m sorry. I´m trying to be happy, but my mind is swimming in confusion of knowing that the mission is quickly coming to a close.

One story that is a little more happy; we are super protected. The other day when we found our investigator drinking and smoking we were shielded from all danger. It was night, it was dark, they were all drunk, and yet I feared nothing. I literally have that invincible belief that most 18 year-old boys have. There are many times when I stop and think, “hey, I should be nervous about all this. We don´t know who these people are... etc.” And yet I think, “but I´m not scared.”

I know what will make me feel better:

I know the church is true! I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know he was called to be a prophet and restore the gospel. I know he received the Priesthood keys and that as a result, families can be together forever. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus is the Christ. He is my Savior and Redeemer. Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. We are never left alone. The gospel is the only way to find happiness. I have been called of God to preach His doctrine. I am a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am fighting at His side and we will win. I know I will see my Savior again. I know that I will look into His eyes and worship at His feet. There is nothing that could stop me from persevering to the end. I will never give up, I will never quit. I will never surrender.

Of THIS I am sure!

Hermana Jensen

This too shall pass, and when it does, I will be a better, stronger Disciple of Christ for having made it through.

Take care, you are in my prayers!

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Lauren said...
I stumbled across your blog while looking for some more information about Matt. I didn't find out until a few days ago and it was too late for us to attend the memorial.

Matt served his mission in my home town. He taught my sister-in-law and her family and was such an amazing and dedicated missionary. He became good friends with my family and I've been able to see him a few times in Provo while we're at school here.

It was comforting to me to read your testimony. I'm sure you're doing a great job of teaching the gospel to those searching for it. Take care!
MAY 31, 2009 9:08 PM

The Musical Staff Shadow

5/19/09
Long letter....lots to read today!

The other day after a really tough day my companion stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just started crying. As I tried to pat her back and help her calm down I looked at the fence where we had stopped. The streetlight where we were was shining on a bush and illuminated a shadow of a musical staff. Each leaf on the branches fell perfectly on the staff showing individually painted notes that varied from all kinds of intervals. I didn´t have time to jot it down, but I am sure that if I had sat down at a piano the notes that fell on the staff would have made a lovely melody. It was then that I realized that my companion and I needed to take advantage of the musical gifts the Lord had blessed us with. She has an angelic soprano voice and I can hold my own with the alto harmony. I told her that I felt that we needed to sing hymns in more of the lessons to invite the Spirit more powerfully. Of all the companions hips in the mission, I know that the Lord put us together to help others see and feel the Spirit. We decided to sing more and really try to invite the Spirit to each lesson. So far, it has helped us begin each lesson with more focus and we know the Spirit is with us.

Nata – an alfajor is the yummy treat I sent you… see the picture mom said she put on the blog last week. Way to go with FHE – you will be blessed.

Mom – the picture of Haedo (from last week’s post) is in my area… I have walked by that sign about 3500 times in the last 5 months. We live at 1406 ------ about 6 blocks from that sign you posted and about 4 blocks before the freeway. Good luck finding it on Google.

About phrases that I say throughout the day … when things blow up and go wrong I say “how much can one heart take?” – it is a lyric from a song about Emma Smith. Then I realize that I really don´t have it THAT hard. I also say “you´re gonna miss this” – a lot.

Ready for the best news I have received to date in the mission? Last Monday I got a letter from Sister Wilcox – one of my companions in LA – that I already knew from BYU… She said that after Orion Newell moved to Alaska to study – they forwarded the reference and her friends from her home ward invited him to dinner and apparently he kept receiving the Elders and was baptized in Alaska! It made me so happy I almost cried. Remember me writing about him? We found him tracting in Hollywood Hills my 3rd week in the mission. He was 20 – agnostic, but read the entire Book of Mormon in the month we taught him. He was my favorite of our investigators… and now he is one of my favorite converts--which means I need your help. I want to write him and congratulate him. The address I have is ----- that is all I know. His cell number back then was -----. Could you call him and say that you are Sister Jensen´s mom and that she wants to write you? Tell him Sister Wilcox wrote me and told me he was baptized. Then could you give me his complete address? I can´t wait to tell him how happy I am for him. Thanks – I simply could not wait 6 months to look him up myself.

Random story: people burn grass here. So there is quite often a smell of burning cut grass. It is interesting and always makes me stop and think, “what is that smell?”

Mom – the Relief Society here wants to know about the canning/sealing machine we use and what different food items we can. I was telling them about how efficiently we do food storage in the states and told them that you can get large cans of flour and other things. They want to know specifically if there is flour because it is the hardest to keep here the way they do it. Will you send me the low down about canning and how much it all is? Thanks on behalf of the Relief Society here in Haedo!


Challenge of the week: I feel that it is very, very important to write a personal history. For this purpose I challenge you all to write 2 pages every week explaining something monumental from your life (how you met your spouse, how you chose your career, the birth of you children, big injuries, sicknesses, successes, failures, trips… anything that would be interesting and would shed light on who you are. 2 pages a week about one specific thing… at the end of the year you will have an awesome personal history and your posterity will thank you for it. I cannot wait to start my own after the mission. I am going to write one story every week for the rest of my life – or at least until I run out of important things to tell about!

We stopped by and could only leave an English Book of Mormon with Santiago – instead of sitting down and really teaching him. It was late and he had to go to bed early for soccer practice in the morning. That morning I had written my testimony in the front of it in the most powerful way that my soul could muster. It is amazing, and a little bit sad, that I want soooo badly for him to accept this and let it guide his life. I always feel like that more for young people because I want them to have the gospel all their lives. But if I had such desire to preach to everybody like I have for the little Australian boy Santiago… I would be a much better missionary. I try to pray to have that desire for everybody.

We had a tough time getting ------ to church yesterday. We arrived at his house and really had to work to get him to go. He was saying that he wasn't going to go--but that he knew he needed to go. He eventually did decide to go with us and really liked it. Later he was mad at my companion because she was trying to cut to the chase of his 30 minute story and he felt offended. He called us that night crying and begging forgiveness. I think all this has to do with trying to quit drinking. Surely his body is going through serious withdrawal and he is suffering emotionally and a little bit psychologically. But he needs the gospel, and he needed to hear what we told him. He thanked us for pushing him. Sometimes you have to be a little bossy. Trust me-- we felt strongly that we knew what we were doing.

We have 2 others with baptismal dates, but before I can get too happy about it… it´s just that they were too easy and that almost always means that they won´t make it. When people just accept everything like this… it´s usually not the miracle you think it is. One is -------- who needs to quit smoking, but came to church on his own on Sunday. And the other is -------- who wasn´t there when we tried to pick him up for Church, but has 7 days sober of drinking and not smoking. He will be baptized next transfer (just after I leave) if things keep going this well. The other is a young girl named ------- who is just waiting for permission from her Dad – he said he´d let her when she turned 18 which is just after I leave… we´ll see if he signs the papers, but that would make 2 baptisms right after I leave. I know they still count and all, but it is still heartbreaking to not be there for them. It's like you need to see with your own eyes the proof that your labors are paying off. And you just want to be in the picture so bad. Laugh all you want, but it is true and it is real.

Question: is there any way to keep dirt from getting under your nails. The more I use a file to clean them, the more the dirt gets under there. I see no solution and my nails are just barely starting to grow again after 3 months of rebellion from my stress...… any ideas?

FYI: Here in Buenos Aires in the morning there is this fog that fills the air and it makes you feel like you live on the inside of one of those glass balls with the snow inside. Or it makes you feel like you live in a place with those fogged windows. It is cool. I took pictures this morning.

Why do they do that? Here in Argentina every Fall they literally cut all the branches off the trees. I´m not talking about simple pruning, I´m talking about massacring the poor tree and leaving it a stump and a bunch of fingers that reach to the sky but look terrible. I took pictures. Everybody destroys their trees right before Winter. They claim it makes them grow better and stronger in the spring but they don´t realize that they literally defame the beauty of the tree. Back home we are more concerned about the beauty of the landscape to half-kill our trees every Fall. This place now looks like a slaughtering yard for trees. It makes me sad.

It was so cold in our apartment and our heater was broken-- that I started heating our feet with my hairdryer in the morning as we studied. It was truly pathetic, but the Lord blessed us with a miracle the next day. A surprise apartment inspection, and when the Smith couple came they offered to DRIVE US to the store to buy a heater and bring us back. We accepted and we were able to buy 2 little heaters and I have slept great and studied better ever since. What a tender mercy… how cool is it to have a car to drive and buy the thing you need right when you need it? You have no idea. We were so cold. So cold.

Sorry you didn´t get the “estandarte” mailed to you – you won´t be getting it next transfer either… I´m not that good with the numbers anymore so you won't get the success papers but just know I am working hard every single day.

I have senioritis of this area. I´m screaming to get me out of here, but sad that I´ll barely miss the baptisms. I walk around way too comfortable… I need to go somewhere new and be confused again. It´s good for me to be lost and not know anything… you work differently when you know nobody and nothing.

We tried to wash the dishes of an investigator the other day and she yelled at us. The truth is that she was mad that her 19 and 15 year old daughters didn´t do them and she doesn´t want the guests who came for lunch to do their own dishes. It was really awkward and weird to be so seriously yelled at for simply trying to serve. Imagine that! So if for some reason I hesitate to wash the dishes after the mission you will know why… for 18 months we were literally forbidden to help out in the homes of the members and investigators… nobody lets us serve them… not even the members.

Mom – brace yourself… don’t take this wrong, but I have learned how to make an omelet even better than the omelets you make. It´s ok, I´ll teach you how it´s done. It is so amazing that you can learn something after cooking for so long and it´s like, “hey, why didn´t I ever try that?” You are going to love it!

Daddy – I´m glad you had a lovely 50th birthday spent quietly at home, but rest assured you will have a 50 yard line cake when I get back! I hope that the job scene is better when I get back and start searching… I never thought that I might be one of those people with a college degree that struggle to find a job. Let´s hope that doesn´t happen.

Jason – I bet you are already winning on the personal history thing. Way to go!

Wow how the hour goes by...

Love you tons, love the mission, love the cold, love the cough drops that I brought, love wearing ankle socks under my nylons, love my long warm coat,

Hermana Jensen!

p.s.

Thanks for the picture of daddy and the kangaroo... I was going to ask you to send it to me. You were inspired! I will print it and show it to Santiago today!

Wubba

Testimony Gloves

Posted by Hermana Cheryl y Presidente Evrett Benton
at http://www.bentonsmission.blogspot.com/

We sure have enjoyed the "Testimony Gloves" in our Mission! We gave the gloves to each of our missionaries at our recent Zone Conferences, and they always bring "Sonrisas" (Smiles) to the faces of the missionaries when we all put the gloves on our hands and review the telling of our testimonies with them.
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Testimony Gloves are a simple but effective tool to help children understand and express their own testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Parents, Primary Leaders and teachers, it is our responsibility to instill in the hearts of children a desire to believe in these five essential elements of a testimony. This belief can grow into a knowledge that it is true.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Pure Testimony Is...

1. I know that God is our Father in Heaven and He loves us.
2. I know that Jesus Christ is His Son, our Savior and Redeemer.
3. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and he was the instrument through which the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. He translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God.
4. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s church on the earth today.
5. I know this Church is led by a living prophet who receives revelation.

© 2006, Testimony Gloves may be used for incidental, noncommercial, church or home use

I´m Walkin' On Sunshine!

Happy Birthday Daddy ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! I can´t believe that you are fifty. That´s pretty nifty. Couldn´t resist. :)

The other p-day we did play the piano and sing music. I love music and realized that after the mission I absolutely HAVE TO learn to play the piano… like really play it. And the guitar. And the Kalimba! It is this cool African instrument… it is a small thumb piano and I am in the process of having a member go and buy me one. They sell them at fairs that are out of the mission boundaries. She´s going to buy me one and then I can master it after the mission. It is SUPER cool – just trust me.

Good idea about tracking down some kind of souvenir gift for the family. I´ll have to really get working on it though because I don´t know what it would be, where I will find it, or how I will get 15 of them. But I´ll do my very best.

Sorry I talked like the entire phone call. I always do that. After I hung up I started kicking myself and thought that it was probably not that entertaining for you guys. My stories seemed so random and there was no overall thesis to the conversation… just bursts of sporadic confusion and me saying weird things in English that sound wrong to me. And then justifying why I can´t speak.

I have pretty much gotten along with all of my companions… there´s is always one or two “conversations” when you have to stop, clear things over, and then put it all back together, but they are important and then you have a better understanding and relationship. They just have to happen once in a while so I don't feel guilty when they do. When you live 24/7 with someone for 6-12 weeks… you are bound to have a run in or two. But yeah, I haven´t had to white-knuckle it too much--every once in a while, but not too bad.

It´s coat, scarf and gloves weather again. It makes us feel more like missionaries because you look more formal and truth be told… more like an Elder because their coats are black and our coats are black… so we are more easily recognized as Mormons and not other denomination missionaries. Hooray! It does make everything more heavy and you have more junk to keep track of, but for now… I like it being a little chilly. I pulled out all my winter clothes today and it is fun to wear different things. Life´s little pleasures.

Story: when your companion suggests that you de-junk your bag… you should listen to her… she just might be on to something-- I only half-listened. She said that I should take out 3 of my 4 lipsticks. So what did I do? I took out one. Not a week later I reached my hand into one of the pockets to pull out my change to ride the bus and everything was all sticky and pink and gross. Yep, the lipstick exploded and stained and dirtied everything. I shoulda listened to her… she reminded me several times and I am still trying to get the Vaseline –y feeling off of the things in my bag. Live and learn. Now I have just 2 lipsticks in the bag.

I miss a good milkshake--with all the awesome flavors of ice cream… I just want to make a creation of mine that would knock their socks off, but I don´t have the resources… like a mixer. But I keep trying new flavors here… there are so many! That is one thing that I wish I could bring home for you all to try… Argentina ice cream!

Challenge from the missionary: I have 2 things that I want ya’ll to do. 1. Read and really study your patriarchal blessing at least once a month. I have plans to cross-reference mine and put footnotes in Microsoft Word with mine when I get back… it´s going to be so cool! 2. Have Family Home Evening every week. A prayer, hymn and spiritual thought (even if it is just 3-5 minutes of discussing a verse and how we can apply it to our lives and make goals with respect to what we learned) and finishing with a prayer. Simple. Will you do it? I promise you that you will feel the blessings of the Lord as you obey the divine counsel to have FHE. A family is never too old or too young for it.

I´m reading the Old Testament… and it makes me really love and appreciate the Book of Mormon. Let me just tell you that I LOVE the Book of Mormon.

As I finish up this last 4 weeks in this area I literally feel like I am planting a lot of seeds that hopefully will grow and produce fruit… but I won´t be here to see it. That´s ok though. Somebody´s gotta plant seeds or there won´t be anything for anyone else to harvest.

I told the President the other day that if he helps me track down Worcestershire Sauce I could make brown sugar chicken for the whole mission. That was kind of a bold thing to say considering that I have never cooked for 200 people, but hey. Anyways… that is one of the things that I haven´t been able to find here. How sad!

I had a nightmare the other night that I finished the mission and was home and it was time to start looking for a job – like a career. And I was paralyzed with fear. Daddy was telling me that I needed to start looking, but I was super afraid. We´ll just see how that all goes down after the mission. I hope that it was a bit exaggerated in my dream and that I won´t be afraid to go job hunting.

This week I did a special fast so that I can have “more obedience, diligence, and faith to move mountains.” I was super proud of myself because I had to not eat an alfajor and I really wanted to eat it. But I fasted and know that the Lord will bless me.

As far as the work goes, here is the update. ______is the father of a completely less active guy that suffers from mental problems that leave him pretty much unable to carry on a conversation. We found him and started teaching him and challenged him to quit drinking and get baptized. If all goes well and he is able to quit, he will be baptized on May 30th. When we found him he was spending 1,000 pesos (like $350) a week on beer. To help you capture that… that is our monthly rent and our apartment is the newest in the mission. He has cut back a ton. He went from drinking 10 bottles a day to the other day, just one. Yesterday we told him “no more” – and that he needs to be 100% sober for 2 weeks to get baptized. That means that on the 16th he cannot drink again. I really hope that he can beat this. I know that if he does his part the Lord will bless him. He has come a really long way and accepts every other commitment. He is 67 and it will be really cool to help him make such a big change in his life. Will you include him in your prayers? He needs a lot of support.

The other day our lunch cancelled and we were starving. Did you know that with a mug of white rice, a tiny bit of mayo and a can of tuna you can like make a meal? It isn´t that satisfying, but it fills you up. I now know that if I am ever literally starving… a little bit of rice and a can of tuna will keep me alive. The members here… don´t quite live up to the expectation that I had about them forcing us to eat “asados” every day and all that you hear about. I don´t know what the deal is, but we are less than spoiled. There, I said it. No more complaints…

Nata – let me know about the things you learn about the abuelas and tell my mini that I love her soooo much “de polo a polo y atras.” She is super cool and will really appreciate your help with her English. Will you really push her? If she is going to end up marrying Brian Jensen, she has to master English. Hehe.

Jason – I was super happy to hear that you guys are planning a trip to Utah when I get back. I can´t wait for that “airport reunion!” Will you record it like you did when you dropped me off at the MTC? Thanks!

Mommy – don´t even worry about crying on the phone call. I hope you had a fantastic Mother´s Day and that you were able to enjoy the call. Thanks for taking care of all the details and making it possible to speak to everyone at the same time. It was a dream come true for me to hear from everybody. I was sad that I didn´t really chat with Jason on Christmas, so I felt better this time. I feel like I talked too much about dumb stuff, but, I guess that´s what happens when you haven´t been able to talk in 5 months… you just ramble! I loved the pictures of your trip with Daddy and can´t wait to explain each and every picture (of the thousands) I have taken on the mission. Get ready to have your baby girl talk your ear off!

Daddy – guess what… we found a 15 year old Australian boy that came here in December to play soccer! He is from Melbourne (I don´t know how to spell it, but I know you say it “Melbin”) and I told him that you served as a missionary in Sydney 30 years ago. We asked him if we could share a message with him and I started teaching in Castellano – we were all talking in Castellano at this point. Then he said that when it comes to religious stuff he doesn´t have that much Castellano down, so my companion turned to me and said “teach him in English.” So then – for the first time in a long time – I started teaching the apostasy and the restoration in English. It was cool and weird at the same time. As I said on the phone call – it was utterly simple and blissful to be able to ask all the questions just how I wanted to and know that he understood what I was really asking. But I was tripping in every transition from principle to principle. Out of nowhere I would say “entonces” (then) or “como” (like) or “claro” (of course) and it made me blush and feel dumb because my brain couldn’t continue speaking it´s native language. But he was super cool about it and get this… here is the best part… something that I have been reliving for the past 24 hours… I said, “the cool thing about our message is that we just invite everybody to pray and ask God if this is true and the Spirit will answer you. Do you have a habit of praying?" (This is usually when everybody says “no” or “yeah, like I recite Our Father and Ave Maria every night”) and he said, “yeah, every night. I ask God to help me be better and I pray for…” I about cried right there in the street. There is a 15 year old Australian boy in Argentina that prays – every night – because he wants to… and we found him. I am praying so fervently that his mom doesn´t stop him from listening to us or anything…. that is the biggest problem… when you find a kid or youth that is truly golden… so often the parents don't allow them to progress. Last night I prayed and prayed and prayed that she would not only let him listen to us, but that she would listen too so that they can both be baptized! It would be literally a cool miracle for me to be able to teach and baptize an Australian because it unites me and my daddy even more – teaching the gospel to the Australian people and bringing them to a knowledge of the truth! And yes… I will be transferred in just 4 weeks. He could be baptized in this transfer if everything goes like clock-work, but even if not… I will just have to go to the President and ask him to make an exception and please let me be there for the baptismal service… it would just mean so much to me. And… unless I am sent way far out to campo… I´m pretty sure he´d let me go! And yes… all these plans after a 7 minute lesson in the street. But hey, we always dream like that.

I love the mission so much. I love it, I wouldn´t trade it for anything in the world. I have 6 months more to find, teach, and baptize the whole world and hopefully a few people from the land down under! I know that this is the Lord´s work because when we went by Santiago´s house (the Australian boy) he didn´t hear us knock and then an hour later we ran into him in the street a good 4 blocks from his house… the Lord literally put us in his path twice!

I love you all, wish everybody well from me… especially Tiffany, Katybug, Cameron and Tyler… say hello to everybody!

I´m walking on sunshine and lovin´every minute. Make sure you all have FHE this week!

Love,

Hermana Jensen

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Lance said...
Boy, who is that young, Australian missionary? He looks a lot like the guy I knew at BYU :)

I found your daugther's blog while doing some missionary searching. Sounds like she's having a great time. My son is serving in England Manchester.

Lance McIntosh
MAY 18, 2009 7:53 AM

525,600 Minutes

Well almost.....or at least it will be on Thursday! Wow, one year... can it really be true?

So ok, I´m super excited to write you a bunch of fun stuff this week. I hope that you are all well and I am WAY pumped to talk to you on Sunday. Ideally things will go down just like they did on Christmas. I'll call the land line at Salinas and you conference call in Nata and Jason so we can all talk for 40 precious minutes. If they are in Church or can´t be available, I guess that´s life. But my dream would be to talk to all. I confess for just one second... the more time you are away... the more you miss home. At first it was the opposite... each passing month made me forget all about home so I didn´t really miss it, but now that the time to return is actually getting closer... your mind drifts a tiny bit and remembers that you will one day actually return and so then you miss home... just a little bit. But don´t worry, I´m not homesick... just more aware that home exists.

I love my new companion-- Hermana DiStefano is so much like me, but so different at the same time. We get along great and are always laughing. She is a riot! She speaks great English and I LOVE it when she does. The other day when we were doing who knows what because I can´t remember... she started singing “bad boys, bad boys, what ya gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you?” I about DIED! She threatens me saying “be careful... the punish finger...” and then she licks her index finger like she´s going to give me a wet willy. It is so fun to work together and even though this week we struggled a ton in the work, we were able to support one another and cry at different times. But we really understand each other and I know that we have already built a really strong and lasting friendship. We are buds!

Interestingly enough we are fighting in the work. Last Monday the President came over to greet us and said “there´s going to be an explosion of baptisms” – referring to us and our new companionship. No pressure, right? We didn´t have a single investigator with a baptismal date... and still don´t. And we are already in week 2. In case you hadn´t already figured it out... people who don´t have baptismal dates fixed... never arrive at their baptism. It´s a problem. We tried to set dates with everybody we talked to yesterday and I´m tellin´ya. It was a rough day. We are trying to do all in our power to be worthy of the miracles and see this “explosion of baptisms” but time is slipping rapidly through our fingers... we are reaching the threshold of the transfer when you either 'will' have baptisms... or you won´t because you always have to think 3 weeks at a time to get their assistance... does that make sense?

Nata – I have 2 assignments for you. One is that you need to be “facebook friends” with my former mini Hermana Barrera-- and then there are like 8 more, so I told her to add you instead of you having to search for her. I want you to be her friend and help her with English and she can keep you fresh with Spanish. She is so sweet and one of my dearest, truest friends. Will you take care of her for me? I´m not allowed to email her, but I can write her and send letters with the Elders to her ward. Write her... she´s so cool! The other assignment is something that I think you will find quite interesting. I intend to do a bunch of research after the mission about this horrible scandal that happened in Argentina in 1976 when 30,000 young people went missing and were like tortured and killed. I have heard various versions of who was really at fault – but you should read about it. You can search “abuelas de plaza de mayo.” There is a movie – but don´t watch it – it´s supposedly way worse than ‘R’ but maybe there are documentaries that aren´t too explicit. I am way interested to learn about it after the mission.

I am going to have such a better accent after this transfer... 3 straight months with Argentine companions... so it´s not just a good accent... it´s a true Argentine one! We rendered service the other day reading the Relief Society lesson out loud to a sister in the ward that has lost her sight. Normally we read her the Liahona... but it was cool to see how someone wants SO BADLY to read the lesson before going to church and we were grateful to be blessed with the privilege of serving like that. It is so cool to be able to do things like that... to know that you are doing just what Christ would do.

I learned a new way to play tic tac toe... It´s super fun and requires much more thinking. Instead of winning losing, or having a “ tie” every 22 seconds... these games can go on and on for like 12 minutes. I can´t wait to teach you all when I get home! Another funny thing my companion says in English is “whoa... my companion has 3 cars... you (referring to the rich, rich, rich people here that only have 2) are nothing!” - maybe I shouldn´t have told her we have 3 cars... but I did it with great humility – explaining that in the states having a car isn´t quite the same as having a car here in Argentina... here it´s like one in 25 has a car. But there... it´s like 1 in 3. She gets it, but likes to exaggerate and say things like that. It keeps us giggling in the street.

We are teaching the boyfriend of a less active member and they need to get married. But she was robbed a few years ago and lost her document... so she has to do the paperwork to get another one and then they can do the whole 1 month date to get married thing. But she has to pay 30 pesos (yes... like $8.50) to get the document in process... and can´t because every time they get paid they spend all their money buying food…so they aren´t getting any closer to getting married or him getting baptized. Try to imagine for just a sec how it must feel to a fighting missionary to know that if you could just give them the money to go to do the paperwork... you might have a baptism... and you can´t. It´s against the rules... and it would be a little awkward “hi, we want you to get baptized so bad, we are willing to buy it... here, take my 30 pesos – go to the office and get your document... then go to the font!” Nope, the Gospel doesn´t work that way. They have to sacrifice, save, and do it themselves. But... just put yourself in my shoes for a sec... it all comes down to an amount of money that you could buy lunch with at Carl’s Jr.

Thanks for the tips and advice about swine fever. The President is much more worried about Dengue and has bought every companionship special repellent spray from the states... we will be getting it soon and have specific instructions to be very cautious. I´m not in much danger. I see a mosquito once every few days, but I´m sure there are a ton of Elders in the swamps that are literally in danger. We should pray for them.

I’m glad you were able to get a hold of Thomas. He is a really good guy and was thrilled to visit his old converts and meet their sons. Thanks for all that. I went to the store today and for 78 pesos – like $25 US I bought a giant shoulder bag that doesn´t have wheels, but was much cheaper than the one with wheels. I will use it as a substitute for my middle suitcase. It´s a cool bag. Daddy will love it. I just might let him use it after I get back... if he´s good until then!

I felt like such a fire fighter missionary the other day. We went to visit this couple that isn´t married and they were so mad at God that they were saying that none of these changes are worth it and that it´s too hard and they were ready to quit and throw us out. But I very calmly and with this sweet voice started to teach and testify about the necessity of opposition referring to 2 Nephi 2 and then bringing it all back to the atonement using Alma 7. After about 22 straight minutes of me talking, teaching, explaining, and using examples that apply to them – and the fact that she is pregnant (it hurts giving birth, but the prize – the baby - makes it worth it... opposition in all things...) they were completely softened, the spirit testified, they received the teaching and it was a great lesson. I extended the commitment to come to church with us the following morning... and she said “no.” I was downright floored. She had just barely admitted that she felt so much better and knew that it was all true and then said that she wasn´t going to come to church. This is why Heavenly Father puts us in companionships, because if I had been alone I would have said something like “what? That is ridiculous... you can´t want and ask and beg for blessings and then do nothing...” But like I said... that is when I closed my mouth and turned to my companion. She opened hers for the first time in the 25 minute lesson and took it from there. In the end they both committed to come to church, and the next morning... they came! They aren´t married – so it didn´t even count for our numbers, but the point is that they came! But as we walked out of that lesson I felt like a fire fighter hero. We took 2 very angry people who were ready to turn their backs on God forever and left 2 people who were preparing to come to church the next day. I felt quite blessed and capable – meaning that the Spirit was able to work through us... not that we did anything.

Daddy... I wish I could be there for your 50th birthday. If I were I would make you a cake of a bunch of football players ready for the scrimmage at the 50 yard line. It has a double meaning... because everybody knows that when you´re at the 50 yard line... you´ve still got a long way to go... that is ... that you´re not old! I will still make you said cake when I get back and we will celebrate it together, savvy?

Mommy – I am so happy to be your daughter. Every time I see something that reminds me of you or that you would like... I smile. Today I bought you a gorgeous coin purse made from real leather with cool flowers stamped in it. You are going to love it. I saw it and instantly thought of you and couldn´t leave the store without buying it for you. When I get home you will see the custom gifts I had made. There are some really talented saints here... that live off the missionaries buying souvenirs!

PS – everybody should jot down like 4 or 5 questions that you want to ask me for the phone call because I want to take advantage of every second and talk about meaningful things! I´ll jot down some stories, but you should come with questions... just like every General Conference!

Well – the hour has already gone, but we´ll be speaking soon. I love you tons. I am fighting the fight, running the race, and ask for just one thing... will you pray for me to have more faith... the miracles depend upon our faith. I need to really, really believe that we will receive the miracles.

Wubba,
Until Sunday!
Hermana Jensen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ajohns37 said...
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY amazing mom! You doing such an awesome job at this blog spot for your little girl is tremendous. I can't imagine the hours and work you have spent on this to leave her this legacy. There are so many special inspirational spots to it from her letters, fun things she's said,the pictures, the videos, info on Argentina, thoughts, the uplifting music which we still listen to...a lot, etc. We even use your little clock to see what time it is in Argentina. You are my hero in doing this, for I use it in living part of my little girl's mission. We love and appreciate you, Your fellow missionary mom.
MAY 5, 2009 9:31 PM