Mom, I´m super excited for the package! The day after it was too late, it dawned on me that I should have asked for one of those cute little bricks of Velveeta cheese to make scrambled eggs. I was kicking myself all afternoon long saying that that would have been so clever because it doesn´t perish until you open it, but oh well. I thanked Elder Pollock for being a pastor (going home missionary) because that means his family is bringing me a package. I had to explain that you were friends with his mom through missionarymoms.com and it was kind of funny and threw him off at first, but in the end he smiled and said, “that´s what I´m here for.” He´s a good Elder.
To help people quit smoking I suggest that you review Preach My Gospel chapter 10 pages 187-190. That is the approved doctrine for quitting and you are bound to see why. It just makes sense.
Dad, just for the record, I am not afraid that you guys will go inactive, it is just this kind of motto we have developed in the mission. Every time we get together and talk about the work we promise that we will never, ever, ever go inactive, so naturally it spills over into my emails too.
Only in ARGENTINA: the other day we contacted this elderly lady in the street. She was sweeping up leaves 
and putting them in bags. We offered to help and of course she refused. We chatted with her for a minute and I asked her how old she was… ready for this 96! And she was sweeping her own leaves and bending over and grabbing them and putting them in bags. She REFUSED to let us help her. 96. Wow, when I´m 96 I hope I can still sweep up my own leaves, but I will let the missionaries serve me because I will remember that they have to report their service hours!
and putting them in bags. We offered to help and of course she refused. We chatted with her for a minute and I asked her how old she was… ready for this 96! And she was sweeping her own leaves and bending over and grabbing them and putting them in bags. She REFUSED to let us help her. 96. Wow, when I´m 96 I hope I can still sweep up my own leaves, but I will let the missionaries serve me because I will remember that they have to report their service hours! The Lord really does detain us and put us where He wants us to be and where we will be safe. For example, we had lunch with the bishop and his wife and after they were chatting away – either unaware, or not concerned by the fact that we are only allowed to be at lunch for an hour. After about an hour and a half I was feeling quite guilty and desperately trying to tactfully get out of there. We finally grabbed a 2 second pause and made our way out. We walked a few blocks and stopped some people on the corner. They were all very upset and it turns out that 5 minutes before this man on a motorcycle had robbed the purse of a woman standing at the corner. Had the bishop not been wisely detaining us with his pictures and stories… we might have been on that street corner. Tender mercies!
Hey – somebody should tell Cameron to write me. I want to write him, but this p-day was filled up with redoing the map of Merlo. I´ll explain someday with pictures.
The four young investigators are all still a go for their baptism on the 12 of July. We had a tough time getting them to church on Sunday because it was the day they vote. Here they are assigned to vote in specific places, but it is not always close, nor are families kept together. The dad may have to vote in one city and the mom has to vote in another that is like 6 train stations away. And it´s not like they can just hop in their car and go from one to the next. It was really frustrating and we had to really work to have a successful Sunday with them in church. I promised them blessings and said that it was really, really important and they did make it there.
Ready for an interesting trial of my faith story? One morning during personal study I suddenly had this impression that instead of watching 
“Finding Faith in Christ” with the 4 kids that afternoon we needed to watch “The Testaments.” I tried to override the feeling because “The Testaments is 65 minutes long and the other is only 25. 65 minutes is a HUGE sacrifice for one lesson – even if it is with 4 that will soon be baptized. But I knew it was because the Spirit was telling me that it was what they needed to develop a testimony of the atonement of Christ. So I presented the feeling and idea to my companion and we decided to go with it, even though it would really complicate our afternoon plans. We got to the appointment, put in the DVD and the machine wouldn't read it. DVD players in Argentina frequently refuse to read church DVDs – ORIGINALS…. man if them will read bootlegged movies, but originals – forget it. We put it in again, cleaned it, blew in the machine, prayed a TON and nope. No go. Not on your 
life. I couldn´t understand for a million dollars why I had had that impression so distinctly if then the machine wouldn´t let us watch the movie. And even weirder is that it read Finding faith in Christ, so we ended up watching that. And weirdly enough it was perfect… I even cried I felt the Spirit so strong. I rarely cry. Almost never. It was so incredible. But I couldn´t understand why I had felt that we needed to watch the other. I asked my companion that evening what she thought about it and she is so wise that she instantly replied that she had been pondering it too and thinks that it is like the Lord trying the faith of Abraham to see if he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, but then he didn´t have to go through with it in the end. The Lord tried me to see if I was willing to sacrifice so much time, but then didn´t make me go through with it. I loved the comparison and felt that it really strengthened my testimony and I was humbly proud to have been as willing as Abraham was to do what I was asked. And then the Lord said, “well done, you would have done it, so don´t worry about it, I´ll take it from here.” Talk about cool!
“Finding Faith in Christ” with the 4 kids that afternoon we needed to watch “The Testaments.” I tried to override the feeling because “The Testaments is 65 minutes long and the other is only 25. 65 minutes is a HUGE sacrifice for one lesson – even if it is with 4 that will soon be baptized. But I knew it was because the Spirit was telling me that it was what they needed to develop a testimony of the atonement of Christ. So I presented the feeling and idea to my companion and we decided to go with it, even though it would really complicate our afternoon plans. We got to the appointment, put in the DVD and the machine wouldn't read it. DVD players in Argentina frequently refuse to read church DVDs – ORIGINALS…. man if them will read bootlegged movies, but originals – forget it. We put it in again, cleaned it, blew in the machine, prayed a TON and nope. No go. Not on your 
life. I couldn´t understand for a million dollars why I had had that impression so distinctly if then the machine wouldn´t let us watch the movie. And even weirder is that it read Finding faith in Christ, so we ended up watching that. And weirdly enough it was perfect… I even cried I felt the Spirit so strong. I rarely cry. Almost never. It was so incredible. But I couldn´t understand why I had felt that we needed to watch the other. I asked my companion that evening what she thought about it and she is so wise that she instantly replied that she had been pondering it too and thinks that it is like the Lord trying the faith of Abraham to see if he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, but then he didn´t have to go through with it in the end. The Lord tried me to see if I was willing to sacrifice so much time, but then didn´t make me go through with it. I loved the comparison and felt that it really strengthened my testimony and I was humbly proud to have been as willing as Abraham was to do what I was asked. And then the Lord said, “well done, you would have done it, so don´t worry about it, I´ll take it from here.” Talk about cool! Don´t worry about me, I´m all better and my coat doesn’t even smell like throw up. I´m too much of a cheapskate to dry clean it for now because it´s $40 pesos. And not just that… I´d have to go without it for 2 or maybe 3, 4, or 5 days. It´s winter. Hello, how could I do that? I´m quite content and one day, I will dry clean it – before I come home I promise!
Hermana Benton called me and said that you wanted to make sure I wasn't running a fever. I assured her that I didn´t and she said she´d let you know. You got to talk to the President too? Isn´t he so awesome! I love him. He mentioned the Thanksgiving thing (coming home the day before it) to us too, I hope it doesn´t mean that our end of the mission tour of Buenos Aires doesn´t get cut short a day because I have been looking forward to it all mission long. That is what the pastores (leaving missionaries) do right before they go to the airport – they go on a tour with the APs and the President. I don´t want to get gypped out of it. But I obviously want to be home for Thanksgiving. Ummmm. Mashed potatoes and gravy!
I cut my hair, no, just trimmed it to get rid of the split ends and remind it to grow again. I promise not to cut it again until I come home. I have gotten quite fond of having long hair again.
This transfer my motto is one that the President has been teaching us for a while.
“Circumstances do not determine results” Allow me to apply it to our situation. White wash, Father´s Day (Sunday – investigators that can´t come), Voting (Sunday, investigators that can´t come and members that can´t pick them up), moving to another pension, passing a kidney stone, and losing about an hour and a half of proselyting time a day walking to and from the bus station in your area… and all of that doesn´t determine the results of the transfer because we are going to have 4 baptisms! I am going forward with faith and don´t even let a single doubt or fear enter my brain. I just say that we will find a way to make it happen… because the Lord is on our side.
Grandma Olson – did I ever tell you that in my last area I bought this giant can of Nesquik and every time I make myself some super chocolaty chocolate milk I think of you and remember how much I love you. I hope that you know that I pray for you each and every day and am so grateful for all that you have done for me. The other day I bought you a really cool souvenir and I´m looking forward to giving it to you!
Grandma and Grandpa Jensen – I feel so happy to know that I am a Jensen. We have such a great legacy of faithful members of the church and I love being able to tell people that all my family are members of the church and they are active. So many missionaries, so many lives affected and blessed all because 2 people fell in love! I stole that from a country song, but it´s true. When you think about your posterity you should be incredibly proud. I hope to have such a faithful posterity as you do!
We hadn´t heard a thing about Farrah Fawcett, but I found out on Saturday about Michael Jackson. I was truly sad because his early stuff is great.
I finally got my leather scripture cases yesterday. They turned out so well and she does each drawing by hand in the leather. This morning as I studied the scriptures in their new cases – my study was literally funner. It´s like the first time you use the Venus razor and Skintimate you received for Christmas and the first time you use the new pens and write in a new notebook – it´s just funner.
Today my companion stopped to contact this couple and at the end of the 10 minute conversation they were attacking me and the states for being the cause of swine fever. It was a difficult moment for me because I have a ton of USA pride. But I let it go. My companion was mortified and embarrassed at the behavior of a fellow Argentine and she admitted that he was totally in the wrong. That made me feel a little better.
About the move – it is dragging on because the Elder in charge of the pensiones is super busy. We begged the President and there´s not much he can do. We begged the Elder and he´s doing the best he can, but it´s still a good while away and we have no clue who will help us realize it. I shudder to think. The place is definitely not furnished.
Uncle Ron said I should be a writer… I just might do that. I love to write.
I love Padua. It is such a great area and I feel like if I die here (finish the mission) it´s fine. We´ll see what the Lord has in store. For all we know we´ll stay together this one and the next and then the President will white wash me again to train – because we will be getting a bunch of new sisters that transfer. We´ll see. I´d like to stay here I think.
Romina, Brian, Yamila, and Nico are very great because they accept tithing and the Word of Wisdom, but it is super hard getting them to church especially when their parents don´t want to or cannot come. Romina, Brian, and Yamila are all brothers and sisters, and Nico is the son of a less active member we are trying to reactivate, we are also teaching the Dad. There is a lot of potential with others, but many of them need to get married and many need to get divorced before they can get married. That always complicates things.
Nata – I hope you had a stellar birthday. I thought about you a bunch that day.
Jason – have a wonderful birthday and eat lots of cake.
I love you all and am happier than you can imagine. I miss you tons and pray for you constantly.
Could you all add Liliana, Beatriz and Santiago to your prayers? We need all the help we can get… and so do they!
Wubba more than the move that will someday take place!
Hermana Jensen
p.s The gospel is so true I can't even believe it!
