Miracles Through Hard Work and Obedience

Here are a few snippets from Stacey's last letter:

Transfer meeting was really cool. All the missionaries go to the mission office where there is a chapel and we watch a movie with music and pix of the successes of the mission - there were 3 pictures from our baptism! I cried. Then we watch a power point with all the new leadership and companionships by area and everyone finds out at that exact moment where theýre going to serve and with whom for the transfer that begins the next day! It is a rush. Luckily me and Sis Torres are staying together in Castelar! FEW! I was not ready to be leaving the area... I still cańt figure out how the colectivos work.

Chapels in Argentina all have 2 or 3 ping pong tables. I dońt know why, but I thought it was interesting. Hna Torres says it is the same in Chile too. Why dońt we have ping pong tables in the chapels in the states?

The biggest lamest most frustrating thing about this country, well there are 2... one is that it takes like an eternity to get a divorce finalized. We have 3 couples that could be baptized and want to be, but cańt be because one or both of them are married to other people.. not the people they are living with... and they are waiting for their divorces so they can marry each other and get baptized. One couple has been waiting 10 years. Wére going to fast with them next week for their divorce to come through.
The other thing is that this country lives and dies by having change (coin money), because it is the only way to take the colectivos and often times the only way to ride the train because sometimes for no apparent reason there just wońt be attendants manning the stations so you have to buy your tickets for the train with the machines which ONLY take change. If you dońt have change and there isńt someone manning the station... you dońt ride the train... so no big deal right, go to the bank and get a bunch of change. NOT SO. The bank will only give you 5 pesos in change each time you go to the bank. Which lasts about 3 days. Yesterday we walked 3 miles to an appointment because we didńt have change to take the colectivo and if we bought something, we would have to waste like 2 or 3 pesos just to get change. They should just make a bajillion more coins and flush them into the system so that everyone doesńt have to hoard them the way we do.
We have 2 focuses as a mission. One is "low-hanging fruit" which means, work with people who are already married to each other and actually could get baptized, or friends of recent converts, or part-member families where a lot of the work is already done. It is a great focus and I hope that we can really tap into it in our area.

I loved the quotes you sent. The one that I have been reciting in my mind all week long is "yoúre gonna miss this" it is so true! I even thought it to myself the other day when my companion sat down on a curb in the street and started crying... she had just gotten in a fight with a t. j. (testigo de jehovah... jehovah's witness) and it got pretty intense. I didńt fight because I am not smart enough to bible bash, nor do I see a point in it, so I just stood there while they debated in the street for like 10 minutes. It was uncomfortable and the spirit was not there. After we walked away and she sat down to cry, I let her cry, comforted her and then I said a prayer to re-invite the spirit and we went back to work.

The other is that we will see miracles through hard work and obedience. It is great to know that when we have faith and are obedient and set good examples and work on the things 'we do have control over', that everything will work out-- and that is all we need to worry about.

This transfer my comp and I have a baptismal goal of 3, last time it was 2. The mission has a goal of 162... this past transfer we got 103. They showed us the numbers since March and they have been in the 120 130 range... and our goal is 162... Ím nervous, but we can do it.

I would like to end this email explaining something that I have come to see to be incredibly true. Every day counts. Endure to the end. Imagine if Christ had "almost" endured to the end. What if He had endured all but the last 2 hours of the atonement... we would all be lost. He did not give up and neither can we. We must serve Him ALL our days, not just until we get old and it is too much of a hassle to make it to church. Every day...Christ gave every moment...He suffered every pain, not just most of them. I know that this is important, it is salvation and no excuse is going to be good enough for why we didn't push on and endure to the end.

I love you all so very much.

Hermana Jensen

A Spiritual Feast

This post is copied from the Benton's mission blog. It sounds like they had a wonderful time and learned many great things.

I absolutely LOVE that Sister Benton keeps up a blog. It, I believe is another "tender mercy" from Heavenly Father to give us, as her parents, (and each of you) another opportunity to see and learn more about the great work going on in Argentina.

From one mom to another, thanks Cheryl...YOU are the best!

We've had a spiritual feast for the last two days with the visit to our mission of President & Sister Bowen. President Bowen is the President of the South America South Area (including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), a member of the Seventy (a "General Authority" for our Church), and he presides over all the affairs of the Church in this southern portion of South America.
We traveled with the Bowens to all of our Mission Zones to meet with all of our missionaries, and both President and Sister Bowen spent lots of hours counseling, teaching and instructing us all.
President Bowen spent some time helping me understand my purpose and role here in Argentina. He said to me, "You were foreordained before you came to this world to be on this Mission, at this time, here in Argentina." I felt courage, support and strength when he told me that.
My favorite teaching that President Bowen taught us was when he said, "Everyone is special, but no one is special," a true doctrine found in the scriptures where we are taught that the worth of all of our souls is great in the sight of God, but no one of God's children is more important than another, and God is greater than us all.
President Bowen taught us many other profound concepts (mostly in Spanish), but we'll just tell you a few favorites here:
One of Evrett's favorite "take away" phrases from President Bowen is, "Miracles are always found on the far side of obedience and hard work."
Our Assistants each had a favorite teaching from President Bowen.
Elder Stephens: When he taught about who holds the "keys"(llaves in Spanish) of the Priesthood for various realms of responsibility in the Church, compared with the concept of the "authority" of the Priesthood.
Elder Pannier: When he taught the concept, "We act differently when we know who we are,"
and then he taught the Lord's words from the scriptures defining who we are, beginning with our spiritual forefather, the prophet Abraham in the Old Testament.
I liked Sister Bowen's teaching that, when we serve a mission and then return to our family, there is more of us to share with our family. I also was impressed with how well she speaks Spanish!
Thanks very much for your visit President & Sister Bowen! Your precious time has made lasting memories for all of us! We know you have lots of other responsibilities, but we hold out hope that we'll be able to have another "spiritual feast" with you sometime during the next year.
You two are the BEST!
Posted by Cheryl & Evrett
President and Sister Benton (left), President and Sister Bowen (right)

Happy Baptism Day

Rolando Destito (2nd from left)

Azucena Rodriguez (center)

100 Days Has Come And Gone!

In this letter it sounds like Stacey is doing well and getting a little more comfortable and settled in. I was weary with changing all of the different ways her keyboard punctuates, so I finally just stopped, plus it gives it that Argentine flare!

(By the way, when Stacey refers to "heaven on Salinas" she is talking about her 'memory foam' mattress back in Riverton!)

Thanks again for tuning in, tomorrow she will have been out for 100 days--only 448 more, but then whose counting haha!





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 12, 2008
Hola,

Sister Benton was so sweet to call you for me. I was just suddenly really worried that you were less than ok with what went down with my kidney stone and all... I couldńt bear the thought that you might be sad or worried or feeling alone and so I called her. She said she'd love to check on you and I felt so much better.

I did not get anything from Daddy or you actually... the thing is we didn't get mail yesterday like normal because tomorrow is zone conference, so we'll get mail tomorrow which may or may not have dearelder mail for me. I LOVE hearing from everybody, and especially the words from Daddy because he served a mission so I feel like he understands maybe a little bit better what I'm going through... not to say that you don't, but you know, it' always great to get advice from someone who's had a similar experience. I really relish in getting messages from both of you through dearelder and hope that it isn't a pain or anything. I love them so much... it's like heaven to read your words and feel close to you.
In fact, every time I see a sign for the church... like on the chapel, I hear in my mind Daddy saying, "La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos do los Ultimos Dias," the way I used to ask him and he'd say it really fast and all. Who would have ever thought that one day I'd be the one saying that all the time!
It has been raining here in Buenos Aires. The first day I was caught without my umbrella, rain coat, or boots. We saught refuge under a covering and waited for it to lighten up a bit then kept on working. My hair went curly, but I like it!
The second time I was a little more prepared. I had my umbrella - just the little one, not the really good one... I didńt want to use it... - and my rain coat. It poured! I wished I had been wearing my boots because instantly there were puddles flooding 5-6 feet into the street on both sides meaning 5-6 feet towards the center of the road where the cars drive. I have no idea why when we left the apartment it didn't dawn on me to put them on. But it wasn't too bad because again we saught refuge and were well covered by my umbrella. And we took good pictures so you'll see those soon !
The funny thing is my companion ran out in the rain when I was hiding carefully under the umbrella and I told her to come back because I didńt want a sick companion and she said she wouldńt get sick and then the next morning (today) I woke up with a sore throat!
Before I forget, people here keep asking me about wards and stakes in Utah. How many people are on the list in your ward? How many are active? How many are in attendance in church on an average Sunday? How many wards are in a stake? People really want to know how many blocks are in a ward boundary... I guessed like 4 or 5 but told them Íd find out. Can you give me the low down about wards and numbers in ̈la fabricä that's what people say when I tell them I'm from SLC, Utah - I think it translates about the same ... ̈the 'fabric' meaning... where all the missionaries or LDS people come from.
Here is a little story for you:
So yesterday before the awful rain storm, I lost my coin purse with about $10 (in pesos, not US money... from here on out Íll just always use pesos as default and Íll specify if I mean US money) It fell out of my coat pocket... which I wasńt wearing, because it was hot and I just had it draped over my scripture bag which is on my shoulder... we were walking back to the apartment and I literally cannot believe that I did not hear it fall to the ground because I had tons of change in it that would obviously make a sound... I was sad because I really liked the little coin purse... I bought it my first p-day here and it made me happy. We retraced our steps after lunch when I noticed it was gone and of course we didńt find it. I tried to have a good attitude and say that maybe we had to go back and retrace our steps because we were going to find some family on the way that would get baptized but we didńt pass like a single person the entire time we walked back to where I know I last had it and all... lame. I lost my money and my change purse and we spent time looking for it. But I really cańt complain, if I had lost a glove, now that would be tragic, because good gloves here would cost way more than 10 pesos. Or my camera... can you imagine if I lost that. It is a hard chore to keep track of my gloves, my scarf, my coat, my scripture bag, my agenda, my 2 wallets, my camera, my chapstick... everywhere we go.
But Íll live and Íll buy another coin purse, hopefully right after email.
I had my first split in Argentina. I went to"campo" which means the country... where we couldńt even drink the water and so we had to buy water for the day. I really enjoyed myself there because this area called "Las Heras" is like a fourth the size of my area. I liked it because it just felt so much more manageable and possible. I could actually feel comfortable there because they use the grid system and numbers and my area is more skeewampus (spelling ?) and oh... I want to serve there super bad, except for the fact that you have to buy water, and one more thing... therés no chapel. The "church" is a room. There is a sign on the door and it fits about 30 people, which means there are obviously not that many members. Another difficulty about this area is that you have to have your baptisms in another city... you have to take a train there... I cańt even imagine having the stress of making sure my baptisms made it to the train and then to wherever there is a font! I really enjoyed the split because I was with a sister from the states, who went to BYU, we had a ton in common and even though wére not supposed to, we broke down and spoke English a little bit. It just does a lot of good to the soul to be able to speak without restraint and without having to think about everything and KNOW that you will be perfectly understood.
That is something I'm having a hard time with here because Íll say something to my companion and Íll translate it exactly how I want the message to be conveyed and Íll say it with the tone I want, but because of the cultural difference and possibly the language difference... it just isńt received right. For this reason is was great to be with an English speaker for 24 blissful hours, plus she helped me out a ton with my Spanish because finally I could ask "how do you say this" and get an answer. That is something people dońt realize about having a native speaker... yes it's great because you can mimic them a lot, but in this case at least... she can almost never answer a question or tell me how to say what I want to say... and it's not her fault, but it is just a language gap.
So, I know you already know this, but we had a baptismal service on Saturday and then they were confirmed in church on Sunday. Azucena Rodriguez is a single mom with 4 kids... who may someday come around and listen to us, but as of yet doesn’t really let us teach them. Shs is great though. The other is Rolando Destito who is in his 30s, and is dating a RM who is also in her 30s. He is so awesome and is way more on top of things - meaning I dońt worry about him making his way to church on Sunday, because he has a car, and he goes, he even went in Cordovan when he was out of town... we just dońt have to worry about him, Azucena though... it is still like you have to really push her to get her to come to all 3 hours of church, and wear a dress. Rolando though, hés more comfortable, commenting, praying of his own volition and all. Azucena wońt pray in front of us... it is so hard because the people here just for the most part are too embarrassed to pray, they dońt know how, we teach them, they still wońt do it in front of us, who knows how to conquer that. Anyways, 2 baptisms and also the daughter of the bishop was baptized.
Ready for this... 110 people came! Which is like a way huge number. It was great. But therés more... this part though is sad... remember the situation about the water here... yeah, well I dońt know why or what happened because I was in Las Heras when my companion came to the chapel to fill the font and all, but all I know is the water was more like lukewarm than warm. The little daughter of the bishop started crying before her baptism because she stepped into the cold water. Our 2 baptisms were more adult about it... because they actually are adults, but Azucena had to be baptized twice because shés afraid of water and the coldness made her tense up even more and she didńt go all the way under. It was pretty sad that the bishop's daughter started crying at her own baptism. I felt horrible, especially when the Bishop told us the water was ̈heladö which means ice cream.
Oh, also right before the baptism... that was the day that I was in Las Heras, and me and Sister Greenland missed the train back to my area for the baptism, so we had to talk a remis and pay $45 pesos instead of $1.05. We missed the train because we were visiting a less active older lady. She was crying because she has cancer and family problems and we sat there talking with her as I watched the hands on my watch indicate that the train would leave in 4 minutes. We couldńt just leave... she was crying. Anyway, we took a remis, caught the second train in Merlo and made it to Castelar in plenty of time for the baptism, but with significantly less dinero!
These past few days everybody has been breaking down in tears and telling us about their trials, work problems, poverty and family problems. It is so hard because a lot of the time I dońt know what they are upset about... my vocabulary does not really cover people cheating on each other, or the details of dying of cancer, or the process of getting a legal marriage certificate in this country so that they can be baptized. I just have to sit there and listen. Luckily my companion understands and can answer, but it is frustrating to watch people cry and not really be able to do much but be there for them. I feel like I have such a handle on the language until someone starts talking to me....imagine that!! :)
After the zone activity we all went to an all you can eat restaurant for $24 pesos each (8 dollars) It was super fun. 14 elders and 2 sisters. It was cool to have free reign on different food. And the ice cream here is great. I ate too much and regret it right now, but how often do we get to all go eat together in a restaurant as a zone in the center of Merlo? Exactly, not very often. So I had fun. It reminded me of family trips to Vegas and I wished that I could zap you there to enjoy it with me.
I love you so very much and I want you to know I think about you and pray for you every single day.
I miss you tons, but I know that wéll be together again someday and that it will be as though we were never apart! That's the beauty of family... we are close even when we have to be far away.
I love you more than a hot bath followed by a nap on 'heaven' in Salinas...

Con Carino, (with affection)
Hermana Jensen

An Update From Hermana Benton

August 11, 2008 10:04 AM

Hi Sister Jensen!This is Hermana Benton. I just wanted to let you know that I talked to your daughter this a.m. on the phone and she is doing fine.As a matter of fact, she and her companion are doing so fine that they held a baptism last Saturday for two of their investigators, where they had 100 plus people in attendance!Sister Jensen is a great missionary, and it's obvious she has "the gift of tongues" too, because she's communicating and working so well with Sister Torres, her native speaking companion.

What an amazing amount of comfort we received as parents, from this letter. It is so good to know that missionaries serving all over the world have such loving and caring people to support them, watch over them, and encourage them as they strive to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Flashback To Stacey's Mission Call!

The Tea Cup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and the shop they visited had a beautiful teacup.
They said to the shop assistant, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it over to them,the teacup spoke suddenly.
"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup.There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me, rolled me, patted me over and over and I yelled out,'Let me alone' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'
"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said,"and suddenly I was spun around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!'I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'
Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door.I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.'
Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better', I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag.'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'
Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate.I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'
Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it.I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and I couldn't believe it was me. 'It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'
'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you would have dried up.
I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.
I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.
I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life.
And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.
Now you are a finished product.
You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.
Moral: God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter and we are His clay. He will mold us so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Let this story remind you that God has a perfect plan for your life. He may need to place or allow some obstacles in your life to strengthen your character, so that you may be strong in the days of greater adversity. Don't get discouraged when you feel like the heat of the struggle is going to burn you. God knows exactly when to pull you out and deliver you from that problem and when He does you will be much wiser and stronger than you were before.
God knows your inner strength and ability to be strong even in the midst of a problem.
~Author Unknown~

And It Came To PASS

...a kidney stone that is.

What we prayed wouldn't happen--happened. :(
Stacey awoke in the middle of the night last Friday with the now familiar pain that some of us are unfortunately too familiar with. Another kidney stone, her third or is it the fourth? I can't remember, they all start to blur together. :) The mission doctor told her she could go to the hospital of course, but she didn't want to add the stress of trying to communicate and explain her history to them. She decided to tough it out and finally got through it after a blessing from the Zone Leaders and then another one from the Mission President, her kind and caring companion, and the much needed "motherly" care from the Mission President's sweet wife. She said many, many prayers and pleadings, received blessings of peace which were much needed being so far from the conveniences and comforts of home, and luckily had the appropriate meds (packed before leaving home) with her in case such an event occurred. She was sad to miss Church on Sunday, here is a little of what she wrote:

When I finally came out of the coma I was in from the drugs, the Zone Leaders came over and gave us the Sacrament. Argentina is very facilitative of this, and we ate the meal the Bishop provided, and at 4 pm on Sunday, we went out to work. We had goals to meet and believe it or not, we did 40 contacts (usually 20 a day) and taught 8 lessons. We reached all our goals, we got back just after 9 and I crashed. I know that I wasn’t supposed to run faster and all that jazz, but I was well enough to work, and there was certainly work to be done. It was such a terrible Sunday to miss church because a new convert had her baby blessed and tons of family and friends (many of which are our investigators) went, plus Rolando who is getting baptized this Saturday! bore his testimony and we missed it. Plus, our other baptism for this Saturday, Azucena came with one of her sons... I was upset to miss such a Sunday, plus we had made fliers and handouts to remind everybody about the baptism that we couldńt hang up or give out. UGH!

As you can see she is a fighter. It is always amazing to see how Heavenly Father uses the events and circumstances in our lives to help stretch us so that we can progress and grow. He wisely knows that it is through heart wrenching and painful adversity that we have the opportunity to reach upwards and develop a closer relationship with the Savior. It is after submitting to all things that we see more clearly how it truly helped us, and recognize that we are so much better for having gone through it.

Sister Benton, the Mission President's wife just called me to say that Stacey doesn't want us to worry about her. She said that she is doing well, that she is strong and back to work!

I am sure there are many out there that already know this, but this is super good stretching material for the mommy too!

Here are some FYI’s Stacey shared:

Skippy peanut butter cost 24 pesos - about 8 dollars for a regular sized thing like we have in food storage. A package of Ramen Noodles costs $2.40. It is an outrage, but I bought some for the next time I need comfort soup to get through something. :)

And A BLOG WORTHY STORY to end on something more upbeat:

We were walking somewhere and had to cross the street. Well, I've told you about the millions of wild dogs here, right? Well one such dog, stopped beside me, looked both ways (as we were doing) and started to cross right when we did... HE KNEW! He stopped, looked both ways, and crossed the street... just like a person! I was astonished.

Life is good...make the most of it, take care and enjoy!

From the Mission President's Blog:

STARS
Stars, in your multitudes

Scarce to be counted ,

Filling the darkness

With order and light

You are the sentinels,

Silent and sure,

Keeping watch in the night

Keeping watch in the night

You know your place in the sky,

You hold your course and your aim

And each in your season

Returns and returns

And is always the same.

(A song the character Javert sings, from"Les Miserables")

This is just a memory of traveling late last Sunday night, from General Villegas to Buenos Aires, with the APS. We were on a very long, dark, two lane highway, and suddenly, we noticed the brilliance of the stars above and the hugeness of the "Milky Way." Evrett commented that this was the first time he and I had been able to see the stars in the "Southern Hemisphere" sky. We pulled off the highway, and drove a little ways down a dirt road. Then, we all got out of the car and gazed at the bright stars for a few moments. We talked about the scriptures that refer to the Lord creating "worlds without number", and the scriptures in the Book of Moses that tell about Moses' reaction, when he saw all the inhabitants of the earth and the vastness of the Lord's creations. Moses realized then that "man is nothing." On Monday, the verses from the song "Stars" popped into my mind, and I have been humming that song all week as we've worked with our missionaries in various ways.

Last night, I realized that the words from "Stars" remind me of our missionaries and our wonderful family and friends. It's a dark and cold winter in Buenos Aires right now, and it seems like we've been encouraging our missionaries all week to do their best to stay out on the streets day and night, even when faced with illness and danger, proclaiming the Gospel to the people. A few missionaries have told us that some of the people here call them "angels"and want to serve and help them in their work. Yes, they are angels, and when they are out among the people, they are "filling the darkness with order and light". They are the "sentinels" who "keep watch in the night" and "hold their course and their aim, and are "always the same", because they are proclaiming a Gospel that is always the same. The missionaries give comfort and hope to the people of Buenos Aires.

We want our dear family and friends to know that you are all the "Stars" in our lives, who give us strength and direction. Because you are our own personal "Stars", we send a big hug and a big kiss and "Thank You" to you all. We love you all and we miss you all!

A Great Welcome

These next 2 pictures, and the post after them are from

the blog of Stacey's new Mission President and his wife.

http://www.bentonsmission.blogspot.com/

This is the sign they made to welcome incoming missionaries:

We waited at the airport with Sister Torres and Sister Petty

as they prepared to greet their two new companions who were arriving

from the United States. The two new Sisters arrived, and we welcomed

them to the "Best Mission in the World"! The two new Sisters are

Sister Jensen, from Utah,and Sister Pruner, from Canada.

Remember the previous blog photo of me and Sister Pruner

in the MTC cafeteria? Well, we're both in Argentina now!
I love these Sister Missionaries!
(Posted by Cheryl & Evrett )

A much welcomed update from the Mission President's wife about Stacey's recent kidney stone and baptism :

Hi Sister Jensen!This is Hermana Benton. I just wanted to let you know that I talked to your daughter this a.m. on the phone and she is doing fine. As a matter of fact, she and her companion are doing so fine that they held a baptism last Saturday for two of their investigators, where they had 100 plus people in attendance! Sister Jensen is a great missionary, and it's obvious she has "the gift of tongues" too, because she's communicating and working so well with Sister Torres, her native speaking companion.
August 11, 2008 10:04 AM