The final week (at the MTC)

Elder Gill and I

This week has been the best so far! I did say a lot of good byes this week though, which is a little sad, but I know it is for a good reason. Our branch President was released on Sunday. He was a really nice guy, and always had awesome insights in lessons. I don't really know much about the new Branch President yet, other than he gives the most excellent handshakes (and he will push you out of the way to give handshakes to others).

I taught my first District meeting with Elder Gill last Sunday, and it went great! We just lead a discussion on how to better use the Book of Mormon when teaching. All we had prepared were a few questions and a paper arch, and we went nearly past the time that class was supposed to end, which I didn't expect to happen.

That picture that Brother Justice sent you was from Sunday's temple walk, of which I have a few pictures myself. My companion is the Elder whose head is right below the American flag on the right side.

I (Elder Jensen's mom) got a text message on Monday from a number in Utah...with this picture of Elder Jensen!  Made my Monday so much better! =) 

I did have new TRC investigators this week as well. The first one, Teddy, was a really talkative guy. The first lesson we had we only taught about 7-8 minutes of the 25 that we had. It was really cool to get to know him though. Our second in investigator was Shara, and she was awesome! She was just so accepting of the gospel and ate up everything that we taught her, especially about the Plan of Salvation. Also, I got to use a running game metaphor to teach enduring to the end because both of us are runners, so she gets it!

We got to hear from a member of of the Seventy and his wife for our Tuesday devotional! His name was Mervyn B. Arnold, and he taught about how important it is to have the Spirit present in lessons, as well as in our own lives. His wife spoke on a really cool topic on how to really get to the Light of Christ in people, and how we can use our own Light to teach others. They were both really powerful messages.

I just remembered! Kalia helped me teach Teddy about getting answers to prayers! I told him the story of how she came to our family and how long we had been praying for her, but not getting her because she wasn't ready yet, and how that time before her we had to prepare for her. He really liked that story, and it really got to him because he and his fiance really want to adopt some kids, which is awesome! It just goes to show that listening to the Spirit really is the way to go.

I also discovered this week that Four Square is really fun, and very competitive at the MTC. I am not really good at it, but I can hold my own for awhile. And yesterday, we had Infield Orientation, and that is something that I wished I had on the first day! It was a series of workshops that really helped us to understand how we can be more effective Missionaries, and went deep into some doctrine. It was like 9 hours long, but they were really good about keeping us moving and interested. At one point, one of the instructors had us all pair up and play rock-paper-scissors. There was no point to it, we only did it to do it. They also had a fantastic Play, in which the importance of using members to find and teach investigators is highlighted. I don't realize just how important members are in missionary work! Members and Missionaries together really bring the most success in sharing the gospel.

This morning, I went to my final session at the temple for possibly the next 2 years. I hope that I can go on my mission, but I am pretty sure the temple is not in my area so who knows? Well, I think that pretty much goes over this week for you. I will get the pictures to you as soon as I can. Love you Mom!

-Elder Jensen

The MTC

Photos of my room.

I got an Illinois flag!

Elder Vader...hehehe

My bed at the MTC

Study area

My closet

Elder Gill and Elder Rogers

Time for bed!

Photos of our temple walk.

My branch at the temple...my companion, Elder Gill is under the flag pole

Elder Lund

Elder Gill and I also saw a duck! We quacked at it, and it quacked back. He was very friendly.

PS: I got that package from Dad's aunt, and it was a box of cinnamon rolls! They were fantastic! I shared them with the Elders in my district and the other district in my zone, and they all liked them a lot. I just realized that I got rid of the box though so I don't have a way to send a thank you to her. Could you either do that for me or send me an email/address that I can send a thanks to?