He asked if he could call our Mission President...

August 15, 2017

He asked if he could call our Mission President...

Jaren and I. Jaren is leaving for his mission in Thailand on Wednesday!

Hello everyone!

This week has been kind of slow, but alright. There actually isn't that much to talk about really since the work went slow. Tuesday was just a long hot day, where we got the oil changed in our car and nobody answered their doors.

We talked about how we can develop Christ like attributes at District Meeting. That was actually really cool to do, and I invite all who read this to go to page 126 in Preach My Gospel, and take the little survey and see how well you have developed Christ like attributes, and maybe find one you would like to work on this week. The Zone Leaders also threw down on everyone for not being 100% obedient. Yes, we are doing really good, but I will admit there are a few things that we could probably do better to really get the work moving.

Later that day though, we finally got into Greg's house (he is one of our investigators) and we had a great Restoration lesson with him, and we even got a soft commitment to baptism from him. That was really cool to see, and to be there teaching it.

Thursday was a good day. Alan, the head guy at Restore, asked if he could call our President and thank him for allowing us to come and help out at his store, which really flattered Elder Faimalo and I. Man, Alan is such a cool guy.

We also got a new Investigator that evening named Jeff, who we also got a soft commitment to baptism from. He was a talker, but he really had a grasp for all the things we taught him. His thing is thought is that he has been baptized twice before in different churches, and only wants to be baptized again if it is for the right reasons. We hope to establish those reasons as we continue on in the lessons.

Something awesome happened on Friday though. One of our investigators, Isabel, has been going on and reading the Book of Mormon for herself for awhile, and on Friday, she texted us and told us that she has prayed about it, and knows that it is true. That got us so excited! We are going to try and meet with her and her mother this week to try to put them on date, and to just talk about the experiences that they are having. That is going to be a most excellent lesson, I know that for certain.

That evening, we went and helped someone move in, but by the time we got there, here family had already moved 80% of the stuff into her apartment, so we only got to help for like 10 or 15 minutes before it was done. She did appreciate the help though.

Saturday morning was super chill, because we went over to Debran's house, and she basically talked to us for 2 hours about our goals for after the mission, which I think was super helpful for Elder Faimalo, since next transfer is is last one. I thought it was kind of funny when she talked to me though. She looked at me and said, "You would make a really good IT guy, based on your personality and from what I know about you." That kind of job never even crossed my mind before that day. It sounds interesting, but then again, I still have 20 months before those kind of thoughts really need to happen.

Sunday was just another day at church. It was really cool though in Sacrament meeting because we got to hear one of the young men in the ward give his farewell talk. He is going to serve his mission in Thailand. Also, Sunday evening, we went over to the Harris' for dinner, and we asked them about a creative finding idea that we could use, because we need to find something different to do to find new people to teach because what we are doing right now is not working. They basically told us to set up a service competition in our Zone, and basically compete with other companionship to do as much service as we can in one day, and through our service, try to find new people to teach. It sounds super cool, and we will probably try that out.

And now, probably one of the most exciting things has happened today actually. Today, 5 years ago, I had my bone marrow transplant, which fixed my Aplastic Anemia. Man, I am so grateful for my family who supported me through that, and to my older sister Brooklin especially, who actually donated the marrow that saved you life. I am also so grateful for my ward family on Oahu who helped to support me as well, and my family who had probably just as rough of a time as me. I am also forever grateful for my loving Heavenly Father, who extended my life and allowed me to come out here to Illinois and serve Him. Anyway, I love y'all I hope that y'all are having a good week! Take care, and do some good today!

Elder Jensen