Mineral Wells Week 18 The Last Good-bye July 10, 2017 Week One Hundred Three

This is it.

For the last seven hundred and thirty-three days, I have been dreading when this time would come. After a little more than two years, six areas, twelve companions, two mission presidents, and one fake last email, I'm now looking at the end right now. I can't believe that this day has come. In fact, it wasn't even supposed to come. I was just supposed to just serve out here forever, continually sharing with people my testimony about this restored Gospel. However, I can't live in denial any more. I'm going home. It doesn't even feel like I'm going home though; I lived in Oregon for about three or four months, and I've spent longer in most of my areas than I did at "home." I'm so grateful for the chance that I've had to be out here in the great state of Texas. I've learned, grown, tanned, failed, succeeded, and loved like I never have before in my life. Being down here in the refiner's fire that is the Texas sun, I've come to depend on the arm of the Savior. I hope that I'll be able to continue becoming the person that my mission has shown me that I can be.

Signing out for the last time,

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 18 The Final Letter July 10, 2017 Week One Hundred Three

3 John 1:13-14

Mineral Wells Week 17 July 3, 2017 Week One Hundred Two

Hey y'all!

Here it is- my penultimate weekly email. I'm glad that my second-to-last email is VERY different from my second email out in the field- it didn't send! I felt so bad that none of my emails sent that week. I wonder what my past self would think if I were to go back to him now and tell him that that would be the least of his heartbreaks he would endure on the mission. He would probably say something like this: "Holy cow! Time travel is real?!!" After that though, I'm not sure that he would have believed me. I felt so prepared coming out into the mission field- I had the lessons memorized forwards and backward, I could find any scripture in less than twenty seconds (as well as recite many useful ones), I felt relatively comfortable talking to people, and I wasn't afraid of anything (except for the harsh Texas sunlight on my extremely white skin). However, I could never have prepared for all the things that have happened to me on my mission. In a way, I'm glad that I wasn't prepared for many of those experiences- if I was, they wouldn't be as shocking or life-changing as they were! My mission has definitely been the best two years of my life, and I don't think anything will happen in the next week to change that.

One of the highlights of this week was definitely all of the interviews that we had. Normally, most people wouldn't think of interviews as something particularly engrossing, but for us it definitely was. As a District Leader in the mission field, it was my privilege to interview several people missionaries had taught so that they could be baptized. The baptismal interview isn't a test of knowledge so that only those who know everything about the Gospel can be baptized; rather, it's an opportunity to gauge somebody's worthiness, willingness, and testimony. They really are special events, because you're able to see the end result of what we do as missionaries. People begin talking to us, and as time goes on they change from the worldly person they were to the godly person that they have the potential to be. Another interview this week that happened that I was initially less than thrilled about was my exit interview with my mission president. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't that bad. In fact, it wasn't bad at all! My mission president didn't really grill me on what I was going to do when I was at home because that would have taken my mind too much off of being a missionary. Instead, he and I spoke about how prepared I was to go home and the various things that I've seen and done over the course of my mission. Overall, it was a good week with WAY too many reminders about going home- but, then again, I do go home in ten days. :)

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen.

Mineral Wells Week 16 June 26, 2017 Week One Hundred One

Hey y'all!

To be honest, this week kind of felt like a repeat of last week; we had tons of highs and lows, but in many ways, at the end of this week we're right where we started. This isn't to say that there wasn't change, but unless you yourself experienced it, you would never notice about some of the changes. We met lots of new people this week with lots of potential, but we also lost one of our Baptism dates. Ezell, who we set a Baptism date with about a month ago, decided she didn't
want to meet with us anymore. She was about to go in for surgeries that would keep her bedridden for three to four months, which meant she couldn't be baptized when she said she would. She also had been in favor of a lot of push back from her church she was attending, and more importantly, from her family. Elder Rowley and I think she will still be baptized, but it may not be for a few years. Now just wasn't her time.

In preparing to come home (-.-) I've done a lot of reflecting on who I've become over the last two years. Just like this last week of mine, if somebody simply looked at me, they might notice only superficial differences, like the fact that I'm tanner than I was before I left (but even then, not by much). However, deep down these last two years have completely transformed me. Before my mission, I thought I knew it all. Now, after two years of study and personal experience, I know
that I really know nothing. I've seen incredible things happen in people's lives as they have accepted the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I've also had intense heartbreak as people that I have grown to love have rejected its peace-bringing principles and lifestyle. Texas has proved to be a refiner's fire- almost literally if it doesn't cool down soon! I'm very grateful for the time that I've had to be able to serve as a servant of the Lord.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 15 June 19, 2017 Week One Hundred

Hey y'all!

This week has by far been the most uneven of my entire mission. Never have I seen this amount of success in one week; never have I seen this amount of failure in one week. It definitely goes to show that absolutely anything can happen on a mission.

I'll start off with the bad news, as much of it is still fresh in my mind (that, and I want to end on a positive note). This week, Diane was supposed to get baptized on Friday night, but at about 1:30 Thursday afternoon we got a text that told us that she wouldn't be getting baptized. Apparently, her mom, who was on date to be baptized next month, very suddenly began going down a very dark path. She decided she didn't want anything to do with the church (which included her daughter joining it), and that life would be better if she moved far away- possibly out of state. It was heartbreaking for us (still is, in fact), but the worst part of it was probably going and telling everybody who was planning on going that this young girl that our branch had fallen in love with wouldn't be getting baptized. Also this week, we had somebody else who was getting baptized drop us because her husband didn't want her speaking with us; somebody else who was going to get baptized had a mental breakdown and told us to never come back. Several people who promised us they would come to church didn't, which means we had to drop their baptism dates too. When we went to a missionary meeting to get our supplies, we were given everything we needed except for copies of the Book of Mormon...and we only have once copy left to hand out.....and the next time we'll be given an opportunity to get more will be in late July....To top it off, this last week was my very last Zone Conference ever as a missionary, which meant that I had to give my departing testimony, something just about every missionary dreads.

This week very easily could've gone down as the worst since I've come out on my mission, but for every piece of terrible, terrible news, there was something amazing and incredible that happened. First off, a few days later we found out that Diane's situation isn't quite as sad as we were originally told. Diane's mom calmed down a little and said that Diane could still be baptized, but she's not super thrilled about the idea. Also, Diane wants to stay with the members that they're currently living with, and her mom seems to be open to that idea. We're going to be meeting with her mom and one of the members they're living with this week to discuss Diane's future.

In addition to learning more about Diane's situation, we also set six baptism dates this week! One was a former investigator where the missionaries just stopped going by for no reason; we stopped by her house and set up an appointment, and she agreed to be baptized in the first lesson! Shalisa's date is for July 22nd, which apparently is a very popular day to be baptized on. The other five dates we set are for that day too! We have a TON of people in our area that only speak Spanish, so we decided we would go out with somebody from our Branch that speaks Spanish so that we could talk to all of these people. We found eight new investigators, including a family full of people that are interested. We were able to set a baptism date with Armandina and her grandkids, Chris, Gabriel, Raymond, and Brianna. We're so excited for them!

Also, I turned twenty this week. The jury's still out as to whether that's a positive or a negative event.

If I learned nothing else this week, maybe it was that even in the hardest of times, we can still see incredible success, because if the Lord is our ally, we cannot fail.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen.

Mineral Wells Week 14 June 12, 2017 Week Ninety-nine

Hey y'all!

Once again, I apologize for the shortness of this letter; somehow a ton of my information on BYU-Idaho's website got removed and it has taken much longer than expected to put it all back up. 

This week was great, but it was very interesting. Diane's baptism had to be pushed back again because her mother and the person baptizing her forgot to request the day of her baptism off from work, and they BOTH were going to be working then! It's now going to be on Friday evening, and we're hoping and praying that it stays!

We also were able to teach a part-member family in our branch that we've been trying to get into for months now. One of the daughters isn't a member, but she was taught most of the missionary lessons about a year ago. She was even going to be baptized! However, the stress from school, missionary lessons, and a few other sources was too much for her, so she cut herself off from the missionaries. Now, however, she's doing great and they're all willing to begin meeting with us regularly.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen.

Mineral Wells Week 13 June 5, 2017 Week Ninety-eight

Hey y'all!

I'm going to apologize in advance for this email being on the shorter side; I've been trying to work on stuff for BYU-I, and it has been a little more time consuming than I had originally assumed. This was a really good week though. We saw more miracles than I can count (not just because of the limited time), but the best of it all definitely came this last Thursday when we taught a woman named Eva. She had been found by Elder Rowley and another missionary while I was on exchange up in Graham, and she had agreed to meet with us again. We went to go teach her at the appointed time, and instead of teaching her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is usually the first lesson we teach, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was so strong! We felt prompted to invite her to be baptized, and when we did she said yes! We set a date with her for July 1st. We're hoping and praying that she'll make it, especially since many of the people that we have set baptism dates with are struggling to make it out to church. However, Elder Rowley and I know that as long as we do our part and leave the rest up to the Lord then we cannot fail.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen.

Mineral Wells Week 12 May 29, 2017 Week Ninety-seven

Hey y'all!

This morning, Elder Rowley and I found out that we're both going to be staying here in Mineral Wells, and we couldn't be happier. Our earliest Baptism was pushed back to June 10 so that more some family members could attend, and if we had been transferred that would've
meant that we couldn't see the first Baptism we had set together (or any of the others for that matter). We're super excited to see what will happen over these next six weeks.

I don't have a whole lot of time this week because of some service we did earlier today helping an older member of our Branch, but I did want to take a moment and reflect on what this next transfer means to me.

All too soon, the time has come: on Wednesday my final transfer begins. I'll have only six weeks left of being a missionary. It's been amazing to reflect over the course of the last two years and see the miracles that have occurred and the lives (starting with my own) that have changed. I've come to learn beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has a hand in this work. He loves each and every single one of us, not just in the sense that he loves us as a whole, but he loves us all as
individuals. God didn't just love the world enough to send His only Begotten Son, but he loves ASK of us that he would've done it even if it was just for me, or just for you, or just for anybody else. It's because of that love that I came out here to do what I'm doing, and it's also why I feel compelled to do my very best with my last little bit of time. Here's to finishing out strong.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 11 May 22, 2017 Week Ninety-six

Hey y'all!

This week was definitely the most uneven week of our whole time here in Mineral Wells. It wasn't bad at all; we had lots of great lessons and we think that many of the people we're teaching are progressing in their understanding of the Gospel. This week just had some...unique circumstances. Normally in our Branch we have somewhere from fifty to seventy people attending. It's a little on the small side, but in a town this size, it's a respectable congregation. Also, every single week that we've been here we had at least one nonmember at church. This week was totally different. We didn't have seventy people at church. We didn't even have fifty. We barely had thirty! As far as nonmembers at church, we had similar results- none. I guess we can't always have nine investigators at church, but yesterday was confusing, to say the least.

Another aspect of yesterday was confusing was the new investigators we found. Part of the new Standards of Excellence in our mission is to find at least three new investigators a week. We had done a lot of finding this week, but with no results whatsoever. Eventually, on Sunday night, we had just one hour left before an appointment which would be followed immediately by our curfew. We knew that there was no way that we could do this, and so we put our trust in the Lord and set to work confident that any success would come through Him. Wouldn't you know it- in that hour we found three new investigators with a lot of potential. True, we didn't set any new Baptism dates this week, but we did still see God's hand in our lives.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 10 May 15, 2017 Week Ninety-six

Hey y'all!

This was a very interesting week; I shouldn't say that as if any week as a missionary is boring, but this one was especially different. One of the things that made it so great was when Elder Larry R. Lawrence of the Seventy came to our mission and spoke to us about the gathering of the house of Israel. It was a really interesting subject to learn so much about. Typically most people wouldn't associate most of a race of people being captured and then lost to history as relevant to young adults in white shirts and ties knocking on doors all day, but listening to Elder Lawrence and his wife teach about that actually ended up making this one of my favorite meetings that I've been to as a missionary.

Another highlight of this week was when we met somebody named Jennifer. She's the next-door neighbor of a less-active family we've been working with, and one day she asked them if they could send the missionaries over to speak with her. We set up an appointment with her for Thursday in the home of her neighbors. While we spoke with her, she opened up about all the trials she's going through in her life and how she feels like she needs to make changes so that she could have God in her life again. We broached the subject of Baptism with her, and this was her reaction- "When can I get baptized?" We set a date with her for June 24th, and we can't tell who's more excited- her, or us.

Also, how could I forget to mention the fact that yesterday was Mother's day? It's one of two opportunities a year where we're able to call home, so it's basically Christmas for missionaries. Getting the chance to see my family was so awesome; I know that I can be with them forever someday, but two years is still a long time. It's crazy that I only have 58 days till I come home (I'm not counting down the days- my mom told me how long it was); a lot can happen in 58 days, but it's still going to go by WAY too fast. I just hope that I'll be able to transition well from the very structured life of an LDS missionary to the much more open life that most everyone else gets to experience.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 9 May 8, 2017 Week Ninety-five

Hey y'all!

I'm going to start off by addressing the elephant in the room: no, we did not set any new Baptism dates this week. We thought there we had several opportunities where we could, but many of our appointments canceled, leaving us with a meager seven baptism dates. ;) Who am I kidding?! While we didn't set any new dates this week we're still psyched on how much success we've been seeing. We were actually afraid that a few of these people would decide to postpone our even completely drop their baptismal date, but they all pulled through. I'm fact, the ones that we were worried about have turned out to be some of our stronger ones!

I would write more, but most of our P-day was taken up by a trip to the southern portion of our area to visit a member where we made our own scripture cases. It was a lot of miles and a lot of precious P-Day time, but it was totally and completely worth it to get a souvenir like that that I can use for not just the rest of my mission, but hopefully the rest of my life.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mineral Wells Week 8 May 1, 2017 Week Ninety-four

Hey y'all!

We had another incredibly successful week here Mineral Wells! We didn't have nine people at church this week; a measly five will have to do, right? :-) To be honest, though we were glad to have the five people that we had. Several of them were people with baptism dates, and we were able to help introduce them to many members who adopted them right into their families. Many of the people we set up some dates didn't come to church, which is sad. However, they were mostly for good reasons. One of the families lives about 45 minutes away, and they slept in until about 9:30. Considering our church starts at 10, they decided to stay home and be better prepared next week. We would've still preferred that they came even if though they were late, but at least we know that weren't just ditching us.

We also managed to set two more baptism dates this week! The first was a referral from the Laie Hawaii temple visitors center. This woman, Lucy, had requested both a Bible and a book of Mormon. We went over with a member to drop them off and talk her first lesson. The spirit was very strong, and so we felt prompted to invite her to be baptized. She said yes-even agreed to be baptized on the specific date. She's going to be baptized June 24, and we couldn't be happier.

The next person is actually the mother of someone else that we're teaching! I told y'all about Diane, the 11-year-old girl who is going to be baptized this month. Sarah is her mother and we met with her and their family yesterday over dinner. We talked about several of the Commandments, one of which is baptism. At that point, we invited her to be baptized, and she expressed some hesitancy until she learns that we weren't expecting her to be baptized immediately. She said her own date, which is a rarity amongst investigators, but she decided to be baptized July 15. We are super excited for both her and her daughter who are making great decisions in their lives at this time. She has a big smoking problem, but One of the coolest things that we as missionaries have in our arsenal is a program that helps people quit smoking just a week. It sounds really gimmicky, but I've shared it with many people on my mission, and it has worked every single time that somebody actually went through with every step. The key thing with it is the need to complete every step of it, which is completely dependent on one's desire to quit smoking. Fortunately, Sarah has that in spades!

I'm sorry it's a little short this week, but I'm feeling a little sick and I accidentally took a 2 1/2 hour nap, taking up valuable emailing time. Being sick is no fun as a missionary, but it's part of being human and there's not much we can do about it.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Jensen.