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