Elder/ Sister Jensen???

This week was our ward Halloween party and Sister Tucker and I dressed up like Elders and our ward thought it was pretty funny so that was good! 

Tuesday was the BEST day so far because we had Elder Bednar come and speak to us as an entire mission! It was like a questions and answer and not like a conference talk! It was really cool to see how an apostle is outside of conference and how funny Elder Bednar is! A lot of what was said was we need to be focusing on what is not said and what is heard by the spirit! Then we got to shake his hand and...LET ME TELL YOU it was kinda terrifying to shake his hand! He looked me in the eyes and I felt like he knew everything about me and it was a scary thought but a really cool feeling! 

This week we worked a lot with our investigators to do some of their family history! It was pretty fun to do! We had one lady bring her husband and they were both really interested and we were able to help her find her grandpa and she got so excited! Another girl said that the next time we meet she is going to being her sister and her fiancé so that they can know where they came from! Family history is such an awesome tool that we have to use and it really helps people come closer to their family and come closer to Christ! 

We went finding the other day and we met a guy named KP and he was really cool! We were walking and he was playing his saxophone so we just started to talk to him and he was really nice! He asked us a ton of questions and we talked to him for like an hour straight. The main thing that he wants is he proof that there is a God without using faith, so it's a weird concept to try and help him learn. At the end of us talking he told us he has asked a lot of other religions this same type of questions and they didn't answer it as gracefully as we did! I just wanted to tell him that it is because it's the truth. He is going to come to Book of Mormon class so it should be pretty interesting! 

The ward party was a lot of fun and it was so nice to meet a lot of the members! The kids were a little crazy and just wanted us to chase them but we got them under control! Sunday was pretty good because it was actually 3 hours, the past couple of weeks it has only been an hour due to hurricane cleanup! I didn't think I would miss all three hours of church but I did! We have been helping  a member set up their Halloween decorations and they have a TON of things to set up so it was nice to help them out! 

Next week p-day will be on Thursday because we are going to the temple!

A song to listen to this week is Carrie Underwood Nearer my God to Thee! It is a good, good song! 

Well I love y'all and I hope y'all have a blessed week! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen 

Big Green Tractor

This week was a week full of service and finding which was awesome! We had service projects for people in our ward, stores around Florence, and hurricane cleanup! 

We rode our bikes a lot this week, which in this cooler weather feels really nice! We have meet a lot of people from riding bikes and they all seem really cool so hopefully we start teaching a lot of them! 

We had a family history booth at the library and a lot of people were super interested and wanted to learn more, so we are meeting with them all this week! 

I guess to talk about the title of my email, when we were doing service we were pulling trees out of yards so a member brought his tractor to make the work go faster and to cause less injuries to us. After, we were walking to the church to go to our next appointment and he asked if we wanted a ride (is that even a question:)) so we jumped into the bucket and rode to the church! It was so much fun and I got to cross something of my bucket list so that was a great thing! 

I had my first real southern meal and it was so so good! He made us sweet potatoes , which I have never liked, but they were so good! I did not think I would eat that many sweet potatoes! He also made banana pudding and I had so much of that, it was great and so yummy! 

We had exchanges this week and I stayed in Florence and I learned a lot from Sister Callahan. It was super fun! Dad you'll like this, her family has a blue grass band and she plays the mandolin! 

A  good talk for this week to read is "Ask in Faith" by David Bednar! 

Well I love y'all and I hope you have a blessed week! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen 

*Photo overload to make up for last week :)

Gotta Catch Them All

This week was kind of a weird week. 

Monday, we had FHE with the bishop and his wife. There was a bon-fire and we made homemade ice cream and it was so much fun! It was a really good way to get to know and meet more people! They are doing it again this week.

On Wednesday we had lock down staring at 8pm and then went into the next day due to Hurricane Michael. When it hit us, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm so #blessing! 

During the lock down, Sister Tucker taught me how to play Pokemon and it was more fun than I thought it would be! Call it beginners luck but I won! During a lock down, if you are ever wondering, it is just a lot of sleeping, studying, coloring, eating, and game playing! Thank you Mom for all the Halloween coloring things because we had a lot of fun with those! 

After lock down we went to a lot of members houses’ and we started talking about having a “Welcome Sunday”! A “Welcome Sunday” is where we get the ward to invite their non-member friends and then we have sacrament about a topic that everyone understands and that is not too deep and we sing songs that are uplifting. During third hour we have a social type event where we all get together and mingle and the people who came have also have an opportunity to talk to others and make friends, so when they come again they will know a lot more people! It will be super dope when it happens. 

We drove to the Conway area and had interviews with our mission president and it went really good! We then stayed there with our STL's and went to a stake Women’s conference the next day. Sister Heidi Swenten (To the Rescue author) spoke! It was such a good devotional about how we need to start seeing the Heavens open and the blessing pour out upon us! After we talked to her and her husband a lot! They are so sweet! 

Sunday was good. Meetings were only an hour then we watched some of the general women's conference with a recent convert! She loved it and it was great! That same day, to save miles, we rode bikes to President Harvey's house and did a lesson with them! They are so funny! He collects Halloween decorations and then he sang to us on his karaoke machine. His wife just laughed and said he does performances all the time for her! 

This week was super good! We found out that Elder Bednar is coming and speaking to our stake so hopefully we get to go! 

A good talk to read this week is Be Meek and Lowly of Heart. 

Well I love y'all and have a blessed week! 

Love,

Sister Jensen 

Flo-Town

Well, I am officially in Florence and I love it! The area is REALLY big, it’s like one of the biggest areas in the mission! Like I said, I love it! 

It was a kinda a weird week because there was a lot of saying goodbye and a lot of new hellos! The people that I have meet so far here in Florence are really nice! Members have feed us a lot this week. I know it’s not about food but it’s also nice! 

Well, my new companion is Sister Tucker and she is SO cool! She is from Dewyville Utah and went to Utah State! We are the same year but we have none of the same friends, so that’s crazy! She is the only person so far that knows Fantastic Mr.Fox, so brownie points right there! It’s kinda crazy to see all the things we have in common! It is so amazing and I have already learned a ton from being with her! She loves random Japanese things and she is going to try and teach me Pokemon, so we will see how that goes!

We had a lesson with a recent convert B”” and she is SO amazing and loved talking about her baptism. It was really sweet! We also meet with a less active member “L” and she is so, SO cute! She has had a lot of health issues and she is just the sweetest! She loves to have people over and hear messages and her love for the gospel is amazing! We also had a lesson with a member and it went really good! 

Saturday we were up bright and early to go and help with The Church’s Helping Hands (lol I don't know what they will change the name of that to)! It was so cool and such a great experience. We were able to go help people that had been affected by the Hurricane Florence and I feel blessed just seeing how much they appreciated the work that we were able to do! We also got a lot of contacts and they want us to come back to chat so that will be a good thing! 

Then it was conference! Holy Hannah there is a lot of changes coming to the church and it will be bomb! I think that having a strong focus in the home will help families become stronger in the gospel and be more fully converted! Also, 12 new temples is pretty bomb and it’s so exciting to see the work growing! 

A fun thing was that Grandma Julie sent a box of candy from Japan so everyone in the chapel (only missionaries and Tom, a new convert) tried the candy and it was fun to see reactions on some of the food! 

I guess if you didn't have the chance to watch Women's Conference, watch it! It was really good and President Nelson had some challenges that I think we should all try and complete! I know that if we do that our conversion will be deeper! 

Well, I love y'all stay safe and have a blessed week! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen 

Transfers are among us and...

This week was just a weird week but it was also really good! This email will probably be a short one just because honestly, nothing much happened!

I guess one of the major things that is happening is that transfers are TOMORROW! Both Sister Sanders and I are leaving Orangeburg! It is becoming an all Elders area, so that’s interesting! Sister Sanders is going to Walterboro and I am going to Florence! Which is really cool because that is where Sister Sanders trained so I already have a list of people to go and see! It is weird knowing that Sister Sanders and I wont be companions any more but we will be homies for life! We have a lot of trips planned! 

Another big thing that we found out this week is that we are going to have a special mission conference on the 23rd with a GENERAL AUTHORITY!!! We don't know who yet but it is going to be fire! 

A miracle that happened is that "R" came to church this week!!!! She told us she really enjoyed it and we talked about what general conference is and she wants to watch, so hopefully she does!! 

A funny story is that we went to this ladies house and did a Bible study with her and she asked us a lot of weird questions. She also asked us what we believe and we told her. Then, while reading the Bible she pulls out all of these religion books and the Book of Mormon was there. We talked about that and she seemed really interested and we got a return appointment to read the Bible and Book of Mormon with her. So not even 2 hours later we got a text from this girl saying that she can't meet with us anymore because we are Mormon’s and she doesn't believe what we believe! Crazy. I think Sister Sanders and I set a new record for fastest person that we are teaching dropped! 

A good chapter to read this week is Matthew 5! 

Get ready for conference because it is going to be straight fire!! 

I love y'all so much and I hope y'all have a blessed week! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen