I figured out a place worse than Wyoming...Hell

During our district council this week, an Elder said this to a couple of other Elders from Wyoming. It was pretty funny but super savage! 

This week was pretty good! We really didn't have a lot of clean up or a lot damage done to Orangeburg from the hurricane, so that alone is a blessing! 

We spent a lot of our time finding and contacting people to try and meet with them. It is going pretty good! 

On Tuesday we went over to a members house just to visit her and while we were there she kept saying how grateful that she was that we made the trip down to see her. So, she made us dinner it was just so sweet and yummy (Chicken Sandwiches!). 

Wednesday we got a new investigator! His name is Michael Myers and he is not scary at all! The first thing I saw when I read the name is Dad scaring us with the mask, but he is just so nice! He was a Bible referral and while we were there we talked about the Book of Mormon. He enjoyed what we said and we were able to give him a copy. We have another appointment with him this week! 

On Thursday we went to a less active and part members house. When we got there, one of the first things we did was start a fire. Everyone in the South burns their trash and he asked if we wanted to help. So, I lit a giant fire and it was so much fun! They are having us back this week to teach us how to cook chicken taquitos and to get to know them better! I am super excited! 

We are planning a virtual church tour so that more people will feel comfortable coming to church; we are hoping that will be good! 

This week was overall good. If you want to read something good read the conference talk “Hope, an Anchor of the Soul” by James E. Faust.

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

Love,

Sister Jensen 

That was an experience

This week was super weird and didn't feel like real life!! Leading up to the hurricane, we were told to prepare and to stock up because our power would go out.  We were told that we would need food and we would need to fill up our bathtubs with water so we could force flush our toilets, so that was an experience. Every story that we went to was out of bread, milk, juice, eggs, water, and meat (I don't know why you would want to buy meat if your power went out but I guess I can't judge). The few days before the storm, everyone was  prepping or they went up state to avoid the rain, so they were not home. We did meet one new person though (“W”). We talked about religion, why we are serving, and gave him a Book of Mormon. When we were leaving he asked us to come back when his wife and daughters would be home so we could talk to them, so that will be dope when that happens! 

Wednesday night we got a call from our mission president asking us how we felt about staying in Orangeburg and we told him we were great and that we had a lot of members lined up who would help us if we needed it, so he said that was good and he felt good about it too. Thursday afternoon we got another call from him saying that he felt like it would be best if we evacuated and went and stayed in Columbia during lockdown, so we packed in two hours and went to Columbia! President Innes also told us that he had gotten a call from Elder Stevenson saying the first presidency prayed for us in the temple! HOW COOL IS THAT!!!! While we were on lockdown we had to stay inside and it was really boring. We tried contacting people but most of our days were spent eating, sleeping, playing games, and studying! It was honestly terrible because you just stop feeling like a missionary, so we are so glad to be back and working to share this amazing gospel! 

I am so glad that the hurricane did not hit us as hard as they thought but I am saddened to hear all of the damage that it cause to North Carolina. Please keep them in y'alls prayer still! 

A good read for the week is Alma 34 and also Elder Uchtdorf's talk “Point of Safe Return”. 

Well, I love y'all and I hope y'alls week is blessed!

Love, 

Sister Jensen

My name is Melvin but my friends call me Stud

Melvin is an older guy at the flea market who just talks and talks to us. He says that we are some of the nicest people he knows and he can tell we care about him (which is true!).

This week was super good! We had the traveling sisters (travel around and train other sisters on new things that our mission president is trying out) with us for two days. It was a lot to learn and work on but super fun!

We are teaching two new people and one super promising guy. 

We found a girl named “E” who is in high school and she is just the sweetest thing. The only issue is that we need to get parent permission because she is 17, but hopefully they will say yes! 

The other person we met is “P”! She is a nurse and super cool. She was talking about how heaven is for real and she said how she felt the spirit and knew it was real. I told her to watch “The Cokeville Miracle” if she wanted to really feel the spirit strong. She loved the Book of Mormon and said she wants to learn more, so score! 

We met another super promising guy named "D" who totally dadded us but was really interested. We have questions we ask people when we are at the flea market and then we talk about the question they like so we did that with him. We introduced the Book of Mormon and read about Alma and Amulek and the people in the fire (super intense story to share). He said he liked the story and could relate to it! So he accepted the Book of Mormon and wanted to take us to lunch to talk more. We got a text later that night about how he answered the questions and how he has a lot more questions now and how he is excited to meet with us. He then told us neighborhoods we should avoid and he is just super nice!

We had zone conference this week and it was super cool and really spiritual! We talked a lot about aligning preisthood keys and how we can help the alignment and I learned a lot more about preisthood. 

I guess I'll talk about hurricane Florence. Right now we are far enough inland that we shouldn't be affected by it. It should hit Thursday and then we will be on lockdown. We are safe and nothing bad is happening. The areas that will be hit more harshly are being evacuated and we might get more sisters with us. If we need to evacuate we will go to Columbia. We are prepared and ready for whatever happens! 

A good read this week would be the Saint’s book! I haven't finished all of it but what I have read of it is super good!

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

Love, 

Sister Jensen 

Are you on this list?

At the flea market a Baptist preacher had this sign that had a list of things that are sins (liar, shed innocent blood, and so on) then on the bottom of the sign it said, “God isn't happy with you”. He was one super intense guy but he had free cold soda so we got some :)

This week was another slow week but that's okay! We had a lot of our teaching appointments fall through again but, on the bright side, all of the ones with members didn't so we are getting super close to them and it's so much fun! While we were leaving a members house their super cute little boy started to cry and went up to his mom and said, “Mom, I don't want the sisters to leave!”. It was so cute! Also, during the entire lesson he wanted me to put his hair in a side ponytail, so that was fun.

Everyday we go finding like crazy and it's been going pretty well. We have meet a lot of less active members and they all are super willing to have us back, so hopefully that will be good! 

I am on my phone writing this because the library was closed for Labor Day, so this is a bit shorter than usual but it was a slow week, so it’s all good. 

A good read this week is Ammon and King Lamoni! It shows how service and love can soften hearts! 

Well, I love y'all and hope your week is blessed!

Love,

Sister Jensen 

I'm gonna to fart on you.

While we were at a members house her little 3 year old son came up to us and said that he was gonna fart on us. He never did so I am grateful for that! He did take my phone and took some lovely photos of himself! 

This week was really weird! We had so many appointments set up and almost all of them fell through. I was pretty mad! I had saw what these people had felt and I saw them understand what we had taught, but then they just didn’t show up or even send us a text. I just sit there and I feel myself get all salty but we don't stop trying because they will have that “Wow” moment and we will be there to see it! 

Last Monday we had a lesson with our new investigator “L” She is so cool! She just wants peace and we told her about how the Book of Mormon can bring that peace that she is looking for and she is ready for it! A crazy miracle that happened while we were trying to get to her house, our app called Area Book shut down on every missionaries phone. This app is super important and it has everyone's address, phone number, our calendar, so pretty much everything we need to function as a missionary! We knew that she lived in Branchville, so we drove there. When we got there we started saying I think its this way and I think its that way but we realized that we were not getting anywhere. So we pulled over and said a prayer and started to drive. We ended up at this road and Sister Sanders started to turn and I kinda yelled at her to go straight and right after I did that I apologized for being rude, but “L’s” house was the last house on this road. She was sitting on her porch, waiting for us! It was the COOLEST thing that has happened on my mission, so far! 

We also have a new investigator named “DeA”! We found him when we knocked on who we thought was a member of our ward’s door but they had moved. He is so chill and just a quite, reserved guy. We went over and taught him about the restoration and he understood the Great Apostasy and why there are so many different churches. It was really, really cool! He also said he will be coming to church on Sunday and wanted to have our next lesson at the church, so that is another cool thing!

The flea market is a weekly thing and it is so cool! We have met some great people and people seem to love to come and ask us questions! We have questions that people have asked that the Book of Mormon can answer on a poster and I had one lady come and she asked me a question. I went to grab the Book of Mormon and she said no she wanted to know what I knew. So, I answered the questions with my testimony and with what the scriptures say but in my own way. She said that what I was saying was true and that she was just there to test me. Super weird but, hey I passed! We also had a ton of people ask us about the soap and butter in Blacksville, made by us “Mormons”. We think they were thinking Amish, but we really don't know! 

Sunday I gave a talk in church about myself, which was an odd topic, but nevertheless I cried like a baby. I don't know why but as soon as I get up to the pulpit I just get super emotional so it’s so much fun (not). 

A good read for the week is a conference talk called Yellow Canaries with Gray on their wings by President Monson in the olden days! One of my favs! 

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

Love, 

Sister Jensen  

 Matching shirts from South Carolina State University 

 Matching nightgowns that Sister Sanders' Mom sent :)

 They seriously make me giggle with their photos!!!

Exchanges and Transfers

This week seemed to fly by. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much! Friday we went over to the bishop’s house and we did a new thing called “Member Madness- a Bracket That's Sure to Win”. It is just a new way to get members more involved and super excited about ministering and about being a member missionary! It went so well. We watched “The music of the Gospel” and the video is such a good one! I highly recommend watching and seeing what ways you can work on the dance steps! The bishop fed us and it was so good! Butterbeans are really weird and I don't know if I like them but the broccoli salad was so so good! I even ate mashed potatoes, so see Dad, I don't have a disorder. 

We had exchanges. This is where Sister Sanders and I split up for 24 hours and go with a Sister Training Leader. We just learn new ways to progress the work in Orangeburg and find new ways that we can find more people to teach! I stayed in Orangeburg with Sister Lowe and had to drive. The car has Tiwi. It is a little car thing that informs you when you are speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, stop to fast, and things like that. So it was hard but I managed to get through! Sister Lowe and I went finding and found an abandoned train station. It was so cool that we decided to take pictures by it! We even saw a hawk by the side of the road it was so cool! We had a miracle happen too! We found a new investigator and he seems like a super nice guy! His name is “T” and he has had a lot of trials of his faith but he has seen how his faith has grown when he is relying on the Lord. So we introduced the Book of Mormon and shared Alma 32 ( such a classic chapter), we related it to him! He liked it and kept the Book of Mormon and we are starting to teach him! 

We have been getting a lot of Book of Mormon and Bible referrals and I know that it is the Lord helping us to find the people who are more ready to hear what we have to teach! We did the flea market again and focused again on family history! So many people that we meet used to come to church so we kept inviting them but no one has came yet. That’s okay though, we are planting seeds! We also talk to a lot of Jehovah Witnesses'. I have a goal to start teaching them. 

On Saturday we discovered what the prophet said about the term "Mormon" and "LDS" and I think that is so cool! It will be a big change but we do need to remember what our church is focused on and that is Jesus Christ! 

Transfer calls were today and this tells you if you are leaving the area you have been in and where you will be going! I didn't get a call so another 6 weeks in Orangeburg and I am excited! There is so much that we can do to change this area and make it the best! Our elders are getting white washed out so on Thursday we will get 2 new elders who are not familiar with Orangeburg. It should be fun! 

We explored South Carolina State University and went to a museum about a massacre that happened and then we just walked around! It is an old but really pretty campus but nothing beats USU campus! 

A good read for the week is in Mosiah. It’s the story of Abinadi. He has the best testimony and he was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in! His faith is so strong and it is so cool to read! Well, I love y'all and have a blessed week! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen 

Women do not get our figures from bread and water alone

This week was so good! We were only without our car for half of the week! It is so nice to have it back because there are so many random 10 minute storms that come out of no where, so it is nice to have that constant protection and the ac in this heat and humidity is a real plus! 

We had interviews on Tuesday. Sister Sanders and I went last and after we were finished, they took us out to lunch! I love President and sister Innes!

The Thompson’s fed us again and it felt like a Sunday dinner at home!!! I am so super grateful that I could have that feeling on my mission!

WE GOT A NEW INVESTIGATOR!!!! She is the coolest person ever! (Y) is so prepared and so ready to hear the gospel and see the blessings that it can bring in her life! We found her from a Bible and Book of Mormon referral! She said she ordered both of the books because she knew it was time to grow closer to God!! How stinkin' cool is that?! She also wants her sons to grow closer to God so hopefully we can teach the whole family! 

We taught E again using Facebook video call and it is so cool to see him want to grow closer to our Heavenly Father! I hope he knows and feels that what we are teaching is true! He started reading the Book of Mormon on his phone but the font was too small so we had to teach him how to make it bigger. That was a fun conversation! This week we had like 4 other Book of Mormon and Bible referrals so the work is moving along here in the big O! 

We did some service at the soup kitchen this week and gave out a Book of Mormon to a kid from Portland Oregon! Hopefully the other missionaries there can find him since he was only visiting!

We  also had a relief society activity this week. We learned how to make bread and all sorts of jam! One of the sisters said that we women do not get our figures from bread and water alone. It was a really cool activity and members brought some non-members and they want to come back, so that will be super cool! 

Saturday we went to the flea market and we did a family history and lemonade booth. Everyone was super into it and hopefully they call us for any problems they may run into! 

Can I talk about Belmont for a minute. It is a brand of ice cream here and it is the best ice cream I have ever had! Peanut Butter S’mores is so so good! 

We went over to Brother and Sisters Blacks and they are just the cutest old couple ever! They have a dog named Diggity after the Mickey Mouse Club House song... this dog is so cute! They just sit around and do family history together so they helped us get started and they know a lot so hopefully I can continue to find people and add them to my tree! 

My challenge of the week is to have everyone fill out a 4 generation chart and add it to family search! 

Well, I love y'all so much and I hope y'all have blessed weeks! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen  

Same ol' Bailee with the silly faces (seems like she has met her match lol)

A week of walking

Well this week seemed super slow just because we walked everywhere! Our car was supposed to be done on Friday but it wasn’t and now they say it will not be ready until this Friday, so pray for us! Walking makes it so much easier to not have much energy by the end of the day, so major props to all the missionaries who do that!

I guess I'll start off by saying the things I've learned from a week (so far) of being a missionary that needs to walk everywhere.  

1-Everyone one in the South will wave to you as you walk past or honk at you. 

2-People who are already outside will ask if you have water to make sure you that you don't die in the humidity while you are walking. 

3-People will cat call at us and I don’t like it, AT ALL. It's actually pretty gross! 

4-On Sunday, you can tell who is driving to church because they are dressed super fancy and all the ladies are wearing big hats! It is pretty cool to see! 

5-Just like in Utah, there are not a lot of people on the roads on Sunday, so it's a lot safer to walk. South Carolina doesn't have sidewalks so it's just us walking in grass or on the road.

This week we have 2 new people we are teaching! One (S) is the sweetest old lady who just serves everyone she meets! We normally teach her out on her porch and it's so fun! 

Then we still have E. We are doing Facebook video call lessons with him and he is super open to hearing what we have to teach. He just wants to continue to have the happy feeling that he feels when he talks to us. I love that! We also received two Bible and one Book of Mormon referrals. The people seem super cool and I cannot wait to meet them! 

We went over to a member house and they let us teach them a lesson. And…they fed us! The food was so good and I ate like a teenage boy because it was so delicious! 

The Lord will magnify anything you do and make it ten times better than what you could've imagined it to be!

A good read for this week is 2 Nephi 27. It is probably my favorite chapter so far in the book of Mormon! 

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

Love,

Sister Jensen 

Magic Eye books are the worst!

This week was really good! We saw a lot of success and also saw how the efforts of our hard work has been paying off! 

We had a zone conference and there was a lot of talk about setting goals and planning and it really helped us to make better goals and also showed us how we can better plan those goals out. 

We found out that we get to use the gym in our apartment complex, so I'm pretty pumped about that. 

I was so excited! I wanted to have some good ol’ homemade banana pudding and we finally got some. It was so yummy and didn’t disappoint. 

We have been able to do a lot of service for Cathi. She is getting ready to move so we helped her pack and…she gave us food! It was so SO good! She also gave us a Magic Eye book and I can't see any of the pictures in it, so that’s cool. 

We are having a hard time getting in contact with S & S this week but I'm not giving up on them. They know how special the spirit and baptism are and I know that we can teach them so much more. I was able to meet Miss F for the first time. She has amnesia and you can see that it's hard for her to remember, but we have an appointment with her this week and I am looking forward to it. 

We have a new investigator (E). He was a Bible referral from a long time ago (Bible and Book of Mormon referrals are people who go online and order a free copy from mormon.org. We deliver and talk to them and hopefully get someone interested in learning more out of it!). We went and visited with him and told him about the Book of Mormon. We told him how it can bring you peace and how it helps you grow closer to God. He said that's something that he wants and accepted the Book of Mormon. We have a meeting with him and  I am excited to see how how it all plays out! 

We were able to watch some training videos on how to use technology and social media properly and it has us SO excited! 

We left a card at a house and we actually received a call back (which is crazy because that never happens). When we tried to set up an appointment with him, he kept talking about how he was really busy so we set up a time to do a Facebook lesson with him. We are excited to see how that is! 

The rain in South Carolina is SO crazy and can also be really scary! We had to pull over during a storm this week and the street started to flood! It was not a fun experience at all and then we had to drive home. It was hard because we could not see a thing! Although, I think that driving in the car is better than having to walk, which is something we are experiencing this week because our car is in the shop. 

A new favorite character in the book of Mormon is Nephi’s wife! Y'all can try and figure out why she's my fav! 

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

Love 

Sister Jensen 

Preachers and Flea Markets

This week was so insanely busy but that just means that the work is moving along and hopefully (fingers crossed) we find more people to teach! 

We had a district meeting and I was able to meet my district for the first time. It was weird and I found that when you put us all together you just get a room full of awkward and it’s so great! I love being a missionary! 

We went to a farmers market. It was about the length of a street but there were a lot of fresh produce and a lot of nice people so I think that it was a success! 

We meet this girl who was just leaving but she said we were welcomed back whenever which is another super cool thing! 

We have a mother and son investigators (S & S) we were able to give them a tour of the church. We went into the baptismal font to show them and they just thought it was the prettiest thing ever! I loved seeing the spirit working through them! The mom turned to her son and said one day we will meet there! How amazing is that! I can't wait for the day they are baptized! 

We met with a member, Sister Mixon, and she asked us to come and help her plant flowers in the fall! I miss planting flowers so I am a happy child! 

I have noticed that in the South a lot of people have no trespassing signs and beware of dog signs and they mean it! Some dogs are super scary! We were almost chased by like 5 dogs so it was super duper fun! We had one person open the door and then kept saying no, no, no and then shut the door so that was super fun too! 

Being a missionary is honestly the best! 

We went to the flea market on Saturday. A “preacher" (everyone in the South say that they are a preacher) stopped by and "preached" to us for 30 minutes. It was the most intense and scary thing in the world! I would not like to be taught by a preacher! A Lot of people took pamphlets and were super interested so we are hoping that if we keep going we will be able to find more and more people to teach! 

Sunday was great and sacrament meeting was so good! I said the closing prayer.

Today we played frisbee golf at the most confusing course in the world with frisbees from the dollar store! It was a ton of fun! I love being out here and feeling the changes that are happening with me! 

If you want a good read this week read in Alma 20 or Mathew 8! 

Well, I love y'all and remember to always be happy!

Love,

Sister Jensen 

Porter Rockwell by Nashville Tribute band is our fav song so thats why it's written on our feet!

At the Flea Market