One Year!

No worries, I figured so I went to the office on Saturday and picked it up, the blondies are super yummy so thank you for that :) Also thank you for the paper, envelopes, contacts, and ties!! You might say those are ugly but I've already worn one for church yesterday :))

Anyway it was a good week! We had a mission conference on Wednesday which was super good and spent the rest of the week trying to find new people to teach, we are teaching the mom and dad of a recent convert (the son was baptized a month before I arrived he is dating a girl in the ward) and they are set to get baptized this week, the ward LOVES them...so we're super DUPER stoked for that. The sisters and other Elders in the ward both baptized someone on Saturday so this ward will be baptizing 4 people in 2 week, which is more than they have had in a while! Rather than that just same old same old...contacting a lot of people and trying to sort out who has interest and who doesn't. Missionary work here is way different than in the city but hey there's no growth in comfort and no comfort in growth right?! :) Anyway that's a summary of our week! I'm glad you all had a great week! That sounds like a relaxing vacation!

As far as 9/11 goes, I remember bits and pieces. I remember watching the news and seeing the towers go down but I didn't understand what it meant or what really happened. It was sad but I really am glad I grew up with that experience because I always felt a close connection to the country...not that it wasn't close before but I feel like after that happened the country came together a lot, because we were all sad.

Rather than that I am really good mommy. I cannot believe how fast time has flown, it seems like just yesterday I hugged you all to get on the plane! It's been a while, but it is so so very worth it. I look back and see how much I have changed and it makes me feel good, because not only do I get the opportunity to help so many others, I change as it happens. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store. Thank you so much for everything you do for me mommy, I love you lots!! One year down one to go!!! Love you lots :)

Elder Jensen

Service with the zone!

In Which Elder Jensen Must Hide from a Dog...

Sorry I completely forgot to tell you but usually we take Holidays to work and do P-day on Tuesday! Also as far as everything else goes, yes I am good!! My wallet is small but I've got my drivers license, driving card, debit card, my mission debit card, and missionary health card (ps I'm good with insurance the missionary medical is pretty great $10 for prescription, visit, or anything medical related but I lost my personal healthcare card, the blue cross blue shield one just a fyi) so anyways I am set :) Also the Wells Fargo card will be coming right to our apartment so no worries. As far as the package goes, will you be sending it here to the apartment or to the mission office? If it's at the apartment I can get it on Friday, mission office possibly the next Monday. Just let me know :)

Everything is pretty great we had a good week! So I'm actually in the Houston South Zone now (we just teamed up with Richmond for zone conference)! Haha yeah so this new area has Sugarland and Missouri City which is pretty urban, but there's this little town called Fresno near where we live and it's basically like Rupert. Everyone has these huge attack dogs so I got chased by one last week but I'm all good, only damage was to my pride (I had to hide on top of the car). It's hard this area has never had a ton of success but we're not losing faith, we're super excited to get to work :) Zone conference was awesome! So zone conferences happen 4 times a year and it's a chance for President to train us all at the same time, so we normally don't do much...we just did a little 45 minute section and he taught us the rest of the time. Also the senior missionaries here mostly work in the office and help us with cars, apartments, secretary stuff for President, finances, etc. Then in my last zone we had a senior missionary couple actually working out in the field. They do the same thing but don't have a set schedule like us, also they can listen to music and watch tv, ect :) They are all great though, we love them!

That's awesome though glad you guys had a great week, and I'm super happy that you get to go to general conference!! Wow that is so great. I can't wait for general conference :) Thanks so much for everything momma, love you lots!! You are the best mother in the entire world and I am so grateful for everything you have done for me and continue to do for me. love you lots!!!

Elder Jensen

The missionaries help at a food bank and score BIG TIME on the girl scout cookies!!

The News From the New Zone

Hey no worries, we actually emailed a little earlier today and I just barely saw your email!

As such I don't have a ton of time but I'll try to answer everything! The apartment is super nice haha, even nicer than my last one. It's a good place. Elder Seal is awesome, we get along really well and we both have pretty high expectation for this transfer, we want the zone to do really good. That's awesome that you talked to his mom though! Yeah we both arrived in Texas together and we'll hit the year mark here in the next two weeks :) Also yes that is a tradition but to be honest we'll probably forget the day it happens haha, I haven't burned anything yet! Also no nothing in specific I'm doing good on everything, just new contacts and a new debit card :/ yes it is official it's gone. I still have hope it'll show up, I looked through our whole apartment and car but no luck. Elder Smith said he'd keep an eye out for it. If you could cancel that card for me that would be great. Also I have a photocopy of my license but I'll probably need a new license here soon...is that possible to obtain? Sorry that it's such a pain...:/ Anyways other questions, of course you can send videos! I have no idea how to, but if you can send them I should be able to watch them :) That's awesome though thank you for all the pictures, I emailed kate a minute ago. I am doing well, a lot of great things are going to happen this transfer I know it! I love you lots Mommy thanks for everything! Love you!!!!

Elder Jensen

Transferred to Missouri City!

First off yes I am all good! It's been raining a ton and we got soaking wet yesterday but no flooding yet so we are in the clear :) Everything went well this week, we talked to a lot of people and found some new people. Adrian is progressing super well he'll get baptized either this week or next butttttt I actually won't be there to see him anymore. I'm getting transferred!! So we found out this morning that I am leaving Houston 8 and headed down to Missouri City! I will be companions with Elder Seal, one of the Elders that came out with me. I am super excited, though Houston 8 is the bomb I have been here since February so I was actually expecting a change. I am super excited though, it will be a great time in a new place. Nothing much more to report I don't know much about the area expect the zone is HUGE! It's the 2nd largest in the mission, it covers half of Sugarland, Rosenburg, Brazos, Missouri City, and Sienna Plantation. It's a new adventure and I am super stoked :)  It's great though, pure countryside no buildings, no people, perfect place, I am super excited :) Also yes we were on a temple trip with the youth, because Leiry went to do baptisms! We get to go pretty often in this ward, not sure about my new ward :) Also the pants are AWESOME. I love them, they are comfortable and do really well when it's hot and rainy (perfect for Texas!) Really I am so excited, this area has been a great growth area and I am excited to take all that I have learned into this new place, more news to come!! I love the quote you send me thank you so much mommy :) I hope all is well, I love you and miss you lots!

Love,

Elder Jensen

At a temple trip with Houston 8

Where else would Elder Jensen be except posing dramatically across the fountain

from his companion?

Elder Jensen is Super Good...

I am super good!! It is hot and humid here but I have adjusted so it's alright :) We're almost through the worst, less than a month and it should finally start to cool down, I've almost made it through my first summer! This week was good! We received a text from a member and when we went to go see this referral we found this AWESOME Cuban guy named Adrian. He came to church and has a baptismal date for a few weeks out! We also found this cool Honduran guy sitting outside the church, Levy came to church for the first time in a few weeks, and a recent convert from Houston 2 came to church with her non-member daughters!! So those are pretty much the people we're working with right now :) Aw I'm glad Carlos got me a sweet birthday present, did you see it?! Anyways to answer your other questions, not much is different!! A majority of our morning are taken up with District Councils, meetings with other missionaries, etc. Also we do an exchange or two every week so we split up a lot but overall it's the same old same old on Sunday nights we just get numbers from all the District Leaders and send those numbers into President to report on how the week went. Last of all, scripture study!! I read sequentially for like 15 verses study them really well, then study out of PMG for like 20 minutes-ish, then either study by topic, or more often or not for our investigators (maybe could be your kids for this section) from the scriptures, ensign articles, etc. That to me is the most effective because I study what we are going to be doing that day so that I can be prepared to apply it! (Same way I try and do Spanish study as well, day by day 1% improvements). That's how we do it!!

Anyway I'm super glad that you are all doing well, love to hear stories of the family and love to hear that the summer Olympics are still in full-swing in the Jensen house. Super bummed that I can' t watch them but the 2020 Olympics I will watch for sure :) Love to hear you guys are all doing well, I love you all so much!!! Thanks for everything! Love you mommy :)

 A friend on a mini-mission with Elder Jensen's trio

He finally got eggs and oil to make the cake mix Kate insisted we send him for his birthday!!

Another Week in Houston

How are you?! I am super duper good!! My birthday was great, I loved it! :) Yes thank you for both packages! Believe it or not we actually did not have eggs or oil but we are getting them today so HOORAY!! Thank you so much for the ties, love them so much!! Haven't got to use the gift card yet but it's Chipotle and Jamba Juice so I was super stoked to get those :) Thank you thank you thank you!!! Yeah sorry, as it turns out there were actually people that did in my ward and because they're all there at mutual it was possible but I had to leave my area with a different companion to do a baptismal interview :( good news though is she passed and was baptized on Saturday so that was great :) Sorry, you will get a picture super soon I promise! My week was great we saw a lot of people and how found a good handful of super cool investigators, nothing to report on yet but everyone is doing well :) We had MLC this week and it was all about faith which was great, we got to do a blitz on Saturday which is when the whole zone meets somewhere and we go outside and go crazy in one area to try and find new investigators for companionship's that are struggling so that was fun! Then on Sunday we got to teach the missionary prep class which was super fun :) It was weird because there was only like 15 kids (compared to the 30/40 in my class) but still super duper great. Great week lots of fun stuff :) We actually are not teaching that class right now, we're on a break because the place had enough volunteers but it's almost all the same group of kids just the 7th graders started 8th grade and we got some 5th graders that moved up to our classes. That's pretty much all that went on :) I'm glad you guys had a great week. Thank you for everything mommy I love you lots!! Your letter was exactly what I needed and I loved the talk on hard things because it is SO TRUE!! Love you mom, thank you for being the best mother in the world. Love you!!

Elder Jensen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER JENSEN!!

My week was so good :) Texas is still hot and humid but also still the best state ever, second only to arizona :)  Awesome thank you so much!! We'll be back at the office on Friday so no worries I can pick up the package now, thank you you are the best!! :) Also as far as pants, I love the dockers ones! Are there any other types that are more breathable? It get hot here haha. Honestly  though the dockers ones are good! I am still good with 34/36, I still fit pretty well into all my pants. Surprisingly (; Also, I am actually doing decently well on shirts, I take care of them! Maybe 1-2 new short sleeve ones from stafford but I really am okay on those :) ALSO THAT'S AWESOME!!! That is a really neat story about FamilySearch, you were destined to be a member of the church :) Wow though that is so great! It's neat to know I have pioneer history on both sides of my family tree!! Wow, that is so so cool!!! The whole Jensen thing too! Wow, yeah so we are invited to get our converts to the temple within one month because people that start family history and go to the temple within that time are almost guaranteed to stay in the church, so that is a large focus for us! We even have an hour to do every week and though we don't have loads of time, it's been neat to get to work on that! Wow that is so awesome mom, you are the greatest :) Thank you for being the greatest mother in the world, I love you so much!! I have been reflecting a lot this week. Literally one year ago today I was in Africa, that seemed like yesterday!!! I have been reflecting a lot in how much I have changed in the past year. I look at who I was then, and who I am now and am so happy and surprised. On my mission I have found my true potential mommy. 100% the gospel is true and it changes lives. I have gone from somebody without control to a priesthood holder who knows who he is and what he wants to do. I stand by the phrase I read about everyday in PMG, true doctrine, understood changes behavior faster than the study of behavior changes behavior. When we understand true doctrine, lives changes. I love my mission mommy, this is the best experience I have ever had. 19 years later I am so so so grateful to the wonderful example that I have to look to. It's been really interesting, every time I teach an investigator I think about you, the potential that they have to become strong members of the church who have children who eventually serve missions. That has been the secret to the work in this area, once we see their potential, we work harder to help them gain that conversion experience. Thank you so much for all you have done for me mom, I love you so much! Thank you so being a great example to me, I love you!!!!!

Elder Jensen

In Which Elder Jensen Accidentally Drinks Iced Tea... Oops.

Wow that looks so fun! I'm so glad that you guys had a good week in SC, can't wait to go visit next October :) Thank you also for your thought on work, I have found that to be so true. We have no success as missionaries until we get off our knees and do something about it. I know that to be true. Send everyone my love! This week was good. To answer your questions first, the week was good! We didn't do any service but did have a big meeting with all the District Leaders and we have started round 2 of working with the refugee kids from the school, we're starting with helping in their summer program. Rather than that it was a week focused on finding new people to teach which is always a blast!! Knocked lots of doors and we talked to ALOT of people. Elder Newby is doing well! He is such a great missionary, so proud of him :) Elder Smith is good, they both work really hard so that is awesome. The H-'s are good! We had a mini birthday party for Elder Newby which was fun. Accidentally drank the iced tea that a neighbor brought over which was a bummer BUT made up for it because she really loved the lesson we shared :) Sad part is, never had tried tea in my life before coming on my mission and this is now the second time I've had it on accident...oops haha. OH we also went to the Temple with A- this week which was AWESOME. Anyway, I am good, kind of an unexciting week but we are working hard and doing good. I've adjusted 100% to missionary life so now it's just a roller coaster that only goes up :) now I'm more concerned about getting un-adjusted to missionary life in a little over a year! I love being a missionary it is the BEST. I love and miss you guys so much, thank you for all that you do for me mommy, I love you lots. You're the best!!!

Love you!!
Elder Jensen

Hey dad-

Thanks for the ideas!! I will work to apply those ideas, we're super excited. I think the list of questions is good because it's something we haven't really tried! We've done a lot of creative contacting and talked to so many people and we're stoked to keep doing it!! Elder Newby has a plan to wake up every morning and yell "LETS BAPTIZE" and thus far it has been successful we are so stoked to get out and work as hard as we can :) We've found a lot of cool people. I have such a testimony of following the Spirit. I know now when it's with me and when it's not. IT IS AWESOME. The Spirit is great, it makes my mission feel like a roller-coaster that only goes up! I feel like I am now 100% adjusted to missionary life. I feel really good about everything and I am loving life :) Love you lots Dad!! Thank you for the great example you are to me. I am so grateful to have had such a great example of a great priesthood holder in my life, thank you for all you do, love you Dad!

Elder Jensen

 Post Planning Party

 At the Temple with A

The beautiful Houston Temple

Hey Mom!

Wow it sounds like you guys had an awesome week! I had no idea you all were headed to SC, that is so great. My favorite place in the world by far :) Please say hi to the family for me!! Tell Nonny and Lee and Aunt Sisi and Chris and Adelyne that I miss them a lot. I'm sure that it was a nice chance to relax and enjoy the great SC summer (totally understand how hot it is over there!) but really I'm so happy that you guys are having a great time. Also that is so great that you got to go to church in SC, sounds like it was an awesome program. We had a missionary come back in our ward and it was a super cool experience :)

Our week was good!! Tuesday we did more service, Wednesday we picked up Elder Newby, Thursday more service, Friday we had District Meeting, and Saturday we had more service. Another great week of tearing houses down and teaching people about Christ! Saturday was super cool, the operation we volunteer through is a 700 club christian organization called Operation Blessing and on Saturday the goal was to rebuild as opposed to tear down so we rebuilt this families house, made it all pretty, then did this cool house reveal where we all surprised them!! Super special feeling, loved it :) Other than that no super exciting things happened. We don't have a lot of people to teach so we knocked a lot of doors yesterday and have some awesome potentials that were working with. I think the coolest thing happened on Sunday. We went to the H- (Leiry, and all the little kids that were baptized) house and had dinner with them (thus the pictures!) and it was so neat to see because this Sunday we walked in and all the kids were playing together they were all singing "I love to see the temple" while C (the mom) and A (the aunt) were cooking together and laughing it was so cool!!! The gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless families. We know that we can live together forever and ever and that makes our lives here on earth worth it. I love being a missionary. I love and miss you guys so much!! Please tell everybody I love them lots! Miss you guys!!

Love, 

Elder Jensen

 Last Day Elder Jensen and Elder Smith get to spend with Elder Sharp

 Zone Service- bonus points if you can find Elder Jensen!

Elder "Happy Dragon"

Hey Mom!

I am super duper good :) Yes we actually do have P-day today. Normally we don't
but because transfers are this week we kept the week normal and will actually
not have to go home early, we'll stay out until the regular time. Anyway biggest
news, transfers came! I and Elder Smith are staying and Elder Sharp is going
home :( BUT the good news!!! We're getting another missionary (this is my fifth
trio, basically a professional at them now) and guess who it is?! Remember my
trainee? Elder Newby? HE'S COMING BACK!! He, Elder Smith, and I will be in
Houston 8 this transfer and I am SO excited, he is really one of my favorite
missionaries. Anyway so that was super exciting :)

This week was really good. We had P-Day and went to Cheesecake Factory with the
Assistants (sorry about the $$ I promise that was just a one time thing) because
it was Elder Sharp and Elder Fails (my trainers) last full pday!! It was fun the
assistants are really great, and they live in our apartment complex!! So we
always have a good time :) Then on Tuesday we had an exchange with the other
Elder Jensen in the zone and I went English missionary for a day, which was fun.
Then Wednesday we had service again, always fun!! Then Thursday we had district
meeting, and Friday we had a mission conference!! It was all about tenacity and
becoming more tenacious missionaries, I got called unto repentance a lot but it
was totally worth it, GREAT conference I learned a lot :) Then on Friday we had
an exchange with the VIETNAMESE elders in our zone!! SO much fun, it's crazy how
different they have to work. Lots of OYMing ("Open Your Mouth") people on the
street and asking where Vietnamese people live. I even got a new Vietnamese name
(because English names don't work so all elders have to receive a new name based
on their personality) so I am now ELDER PHUC LONG (pronouced foop-lawm) which
means happy dragon (or coincidentally gospel dragon as well) which I think is
super sick :) AND I got to teach English class so they all call me that now!
That was our week, Saturday was just exchanging back and then doing 4 baptismal
interviews. Sunday was the best day ever, 4 people got baptized!!! That super
cool investigator Amilcar and Leirys brother and sister and cousin. It was an
amazing service and lots of people from the ward showed up. It made it a great
service!! Then after that, the sister spanish ward in the stake had a play about
missionary work so we went and watched 7 missionaries from our zone preform in
that. Overall it was a GREAT week, I am on top of the world and so excited to
see what we do next transfer! I expect good things to come :)

Thank you so much for everything you do mother, that email gave me a lot of
animo (cant remember what that means in English can you google translate that
lol?) I think it's like inspirations. That made me feel like a much better
person. Thank you for always looking for the good in me, all of those skills are
things I am still trying to improve on! The last one especially...I have felt
the spirit so much as I teach, I honestly feel that I teach with more power and
always know EXACTLY what I need to say and do, the power of the Spirit is real,
I know that more than ever now. I love repenting everyday and being worthy to
have the constant companionship of the Spirit. Thank you for all you do for me
mother, you are the best example to me. You taught me to always love, never
judge, and how to always listen. I know that you taught me every point on that
list. Dad helped too, he taught me that and how to be a leader and work hard
until the job is done. Between the two of you, I learned everything I know!!
Thank you for your wonderful example. I love you a lot mommy. You and Dad
inspire me and our family makes every second out here worth it. I love this
work, I KNOW that this church is true and that this is what I need to do right
now in my life. I miss you all, love you lots!!!


Elder Jensen

 #BestZoneDoesService

 Houston 8th Ward Missionary Squad

A family they love being baptized!

Just a Quick Note

Just a quick note today...

Hey mama!

I'm doing well, my week was super good!! Same thing as last week haha, our zone had a combined total of 486 service hours, everyone was working hard! Then on our off days wednesday we had zone meeting together which is always a blast and on Friday picked up an elder who just had surgery and took him with us for the day. Rather than that it was a pretty normal week, lots of service and a lot of teaching in the nighttime :) Also, there was a change in the MTC so like 2 transfers ago we had a 7 week transfer, which moved everything back by a week so originally we did have transfers this week, but they were pushed back so the transfers will be next wednesday! No word on any changes yet, most likely scenario is that I stay with Elder Smith. But we'll know for sure on Monday! Also to answer your question, p days are pretty normal around here, we just email shop and then go play basketball or volleyball or something like that. It's our day to just chill and not be stressed or busy :)

 Elder Jensen's "Richmond Family"!

Elder Jensen gets to wear the "yellow shirt" :)

Hey first of all thank you thank you for your letters!!!! You're the best :) Aw wow that's crazy!!! Can't believe it's that hot, we've hit  104 a few times this week but it's still pretty nice. I'm glad you had a great week, Girls camp sounds like a blast!!! I'm so proud of you, that sounds like the best experience ever. You're the best :) also, that's a great question! So the best way to OYM ("open your mouth") is to just talk to people and get to know them! Ask how they're doing and get to know them, then you just have to find a way to work it into a gospel conversation, there's no magic bullet but it always works as long as long as you listen. There's a promise in PMG where Elder Holland says if we listen no matter what we will find something that highlights a gospel principle. That's the secret, just listening, still working on that myself :) I'm glad you guys are doing well miss you and love you all!!

This week was crazy!!!! So levy is still doing alright, we didn't see him at all this week but it's going bit by bit. We're also still visiting sandys family and now also leirys family too! Her little sister hasn't been baptized so she has a date and we're working to that :) We also found this awesome guy from venezuela named Amelicar! Golden investigator...he read the whole pamphlet we left him and when we came by he taught US the restoration so cool :) he will get baptized not this sunday but the next! Also transfers are not this next week but the week after, so in 2 mondays we'll drop Elder Sharp off at the mission office! So we actually only taught 10 lessons this week because we had a TON of flood service. It was absolutely crazy. So this area just south of us, Rosenburg and Richmond got flooded really bad these last couple weeks so they called in the army of missionaries to help. Our zone and Elder Escobars zone came so we had 50-60 missionaries everyday. It was the same thing over and over again this week. Wake up at 6:30 get dressed, pick up the english elders, drive 45min down to rosenberg, leave headquarters at 8AM and bust houses down from 8AM to 2/3PM then we speed home, shower and go out from 5PM-8PM then go to sleep then restart the next day :) I.AM.SO.TIRED. but its awesome, I love it :) we had such a great time and it's been such a great change of pace to do so much service, awesome week, love it out here :) our zone had a combined 487 hours of service in 3 days! It's been awesome, President Hall even came out this week to help, he was smashing out drywall like a pro! That was really the highlight of the week. And it looks like we'll be on this work rotation for the next 2 weeks (and maybe even longer we'll see) but yeah it was really awesome :) that's the story for this week! Anyways mom I love you so much! Thank you for everything you do for me, I hope that you are doing really good. Love you lots :) miss you lots!!!

Love you,

Elder Jensen 

 Doing tons and tons and tons of flood service!! :) He loves this- can you tell?

Dear Mom....

Hey Mommy!!

I can't even believe what a mission does for me. It has fundamentally changed who I am and why I do what I do. I love it because I know that it's preparation to become the best father and husband that I can become. Every time I go through a trial I'm okay, because I know that God doesn't give me more than I can handle and I know I'll come out the other side a better person. That's my philosophy now! Just work as hard as I can and trust in God and everything works out for the best :) I love it out here!

This week was great, we had Elder Foster from the 70 come and tour our mission (that's general authority #6 since I arrived here, Houston is either doing super good or super bad still can't tell) and he talked A LOT about working with members. He promised us that if we become a mission where we assist members with their missionary work we will baptize 300 a month. His testimony of member missionary work is so strong, he is the most successful Mission President that has been in the church in the last 30 years!! He served as in California and during his time, they baptized 3000-4000 people a year!! Can you believe that?! He was out baptizing most foreign missions. It was really awesome to hear him talk and to meet him as well. Rather than that we've been working with Sandy's family and also a new Recent Convert named Cleofas and her family, and were still with Levy 10 weeks later. We feel good about him though he continues to progress bit by bit. Rather than that nothing too excited, crazy storms and crazy people but that's just Texas :) 

Thank you so much for your message about David and Goliath, that's exactly what I need to hear. That's fascinating because that's all about missionary work. God doesn't just magically turn us into who we need to be, he plants us in good soil and expects us to work to achieve our potential. I know that's true because I see it every day. The harder we work the more people we find, it's as simple as that. I really have learned such great lessons about working hard and becoming the best missionary I can be. This week was a great week of learning and growing. Everyday it gets better and better. Tell everyone I say hi and miss them! I can't wait to hear how everything goes this week! You are the best mom ever and I'm sure the best girls camp director too, thank you for all you do. Love you lots mother!!! :)

Elder Jensen

 With all the "Elder Jensen"s in the mission :)

 With a new friend

Catching the coolest MP around helping the hermanas wash their car!

Dear Mom....

So first of all, yes I got your package thank you so much!!! Second of all, thank you for sending that other package! I ordered those patriarchal blessings a little while ago but totally forgot because they took forever! Also as far as flooding goes, we are okay! Apparently this is normal, but normally we don't get this much until the end of August and we just started flooding season 6 days ago...haha so yes this is shaping up to be a pretty wild summer, I can't wait to see my first hurricane :) (jokes jokes I don't think a hurricane has made landfall here in a little while) we haven't been affected to much but apparently the flooding out in the edge of our zone was really bad. We've got six Elders over there pretty much for the entire day.

Anyway, aw 117?! That's CRAZY! That's so hot haha, but I definitely miss the hot weather as compared to the humid Texas weather. I'm glad you guys had a good week of summer though!! Tell Ethan that day camp was one of my favorite parts of my cub scout adventures. It was so much fun! Also let Lizzy know that I am super proud of her, that is AWESOME! Tell her that she needs to get super good at saving her money :) (#lessons that I wish I hadn't been stubborn and would have listened to mom and dad better) Also yay for Katey and swim team! Always my favorite part of the year, she's going to be a really great swimmer :) Also yay for you and Dad!!!! That's so great that you guys are going up to girls camp and AP camp!!! You guys are the best because you're able to take that on. You and Dad are my role models for real :) Glad you guys had a good week!

We had a good week this week! Still working hard on finding new people to teach, this week we decided to start focusing on our recent converts so now all of Sandys (the girl from last week) aunts have a date for the end of June and we hope that the two little girls in the family as well. Rather than that we're still working with Levy, it goes slow but he always makes constant progress forward. We have goals to find more people this week so we can get some new people to teach (which yes will include some knocking doors so we can get the real mission experience :) ). But Leiry was baptized this week! It was a great service, the ward has basically adopted her because her member mother is super inactive and so we had a TON of support from the ward. 

Thank you for your letter this week it really helped me, to be 100% honest it's been a pretty tough week.  I am doing so good mommy I love my mission so much. I feel as if I have changed so much and it was never all at once, it was like you said, here a little and there a little and slowly I have becoming the person that my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I know I was never the perfect kid, I really am sorry for all the headaches I caused you and really for everything that I did that was rude, offensive, and just dumb. I now know who I am and who I'm supposed to become. I know my divine potential! Along with that, though, I am not perfect- but I have gotten really really good at trying. That talk from Jeffery R. Holland always gives me hope because he says we receive eternal life based on how hard we try. My goal in this life is not to become perfect, but to become perfect in trying to become like my father in heaven. I LOVE MY MISSION. It makes me a better person and each day I am doing better and better. I will forever be so grateful that you and Dad always taught me hope, that I need to keep moving forward no matter what. I have learned that no matter the trials life tosses at us, if we keep moving forward we will make it out on the other side alright. I love you so very much, thank you for all you do as my mother. I hope that you know how much I love you. Have a great week!!!!

Love,

Elder Jensen

 Elder Jensen trying his hand at Empanadas!!

 Leiry is baptized! :)

Hey Mom and Dad!!

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for your email, as always love you lots :)

Actually this week was kind of boring, we didn't do too much! It was just a normal fun week of missionary work! Thank you so much for sending those packages, I will try to get them today! We did receive a new companion, his name is Elder Smith and he's pretty cool!  It's good though, we've had a lot of fun :) Yes he will probably be my companion once Elder Sharp leaves. (He's only got 5 weeks left!) We'll see though :)

Leiry is awesome! She decided to move her date up so she will actually be baptized next Sunday! We're super stoked :) We did a lot of finding this last week so this week we'll spend going through the list to find who actually has interest and who doesn't. No exciting adventures but just another great week :)

I'm so glad you got to go to Kyley's and Quinton's farewell! I'm so excited for all of these missionaries that are leaving, a mission is the BEST experience in the entire world. Wouldn't trade it for anything! It changed my life and continues to do so every day, for that I am super grateful :) I'm sorry that this week was so crazy, always remember that you are the best mother in the world and that will never ever change. I would not change my childhood for everything. I now see that everything you and Dad did for me, has helped me become the missionary I am today. I wouldn't be able to do this without you and Dad. That story about Ethan made me laugh so much!! Thank you so much mother, you are the best :) 

The how of missionary work. Honestly, it does just take practice and it really comes when we just befriend everyone and find those friends that we have that are ready to listen to the gospel. That's why we work with members. We know that's the only way to find prepared people! Especially in the US as Spanish missionaries we rely so much on member referrals. Not everyone is always ready to listen, but if we befriend everyone we find those that are ready! As we just love them and help them through service, people see our example and eventual the conversation just naturally turns to religion. That's the how to missionary work, love people and serve them!! :) Thank you so much for everything you do mom, you really are such an example to me. I wouldn't be who I am without you. I love you so much and miss you guys so much :) Hope you have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Jensen :)

Hey Dad!

Thank you so much for your email, as always I miss and love you guys a lot! That's exciting that school is over, I can't believe it was a year ago when I graduated! Time flies in the mission and I love it!

We had a good week! Our investigator Leiry will be baptized next week, but we've run out of people after that so we worked really hard to find new people. I even tracted for the first time!!!! We weren't sure what to do so we started going door-to-door. Some interesting responses for sure haha :) We knocked on one door and this guy came to the clear door and yelled "mormons?" and we were like "yeah!!!"...then 15 seconds of awkward silence then "see ya later!!!". Super funny and awkward just thought I would share, it reminded me of some stories that you told me about your mission. But it's good for me I've gotten way tougher skin since being a missionary :) I've learned that being offended is a choice we make! And when we are offended we take away our own agency! So why would I make that choice? Learning that has blessed me SO much. 

That's so awesome, I am so happy and excited to hear about all these missionaries that will be leaving for the field. This is the best experience in the world and I wouldn't want to trade it for anything. It sets you up for the rest of your life! I've learned so much and I can't wait to learn even more in the next 15 months. I am so grateful for you and mom. You both are such great examples to me in word and deed. Thank you for everything you do for me dad, love you!! :)

Elder Jensen

20,000 Leagues Under Houston

Hello friends and family!!

I hope that you are all well and happy. Another week in the second-best but surely-most-humid state in America has been conquered and Elder Jensen escaped with only minor scratches.

This week we got to go with our English Class to the Houston Downtown Aquarium!! ​

And Elder Jensen dueled with a stingray (actually just petted it with two fingers then got scared because jumped at me).

​

It was a great week! I hope that all you are doing well and that you have the greatest week. Miss you and love you all! :)

Elder Jensen
​

Stayin' Alive...

Hello dear family and friends!!

I hope that you are all happy and well. Though most of you already know Elder Jensen is literally the worst at writing and really just remembering to do things in general. So to sum up the last few weeks here's some picture highlights :)

​Houston turned into a ocean. We've had three storms that have left flooding in the last 4 weeks! Luckily our car is a transformer and turns into a submarine when it starts raining.

​We got to take a field trip with the African refugees in our English Class to the Memorial Bird Park. We got to go fish catching and between all of the kids we caught like 50 fish in 10 minutes. (The poor tour guides didn't realize that they were super-athletic refugee kids till it was too late)

We went to a forest and picked up trash. Elder Jensen fearlessly led the group through the only trail that was completely covered with poison ivy​, luckily my foolish mistake only led to two people getting poison ivy.

Anyway, life is good I love my mission. No matter what keep moving forward. Love you all!

Elder Jensen

No we just walked in the water to church....President Hall says swimming is against mission rules but says it's only swimming if you move your arms :)

Hey mommy!!!

First of all, tell Lizzy and Kate that I AM SO PROUD OF THEM!!! That's great I'm sure they did a great job :) Also thank you for the bag!! Also are nonny and lee still there? Tell them I love and miss them very much!! :) Thank you for your spiritual thought, they are always exactly what I need. You are the best in the world thank you for being such an amazing mom :)

My week was pretty crazy!!! 5/6 days out of the week we were serving and 6/6 days it rained this week!! The worst damage was on Monday but we are all actually pretty okay :) Our apartment is about 4 feet above street level so although our street was underwater we were okay! Most of the damage in concentrated in the Northern part of Houston, overall our mission was pretty alright. More news to come on that! The city is still assessing damage in the North and President Hall says we might have some organized service up there come the next few weeks! For now, everyone is good and damage to our mission was pretty low :) It was a crazy week though! We only taught like 2 or 3 lessons a day because pretty much everyday we were working at our Bishop's apartment complex. They are at street level, and in a valley-like area so the damage there was pretty bad. It was good though we got the whole district in on it and got some 100 something hours of service combined, it was a great week :) made me really grateful for working with Brother Pratt because a lot of the work was taking our floors which is what I did for a good couple of weeks :) Rather than that a pretty normal week haha! Once again I am super grateful that everything on me is waterproof so getting rained on is a pretty normal thing now :) 

It was a great week just to be able to serve. It's really need to see how ingrained we are to the community here. The city and President Hall worked together this whole week because they know he has an army of bilingual young adults literally jumping for joy for the opportunity to serve. It was so neat to be able to walk around Bishop's complex and see that people KNOW who we are. They wave us down to come help because the yellow shirts have become such a common sight. We also teach an english class to kids inside a school! We are a part of the community here and it's so great. We meet so many different people and have so many opportunities to stop what we're doing, forget about our problems and just help others around us. Best experience of my life, I am so grateful to be in Houston at this time, I have learned so much and am sure I will continue learning until the end of my mission. Thank you for everything you do for me and for the great and wonderful example you are to me. I love you lots!! :)

Elder Jensen

The Second Reign of Elderes Jensen and Sharp

Hello friends and family!

This week was awesome, we had a lot of great experiences but sadly enough Elder Sharp and I have bid farewell to our other companion, Elder Escobar who is moving areas to be with 2 new companions. The good news is that we're staying! We have a great area and we're really happy to stay, the members are great and make serving a mission so much fun. We also said goodbye to Hermana Wood, a missionary who has now returned home to Utah because she finished her mission! So overall a week with lots of goodbyes but with a lot of good as well!

This week's good again came as a result of the refugee kids that we teach. The lesson this week revolved around our families and what they mean to us. Then we broke into small groups and got to hear the stories of these kids and their families. They were amazing. Filled with so much sadness but to hear how strong they were astounded me. One boy named Thaer is from Iraq and when he was 10 years old his father was killed in front of him because he was accused of working with the Americans. One year later he's set the goal to become a doctor and is already working towards it. Then we heard a story from Francis, our 16 year old from Sudan, he told of how his mother passed away from cancer and maltreatment and how he and his brothers were left alone with their father. His goal is to grow up and play for the American national team. It had been so amazing to hear these kids stories and to see how strong they are. It's really impressive because these kids have been through so much yet still press forward and work to become the best they can be. I know that if we trust in God and keep moving forward, everything will work out in our lives. Get out and serve others and everything will be alright in the end :)

Love you all lots!

Elder Jensen

Last selfie with the original Houston 8th group (ft. Trina as the English Class Coordinator)

Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (and Elder Jensen, Escobar, and Sharp)

Buenos dias familia y amigos! Los quiero mucho!

I hope this letter finds all of you happy and having a great life! I do have to apologize, it's been a crazy couple of weeks! It seems like we never have time to email and I never have time to write everyone! But alas, I am alive, happy, and well :)

These last couple weeks have primarily been crazy because we have helped a member of our area prepare to serve a mission, just like us! So that involved going to the temple, and that messed with our preparation days. Anyway, it was an awesome experience, our dear friend Emily is now training in the Utah Missionary Training Center, just like I was some 7 months ago! It was really exciting to get to go through that adventure with another missionary. Overall things have been good, we have a few investigators that we've been consistently working with and the work is moving along!

The best part of this last week though, was a new class that we have begun teaching in the local elementary schools. All Spanish missionaries in Houston are certified to teach English because it takes up a large chunk of our service time so thus each set of missionaries has 1-3 English  classes that we run, and they're always super fun! There has also been a huge influx of members f our class because of the large amount of refugees that are arriving from African nations. One of the biggest and hardest problems in the Greater Houston area School District has been making space for the refugee children, many of whom have never had formal schooling and come from backgrounds with very different cultural practices then our own. A few weeks ago the school board met and asked anyone if they knew where to find the LDS missionaries. 

Coincidentally enough, our English class coordinator is a member and sits on the council sometimes so she decidedly volunteered us to become English teachers for the school! It's been a few crazy weeks of coordinating but we finally have begun teaching in the school! :) It's such an awesome experience! We get to teach 6-16 old boys and girls from Africa how to speak English! It has been a humbling and awesome experience to be able to work with them. They are all so sweet and kind and treat us so nicely. Though they have suffered abuse and many of them have been damaged emotionally and physically but they are still the most loving people on the planet.​I have been so blessed to work with them and they have changed my life forever. I know no matter our backgrounds, who we are, we can always find hope as long as we keep moving forward! I hope y'all have an amazing week!

With much love,

Elder Jensen

The Houston 8th Ward Missionary Squad with Emily

Happy Easter!

Hey Momma!!

I'm so glad that you got that video from Hermana Diaz :) She's not in our ward but she's in the H4 ward in Sugarland, which is in our zone and the other building around here that has a baptismal font! She was like "what's your moms number I'm going to send her a video!" and no that was Elder Tautu, he's one of the assistants to the President and he and I were just talking, my companions are behind the camera somewhere!

So this week was great! We are teaching two really great investigators named Jennifer and Levy. Jennifer is a referral from a member in H4 and is SO prepared, in our first lessons SHE asked US when she can get baptized, so she has a baptism date for 3 weeks from now and is super nice and great :) then we have Levy, who is the boyfriend of a girl in the YAS group in our ward. He's a little tentative about being baptized but he wants to find out if the church is true or not which is great! We have a few more but we still need to take some time to see if they have potential.

My week was GREAT! We have found a lot of new people to teach and we're super excited because three of them are families which is our favorite! One of the great parts of this week was the fact that Emily got set apart as a misionera! The girl we went to the temple with? She got set-apart last night and it was SUCH a great experience. It reminded me so much of what President Palmer said when I get set apart. Emily will spend tonight with the sisters in the ward and Tuesday morning she's gone! It has been so cool to get to work with her and help her get out on her mission :) the other great part of this week happened last night. So our ward had an english baptism yesterday! Wierd right? I serve in a Spanish ward. So this girl named Roxanne is super good friends with a few girls in our ward and seeing as our Young Womens is in English, decided she loved coming!!! So she has been coming off and on for the last year. She's 17 years old and just about to graduate from High School. Anyway last night she was baptized! President Hall said it was alright because she has friends in our ward. Get this though, none of her family was ever very interested in the gospel, but they always supported her in her decision. As she bore her testimony at the end of the baptism is reminded me SO MUCH of you. I could just see that she has such a great future and it was sweet to see a story exactly like yours. Though her family aren't members I have NO doubt that she'll become a super strong member of the church. It was a tear jerking experience to go through this experience because it showed me that what we do here is important. Someone like Roxanne in 20 years might have a son leaving on a mission to go help more families! Anyway, great week it was refreshing and full of the spirit :)

I'm glad you guys had a great week! I love to hear about your adventures and see the pictures. I love you all so much! Thank you for your example mom, you really are the best in the entire world :) Love you lots!

Elder Jensen

A Week in the Life of a Spanish Speaking Missionary in the Houston Texas South Mission

Elder Jensen has been SUPER busy in this new area and has not had time to write a group email for two weeks now. He has been emailing me so I thought I would include his letter to me this week. I asked him how he was doing and to tell me all about his week. He wrote back with a day-by-day in the life of a Houston Texas South Spanish speaking missionary!: (and lots of pictures too!)

Hey Mommy!

Okay so sorry last week was so crazy, it was a nuts weeks because of all the temple stuff but it all worked out in the end :) First to start, I really am okay :) There's ups and downs but for these last four weeks I've been really good. It's a lot more fast paced but fortunately I love that! We're more than halfway through this transfer and it feels like we just started! So long story short: I'm doing really well :) It's been an uncomfortable experience but I've grown! As the saying goes, "there's no growth in comfort and no comfort in growth." I really am learning that SO much and I love it :) I love seeing the person I was 6 months ago (spiritually speaking) and I have changed for the better. It's great, it really is.  I can see why serving a mission is a priesthood duty for men- because it really prepares you to be a father and that's so very important. Anyway for this week I'll just go day by day :)

Monday: No P-day because we wanted to go to the temple with Emily so we went and did some quick monday chores: shopped, bought medicine for Elder Sharp and took Carlos to grab a suit then we saw the 2nd counselor's (a member of the ward) family and had catfish and shrimp with them (by the way I have become 100000X less picky, I'm not even picky anymore aren't you proud? :)...) then after we went to go try and find some new investigators, saw these kind of not going anywhere investigators that promised they would come to church (and didn't again...:(...) and that was pretty much it!

Tuesday: We went to go see this lady named Joyce who Elders Sharp and Escobar found and she's already in Mosiah 29!!! So we went over to clean her lawn and pass her off to the English Elders in the area. Then we realized Emily's endowment session was at 10AM and we would have no time to email so we ran to the library super fast and finished emailing! Then after we went to go see the Penillas (best family ever) and they bought us panda express (which I LOVE now for some reason) then we had to go to this JustServe stake committee meeting because we're a part of it! The Church wants us doing more service so we go to this stake committee meeting to coordinate and it was good! Not much happened, just talked about what JustServe is, offered our help, etc... it was good :)

Wednesday: WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!! WOOHOO! It was my second time going but first going to do endowments. We woke up on time, got ready and we're at the church where Emily and her escort (a lady in the ward) were going to be but LONG, LONG story short the lady ditched us and we were super bummed :( but as said in 2nd Nephi we are saved by grace after all we can do :) so we called! And called, and called and found a RM that was visiting and he took us! Saved the day! But then we missed the endowment session by 5 minutes BUT then the Temple Matron (I came here with them on the plane so the temple president and matron and I are tight it's pretty sweet it's got great benefits :)...) and so we explained the situation and she of course couldn't stop the session but could let us do an ordinance then go to the Celestial Room to wait to see Emily! So we did and then she let us into the Celestial Room! Coolest experience of my life. We studied by ourselves in silence for an hour. I learned so much and received a lot of revelation- absolutely the coolest experience of my life. Then we went and learned how to teach English and had a training for the class we're starting next week. Then we went to meet one of our investigators Levy and had a great lesson on the BoM.

Thursday: Elder Sharp got really sick and was throwing up so the English Elders came a picked me up and I went with them to District meeting, we had a great meeting about the BoM and how important it is. Then President came and interviewed one of our candidates for baptism named Hassan- he's the son of a family in our ward they've been working with for 6 months! Then we organized and studied at home as Elder Sharp slept. That was about it!

Friday: We taught an English class, we saw a few recent converts and saw a family that fed us dinner it was a pretty normal day of finding, teaching, etc.

Saturday : Same thing, that's our day to work because we have no planned meetings so we visit a lot of people, just saw some families, taught some new people we'll see how they go!

Sunday: We had ward counsel at 7AM and church at 9AM, then after church we went to go see Alex, the husband of the girl that was baptized my first week here (Lydia)! We're working with him before he goes back to Guatamala too! Then at 5 was Hassan's baptism, it was a great service :) then afterwards we went to a new member devotional where we talked a lot about the importance of the BoM. Then we had to get home super fast and call tons of people and submit the zone's numbers for the week. 

And that's the week in my life :) About as crazy as all weeks. It's super fun  and I love it a ton. I'm glad you guys had a great week! I love you all and miss you tons, how are YOU? :)

Love you lots mom!

Elder Jensen

*JustServe.org is a website still in development that coordinates service opportunities in local communities and connects them with people who want to volunteer. Some areas, like ours, have a well developed resource- I can type in my zip code and find loads of service opportunities for me and my family. Other zip codes are still being built. Elder Jensen is helping build the Houston area.

PICTURES!

Celebrating Elder Escobar's birthday:

Visiting with some of the Young Single Adults in their area:

His friend Noe from his last area came for a visit:

At the Houston temple:

With a young adult getting ready to leave on her mission:

At the baptism of a new friend:

Elder Jensen versus Baptismal Font Episode II: Revenge of the Eldridge Building

Que honda mucha?!

Dearest friends and family, I hope that all of you are doing so very well and that you're enjoying life to the fullest. This week has been SUPERbien, last week I traded out hipster downtown Histonians (yeah that's actually what people call them) for lots of cows and goats and old retired Hispanic people...and I love it! I only moved about 30 minutes west and technically I live in the outer Houston area, but the world here is completely different! Whereas every single city block in Downtown Houston has a large building, everything out here is wide and spread out and super duper tranquilo. It's been the best experience ever! The ward (or area) that I am in now is comprised of a much older population and it's been weird coming from the city. I really love the members of this ward and they are all so nice to us! I have two companions once again, Elderes Sharp and Escobar both from Orem, Utah and we have such a great time together. 

The greatest stories of this week revolve around a baptismal service that was held yesterday for this lady in our area named Lidia. Lidia is super awesome and really just the best. She's a 30-year-old sister of one of our members and decided last Tuesday that she wants to be a member of the church. It was really exciting so we spent the whole week teaching her and she was baptized yesterday! It was a really great service and she was so happy afterwards which made all of us happy. The only words in English that she knows are "Thank youuu" so when she said that to us after the service, it made us really super duper happy. 

As we went around cleaning the building up afterward, that's when the real fun began. We pulled the plug on the baptismal font and went back 15 minutes later and the water hadn't drained at all! So we pulled the plug again, same result. So Elder Jensen, thinking he was all smart because he had some experience with clogged drains, asked to be lowered into the font full of water to check it out. That's when all of his earthly possessions decided to be baptized and fell into the font. 30 minutes  later Elder Jensen had successfully retrieved a soaking wet planner and other various possessions, That is also when Elder Jensen found the switch that turned the font pump off. So that was fun. 

Today's spiritual though is inspired by a quote that a great friend sent to me today.."If you only do what you can do, you'll never be more than you are now". I hear that Kung Fu Panda III is out and it rocks. More this week than ever, I have learned that change is a super good thing and can help us all to grow to become better people. That's basically what Christ did for us. He died so we have the opportunity (by grace) to become such better people. I know that if we keep moving forward everything will be okay. I love you all so much and miss you more!

Love,Elder Jensen

The End of the 3rd Reign of the Judges (Also known as the one where Elder Jensen leaves inner Houston and heads for the COUNTRY!)

Buenos felices dias amigos y familias!

Que honda? Como estan? Espero que cada uno esten SUPERbien. 

I hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and having the time of your life! This week was awesome! Elder Rasband from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to visit our building to talk to all the leaders in this area and all the missionaries crammed into the Family History Center to listen to what he was saying! We had a lot of success finding new Less-Actives that we didn't even know existed and by our count now have 30 active members and 50 known Less-Active members. From the land of endless rain and one-step-more than endless humility I, Elder Jensen write my final epistle from the inner city of Houston. Yes, the news has come and I'm trading my polished shoes and straight-fit church pants for a pair of denim jeans and a pair of cowboy boots! After spending 6 months in the inner-city, I am now moving all of my earthly possessions about 20 miles south. I have been assigned to work in the outskirts of the Greater Houston area, as well as the cities of Richmond and Sugarland. 

I am super duper grateful for all the trials and difficulties that have come in the first 6 months of my mission. To be honest, this area has been super difficult. We had been stuck in this no-baptisms rut for almost 3 transfers but I gained such a testimony about how being a missionary is more than baptizing, it's helping others around us. Being a missionary is serving others and making life better for the people around us. I hope that you've all taken the time to look around and find someone in need and help them. Though I am super duper sad to leave Downtown Houston, I won't ever forget what I've learned.

I know that sometimes we have tough times in our lives, that's pretty much a guarantee of mortality, but the important part is that we keeping looking forward full of faith. Everything will work out as long as we trust in God and believe that his plan is better than our plan and his ways are higher than our ways. Just keep moving forward and everything will work out in the end :)

(Elder Palacios wanted to see if he could fit into my suitcase so he could come with me)

Love you all!

Elder Jensen

The Systematic Logistics of Spanish Ward Parties

Hello friends and family!

I hope you are all doing so very well and that everything is going your way. Texas has gone from 45 degrees back up to 80- so from the land of short-sleeved shirts and the only place where y'all is a politically correct term to use, hello from Houston!

So the last six weeks have been pretty tough, we haven't had anyone coming to church or haven't really felt like anything was going our way and I have to admit, it was a pretty bummer last few weeks. But this week we finally had two investigators show up to church! It was a miracle and although it's not a ton, it was a huge success for us. Then on Saturday my week was made when we had our ward party, and it was the best thing in the world. So, a fun fact: our ward does not go light when it comes to parties. I'm talking Wii's in the back for the kids, hired DJ's, lip syncing competitions and missionary-served food. The best part? 80's themed so the whole night was just a Spanish jumbled mess of awesome. 

So why is Elder Jensen sharing random numbers from people that came to church and how awesome a little ward party that had was? Well to prove that life has ups and downs. In this area, I have learned so much but the greatest lesson of all is that we're all going to have ups and downs in life. Because life is a roller coaster, but you know what? It's our roller coaster and I learned that no matter what, we have a choice in how we respond to hardships and trials. In the words of my Mission President..."you just have to fake it till ya' make it". I know that's true and that when we have hard times, you just have to make the best of life and keep moving forward and maybe even team up with the young single adults in your ward and play keep-away with a fellow companion's water bottle. 

Love y'all,

Elder Jensen