Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

This last week was a really great week! Really busy! 

Tuesday we went down to Yilan to attend their district meeting and go on exchanges with Elder Shi and Elder Lawrence who were down there! It was a ton of fun! Yilan is a super super beautiful area! I was on exchanges with Elder Lawrence. He is in training right now, but I learned a lot from him! He had a super selfless attitude and wanted to help others. I have been trying to implement what I learned from him and really help those around me feel of my love and care for them! 

We came home Wednesday afternoon and went straight to Neihu to do a baptismal interview for another member of our zone! The interview was for a girl named Debbie and she passed! She also fed us dinner after! She is super excited to get baptized and it was awesome to see that!

Friday we spent all day at the mission office for our leadership conference! It was awesome to learn from President and all of the other missionaries there! I'm really excited for the trainings they shared with us and can't wait to share them with our zone tomorrow! I think they will help a lot! I'll share an experience from the meeting that was really powerful to me! Thursday night as I was kneeling in prayer I was feeling that the quality of my prayers was really lacking and that I needed some help to figure out how I could make my prayers meaningful and so I prayed that I might know what to do! Then during the meeting the next day we were talking about being good shepherds and then all of the sudden President started talking about prayer and using it as a time to really ponder and think and have a conversation with God. It seems simple, but it was exactly what I needed and what I had prayed for the night before! I was really surprised how directly and quickly that answer came. The next day I spent a lot of time in prayer trying to ask Heavenly Father what I could do to help our investigators and then listening to my thoughts and feelings for His answers. It was by far the best experiences I've had with prayer in a long time and I was able to do some extra things to help in the progression of the people we are meeting with that I wouldn't have come up with without those prayers! I'm so grateful that through prayer we truly can communicate with our Father in Heaven! Don't take that for granted:) 

Saturday we met with a man named Eric that we met a few weeks ago! But this time his wife joined us and we had a girl in our ward come as well! Eric and his wife have 2 little daughters and they were really impressed with the member we brought and how independent she seemed and stuff! It was a really really good lesson and they have a really huge desire for a happy successful family! They are already super awesome! But we shared the restoration with them and invited them to read the Book of Mormon as a family daily! They accepted! It was awesome:)

Saturday night we also met with Tim. He is doing awesome! He will probably finish the Book of Mormon this week! He hasn't gotten an answer yet that it is true though and he feels like its been a long time.. He is also still concerned about coming to church until he gets a sign or testimony! So we are really praying for him and hoping we can help him find his answer and bring him to church! 

Also I heard from Elder Mueller this last week that Dharma who we began teaching together got baptized last week!! I'm so happy for her! She is a super super awesome lady! It sounds like the ward is just going nuts with missionary work over there too! Can't wait to bring that to our ward here!

I love you all! Have a wonderful week! 

Love, Elder Jensen

Pictures:
1. Playing with my camera
2. We went ice skating as a district
3. cool
4.Dinner with some members in Tims restaurant









Monday, October 24, 2016

Dandy

The last couple of days were dandy.

Wednesday we went to the temple and it was really great! After we went up to President's house and ate waffles with homemade caramel sauce on them! They were delicious! Then we went on a nice hike! We rode through Tianmu and that was fun, brought back lots of great memories!

Then the highlights of the last couple days were that we got to see Tim two more times and he has a steadily growing testimony! He just keeps asking more and more questions and its so cool to see how big of a desire he has to learn! He is doing really really well and I think he will get baptized for sure! The only problem he has right now is that he doesn't want to come to church because he's afraid it will cause problems within his family. We are praying that he will be able to talk with them and get that sorted out! 

I absolutely love all of the people here and enjoy every chance we get to interact with and teach them. It is so wonderful to start to see them change and progress and find new answers and happiness.

Also I don't remember if I've talked about Adam before. He served in Taizhong a few years ago and now he's back here selling corndogs for a little while. Anyway we've had a few chances to talk with him and he's a super smart guy really inspiring! 

Hmm.. the other things that happened were all fairly normal! We are just really excited about our investigators! Most of them weren't able to make it to church though so that will be our focus this week for sure! 

Also tomorrow we are going to Yilan for an exchange! I'm excited to go down there. I've heard it is a really great place! 

Yesterday in Gospel Principles Elder Seamons and I taught and we were talking about family responsibilities! It was really cool! Adam made a comment that I really liked. He said that the most important thing if you want to get buff is having a good diet, but usually that is overlooked because it seems obvious that you should just focus on working out if you want to get big. Then he related this to how when we learn the gospel sometimes the most important part, applying it in our homes, is overlooked. I don't remember the exact analogy he used. But what I learned and really liked was that we can do lots of stuff but most important is that we really take the opportunity we have as families to learn and apply all of the teachings that the gospel provides us! The home is the perfect place to learn all of the wonderful things that Heavenly Father would have us learn to become the people he wants us to become! 

Have a wonderful week! I love you all! 

Love Elder Jensen!



Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Miracles!

Last week feels like a really long time ago because of the extra few days we had this week before temple day but I'll do my best to remember all that happened! 

The first couple of days last week were pretty normal! Then on Thursday we went to the mission office to go on exchanges with the assistants! It was really fun and we were able to learn a lot about how we can help our zone improve! They said the biggest thing is just to be an example! So that is our goal! We want to have a model area! 

Well when we went home from exchanges we started seeing miracles immediately! We met with a referral for the first time and he was incredible! He just opened a restaurant and it isn't going so well! But he has a huge desire to learn about God and the gospel and he has a ton of questions! Tons and tons of questions! We went back and saw him last night and he's already read up to 2 Nephi! Super awesome! He set a baptismal date and is really searching for feedback from God! 

Then that night our investigator Austin texted us and asked if we could meet. We had our scripture study class so we invited him to come. He has been really down on himself because he worked super super hard to learn English and then all of the sudden he got a stutter that he is really self conscious about. Anyway as we were learning from the scriptures he started telling us how he's been praying to understand why this has happened and he thinks he's gotten an answer. And throughout the progress he's studied a ton about speech problems so now he feels he can use that knowledge to help others and turn his weakness into a strength! After that we met with him and talked about baptism. He told us that he feels like him being baptized would really bless him and his mom! Super cool guy! He struggles to come to church at 9 in the morning because he has insomnia but he was able to get himself up and come over by like 10 which was super awesome! 

The last miracle was Sunday we went to meet a former in his home! He was super awesome and is really really family oriented. He told us how before his kids were just too small and it was hard to come to church and stuff but now they're a bit older 6 and 4 and he's willing to try! We told him how the gospel will help him quit smoking and how it will bless him and his family and he was really willing to give it another try! He also set a baptismal date! We are hoping soon we can meet his wife as well! 

Oh sorry one more! Monday we went on exchanges with Neihu! I was with Elder Wadsworth and we were going around trying to visit members and finding along the way! Well we saw this door and we were like that looks like a nice door lets knock it! And this really cool couple opened the door! They have two daughters who were at school! They both looked super young but they apparently have a daughter who is a senior in high school. They have a pretty cool looking house and they just seemed like really interesting people! Well they talked with us and we started sharing about how we share a special message for families how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bless them. And then the wife said to us "I don't know why but lately I have been thinking about checking out church. I don't know why I've never done it before but lately I've just been having this desire! I even told my husband about it" And then the husband is like "yeah she's been talking about checking out church" And then they're like "Then the church just came and knocked on our door" Haha it was super super cool!! I'm really excited to start working with them! They opened a coffee shop 3 months ago, pray for them;) 

And on top of that Elder Seamons and Elder Cheney went and met with another referral, a man and his wife, and I guess they are the most prepared people ever. They said that they were just super super excited to learn and they have a large desire to become a part of a church. They said the spirit was really strong as they shared the restoration with them! I can't wait to meet them! 

So, things are just taking off here! We are really excited to work with these great people! The Lord has really blessed us and we are so grateful for all the help. I love you all and I know the Lord will guide and help you as you seek after him! It may be fast or it may take years but it will come! Be safe and have a wonderful week! I love you all!

Oh also yesterday we ate lunch with President Day the mission president before President Jergensen at a members house! There were lots of people there and it was the best food I've ever had and I forgot to take a picture! I'm sorry!

Love, Elder Jensen!

Pictures
1. Amber
2. Had dinner with Austin and his family
3. From the roof




Monday, October 10, 2016

Change

This week started off with a fun Preparation day! We just went to lunch with some friends and played a board game! It was my first time ordering fish.. It was super good! 

Tuesday night we met with a lady named Dharma that was handed off to us from Ankang and she is amazing! It was the best lesson I've ever had as far as an investigator understanding. She studied to be a nun before and her knowledge of spiritual things is just a bit higher than usual! She asked us to explain how we feel the spirit and then we asked her to explain her and she shared two experiences. One was when she prayed and asked if she should be baptized into our church. She didn't say much just that she got an answer! It is the best when people are willing to act for themselves like that! For some reason we really struggle to help people understand to ask God for  questions like that or if the Book of Mormon is true so it is nice that she just got it! Does anyone have any tips for helping others figure it out? 

And then the big change came! Wednesday I found out that I would be moving to Songshan! I am pretty excited to be here because this is where Elder Matua was serving right  before he left! Which also means I got to see him one more time on Thursday! But it is a great area and the ward is super awesome! Also I will be zone leader here! That will be interesting! And Sister Miller (also from Lehi) just moved here as well and is now in my ward. This is also where Elder Diepeveen started his mission. I guess it's just the place for everyone from Lehi! I really like it here so far and it looks like we have some pretty solid investigators that I'm really excited to start working with! 

Conference was super awesome! Our mission has really been pushing to improve member missionary work and there were some awesome talks about how now is the time to work together! I would invite everyone to follow the steps given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks! We are going to trying to implement them in our ward here as well! I also really loved the talk by Russell M. Nelson about joy and the talk about believing in Christ by Elder Bednar! Lots of great stuff:) Also we watched part of conference with some guy from LA that goes by Kaskade and does dubstep shows all over the world! He's a really nice guy. Flew in yesterday morning and wanted to come to church before his show! 

People in our area seem really really different from other areas I've served.. I don't know quite how to explain but yeah! Our bishop fed us dinner last night and his house is pretty nice! I don't know hopefully I'll be able to share more next week! But I love it here so far! Our apartment doesn't have a bidet anymore though so thats too bad;) 

Either next week or the week after will be temple week so we will email on a different day! Don't freak out if I don't email just know that I love you all! 

I just want to end with a little more about joy! I have seen that it is true! Even though there are pains and struggles and stuff I feel full of joy and hope! When we live the way that God has commanded us we can find joy and learning even in the lowest of lows! That isn't to say that they won't hurt but they can be something we value and appreciate! What a wonderful plan!! 

I love you all! Have a great week! 

Love Elder Jensen! 

Oh one last thing! I've wanted to see the firework show from taibei 101 my whole mission which I thought would be impossible.. But I will most likely be here for the new year and guess what I can see from the window in our apartment!!!!;) Love you all!

Pics: 2 goodbyes and a new companion!

-- 
~簡長老 




Monday, October 3, 2016

Water:Typhoons and Baptisms

This week was super sweet!!

So Monday Amber Chen from Tianmu came and picked us up and we went to the north coast, but because of the typhoon on the way we weren't able to see the things near the ocean we were hoping to see! It was still really nice I'd never been up in that area! Then we ate a really tasty lunch/dinner full of some interesting things! We ate shrimp, duck, noodles, squid and shark! The squid and shark were actually super super good! I loved it all! 

Tuesday was super weird! For the first day of my entire mission we didn't go out at all! Because of the typhoon we were told to stay inside all day! We made calls and cleaned up a little bit and then read some good Liahona articles and scriptures and had some good apartment bonding time! It was pretty nice to charge up a little bit.. It felt pretty weird though! 

Wednesday we had district meeting and then ran into a ton of really prepared girls. They set dates on the street and were all pretty receptive! Hopefully we will be able to smoothly pass them off to the sisters for teaching! That night we also had english class and there were only like 6 people. Much less than last week!

Thursday we went back up to Wulai the village and we were able to meet the less active from Utah! His family all still lives there. He left home when he was about 15 and came to Taiwan by himself. Said he found himself wandering through Europe staying in hostiles and now he is building a hostile here. Really cool guy! And the girl there is pretty interested in the church. Right when we started the lesson she started crying and saying she knows it's true! Pretty cool experience:) 

Then on Saturday all the work of the last 2 transfers came together! That morning Sean the boy Elder Mueller and I invited to church when we ran into him waiting for an investigator the 3rd week we were here got baptized into the other Elders ward!! It was really cool to see something as small as a "Do you want to come to church?" Lead to him being baptized!! Then later in the afternoon our ward had 2 baptisms! One of the Lin families daughters turned 8 and was baptized and then with her Jian Yu Cheng the son in the less active family that we were teaching was also baptized!! It was awesome!! So cool to see that whole family all there together and especially to see them together at church the next day! I'm really excited for them and I hope that we can help them start progressing toward being sealed in the temple! 

Last night I said goodbye to Elder Matua.. He flies home this week! I'm going to miss him like crazy! 

I'm really grateful for all of the blessings we've been able to see here in this area over the past 3 months! It has been awesome to see it grow from nothing to an area with some solid progressing investigators and a baptism to finish it off! It really is such a huge blessing to be able to participate in the work of the Lord! I would invite you all to try it! There are so many simple ways to reach out to those in need and I promise that it will bring added joy to your life! 

I hope everyone was able to really enjoy conference!! I've been dying for the last month or so.. I'm so excited to watch! You are all lucky you get it a week early:) But it's almost here now! One thing I've really come to treasure on my mission is the instruction of the Prophet and Apostles! It is so inspired and uplifting. I hope we can all make an effort to really apply the things they teach us:) This week I'm ponderizing 3 Nephi 1:13! It is my 52 week in a row to ponderize. I haven't done it as good as I'd like but I have had a scripture each week and it has greatly increased my appreciation for those scriptures! Don't be afraid to change! Change brings growth:) 

I love you all!! Have a great week!

Love Elder Jensen!

1. Typhoon dinner
2 3 4: Baptisms
5. Goodbye






Yummy!