Feb 17, 2014

Blue Water
 
     Well this week in the Blue Water  North area has been going pretty dang well and can't really complain much. It's been getting a little warmer then usually which is always nice. Have been able to where a sweeter.
   To start of the week last week we were able to see a couple of Less Actives that live way far from Croswell. They live over in Brown city which is about a 45 min drive and a lot of miles. So we had a couple of Less Actives that we have never meet, either of us so we decided to take a day out and see the 10 or so LA's. Elder Jones and I were able to do some service for an older guy that is a LA and he is way nice. I guess he just got out of the hospital for some kinda of surgery. We were able to clean his drive way off. Which is pretty cool because when we do ask anyone even LA if they need any help they usually say no but this time the guy we meet said yep. Elder Jones and I will probably stop on by on Tuesday when we are in the neighborhood.  After we stopped bye him Elder Jones and I stopped by a part member family which is way awesome. The daughter Haley and the mother Vanessa which is not a member yet. Anyways Elder Jones and I knocked on the door and Vanessa invited us in and said that Haley (member of 5 yrs, 15 yr old)  was not there but if we stopped bye tomorrow we could come over for dinner and a message, which surprised  both of us because we were not expecting that. So we set up for the next night and we had a ZL (Zone Leader) with us Elder Chamberlain. The Lesson went way great, just reviewed The Restoration Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ with the pamphlets. :) Elder Jones and I do great as a companionship! Picked up Vanessa as a new investigator and planning on going over tomorrow night and watching the Jesus Christ video with Vanessa and Haley because they have the DVD that the missionary's in the past gave them but they have not watched it so Elder Jones and I are planning on watching that and doing an introduction of The Book Of Mormon.  Other then that that the really only investigator that we have :/ will be looking for some more this week through PM (part member family's).
   So we went of to Brown City, MI which I said in the first part of the email and it is a pretty cool town. Brown City is about the size of Kanab,UT and it does remind me a lot of back home just like the streets and the lay out of the town. The cool thing about Brown City is that for the welcome sign to Brown City I guess it's the home of the birth place of the Motor homes and also have a little Amish community so we've seen Amish people walking on the side of the street and some biggie's.
  I was able to go on an exchange over the weekend with Elder Humphreys because the Elder Williams (DL) wanted to go with Elder Jones up in our area. Elder Humphrey has been out about 8 months and is an amazing Elder! Elder Humphreys and I have some funny story's from that exchange like getting flipped off and also the same person told us the "-


, Off". We were heading back to the apartment for the night to start the exchange and Elder Humphreys was getting ride on by the car in back of him and he switched lines  right when the person in back of him switch so they won't to happy about that. I sure did let us know! The next morning Elder Humphreys and I went tracking, had much success and had many great lessons with investigators in there area! It sure was good being able to teach a lot and go tracking! There area is like ST. George and  Elder Jones and my area is just like Kanab but smaller town but the same distance about to St. George (Port Huron).
   Well this week in transfers so that should be interesting and we have specialized training down  in Warren area on Wednesday :) about a 2 hr dive to get down there.
                               Well Love you family and have an amazing week!! Help the Sister missionary's out in Kanab when you have time because it's really hard to do missionary work in a very big area with small town with people knowing your car and all. :) Tell Derek that he should have a letter coming his way! Also did you get my letter I sent  last week??
 
        :) Love Elder Jenson
 P.S- Been looking through all the letters I've received and working on writing back to people that I've not got back to. So I will in the next couple of weeks send a package with letters you can hand out to who they say it goes to! :) Thanks and love you tons family

Feb 10, 2014

Family!

 Hey family, sounds like that Jordan had a pretty good Birthday. I'm sorry that I did not wish him a happy B-day. :( When I got back to the apartment last Monday I was like "oh crap that's what I forgot to tell Jordan. Is to have a good B-day".
    Well this week in the Blue Water North area, nothing has happen much, we've been trying to figure out who's in the ward and what's one's have moved out. Elder Jones and I went out with a member (Brother Perry, recent convert  of about a year) in the ward to help him with home teaching and that was great for us because we won't ever able to get in contact with this part member family. Now that the family kinda knows us, we might just have a way in the door.
 The other day we had a great Zone Meeting with (ZL's Elder Uptain and Eleder Chamberlain) it was on the atonement and directed to the missionaries. It went pretty good, Elder Chamberlain did the example of having a donut and then an Elder would do 10 push ups each for everyone even if they did not want the donut. I felt kinda bad because everyone was crying and I was not crying. One reason was because you being the great seminary teacher already did it and I knew the focus of it. I don't know, some Sisters and Elders were crying pretty bad. I'm very happy that I know why Jesus Christ had to suffer for us, don't know if this is bad to say but it's life. Heavenly Farther sent his son's for us because there is no really other way to get back with God accept through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all thing are possible. Anyways  I was asked by the ZL's to give a testimony a night before the zone meeting at the zone meeting. I did it a different way kinda, I somewhat did a two minute instruction on Alama 37:6-7 and went off on that and shared my testimony. :) So that was pretty cool and everyone like the way.
       So yesterday I talked in church :) went amazing! I gave a 25min talk on The Plan Of Salvation: A Flight Plan For Life that was given in the 1997 General Conference by Duane B. Gerrard. I decided that I love speaking much more then teaching for some funny reason! I will sent you the talk I gave this week in the mail.
   Well other then that the mission is been great, love it and sure have been learning a lot from it :) Will be praying for the Glover family.
  Love Elder Jenson  have an happy Valentine

Jan 27, 2014

Family,

  Hey Family, sure does sound like you guys are having a great time. That was fun to hear that you and mom were able to get time away from the crazy kids, crazy life and time to yourself down in Vegas. Yeah I actually talk to Brother Moody on the phone the other day and he is doing great. I told him that the family is doing good and that the parents had a great time in Vegas then he told me that his family is planning to move down to Vegas around July and also he told me that he also could get great deals for you guys to shows and other places down there if you want. He told me that he would give you guys a call to see how the family is doing.
   Well the Blue Water area has been going. It's been a very slow area and just still figuring out where we are going to be working with the next month or so. Elder Jones and I have pretty much figured it out where we want the area to go in the next 4 weeks . We heard from an Elder that was just here before me, that in his interview that President asked him if they should keep the area open or not. Also from Elder Jones and what I got from interviews on Friday is that just keep yourself up and keep working hard. I just told President "that the area is an very hard area probably the hardest area I have been in. I don't want to sounds trunky but I would like to end up in an area where I can finish strong. Then I said I don't know what is coming the next couple of weeks but if it stays like it has for the last year it will be hard to finish strong, just trying to keep yourself busy without doing the same the same thing you do each week." President said thanks and just shared the story of what happened in President Thomas S. Monson mission when he was the Mission President in Canada. Elder Jones and I are just going to keep it up and make sure it does not get any worse then it is now.
  It's sad when you have amazing very strong members saying if they don't get the branch up started again I probably in the next couple of months wont be coming to church. The hard thing is where we live in Croswell,Mi it's about the size of Kanab and they know what car we drive and who we are. They don't really like us. Also Elder Jones told me in the last 5 months the area's that we work in have been tracked out in only a week from other really great Elders. My goal is to keep the area open and at least someone on date! :) We are working with many less actives that where amazing with coming to church before they close the branch. It used to be an 30 min or less drive to church for members in my area and now it's an hour in a half or more to get to church. We are working with a couple investigators that are doing pretty good other then making it out to church. :(
  Interviews went great, just talked about the area and what I thought then President Gerber asked me what I got out of the Book Of Mormon reading that we did a couple of weeks ago. When we had to stay in for the day because it was really cold. I just told him about what I shared with you guys a couple of weeks ago about Nephi killing Laban. He said that was really cool to hear and thanks for the insight. Then I was able to help Sister Gerber along with her instruction on Alma 36, She did a good job but she only used the last couple of verses in Alama 36. I was able to give my insight on Alma 36 from the begin which was good because I've studied that Chapter a lot over the mission. Have it all high lighted and lot's of cool insight have got in my own personal study time.
    Other then that just keeping the area up and standing! :)
 Well you know this because I say it almost every week but love you family. Oh yeah dad you should tell me some fun mission story's that you have or really cool insight that you've gain during your mission and being a dad. Never have heard much about your mission and I would like to hear that.
  Love Elder Jenson the older :)      

Jan 21, 2014

BlueWater!!!

          Well the first week in the BlueWater area has been great, it's a lot different the Warren but I do love it. BlueWater is a lot slower then Warren. We've just been stopping by some investigators that we've been working with and a couple less actives in the Ward.
  Last night when Elder Jones and I where heading to an investigator house and we were in the drive way of the house and we saw a car coming out so we pulled off at dirt drive way and we got stuck in the Jeep Campus!! Haha we got stuck for about 15 minutes or so. But we did get out, the funny thing it used a couple of miles.
  I was able to attend Terrell and Lorenda Baker wedding! :) It was amazing!! I cried kinda because it's so cool to see that Terrell was baptized only a couple of months ago and know he is married. Also with see Lorenda  and the Moore family changing. Elder Carter and his new companion are working with Lorenda's mom so she can get back to the temple! :) It's so awesome to see people change so much in only in a couple of months from meeting them for the very first time!
  Well other then that not much has been going on just trying to found how we can get the BlueWater North area back on it's feet and running again. It's been pretty died over the last couple of years, still had missionary's in the aria but died.
     Sounds like You and Dad having a great time having Elder Jenson the Younger and I gone! :)
  Oh yeah what did you think about my little insight study scripture thing I sent last week?

 Well love You Family :) Keep up the work

Jan 14, 2014 transfer

Hey family, well as you know I got transferred!! :) I'm now out in the country! I'm serving in Bluewater area, which is the biggest area in the mission. So far I'm loving it! It sounds like a died area but that will change but it's all country middle of know where also smells not to hot. My new address is:
 15 Truman St. #101
 Croswell, MI  48422.
  I'm serving with Elder Jones. Elder Jones has been a little over a year, he seems like a really hard worker and it will be fun. Elder Jones is from Lehi, Ut and his the second kid of 8 kid in the family.

Jan 13, 2014

Transferred!!
       
          Hey family this week has been another great week in the Warren West area, Elder Carter and I have been able to have a lot a success in this area. With having a Baptism and reactivating a couple of people and will also later this week will be working with lot's of our new investigators that we've picked up over the last couple of weeks and also last week.
  This week has been a lot better and I've been able to work and being more Christ-like, yesterday was kinda funny. Yesterday in sacrament meeting the Bloomfield Stake President came and talked to the ward also smacked down on the ward about doing member missionary work but while he was doing it he said "we don't know who will accept the gospel" then went on with it does not matter who it might be, just share the message. I was listening to him and it was a slap to the face for me because I've  been pretty judgmental over the last couple of weeks. So that's what I will work on, working on having...........I would say have Christ like vision, do what Christ did when he saw someone out of the norm.
   Terrell Baker and Lorenda Moore will be getting married this Saturday @ 4 pm, so that will be awesome to see and help with :) I've been able to get a yes from President Gerber to comeback for the wedding!
  Other then that, tomorrow is Transfer meeting, so later in the afternoon I will let you know where I went and the address, It's crazy that this might be my last area, unless President Gerber and God do, 1 and 3, 2 and 2 and 3 and 1 or just leave me in the next area for 4 transfers. Who knows.
  Well tell Savanah, thanks for writing me and also Derek updating me in his fun life. Well Love you family, and hope you have amazing week this week! :)
   PS- What I've came up with in study's the other day, so I've heard this quote from somewhere and someone on my mission and found it the other day "Man (or woman) will always find himself, where he can solve his problems" Then while I was looking in The Book Of Mormon I thought of when Nephi kills Laban. In 1 Nephi 4:5-24. Then I change the quote a little and put "Man (or woman) will always find himself where he can fix his problems......with God in  the mix of it all". Then pointed out a couple of key verse V. 7- God hand in the work, 18-19 God given knowledge and use. Then I add 7+(18-19) = Success in which is in V.13 Behold the Lord Slayeth the wicked  to bring forth his righteous purposes. It's better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" :)

 Love you Family!!  :)

Jan 5, 2014

Happy New Years!!
   Hey Family, this week has been another good learning week for me in the Warren West area. For some reason over the last couple of weeks or so Elder Carter and I have been picking up new investigators. There is this one investigator that we picked up earlier this week. Elder Carter and I were heading out of the apartment complex because we see Amir, he his like Joseph Dalamore (Butler 11th ward) that everyone loves and we share messages and watch DVDs from the church. But when we were heading out of Amir's complex this middle age woman asked us for our business card so I get it out and it's a picture of Jesus Christ, she smiled and asked us if we could come share a message which we did the next day............I don't really know what I'm suppose to get out of this. Either be patience with people or give everyone the chance to hear the gospel more then one lesson. One great thing I've been able to learn with Elder Carter is just always be positive even if it looks totally bad. I think I'm to realistic and I just need to be more Christ like and take one step at a time. I've learned and always will be learning that I can let stuff just come to me and not me going to it, if that make any sense.
    I'm overall pretty happy everyday.
  Well we've been working with Lorenda's (getting married on Jan 18th to Terrell :)0 mom,
  Other then that it's just been really snowy, cold and also just been working with investigators and a couple of Less actives in the ward.
  This week is transfer calls so who knows if I'm going to be staying or going.
 Love you family and stay warm this cold couple of months! :)
   
Love Elder Jenson