First Month Down!

August 21, 2013

Gabe has been gone for 1 whole month, and he is doing GREAT!!  We look forward to his P-Days and emails so much!  Here is some bits and pieces from this week's email:

"Meine Familie.

Hello Family and happy P-day.  Yesterday was quite the P-day Eve, P-day Eve is a big deal here.  It's comparable to Christmas Eve, so the night before P-Day after snack time we listen to some christmas music in our room and tell stories.  How cool is that, having the feeling of Christmas Eve once a week! Anyways, at the beginning of this letter I will sum up some info about the MTC and just random stuff, then I will get to the main thing.  Random info about the MTC, we got rid of our second batch of Elders and Sisters this morning.  I said goodbye to Elder Jentzsch, Bruder Jentzsch little brother.  So it's not too crowded in the MTC today which is fun, when I say not crowded I mean there is only about 36 of us here instead of 90 haha.  Elder Dewey, Elder Durrant and I gave a blessing today to a Sister.  She was crying and feeling really homesick so we gave her a blessing of comfort. I gave her that poem from Riley too, well I let her read it but she kept it, but that's okay because she needs it.  Sorry to say I have yet to cry or even become homesick, it's not because I don't love you guys, I do!  I just know this is where I am supposed to be and I'm trying to make the most of all of it.  You know about my district, but I am in the Abanadi district which consists of us 6 Elders and 2 Sisters. Sister Peacock from London who worked  at the theater place - which is similar to broadway, so that's cool.  She is 24, we call her Grandma.  She looks to me as her little brother so she is the "most" protective over me.  Then there is Sister Baker who is 21 from the Netherlands.  We are all going to the Alpine Mission.  Then there is a district going to our mission learning English, which consists of 6 Elders and 3 Sisters.  We get a long really well.  Then we have I believe 6 missionaries from Germany going to our mission coming in just for 2 weeks because they already know German.  Then there is the other district, Jakob District, who are learning german and they are really fun as well.  Just a fun incident, this past week us non-europeans got to go down-town and take some pictures,  then when we got back Elder Oviatt and I went straight to snack time cause it was night time.  We got this new hot chocolate machine, so we both made some homemade hot chocolate.  He played us some Christmas songs on the piano and we sipped it while looking out the huge windows overlooking the pond, and talked about looking forward to our first Christmas in the snow covered Alps.  Deutsch is going well. I'll just leave it at that.  Haha, it's improving, still really hard and I'm trying my best, but even my teacher Bruder Jentzsch says you really learn it in the field.  He says it's like you practically pass through a veil from the MTC to the field, so I know I will learn it best out there.  I can bare my testimony, pray and teach basic church lessons in Deutsch, but it's the everyday conversations I still struggle with.  So this Tuesday the German-speaking and English-speaking missionaries went out "finding" in down-town Manchester.  They gave us the information on what finding is, gave us some BoMs, pamphlets and cards to give out, and gave us train tickets to Manchester.  They drove us down to the train station in Charley and we began.  It began with a 35 minute train ride to down-town Manchester called Picadele Circus or something, it's the main square for Manchester where the train station meets and all the buses, local restaurants and shops too.  It is PACKED.  My companions were Elder Moreno, who speaks no English really as you know, and Elder Mast, a missionary learning english.  He is 22, from Switzerland/France and played Rugby.  Not enough time to tell about everyone we came across but here are a few...

1st guy:  On the train I sat next to these two people, one guy who was 25ish going to Uni, he was finishing eating and reading the comic book called the swamp man.  Then a lady in her mid 40s sat across and was busying looking over some documents.  It would have been easy to not disturb them and I probably wouldn't have, but you have to remember it's not about YOU it's the Lord's work and you are serving this mission for HIM.  So I jumped in and started talking to them.  I made them laugh a little bit and made small talk.  I started to tell them who we were and where I was from, the guy told me about himself but the lady dropped out of the conversation pretty quickly.  So me and this guy started talking about families, he was just returning from visiting his in upper England.  I said how I come from a family with 4 sisters so I practically grew up with 5 moms!  I told him the rules of how we can't contact and talk to our family on the phone but 2 times a year.  He was surprised and said how tough that would be...perfect opportunity to bring up how the gospel blesses families, but I didn't.  It was my first time practically in the field by myself.  I told him why I'm serving a mission and about our beliefs in Jesus Christ then I gave them both a mormon card.  

Joseph:  Joseph was my favorite guy we talked too.  We had finished eating and were walking around when I saw this guy with a jersey lined New York Knicks shirt on, so I though ahh basketball.  He had headphones on and was watching something on his phone.  First we walked past him, he was kind of intimidating, but I just kept feeling that we NEEDED to talk to him.  So we passed him again and I told my companions we need to talk to that guy, and they said okay.  So we turned around and I said "basketball, your shirt, do you play?"  He didn't, but he took out his headphones and noticed us, I told him how I love basketball and I am from the states and what not.  We asked how he was doing and told him we were missionaries and asked if we could talk for a minute...he said yes.  So we asked his thoughts on Jesus Christ, he said he believes he was the son of God.  After talking for a bit he said, "can I be honest with you guys?" and we said yes of course.  He said he was muslim but he still believes in Christ and it's hard...then after my companions shared some personal stories they gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it and he wanted missionaries to come visit him.  It was a neat experience and would have been easy to just assume he didn't want to be bothered, 20 minutes later I found him reading the pamphlet we gave him.  

After trying to talk to Jehovah Witnesses, Atheists, and many others we were able to visit with some and got turned down by some.  At the end of the day we don't know if these people will read or accept what we have to say, we like to imagine that they do.  What matters is that you leave a positive image for the church and allow them to know about the church or at least hear about it, plant as many seeds as we can.  Yes we got turned down and ignored a lot but those I will forget, I won't forget Joseph though in the blue New York shirt.  I hope he does read, and I hope he continues to want missionaries at his door.  This is the Lord's work and we must forget ourselves and teach everyone we see.  We cannot be scared and we cannot take rejection personally.  I love this work and I love my mission.  I Love you guys, until next P-day...Spater!"

Gabe rehabbing his knee

Elder Dewey's companion Elder Requillart

Gabe and his companion getting back to their room at night

Gabe's bed and new pictures, blue sticky notes on ceiling are german vocab

Waiting to email, found this hat in the garage

3 Weeks!!!

August 14, 2013

Gabe has been gone now for 3 weeks!  He is half way done with his time in the MTC!

"Halo Familie!

Guten Tag Familie!  Another way busy week in the MTC!  So busy that it has taken me 4 days to write a letter to you guys, but I'm hoping to get it off to you today!  Deutsch is going better, it's hard for us to notice but I understand more and more everyday, and when I'm pushed to, I can speak a lot of what I'm thinking.  Paper wise, like writing, I can translate a lot of sentences, but it's harder for me to gather my thoughts and write them down.  This last week felt like General Conference!  We heard from 7 General Authorities!  Elder Holland, Elder Nelson, Elder Ballard, Elder Evans, Elder Kearon (or something like that) and two others.  It was a really neat experience, definitely one I will remember.  I love England still!  We got called in for our half way interviews with the President, my companion went first and then me.  I was asked about our companionship and if it was going good, and I said yeah then I said how I feel bad for my companion because he has to translate from Deutsch to English to French, then French to English to Deutsch.  President said well your companion said it's been easier for him to have such a patient companion and how it means a lot to him that you are so patient with him.  It meant a lot to me!  My companion is such a happy and funny guy, despite the language barrier.  I can tell he has such a strong testimony of this church. Sometimes when we are studying together he asks if he can bare/speak in french, even though I have no idea what he is saying I can tell that it means a lot to him..and his prayers..you can tell they are powerful and they are long!  Good ol' Elder Moreno!  As far as other spiritual things that have happened, we were working multi-district the other day.  We were talking about how to start a zero lesson or first encounter with someone, and we practice it in English to make sure that we really get it cause it's really important.  My companion and I taught a threesome of sisters.  I was speaking most of the time because my companion doesn't speak English.  I can't remember all that I said but I know I bore my testimony on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how they love us and comfort us.  Again I can't really remember, which is crazy, but the next day one of the sisters we taught (she is from France) came up and said "Elder Jensen, I just wanted to tell you that you are one amazing missionary and what you bore and taught yesterday was really, really good!"  I thanked her, but said how far I am from being a perfect missionary cause I can't speak the language!  She told me no worries, the language will come and when it does you will be the ideal LDS missionary!  It meant a lot to me and boosted my confidence!  The language is tough and sometimes it's easy to feel that you are helpless.

Some of the good MTC food we have had lately...we had oven roasted-herb parmesan salmon with sweet corn and potatoes.  It was wonderbar!  Then for dessert we had sticky toffee pudding cake with homemade warm custard!  AMAZING!  I've become great friends with the Chef, me and Elder Dewey have both.  He's a funny guy and we sing with him at nights on the piano during snack time.  He's just funny, big guy, 38 I think, from Ireland.  I really like him, and you know how I'm not much of a sweet tooth?  Well he is changing that, he sneaks me his homemade cookies and I LOVE them!  They are so good, all his desserts and food is really good!

Thank you so much for the pictures Mom!  We all loved them, because a package for one of us is for all of us - law of consecration ;)  I still love all my teachers, love Bruder Jentzsh, his little brother Elder Jentzsh entered the MTC this week and he is just as cool.  He plays basketball too and speaks English, just has a strong German accent.  We get a long good and I like him a lot.  I feel so blessed to have come to this MTC!  The pageant is over, so we actually get to go to bed on time!  We've gone to the Temple twice, and it's a beautiful temple inside and out!  Anyways love you all and hope you are all doing great cause I am!!  

TSCHUSS"

Gabe's view from the MTC

 Church history tour around Preston

Gabe, Elder Oviatt and Elder Dewey doing "face masks"

They Switched P-Day...What?!

August 6, 2013

So come to find out, Gabe's second week in the MTC they had to switch the P-day from Wednesday to Tuesday due to Elders leaving and new Elders entering...we all planned on writing our emails Tuesday so he will have them Wednesday, but it didn't work out too well this week sadly :(

"Earth to Jensen Family!?
No hearing from you this week but that's okay.  This last week has flown by.  Deutsch is still really hard but I am still loving the MTC.  We are having our P-day on Tuesday this week because all of the English speaking Elders leave tomorrow so it's been hectic, then we get a shipment of new English speaking Elders too.  I am going to miss some of them, I've become friends with them but we exchanged emails. No worries it is not distracting me.  The work here is too busy!  We are still participating in the British Pageant which is really cool!  We get clapped and cheered for every night cause we are the finale, we walk out on stage singing Called to Serve.  I'm really excited for the 5 General Authorities tomorrow night, they are going to the British Pageant and are giving us a little fireside before.  Rumor is that three of them are Elder Holland, Elder Nielson and Elder Ballard.  Just a rumor though...we know Elder Holland for sure though!  Anyways, we get to go to the temple today which is good.  We just had an extreme ping pong contest which was intense.  I told you about the Church History Tour of England last time right?  Well it was really pretty.  I love England and love the staff here, especially our young teacher, he is literally one of us, a friend.  He sings with us in the showers and everything haha.  I love the chef, Chef Stefen!  I'm excited to hear from you guys next week and will be looking forward to it.  Oh by the way can you please send me some church pictures to hang up in our room.  I'll try to attach some photos but if it doesn't work I'll probably just send you my flash card.  I love you all and hope you guys are doing good.  Please continue to pray that I will have patience and comfort, cause they have been answered.  And tell my friends that I haven't died and that they can still talk to me haha.  Any update on my other friends? Or on sports? Updates on anything?  All I hear is a little England news here and there.  I need to hear from America.
Love you all Tchuss"

 MTC Grounds

Outside Preston

Shopping downtown

 Intense ping-pong at MTC

Preston Temple

Gabe's District:

Elder Acune Moreno, Gabe, Elder Dewey, Elder Oviatt, Elder Durrant, and Elder ?

MTC Grounds

First Week in the MTC!!

July 31, 2013

We were so excited and waited anxiously for this first email from Gabe!  Here are bits and pieces from his email (it was quite long so we cut some out):

"Guten Tag Jensen Family!

I LOVEEEE ENGLANDDD!!!!  Everything about it here, I could see myself living here haha.  Accents everywhere in the MTC, the british accents are so strong, but I've gotten used to them and don't even notice them, and it's weird but I can't help it, sometimes I catch myself talking in one back to them.

First: My District and Room.  I love them all, haha we are constantly laughing and me and Elder Dewey from Dancatle, Leeds area in England, and Elder Oviatt from Northern Canada have instantly became great friends, as well with the others too. My Mitelbeiter (comp.), is from Belgium, Netherlands, but born in Columbia.  He only speaks french and spanish.  So fun fact, we are the first Elders ever to learn a language in this MTC! They've had Elders come to learn English but never another language. My teachers, mainly the one is really young, 22, Bruder Linch.  He was born in Germany and went to Greece on his mission, he speaks great english.  I love him and it's his first time teaching so we are always laughing and having a good time as a district.

German: The language is for sure challenging and can get stressful, you just want to speak perfect deutsch now but you can't.  Especially when you teach the investigators.  We are teaching Stefan.  The first time was hard and just funny.  The 2nd time was brutal!  I opened it up by answering his questions, then shared my first part of info then turned it over to my companion and he couldn't find his notes so it was silence...so he told us "I don't believe in Joseph Smith" and started asking all these questions.  But last lesson with him went great!!!

Food wise: So the first week here I was still getting used to the food.  It's good food - british food, different than american food taste wise. But I've grown to love it.  It's not like a buffet, they have 3 chefs (I think) and we have a certain meal for lunch and dinner, and breakfast is usually just toast and cereal.  So the food is good and I'm used to it now.  The drinks are so different here though, like carbonated and such.  It's crazy how different America is.

Weather: So I told you how I was suppose to say goodbye to the sun..the first two days here were actually pretty sunny, but then it's become England's "real" weather lately - rainy and overcast.  But I love it, it feels great!  Sometimes we take the lessons outside, which feels good.

Companion: I love Elder Acune Moreno.  Yours and mine prayers are being answered.  It's crazy how easy it's been to be patient.  He speaks little to no english so it's really hard for us to communicate.  But I feel bad for him because they are teaching us deutsch through english so it's really hard for him to learn german.  I pray he will continue to have patience with me and the language, as well with me with him.  I pray in deutsch now so at least I think I am praying for that.  I love him though, he is always in a good mood and trying to pull jokes on all the Elders, haha he's a prankster kind of.

The British Pageant: So it just so happens my stay here in the MTC is during the first time that Britain is holding a pageant, and we are a part of it.  It's right by us on the neighboring grass field, we are a part of the finale and come out on the stage every night and sing, it's really cool!

The MTC: There are only 92 Elders and Sisters total here in the MTC and we are the most they've ever had!  We have an Elder and Sister from every continent here besides from Antartica!  So lots of different accents and cultures which is neat, we imitate each other and get in debates about our countries and stuff haha.

Elder Oviatt and Elder Dewey: We get along so good and are constantly laughing.  We just bought face masks from ASDA and will be wearing them tonight, to make our faces soft!  We are constantly singing our national anthems and saying our country's the best, and we tell each other about our cultures and compare funny stories.  We are always laughing.

So yeah I guess you could say I love it here at the England MTC!  We are busy all day and it's easy to fall asleep but we always catch ourselves staying up until about 11 at night telling jokes and laughing and telling funny stories.  Next week my favorite apostle is coming to talk to us!  ELDER HOLLAND, I can't wait for that!  I've come to learn with out a doubt that the Lord does answer prayers, and will do whatever it takes to allow his word to get out.  We have all been turned into instruments of the Lord to get his word out.  We have all been comforted because there is nothing else I would rather be doing.  I LOVE my district, and like dad said, I am trying to make the most of these 6 weeks.  We are busy busy busy so as far as time for personal gospel study goes it's kind of hard because I'm always trying to study deutsch or helping my comp.  I have to make better time though.  Until next week familie, I love you all and hope you are all comforted and know that I am loving it here! 

Tschuss, Lieben dich alt"