It's Beginning to Look like Christmas!

November 18, 2013

"Halo Familie,

haha I don't know why I put that as my title, probably because it's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas.  Germans love their Weihnacht and they have started building the Christmas markets down town, and they set an ice skating rink in the innderstadt.  They have two huge trees set- up down town and decorated and lights all over the streets and trees, they are not turned on yet though.  Pforzheim is known as the place where no one wants to really serve in our mission, but it's my first area and I LOVE IT! I've grown to love all the people here too, so I am happy!  Here's a little about my week...

Monday:  P-day, same old same old.  We got our hair-cuts, I got a German hair cut because I went on the opposite side of the hair place as Elder Peterson so I had to explain how I wanted my hair cut on my own, haha needless to say now I look "really" German, but it's okay.

Tuesday:  We had zone training in Stuttgart, Stuttgart takes about an hour, bei train to get there.  I really enjoy zone training and gatherings where we get to see other missionaries.  That's the thing with our mission, it covers SO much ground that you never see any other missionaries.  We have an average area size and the next closest missionaries to us are about 1 hour away.  Some bigger areas the closest is probably 3 hours!  After zone training we had a Tausch (splits).  Elder Morrill came to Pforzheim and I led the Tausch because it was my area.  I love Elder Morrill and learn so much from him by what he says and by his example.

Wednesday:   In the morning Elder Morrill and I had a lesson with a random guy I started talking to on the street.  We had the lesson in the Backeri (bakery) while drinking hot cocoa and he drank coffee.  I have always wanted to have a lesson in the Backeri so that was really cool, ha.  The guy took a book of mormon and he said he'll call us, so we'll see.

Thursday:  We helped the Dierks family at their new house and we bought the kids pizza.  We helped tear off/scrape off the wall paper in the kitchen.  I love the Dierks family!  We invited them to our Branch Christmas party too.  Also that night, we went over to President Setners and shared with him the Family Mission Plan.  Our mission has been stressing so much about member missionary work and this family mission plan we've created as a mission along with a short little dvd.  He was excited and all for it, and he wants us to share it in church in Dezember.  It was really cool.  I think me and Elder Peterson are going to stay another transfer together here in Pforzheim and I hope we do!  We are finally starting to pick things up!

Friday:  Friday is weekly planning day.  After weekly planning we had about 5 hours left of the day to go out.  We usually have sprach course but it got cancelled.  We went up on the hill by our house and delivered an italian BoM to a girl we had contacted on the streets.  We decided to check by a few other contacts that lived nearby, one was a family we found going door to door and we gave them a book of mormon about two months ago but haven't been able to make contact with them until now.  Turns out the lady has been reading the Book of Mormon and she loves it!  She is an immigrant so she doesn't know German too great, she has lived here for 7 years.  We taught her a little bit and told her to keep reading, then she offered us spaghetti to take with us, that never happens!  So we took our homemade spaghetti with us back to our place while it was still hot.  After we ate we decided to go back out and we were able to run into this girl "J-L," she had just got back from a vacation in Africa.  We helped her carry her bag, she broke down telling us her story.  It was such a sad story!  We shared a short message with her and then we were off to meet with Sister "E."  The lesson with "E" went really good, we taught the plan of salvation.
Saturday:  We stopped by some more contacts and then we met with Sister "E" again and taught her the second part of the plan of salvation.
Sunday:  Elder Peterson gave a talk in our branch, it was gemeindeessen - where we eat as a branch after church, everyone brings homemade food and it's so good.  And the best part, Sister "E" showed up to church!  She wasn't showing up and we were panicking, then we walked across the street to see the bus times and saw that they weren't running that day.  I said a prayer and a few minutes later in walks Sister "E."  I was so happy.  
Yeah it was a really good week!  All of the city setting up Christmas is making me so excited, you know I love Christmas!  Love you all and hope you are all doing well.  Transfer calls are this Friday but I think we're staying, I HOPE we are!  Please pray for Sister "E" she is so close to baptism!
Liebe, Elder Jensen"