Manifold Indeed

March 2, 2015

Luke 18:29-30

29.  And he said unto them, verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren (sisters), or wife (friends), or children (nieces and nephews), for the kingdom of God's sake

30.  Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

*If you read the footnotes, D&C 104 tells us how "Manifold" means: to be blessed with a multiplicity of blessings

"Well I can give testimony to this scripture.  I read this scripture this morning during studies and it really stuck out to me.  It was just a reflecting moment of how truly blessed I've been on my mission despite different trials and ups and downs.

This week was a roller coaster week as well.  Tuesday Br. Luu sent me some long text saying how he wasn't ready for the taufe and was unsure.  Then he called and told us the same thing.  We didn't talk to him much on the phone, we wanted to see him in person and talk to him.  He came with us to an eating appointment at a members house who we had used as a joint teach before.  They have a connection both from the Asian area.  She told him her conversion story and it sealed the deal, Br. Luu was sure and positive that he was ready for his taufe!

The week went on, we used Br. Luu as a joint teach before his taufe with another investigator of ours.  Br. Luu was amazing!  He taught the Gospel of Christ so clear, it all made sense.  He was even answering some of the questions.  We were very impressed!

The day before Br. Luu's taufe he was really sick and it snowed a lot.  But it all worked out and the taufe went smooth!  We had 3 investigators there.  After the taufe and Br. Luu got changed, our investigator Andreas was waiting for him to ask how he felt.  Br. Luu was telling him how he felt lighter, how the past is truly behind him.  Then he told him it's a feeling he can't explain and how he must experience it himself!  So cool!!

Sunday Br. Luu was again really sick and was not able to come to church to get confirmed, so with Stake Conference next week he will have to wait 2 weeks now.

This week flew by like the others, the new transfer began and we welcomed in the new missionaries.  A few of the areas in our zone got shut down so our Zone is even smaller.  BUT we have 3 of our 5 baptisms now, and 7 more dates!  This next week is going to once again fly by.  We have MLC in München on Thursday and Friday.  Saturday and Sunday we will be in the Schweiz for Pfhal Konferenz.  Crazy crazy week like always.

I have also come to the conclusion that I will live on a lake, it is so beautiful!  I've been on the lake a couple times this week and all the houses we were at had the prettiest views of the lake and hills in the back ground.  The little villages on the lake are so beautiful too, old old German houses and cobble stoned streets, steep hills with the houses built up the hill.  Hard to explain but it is truly cool!  Have a great week and much love!

Love Elder Jensen"

Br. Luu's Taufe

Gabe, GML - Benji, Br. Luu, and Elder Meilsøe

Oh Mensch!

February 23, 2015

"Well what a week.  We stayed busy and it was a fun week.  First off I'll get the negative out of the way since it's on my mind.  I won't go in to detail but the pastor of a Frei-Evangelisch Church called me and said how we need to stop meeting with one of our investigators.  A little confused but we will still pray for them and who knows what will happen.  They were seriously golden though.
As far as here in Singen, we almost reached our goal with 18 lessons!  We've worked so hard.  Br. Luu is so prepared, he has shown me that it's possible to find someone, teach them and baptize them all in one transfer.  Our GML (Benji) will baptize Br. Luu.  A little about his story...it was really snowing on the streets in innen stadt one P-day night during work hours.  He was one of the only ones out on the street.  We stopped and talked to him of course.  We set up an appointment at the Church a couple days later, and he showed up!  We gave him a tour, taught the first lesson and set a baptismal date...and it has gone pretty smooth ever since.  We've tried to have different members at every lesson too.  He is such a deep thinker and a funny guy!
As for the rest of the week, I had the most spicy curry wurst on Saturday.  I was like shaking and sweating and almost getting light-headed! They had options 1-6 on spicy-ness and Europe's food usually isn't too spicy - so I got a lot of the 4 and a little of the 5 thinking naja it won't be that bad.  After just 2 bites I was sweating but I didn't want to waste their precious sauce.  Elder Meilsøe got number 3 so I made him try mine and he almost started crying! Man oh man, that was a little fun we had this week.  Everyday a new adventure, that's our motto!
Much love and hope you have a great week.  Please pray for Br. Luu and that we can find some more golden people!

Love Elder Jensen"

If Only...

February 16, 2015

"If only time could slow down...Well if only time could speed up until the spring and summer when it's warm and everything is a live, THEN slow down!

Also, if only everyone in the mission could be happy and find the joy of the mission and find their true desire on the mission.

         "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices and choices determine our actions.  The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving and our becoming."

Elder Oaks

One of my favorite quotes!  Anyways this week was really good, sped by!!!  Wednesday we drove down to Zürich to Mission Tour with Elder Kearon.  I really enjoyed it, all the missionaries in the Switzerland area were there plus our Zone.  All the missionaries in the Schweiz are from Europe, no Americans allowed, so it was weird to not know any of them really.  It's kind of different.  But I got to see my good friend Elder Dewey and some of the other European Elders from my group in the MTC.  Elder Kearon was good, he is a really grateful man as well as spiritual!  He talked about a lot of things but one thing he expressed was "Become the Message."  I enjoyed that a lot!

MLC was fun in München, I got to see all the Zone Leaders.  Long story there but we ended up having a 90 minuted delay in Augsburg...sweet yeah, BUT I stayed on the train the whole time.  Called Markus though and had a good little talk with him.  We pulled into München late, saw the last little bit of a MTC devotional.  We were the last ones to get there.  That night we stayed in a Hastle in München, first time staying in one of those.  We roomed with the Salzburg Zone Leaders - Elder Calvin from Scotland and Elder Plumb from back east.  The next morning we had breakfast and headed to the Church for our meetings.  The message at the end was from Elder Kearon and it was JUST BE HAPPY and ENJOY the mission.  We are in the most beautiful mission in the world!

This week we are only traveling once to Zürich to meet with the Stake President and give him an update on the Zone and missionary work in the Branches and wards of our Zone.

Br. Luu is legit!  He is making lots of progress, eats everything up we give him.  I taught him yesterday after Church with our GML Benji.  Benji started crying in our lesson because of how prepared he is.  He was a little shocked and told Br. Luu how unique he is and to stay strong.  It made Br. Luu's day!  Benji is a great guy!  

Fun fact: Fastnacht is crazy here!!!  You'll have to look it up, Fastnacht around the Bodensee.  They have parties in the stores and in the streets and trains and everywhere!

I love you all and pray that we can reach our companion goal this week!  Have a great week.

Elder Jensen"

Companion Elder Meilsøe

A nice week in Singen!

February 9, 2015

"Hey Fam,

This weeks letter will probably be short, but I'll make sure to add all the details.  We just got back from visiting Switzerland!  We went on a little hike a long the Rhein river to check out the falls.  It was really pretty, kind of cold but the water was so clear and blue!

This last week was great for us here in Singen.  Busy so it flew by.  Elder Meilsøe and I are working hard, it's a lot of fun.  We are teaching about 2 to 3 lessons a day and are finding new people every week.

I stayed in Singen all week which was good - nice to not travel for a week!

I went on a tausch with one of the young single adults in Singen, we have 3 of them and they are all going on missions this summer.  They are really cool and we are going bowling with them and the Senior couple tonight, Br. Luu is coming a long too!  

I also went on a tausch with Elder Hancey here in Singen too.  I enjoy him and have got to see him throughout my mission but I have never really worked with him.  We had a good day running from one appointment to the next.  He's the Distrikt Leader so I got to ask him about the distrikt and how things are going..they aren't doing too great sadly.  It's hard.  As you already know this mission is tough and a lot of missionaries do almost nothing but 'door to door.'  We wish we knew how to help some of them and motivate them a little more.

Br. Luu is making a lot of progress.  We are meeting often with him and have members come to all our lessons.  He enjoys the ward and as of now will be baptized in a couple weeks.  Please continue to pray for him!

This next week will be crazy busy.  We only have 3 days here in Singen to work.  We have appointments all lined up for Tuesday, then Wednesday morning we travel to Zurich for mission tour and to hear from Elder Kearon.  Then we travel back.  Thursday afternoon we travel to Munich and stay overnight in a Hostel.  We have meetings, MLC with Elder Kearon all day Friday, then travel back.  Saturday we work in Singen.

Elder Meilsøe and I work hard together and we are obedient and it brings blessing and miracles, I've seen it through out my whole mission. I have been blessed.   I'm excited for Mission tour and to learn new things.  I love you all and hope you have a great week in "warmer weather," take the snow away already!

Elder Jensen" 

Rhine Falls - Rheinfall

Fleißig und noch stark!

February 2, 2015

"Hey Fam,

Well I'm here in Singen...today.  This week flew by!  Monday night was really snowy, we had no appointments so we walked and found a couple people.

Tuesday we took our 5 hour train ride to München after Distrikts meeting for our tausch with the AP's.  We had to change trains a couple times and it was snowing the whole time.  Bodensee looks beautiful with snow all around it, freezing cold but just peaceful!  We changed trains in Lindau as well, it's a famous place in Bodensee.  We had a few minutes so we walked around and bought some food at a cafe. Once we made it to München we drove with Elder Packer and two of the Sisters to an eating appointment at a members.  The next day we were able to see some success, we doored a little and found someone really cool!  That night we headed back by train to Singen, those 2 days flew by.

On Thursday we had a tausch in Offenburg.  I was in the Schwarzwald.  The train ride there is about 2 hours and you literally go right through the Schwarzwald, it was beautiful seeing it all covered in white and seeing the little villages nestled down below the train tracks. Our tausch was good, I was with Elder Hadfield and we were able to set a baptismal date with someone they have been meeting with. Offenburg is known as a really hard area as well.

Finally I was able to work in Singen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We were able to find and meet with a few new people this week that we found on the streets - one being Br. Luu.  He was born in Thailand but raised here in Germany.  He is a deep thinker and really cool. We found him on Monday walking the streets in the snow, then met with him on Friday at the Church, taught a lesson to him and set a baptismal date for the 28th of February.  Pray for him.  Everything we've said and discussed so far he agrees too.

We had a family home evening with our new Nigerian members - Chris, Faith and little baby Promise at their house.  Our GML, Benji (who is the best) was also there.  We acted out some things from the Book of Mormon and they fed us intestine...YES cow intestine.  You chew it for a good 30 minutes, then just have to swallow it.  It's fuzzy on one side, it's weird.  They cook it in a really spicy sauce, so the key is to chew it fast enough while the sauce has numbed your mouth haha!

We are working hard together!  This next week won't be as crazy.  I love you all and please pray that we can find some people ready for baptism and that the people we are teaching will continue to progress.  Love you all!

Elder Jensen"

Back in the Schwarzwald!

January 26, 2015

"Hi Fam,

So this week we weren't getting a hold of any of the people that usually are met with, so that was hard.  Lots of finding time.  We had interviews this week for our zone, they all came here to Singen so I got to see all the missionaries in our Zone and introduce myself.

I tausched in Konstanz this week with Elder Sanft, he is a really nice guy.  Konstanz is beautiful, as well as this place in our area called Überlingen.  Our Zone belongs to a Switzerland Stake, but most of the areas are in Germany.  
While we were on tausch Elder Meilsøe went by this family we found in the area book, from Nigeria.  Longer story with them, I wasn't there the first time but we met with them on Sunday again with our awesome GML Benji.  They cooked us African fish, in other words they throw a whole fish in the oven.  It was different, didn't settle so well with my stomach.  They are a really cool family and we will be meeting with them next week!
Next week will be busy.  We have distriksmeeting tomorrow, then we take a train in the afternoon and head to Munich to tausch with the APs.  We tausch with them one day and then take the train back the next day and don't get home until around 10 at night.  Then the next morning we tausch again with the Offenburg Elders which is a two hour train ride.  I will be working in Offenburg, which is right in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest).  A busy week!  Please pray for our investigators.  Love you guys.

Elder Jensen"