Light Speed

July 13, 2015

"Hey Family,

Meine Gute!  How am I writing emails again..last week flew by.  I don't even know where it went!  We only had two full working days in Singen!  Last Monday as you know, we went with the Lee's to the Alps in Switzerland.  Oh it was beautiful!!!  We got to go hiking in them as well, really neat experience.  I didn't want to show Mom the pictures or videos until I get home because we hold on to a chain or wire while walking through the peaks of the Alps, the air is so thin!

Anyways this last week, we had a tausch with the Assistants here in Singen on Tuesday.  They came for Distrikt meeting.  I love our Assistants, my good friend Elder Dewey and Elder Ridd from the Woodlands - I've known him his whole mission.  We entered Austria together and left it together to be Zoneleaders.  I tausched with him.  They are both great missionaries.  The next morning we had to wake up at 5 to take a bus to some members in a small dorf or village so they could take us to the temple.  Well we took the wrong bus and crazy story we got there late and the members had left, so we ended up getting a ride with the Lee's to the temple.  We got to be there with Benji and Colea as they went through for the first time.

The next day we left for MLC.  It was great, I got many answers and really really enjoyed this one.  We got up in the morning and jogged down to where they have Oktoberfest to play some ball with a bunch of the other Zone leaders across the mission.  I've made many many great friends out here!

We ended up coming back on Saturday morning, we had an ausstellung in Überlingen.  Benji was a little sad too because Colea left on her mission on Friday.  

We also had some great lessons, this week flew by full of traveling and lessons in between.  We were able to still meet with just about everyone.  Charles has such a strong desire to be baptized and is progressing really well!  At church we had 5 investigators there, we taught the class.  After church was crazy, I was all over the place having members tell me to come here and go there...got to love serving in areas for 5 transfers.  The trust with the members and the connection is amazing!  It was a great week, time is flying by.  We are trying to help our Zone out, it's stressful sometimes.

Anyways, today we are going to Hohentwiel, this will be my third time there.

Love you all,

Love Elder Jensen"

Hiking in the Alps

 Säntis - mountain in Switzerland

On top of the world

 visiting the Temple

Goals in Action

July 6, 2015

"Hey Fam,

What a great week!  We were able to find 7 new investigators, some more solid than others.  We also had 6 people at church.  We had some great lessons with Charles and a few other of our friends, and a couple eating appointments.  Charles has his past but he is completely changing his life around.  We set a date with him to be baptized on the 25th of July.  He is so excited but it's a goal still!  We have a great feeling and a lot of faith with him.  He came to a taufe yesterday at the church and he asked all these questions.

This next week is going to fly by, MLC in München, temple trip on Wednesday... it's going to be good!  I love you all!

Love, Elder Jensen"

Hanging out with the Sisters, Elders, the Lee's and Doris

Celebrating the 4th of July 

Real Quick Note and Cuckoo Clocks

June 29, 2015

"Hey fam,

Sorry for a quick note, we were just in Triberg.  Man it is beautiful!  The biggest cuckoo clock in the world, as well as the tallest waterfall in Germany.  Cuckoo clocks everywhere to buy!  We ate at a little cafe with the Lee's.  Next Monday we are going with the Lee's to Santis. It's a mountain range in the Swiss.

This last week was a good week.  We had a finding day in bad säckingen - found a couple people and saw one of the oldest bridges in Europe. It connects Germany and Switzerland.  We didn't even know it was that old or went into Switzerland, we just walked underneath it and talked to people then next thing we know we are in Switzerland.  We knew by seeing the border patrol sign as well as a swiss chocolate shop right by the river.  

We also met with Charles a couple times this week.  He told us his life story.  What a story.  He has been through a lot, and is coming "home."  It has been really cool to see how much he is accepting the gospel, pray for him!  We also met with some other cool people this week.

This last Sunday was branch conference and we got a new branch president - Präs. Schmidt.  He will be good.

I love you all!

Love Elder Jensen"

P-Day in Triberg with the Lee's

The Final Count Down

June 22, 2015

"Hallo family!

So I'm trying to write an email right now from my iPad and it's the hardest thing ever, still not used to it.  So part of my emails will be different for these last few emails.  I've read a few talks and thought a lot about 'the gifts of the mission.'  

This week we had a good week here in Singen.  We have two Germans in our zone serving in Schaffhausen down in the Schweiz, and we had a tausch with them this last week.  They've been having a harder time finding people so to say.  So we spent some time down there finding on the streets.  It is a beautiful old city on the Rhein river.  I ended up working here in Singen with one of our German Elders and he kind of kept telling me that finding isn't a big success..I was hoping and saying a prayer in my heart that we would find someone cool together and we did!!  We found a cool lady and got all her info and will meet later this week!

This week we also had zone training with President and his wife.  They gave out the iPads to everyone else in the mission.  I got to hangout with my good old pal Elder Plumb who has been serving in the office this last transfer. 

Other than that we met some super cool people.  We had some great lessons with Blessing and Erwin this week.  We tried to commit Blessing to be baptized on the 25 of July, she said no...which is great!  Because it shows she cares, she explained to us how it's a huge decision that she wants to feel sure.  We said we understood and will continue to meet and asked her to continue to pray.  Pray for her, that she will understand her answer.  

Then Church, oh church, so Chris and Faith (some of our new converts) brought a couple friends to church, one being Charles!  Charles is legit!  Church was a great experience, there was a baby blessing from one of the investigators/now members who the Sisters baptized a couple months ago.  Charles really liked church.  He said he felt the spirit, especially as he took the sacrament.  I was translating so I didn't get to sit next to any of them sadly.  We met with Charles this morning at Chris and Faith's place, Faith had her famous African fish spaghetti that is so spicy.  It burns and they just throw a whole fish in there, fish head bones, scales and everything.  After taking 30 or so minutes to eat all that (all four of us shared one huge plate) and watching Chris eat all our fish heads, we had a great spiritual lesson with Charles.  Faith has already gave him a Book of Mormon.  By the way, Charles is from Kenya, he gave me a sweet kenya bracelet today. Pray for him.  He just called me on the bus on the way here to the Lee's saying he hope he wasn't a hastle this morning and how he is changing his life around.  He mentioned my first name (that I briefly told him on Sunday) and he said how it's an angels name, that could possible help him.  

Love you all!"

LG

Elder Jensen"  

Geschenke!!

June 15, 2015

"What up Fam?

So this last week was like Christmas...a few highlights - a suit, bikes, eating table, iPads, and memories.

I'll take you through the main events, I tried writing on my new iPad, but no wifi, so I'm copying my drafts from my mail on my iPad haha.

We had MLC this last week, the main purpose was we were getting iPads (a week or so before the rest of the mission to test them out). They were very practical.  Friday morning before eating breakfast at the hastle and going to MLC, 4 of us Elders walked from the hastle to Teriesenwiese - where they hold Oktoberfest (just empty cement property when it's not going on), and we found a swing set to do some P90X.  At MLC we got our iPads and had a little training on them, got them all set up.  They are filtered like crazy from the Church, which is good!  We also found out that Elder Caldwell and I will most likely be staying together this last transfer in Singen, then we will "kill each other on the mission" and they will most likely shut down this Zone.  At first I had mixed feelings, but I prayed about it and I think we are going to see a lot of miracles!  We set some goals and Elder Caldwell wants to get a baptism before he ends his mission, so we decided that we will be having a baptismal service here in Singen on July 25th.  With whom, we don't know yet? If it is someone we are already meeting with now or someone we will find on the streets like Br. Luu.  We will give our all to do it!  I'm excited and Elder Caldwell is way pumped, pray for miracles and blessings.

Next, we bought bikes, we've wanted bikes because it takes 30 minutes to walk to the Church and bahnhof.  Sometimes the buses don't run so we got them!  Not the best bikes but they will do.  We are taking them to Eduards today to have him fix them up while we talk.  I also bought a suit last P-day in Konstanz for sale, it's my "return suit!"

We are teaching a couple people right now, they like to meet with us but their progress is slower.  Moses comes from the Eastern part of Africa, I can see the potential he has.  The other is a mom, Blessing.  She has been here in Germany for 9 or so years.  She actually lived in Pforzheim for a while.  She is working and has a 6 year old son, Sebastian.  She came to church and said she'd come next week.  We had a little scare with her boy Sebastian thinking he was a monkey, but it ended up being okay.  We will be meeting with her later in the week and hope all goes well.

Last I had to talk in church yesterday, I used my new iPad and the topic was Jesus Christus unser Erlöser.  I wrote down a couple scriptures and bullet points and gave the talk for 10 minutes.  Eduard came to church as well!

This next week we will be traveling to kreuzlingen where Presdent will meet our Zone and distribute the iPads and take them through a small training.  We also have a tausch in Schaffhausen.

After reading a talk today, I'm excited to start making a list of all the talents, blessings and gifts I have been blessed with from my mission...and reflect on them.  That is another story for another time.  Love you all and have a great week!

"There is no returned missionary for whom it is too late to consider the lessons obtained through faithful service and to apply them more diligently.  As we do so, we will feel the influence of the spirit more fully in our lives, our families will be strengthened, and we will draw closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven.  In a previous General Conference, Elder L. Tom Perry extended this invitation: 'I call on you returned missionaries to rededicate yourselves, to become reinfused with the desire and spirit of missionary service.  I call on you to look the part and to be the part, and to act the part of a servant of our Father in Heaven..I want to promise you there are great blessings in store for you if continue to press forward with the zeal you once possessed as a full-time missionary'" - The Opportunity of a Lifetime

As a result of that sacrifice, we return from our missions with our own gifts: The gift of faith.  The gift of testimony.  The gift of understanding the role of the Spirit.  The gift of daily gospel study.  The gift of having served our Savior.  Gifts carefully packaged in worn scriptures, tattered red copies of Preach My Gospel, missionary journals and grateful hearts.

Elder Jensen"