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"

SINGEN!!

January 19, 2015

Gabe made it to his new area and is already super busy!  This is a little excerpt from his email to his mission president.

"Well I'm here in Singen and ready to go!  I haven't even been here a week but I already love it!  The Zweig (Branch) is awesome and so supportive.  The ride from Wien to Singen was...LONG but really cool.  Elder Meilsøe is an amazing missionary and I'm already learning a lot from him.  I'm excited to see all the success we'll see together, we have some great goals that will make us stretch but are for sure reachable.  I'm excited to serve the zone and get to know them all better.  Another huge plus of this new area is Elder and Sister Lee! When I arrived late Thursday night, there they were willing to give us a ride and buy us food.  I can already tell they are awesome and we will love them!"

New Companions!  Gabe and Elder Meilsøe

Überraschung!!! "Transfer Surprise"

January 12, 2015

"Hallo Familie,

What a busy good week!  So Monday, I went to primemarkt with Elder Geilman to buy him new shirts.  After we went and ate dinner and shared a spiritual thought at the Familie Scheibstocks.  They are a less active family.  They always feed us so-o-o much and live out in Bürgenland (close to Hungary).  They've been coming back to Church so it's cool to work with them!

Tuesday we had Zonetraining in Wien.  We found out some new rules...their is a rule that we speak German from 9 in the morning to 9 at night.  I like it, I like speaking German and it helps A LOT.  

I tausched in Wien with Elder Eldredge - he is an international Elder so I get to see so much of Wien.  We taught some German.  

Wednesday we tausched back..I taught Reja that night.  We read in the Book of Mormon with them, Reja has made a lot of progress and loves the reading assignments we give her.  

Thursday we walked the streets finding people, that night we had Gemeinderat.  I love the ward and have gained their trust I feel.  We talked to them about the people we've been teaching and the progress made.

Friday we did weekly planning, then later on met with Reja again.  It went well and we used the Tree of Life vision von Lehi to introduce the Gospel and how it helps us progress down the path to the "Tree of Life" or the Love of Jesus Christ and all that comes from him.  We mentioned die Taufe (baptism) and will talk more on that next time.  That night we had Spiel und Spaß, played some table tennis and Uno.  It was fun!

THEN Saturday came, Transfer call morning!  I always get nervous for some reason.  Anyways the morning came and the calls weren't coming.  Then finally Elder Jensen and Elder Abbot called, our Zoneleaders, and were thanking us for our time together.  Then they said "we don't know what's happening with you guys, let us know when you know, okay?"  Well thirty minutes pass and we get a call from President - telling ME to pack my bags and that I'm being transferred to Singen, Deutschland.  Überraschung (Surprise), YEAH!!!  Singen is part of the Zürich Stake and close to the Switzerland Border, also close to Lake Constance and other than that I know nothing about it. There's three zones in Germany:  Stuttgart, München and Freiburg.  Now I'll be in the Freiburg zone, so I've served in all three zones in Germany.  This zone has just about all of the Black Forest, part of Switzerland and the Alps.  I'm going to be companions with Elder Meilsøe from Norway.  So now I know I have to pack my bags!  I sent out a message to everyone in the ward, they were all shocked.  I gave my goodbye testimony at Church on Sunday.  We also had 2 eating appointments, one with familie Genga and the other at Br. Pillmans.  Said lots of goodbyes and it was not fun.  I love this ward, they have treated us really well.  I hope progress can continually be made and relationships strengthened in the ward.  I'm still shocked I'm being transferred, I was convinced I would be staying..but now I'm literally being transferred to the other side of the mission!!!!  I love you all and hope you have a great week :)

Elder Jensen"

Overlooking the city of Wien

 Reja and Fam

New Years Fortune Cookie

January 5, 2015

"Hey Familie,

So we had to be home by 10 this New Years Eve, but we spent it with our Bishoff and his family until then and it was a lot of fun!  I got my New Years fortune from a fortune cookie at their house, it said "Ohne sie läuft wenig.  Jeder baut auf Ihren Einsatz" (translation: without running low, each builds on their use).  I thought that was pretty cool!
So this week was really good and busy!!  Oh how I love those weeks!
I had two tausches this week, first one here in WNS with Elder Richman.  It was a way fun tausch!  We worked hard together and we talked a lot, told stories and laughed.  That night we ate at a Texas pizza oven restaurant that we found.  We both love country music and they had it playing at this pizza place, first time hearing it in a long time!
We had Distriktsmeeting, it went okay.  President comes up with the plan now, so I kind of just guide it a long now.  We have a pretty small distrikt.
Then came New Years, which was a normal day.  We tausched in Wien, I went with Elder Nelson.  He's quiet but funny and a hard worker. We spent the first day just 'finding' and that night we gave out 5 Books of Mormon and we found 4 Potentials!!!  It was so much fun and we both had great attitudes!  The next day of the tausch we taught Alex.  He is from Ukraine and really cool.  I got to see a lot of Wien, it's a really pretty city.  Huge old churches everywhere!!  
Back in WNS, this week we met with Gerngyi (Hungarian frau).  We took a Hungarian member with us which was good, and we talked and talked about the comfort of the Gospel.  She needs the gospel, I can see her getting baptized.  She lives in a dorf in the middle of no where.  That night we also taught Reja too.  I love them!  They are so nice.  She said a personal prayer for the first time with us - so so cool!!!  She is Catholic and usually states memorized prayers, but we taught her and committed her to say a personal prayer...and she did it!!  Reja came to church on Sunday as well.
I really love the members here and the ward.  Transfer calls are this week, anything can happen.  The Lord knows what he's doing.
In ending, a short miracle story.  So from beginning of December I've been asking in my prayers for more opportunities to use my Priesthood and give blessings.  Well since then numerous members have come up to me and asked me to give them a priesthood blessing or help them give one.  As well as people we are teaching right now too.  In just the last few weeks I've given about 5 blessings! Shows the trust the members have in me as well, I respect that a lot and it's another testimony booster!!!

Love you all and hope you have a great new week

LG,
Elder Jensen"