A Fast Transfer..

June 30, 2014

"Familie!!

So I can already tell that this transfer is going to go by so-o-o fast.  We have at least one to two tausches lined up every week this next transfer, besides this next week because we have our HUGE 4th of July party, and then the next day our zone meets our new mission President.

This last week went well!  I tausched with Elder Monson, which is Elder Morrey's new son or golden.  This will be Elder Sponsellers and my third transfer together, I guess Pres. likes me to stay with my comps for awhile, ha.

I feel like our Distrikt is becoming united and that makes me happy.  It was a finding week in Munich, so it was fun!  We had a goal to find over 100 potential investigators as a zone and we crushed it!  We also had a finding day here in Augsburg too after our Distrikt meeting, and I thought it went pretty well too.  I worked with Elder Monson and together we found 5 new potentials!!  I was talking to EVERYONE!! That night I bought Elder Monson his first Döner.  I hope his first tausch treated him well because I remember how big of an impact my first one had on me with Elder Morrill.

We are continuing to meet with a couple investigators, but they haven't made a whole lot of progress sadly.  Real missionary work is "member" work...members need to realize that the main purpose of a missionary is simply to support the members.  If you want to see real progress and real success it has to be done with or by the members!  It's one thing to realize it and sit on the sidelines and support the drive of member work OR you could actually step in and make an action.  There is no such thing as a bad action or approach to missionary work, just simply give the Lord something to work with and he will work WONDERS!

Anyways, I love you all and hope you all have an amazing week!  

P.S. I got to watch the German v. USA Fußball game with a less active, I was sad USA lost when watching it but then I left and walked the streets with my German face paint and scarf and saw everyone celebrating and going crazy!  They live for it!  I also met a member from South Korea on the train this last week, small world.  I tried doing missionary work with her at first and she managed to tell me in broken English that she is already a member, so we talked about the church in South Korea which was really cool!

Love you all and have a great week.

Love Elder Jensen"

Ich bin immer noch am Leben! Keine Sorge

June 23, 2014

Translation: I'm still alive!  Do not worry :)

"Familie!!!

Hey fam, I'm still alive.  Deutschland is sure beautiful!!!!  The castle was beautiful, then the mountains were breath-taking, with the blue blue glacier lakes and rivers going through the valleys of green hills and mountains covered in trees!  It is so hard to explain and pictures do not do it justice.

This 4th of July party we are planning is going to be HAMMER!!!  We are going all out, and us missionaries are planning just about everything for our gemeinde (we are trying to show them how much fun it is and hope they will start doing it themselves).  For the fourth we will have water activities, sports, grilling and lots of other food, horses, floating lanterns, and sparklers.  I'm so excited!  We met with a less active to get the horses.  He is a real cowboy from Wyoming and has lived here for a while because he married a German.  He is really cool.  He cooked us some spicy mexican food - how I miss that, and we just talked for hours.  He still has an awesome testimony and was just way cool!

So Fußball is  HUGE down here.  The fans go crazy, that is all the people talk about, members included.  I have learned a lot about it since being here.  We get to watch 2 games in the World Cup, if they are missionary work related.  I'm not lying that during the games it is IMPOSSIBLE to find anyone to talk too.  We saw a 70 year old grandma the other day with German face paint and a flag, haha.  So needless to say, we are going to find a missionary opportunity to watch the game this Thursday = Deutschland v. America.  I'm kind of cheering for both teams!  I want Deutschland to win it because I'm here and it's so exciting, but at the same time Red, White and Blue!

Cool 'miracle' story...this last week we had a distrikt leader meeting in München, and I being an idiot lost my wallet somehow.  Well I didn't realize it until we were in innercity Munich and I check my back pocket and find nothing!  I instantly panicked because I had a lot of valuable stuff.  Like I said we were in the innercity and we were actually watching the Utah Chamber Choir in an old huge Evangelish church. Anyways so we are sitting there watching and listening and I'm just panicking that I had lost my wallet.  But as soon as it was over, the AP came up to me with my wallet!!  I was so excited and thankful.  I guess a Munich policeman found it and called them because I had their numbers in there.  So lucky!  On a better note, I got to see President and Sister Miles one last time at the choir thing.  They are sure awesome and I am going to miss them.  The new President comes in on the 27th.  I also got to talk to a lot of other Utah members at this Choir performance which was cool.

I sure do love you all and are thankful for all that you do!  It is crucial to remain with a positive attitude, especially since I'm about at my year mark.  No worries, I never doubt and have never got down, every mission is so different.  Please continue to pray for Augsburg and that we can find people to share this message with!!  Love you all.

LG

Elder Jensen" 

Here are some more pics from previous P-Day!

 Highest point of Deutschland

 

                                                                                  Found the year round Christmas store

Pictures!

June 2014

*Here are some more pictures from the Castle one P-Day and a few other misc. ones!!  We sure love seeing pictures of this happy Elder!

P-day Adventures

June 9, 2014

*Some tourists sent these pictures to our family of Gabe and Elder Sponseller!  They were going to see the Neuschwanstein Castle for P-day (Walt Disney castle)

 

The Church is TRUE!

June 2, 2014

"Hey fam,

So we had a big musical fireside this past weekend (the Sisters were over it).  It was good and fun, I was in charge of lights so I didn't sing all the songs, and I greeted everyone at the door.  On Saturday, we were in Munich, where the fireside was from 8 in the morning to about 8 at night.  So during that time when we weren't practicing I went out with Elder Morrey, this Elder in my distrikt, and walked the neighborhoods and found people and invited them to come.  It was fun, I love talking to people and was able to find someone really cool, right outside the church just by simply doing a small simple act.  We ended up talking to her for a while, no contact information but we got her name, gave her our number and told her when our church started.  She was cool.  After the musical fireside Elder Sponseller and I made the Sisters a card and had everyone sign it and gave it to them with some flowers.

Yesterday we visited this old lady who is a less active.  We blessed and gave her the sacrament and then gave a spiritual thought  and sat and visited with her.  She showed us pictures of her baptism and still remembers the Elders to this day.  It's so neat, someday I'll find someone ready for baptism.  It meant the WORLD to her, and she started crying and said a prayer of gratitude.  Before we left, I gave her a priesthood blessing.

We are going to go bowling today, haha, I talked Elder Sponseller into going.  It's been awhile.  Next week we are going to the famous castle near Munich, the one disney bases theirs off of ya know?!  I'll take some pictures, but it's a 2 hour train ride there and then back so I probably won't be able to email next week.  Tonight we are going to play catch (football) with an American less active which will be fun, I'm excited!  Oh yeah last Monday we visited the Fugeri, it's this old community here in Augsburg.  It was interesting, there I found out that Augsburg was very pro Hitler back in the 40's.

Anyways, I love you all and you all really are the best!  I'm so grateful for my family and I know we can be together forever.  We have to keep and live our covenants.  Love you all.

Elder Jensen"

With Elder Morey

Time goes Fast!

May 26, 2014

Gabe keeps telling us to remind him of more details and stories come 2015, so we sure hope he remembers everything he wants to tell us and we want to hear!  I guess some weeks all we get is "short and sweet" emails but glad he is happy and well!

"What up Fam,

Pretty fast week, as always.  It was a nice surprise meeting and going out to eat with Elder Root and his family this last week!  So weird seeing him not as a missionary.  They were awesome and so nice and bought me and my companion lunch.

Tuesday - we had an eating appointment with a family, she is from London so we spoke English and had tacos!

Wednesday - I got to shoot some hoops at the church for sportabend.  Oh how I love basketball!

Then to Friday - we baked cookies and delivered them to some members who live here in Augsburg and some less actives.  First time baking on the mission, ha.

Saturday - we met with a brother who lives in Höchstadt who is already a member, but less active.  We read in the Book of Mormon to help him with one of his problems, and it went so well!  He loved it, then later we started talking about the temples and everything and he wants to visit the temple so bad.  We told him everything he needs to do to get there...and he came to church on Sunday and met with Bishoff of what exactly he has to do.  Really cool!  After that we met with a couple and had a really good lesson with them as well.  We will try and set a baptismal date with them next week!

Sunday - we had two eating appointments back to back (first time on my mission).  Let's just say I can't remember the last time I was that full.  Oh gosh!  One was with a new family - Frühlich, they are so funny and awesome.

It was a good week, time goes fast.  Hope all is well at home.  Don't worry we can share plenty of stories come 2015!  I love reading your emails, so thanks :)  Love ya all.

Elder Jensen"

Enjoy the Journey

May 19, 2014

"Hey Fam,

Augsburg is going good, I love the members.  We had a great tausch this week, it was a bike area, so we got to ride bikes through the German country - up some hills, down some hills and over some rivers, it was sure pretty.  Hard though, about 40 minutes one way to our "potential investigator" who didn't have time for us.  So it was an immediate 40 minute bike ride back.  Taught some of our 'brothers' some great lessons this week.  We teach them in English and the spirit is really strong and it's so natural!  We also had two sweet eating appointments this last week.  One with the Dörings, the wife served her mission in St. George, mainly Enterprise and she loved it!  My mind is a little distracted right now, but I am doing good.  I just want to let you know that I love this GOSPEL so much!  It means so much to me, especially our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I have never felt so close to him and our Father in heaven as these last 10 months.

(Due to some tragic events back home that Gabe was informed of this week, his mind is a little scattered and saddened...but he went on to say this at the end of his email).

I feel so protected here on the Mission and I feel so watched over, like never before.  I think for once in my life the bigger picture comes easier to me than ever before.  This life truly is fragile, and it will pass before us as if a dream (Jacob 7:26).  But how great our joy will be when we all are together in the presence of our Lord.  I can't wait for that day, but in the meantime, we MUST live our life with joy.  And nothing will bring you greater joy as this gospel, it's called the Great Plan of Happiness for a reason!  I hope you all know that I love you, and that I pray for you all.  Know that our Lord really does know us, he knows what we are dealing with, so I plead to you all to take it up with him.  Uchtdorf says it best when he says - when we realize where we came from and where we are going, happiness will come easier. Enjoy the journey. 

Love you all,

Elder Jensen"