Christmas Isn't Over, What Are You Talking About?

Merry Christmas everyone! This week has been wild, so I'll try to briefly summarize but it's been fantastic! Monday we had a concert by the one and only GENTRI! It was so good. They did a medley from Les Mis and it made my heart happy. And the pianist (Steven Nelson) is CRAZY good. It was wild. On Tuesday we got to go to the Mt. Timpanogos temple, and it was super pretty and good to be there!

On Friday we watched a Christmas nativity done by the family of one of the leaders, it was super funny and cute. The kid playing Samuel the Lamanite clearly did not have the dodgeball power, because he definitely got pegged in the face and several other places by the rock/snowball or whatever they were throwing. It was actually hilarious. We also had a musical program that I led the music for at the beginning. After the nativity we watched the movie Testaments. It was good, but I think poor President Porter regretted his decision because movie flirting scenes+many Elders=CHAOS.

After the movie we got to have hot chocolate and sing around the tree of life. It was a super fun Christmas eve! On Christmas day we had the pleasure of being spoken to by none other than Elder Cook! We all got to shake his hand too and it was super cool! On Christmas we also had an MTC talent show which was good! Our branch sang Peace in Christ in English and Chinese. It was a big hassle to put together but turned out good! We also did a whole bunch of other stuff. It was a really good Christmas!

Other things that happened: I spoke in church yesterday which was good! I almost got hit by a car today, it was quite the adventure. Covid has been a bit of an issue in the MTC and they've been getting stricter and adding more restrictions. I can't say I like it cause some of the restrictions are kind of sad but you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the MTC open! This week has been super busy and a little stressful, but it's been so good. I can't wait to see what else is in store! 

Spiritual thought for the week: Elder Cook gave such a good devotional! He talked about the importance of loving your companion, mission leaders, people you serve, and especially the Lord. We have been focusing a lot on God's love lately and how we can show love to Him. We show love to Him by having faith, trust, and obedience in Him. Consistent obedience will always qualify us for miracles. Do not ever underestimate the power and majesty of God and His ability to perform miracles or change someone's heart, but always have the trust that even if He doesn't perform a miracle in your way, that it will all ultimately be for your good. I know that God loves each of you perfectly and yet individually! If you ask Him about His feelings toward you, He will answer. Anyway, I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

 

It's Christmas Time and Time For a Mission!!

Hello Everyone! This has been a busy week, but it's been a blast! Tuesday I had my first teaching lesson in Chinese. Not gonna lie, it was pretty rough, and we didn't know many words...but it was an adventure! A very humbling adventure, but an adventure nonetheless! Wednesday we had the opportunity to host the new missionaries coming to the MTC! It was super fun, and I would love to do it again. I got very good at carrying luggage up four flights of stairs :)

Thursday we decided to have a district "English fast" where we didn't speak any English. The rule was if you speak English everyone would say "laji" which means trash and is our code word :) I definitely started out fine and forgot throughout the day. Better luck next week :) We have learned how to teach the first lesson this week so that's fun! It's still spotty but we're getting there! The Elders have given all the sisters weird titles like "stalker, hunter, observative" and mine is serial killer. I swear, you play the hand slapping game with someone one time and they suddenly think you like to kill people in your spare time! It's funny though :)  

On Sunday I was asked to speak in Church next week, and I was also asked to lead the music for the big group devotional on Christmas Eve. I don't know how to feel about that, especially since they have cameras and screens general conference style. It'll be good though! Being an STL is super fun, we get to go around and check in with all of the sisters in our branch every night. It's fun! Tonight we're going to have a concert by GENTRI and I'm so pumped! I'm so excited for Christmas it'll be a party! 

Spiritual thought: Yesterday and recently I have been studying a lot about daily repentance. Daily repentance holds so much power and is a sure way to stay strong against the adversary! I would invite you all to read the talk "we can do better and be better" by President Nelson and think about what you can all do to strive to be a little better every day. I know that the Lord has been really cracking down on some of these things for me and that there's a long way to go, but He will help us get through it and eventually become more like the Savior! Anyway, I love you all and hope you have the best week and best Christmas! Please email me :)

Love,

-江姐妹 (aka Jiang Jiemei) (aka Sister Jensen)

 

SNOW!!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic week! This week has been fun, it snowed, and I really enjoyed that! My companion and I were called to be Sister Training Leaders, so I think that'll be fun! Basically, we just need to check in with the sisters and give lots of hugs :) It should be fun!

We were able to go to the temple this morning, which was really nice, it's my first time since I went through for myself so I'm really glad I got to go again. Chinese classes are fun, my teachers are hilarious. One of them has so much energy and you gotta stay on your toes in case he throws markers at you, and my other teacher makes this super funny face and checks his pulse whenever the elders make him uncomfortable (which is a lot) but it's so fun!

I definitely only understand what is going on half the time, but it's been a party! I memorized the first vision in Chinese this week and we're also working on a bunch of scriptures to memorize. For some reason Chinese is most definitely harder to memorize than English, I can never remember words, but we'll get there!

We had to teach the first lesson to one of my teachers in Chinese before even learning any of the sections for it, it was pretty rough, and we basically skipped the whole restoration which (hehem) is the first lesson. It was fun though :) A weird inside joke the girls in my district have, is that whenever we see each other from a distance we take pictures of each other and send them, it's so funny. The Elders think we're all stalkers now :) I learned some things about myself this week, one of them being that I apparently roll around in my sleep and my poor companion always feels like she's in an earthquake (I'm so sorry Sister Conder). And according to her I also hum in my sleep :) I think that's about it! 

Spiritual thought for this week: Everyone read D&C 138:56! I love how this scripture talks about how we were prepared to come to earth. We have received all the tools and instruction needed to be successful here, and although we may not remember it, we were and are prepared for earth life and everything it entails. Heavenly Father did not intend for us to push through it alone. In His mercy He provided a Savior for us to follow, and if we follow Jesus Christ and turn to Him in all circumstances, success will ultimately be ours. Everything will be just fine. I just find that comforting. Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely week, I love you all! Email me back please, I'd love to hear from you :)

 

Email 中文怎么收

Hello everyone! This week has been wild! Last Wednesday I came to the MTC in person! It's been so fun so far, it's like a mix of EFY and college except we only learn doctrine and Chinese. It's been good though! For those of you who will only read this far.... I got a reassignment today! Drum roll please......Minneapolis Minnesota Mission! I don't know how long I will be staying there, and it didn't actually say whether or not it will be Chinese speaking. But it's exciting! I'll probably get another email in a few days with more information, and I'll keep you all updated. But it's been exciting!

Our Chinese classes are so fun, and my teachers are hilarious without trying to be :) we have been memorizing the missionary purpose and first vision in Chinese and for some reason they make us recite it while walking up and down the stairs over and over. It's quite an adventure. I think they maybe do that, so we have extra motivation to memorize it (so we don't trip and fall down the stairs). One of my teachers let the Elders do it in the elevator which was funny. It's just a party all the time! 

On Friday (I think) we had a Christmas devotional that had a whole bunch of super pretty piano duet arrangements. So that was really cool! Every Sunday they have what is called the "Go and Do” experience, which they give us an outline for, and we get to study a lot about it on our own. It was really good! One issue is that they only have like two actual topics for it that switch off because most people only stay for a week or two... so we may or may not have the same lessons over and over. But it'll be good! We'll just get very good at studying them :)

It's been super busy, and we have classes and devotionals and studying all day every day, but the spirit here is like none other. Seriously my personal study before was garbage compared to what it is now, but I love it and I've grown so much! And I now realize I should probably talk about my district hehe. Sister Conder (my comp) is so funny, and I love being around her, it's a total party. We always practice our Chinese while exercising and it's surprisingly effective :). Sister Kirton is the sweetest and is hilarious, today she made us put out our shoes and look away so "St. Nicholas" could come and fill our shoes with candy. It was really cute. Sister Booth is so sweet and funny and is very good at Chinese. We have a Hufflepuff Alto Theater Kid Family is Always Singing Chinese Speaking Missionary from Utah Flying Across a Major Ocean to Another Country Born in October 2002 Graduated 2020 Gang. Elder Otto is super sweet and caring and is like a little puppy dog (in the best way, wo ai ni Elder Otto :) ) Elder Pyne is so fun and very organized, he's our district leader and does a good job. Elder Chan is super funny and definitely was the one who proposed the elevator idea. My district is the best, it's always a party. 

Spiritual thought for the day: The Atonement not only redeems us, it enables and strengthens us! When Nephi was tied up by his brothers he didn't pray to get out of the situation. He prayed that he would have the strength to break his bands. He probably had to pull and tug, but with both his own effort and the strength of the Lord, he was able to break them. The Lord won't change our circumstances. But through the Atonement He will give us the strength to change our own circumstances. You should all read the BYU devotional "In the Strength of The Lord." 10/10. Anyway, I love you all and you should all email me back please :)

Provo MTC!! (Mom Post)

Last night was our final night with Janelle before she heads to the MTC! Rick gave her a beautiful Father's blessing and we had everyone write her a letter that we would give her the next day. This morning the kids said their goodbyes and then the three of us headed to Provo!

She read the letters on the way there and then Rick had me read some of them out loud. Of course, I blubbered like a baby!! I especially liked Ellen's letter -- she had lots of solid advice for Janelle! We went to the Provo temple to take a few pictures. I would have liked to take more, but we were running a little late by this time and Janelle was anxious to get on her way! She has been waiting for this moment for a long time and she is ready!! She will be such an amazing missionary!! Good luck, Janelle, we love you!!! 

 My brother, Chris, did an interesting filter on one of the pictures!