Beer Coupons

This week was pretty good! Pretty wild! Last week we got a referral named Christian and he's awesome! We're meeting with him at the Bishop's house tomorrow and it's gonna be so good! 

On Saturday we did a garbage cleanup for Earth Day, it was fun but pretty cold and took 40 minutes longer than planned. Also one of the sponsors was a brewery, so in the goody bags they gave everyone there were lots of beer coupons, I found it hilarious :) 

One thing that I've been thinking about a lot lately is how the Lord preserves us in ways we don't even know. For example, last Wednesday we were going to have an in person lesson with a returning member when our joint teacher let us know that she had received an alert saying that an armed person who was having a mental breakdown was in that area. We ended up just doing the lesson over video chat, but it got me thinking...

 

     If we didn't have our joint teacher:

          -We wouldn't have known about the alert.

               -We would have gone earlier in the day, as it was currently happening.

                    -There typically aren't parking spots close, so we usually have to walk down a ways. 

We later found out that in this incident 5 people and one dog were killed. 

Sorry to make it all dramatic for all of you, I know that this is mild compared to other places. This kind of thing is extremely sad, but it's not a common thing here in Duluth. It just got me thinking a lot about how the Lord protects us in so many ways that we don't see. Never cease to thank Him. 

Other than that, this week was good! We were able to find 2 other people cold calling, and then Christian too! We also got to do more service which was fun :)

Spiritual thought for the week: Whether or not we receive miracles in our lives depends less on whether or not God has the ability to perform miracles on our behalf, and more on our faith. The Lord asks us to exercise faith as small as a mustard seed, but it must be pure and genuine faith. The quality of our faith matters more than the quantity. Lately I have been thinking about how we even know if our faith is of the right quality, and my answer for you who ponder this same question is to ASK THE LORD. He will answer you, and He will give you opportunities to strengthen your faith. Even if you don't know for sure, act until you can get to that point of faith! One thing my mission President's wife often says is "It takes courage to step into a place of devotion." I echo those words. 

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Sorry I forgot to take pictures...whoops.

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A note from Sister Jensen's mom:  I received a very nice text and a couple of pictures from a family in Sister Jensen's area this morning who had the missionaries over for dinner. I am excited that she can finally have in-person dinner appointments! They also had the missionaries sign a guest book titled "10 things I am grateful for..."  Since she didn't have any pictures this week I asked Sister Jensen if I could add them to her letter!

Also, I was asked to speak in my ward on missionary work and so I asked Sister Jensen if she would send me a paragraph to share with the ward. Here it is!

Missionary life is wild. There's so many ups and downs. There is so much joy in seeing someone accept what you teach, and even just in finding someone new! It's also hard and disappointing to see people reject what could help their lives so much. I knew that the gospel of Jesus Christ was true before my mission. But since I have been here, my testimony has increased of the divinity of this work. It is directed by the Lord. There is absolutely no way any of the things we do as missionaries would be effective if this work wasn't run by God. Since I have been on my mission, I have gained a sense of urgency in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We often take our knowledge for granted and forget that there are people in the world who are living without the knowledge that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them, without the knowledge that they have a purpose here on earth. Recently we taught a man who described his situation as "going in a figure 8." He described himself as a wanderer. People need to know what we know! People need the hope that we find through Jesus Christ. This gospel is not an ethereal concept. It is not a vague idea that is simply used as an explanation for the world. It is tangible. It is concrete. God's plan for us is a physical plan with a concrete purpose, that has specific ordinances and covenants that we can hold on to in our journey back to our Father in Heaven. They help us become like Him, and that is His plan for us. And everyone needs to know this.

 

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all doing well! So many miracles this week. So many. But before I get into that, EVERYONE WATCH THIS MISSIONARY DEVOTIONAL BY ELDER BEDNAR. Absolute fire. Honestly, if I could straight up grab your face, shake it, and tell you to watch this devotional, I would. I'll make it easier for you and include the link! 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/missionary-devotionals-2021/2021-08-0260-elder-david-a-bednar-august-26-2021-1080p?lang=eng

Anyway, this week was so awesome! So many miracles! We have definitely been blessed over and over. In the past 2 weeks, we have found 6 people cold calling! So many of these people commented that we called right when they needed it, and they took it as a sign from God. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get in contact with a lot of them since, but we'll get there. So many miracles! 

Oh! We had transfers on Thursday, and Sister Martinez and I are staying here in Duluth! So that's fun, I'm happy about it! We did face and hair masks Wednesday night. On Thursday Sister Martinez and I were able to celebrate our half birthday together, which was fun. By celebrating, I mean we had french toast for breakfast. Friday was also my 5 monthiversarry which is so wild! I don't like that. But life is so good! 

We were able to contact one of our cold call guys, his name is North and he's so cool! Except during the call it randomly hung up (we still don't know why) and so we still haven't covered the Book of Mormon haha.

Easter was super fun! And snowy :) I'm ready for the summer. I have begun a summer strike, which is not something I ever thought would happen haha. We did an egg bash and Sister Martinez won with her egg named Louella. 

Spiritual thought for the week: In light of Easter, I just wanted to express my gratitude of the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of His Atonement and Resurrection. I know that because of the Savior, we can experience hope, joy, and healing. We know that we can start over and change. We know that we can be with our loved ones again. Not everyone knows this. What might be stopping you from sharing this knowledge? 

 Also, I actually broke up my usually mega long paragraphs! Aren't you proud of me??

 

Twas a Good Week!

It's a low point when you somehow manage to get sunburned in Minnesota in April. My companion thought it was hilarious, haha! This week has been really good! We were able to surpass our finding goal for this week which has never happened to me before, so that was awesome! They were all found through cold calling. 

One thing that missionaries often do is post free copies of the Book of Mormon or Bible on our facebook groups. We had already done that with our groups, and wanted to come up with something more original to post, so my companion came up with the idea to ask for everyone's favorite hymns and then we could send a video of us singing or playing it! It was a cute idea, but it had a few unforseen holes, one of them being that other religions have very different hymns than ours, it was honestly hilarious, but I felt really bad that we had to message all of the people and try and find similar ones that were approved for missionaries. We were still able to get some songs sent out though! 

This weekend we also had Stake Conference, and President and Sister Richardson were able to come up to Duluth for it. They took us out for ice cream Saturday night, and then we were able to do interviews with President on Sunday which was really beneficial. They're so awesome. 

 This week was honestly kind of a blur :) And this coming week is transfers which is wild! It seriously just sneaks up on you! My companion and I are hoping to stay together and maybe get a third person, since there's a chance I will get put in a trio anyway. But you never know with President! It's exciting though! 

Spiritual thought for the week: I was privileged to meet with President for an interview yesterday. One thing he emphasized that I loved was the fact that any hard thing we go through that is out of our control will not hinder our eternal progress. God will always compensate and prepare a way, both after this life and in it. We are not going to miss out on eternal blessings due to something that is out of our control. If we are following God's will, our life experience is what He wants it to be for us. Trust that the Lord will prepare a way for you. In 1 Nephi 3:7, notice he never says, "I will go and do the things the Lord hath commanded but..." NO. The Lord will ALWAYS compensate. He will ALWAYS prepare a way for you. He won't leave you stranded. Sometimes it just takes a little extra faith. 

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week :)  

General Conference

Hello everyone! I hope you had a fantastic week! General Conference was absolute fire. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you saw it, watch it again. So good. My companion has a family tradition of having stuffed French Toast at general conference and my family has crepes, so we had both! Let me just say it was a dangerous weekend in the desserty breakfast department. Amazing though. One thing that was kinda rough was that even though we told everyone in the world about conference and reminded them all like 12 times, NONE of our friends watched it. So that was sad. It's all good though!

On the plus side, last night we were able to get our friend Edward on date for the 23rd! So that's super exciting! On Thursday we were able to do some service at a food shelf, and that was fun. Gotta love good old-fashioned work. I don't really know what else happened this week. We also did some service by making lasagnas for people, except then we couldn't get in contact with one of them, so we just ate it haha. I have a weakness when it comes to lasagna. On Tuesday we had our apartment inspected and then the senior missionaries took us out for lunch, they are super sweet! We also made homemade Reese’s peanut butter cups for a member's birthday, and a giant stacked one for ourselves. It was great. Sorry, this was all mega out of order :)

Fun story from today: Today when we put our trash in the dumpster my companion accidentally threw the keys in, and we spent a good while trying to get it out with a stick :) it was actually hilarious. But yeah!

Spiritual thought for the week: I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk about the importance of moving forward and sacrificing what is blocking you from coming closer to God and consecrate the rest to Him. This is how to gain true happiness. This is how to gain lasting joy. This is how to guarantee yourself on the covenant path. It doesn't make life easy, but it makes life worth it. I would like to invite you all to find something to sacrifice to the Lord and find something to start doing that you can consecrate! 

 Anyway, I love you all and wish you the best week!

 

Zone Conference

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good week; I know I did! On Wednesday we had zone conference which was super good and super beneficial! We were able to do a lot of role plays, and the tips for helping members and getting referrals from them are a straight gold mine. On Thursday I had exchanges and went to Superior with Sister Pryor, who is a brand-new missionary. I was a little nervous since I would be leading the exchange, but it was good! Neither of us can drive right now so we were in the apartment for most of the day, but we had some good phone call lessons!

OH, GUESS WHAT? I found out that one of the Elders in my mission is going to Taiwan! Like next week! And on Friday President texted me and asked for some information for my visa! It might not be anytime soon, but things are moving! I'm excited. Other exciting things: Our friend Edward came to church again! We invited him to be baptized, and he said he would pray about it. I'm excited for him! Also, we were planning on passing off our friend Al to the elders, but it turns out he definitely doesn't want to talk to men. So, we'll see what happens with that. One of our friends invited us to her daughter's birthday party the other day, so that was fun too!

YAY GENERAL CONFERENCE! Everyone and your dog watch it! Think about how privileged we are to have a living prophet on the earth. Who do you know who needs to know about this? 

Another spiritual thought: Zone conference was so fire! Something that I have struggled with is that sometimes I feel like there is so far to go and so many things to work on and I'm so far from where I want to be. I often feel like I'm being prideful if I acknowledge my strengths. Finding the balance has always been difficult for me. One thing that President said at zone conference was "Do not be so overwhelmed with what you are not, that you overlook what you are. Be proud of what you are and humble for what you are not. Focus on those areas that you are strong as you work on the things that are a little bit frightening." The Lord will lead us along. This whole earth life is all about growth! The Lord led you to this point for a reason. What did He see in you as to want you here? If you struggle seeing your strengths, ask the Lord! He will tell you! It is okay to recognize what you are and be humble for what you are not. 

 

 

Revenge Week

Hey everyone! How's life??? This week was good! It was known as "revenge week" because our zone had a huge bounce back after a rough finding week last week. Our zone found like 20 people in the past week! We found a guy named Al, and get this, he was a COLD CALL REFERRAL. In other words, we called a random number, and they weren't interested, but gave us the number of someone who was! That doesn't just happen! This is the Lord's work folks! They didn't even have his name right haha but he's cool! He sometimes brings up marriage though and some of the things he says are slightly on the creepy side so we might pass him off to the Elders haha. But that's cool!

Our friend Edward came to church yesterday, and of course one of the hymns was "If You Could Hie to Kolob," haha hopefully he didn't think too much about it. We also had exchanges on Thursday, I went to Superior with Sister Pearl! We got to teach a bunch of people; it was really good! That whole day was a big success day for all the companionships which was awesome. We tried street contacting for the first time at a college, but nobody was there (we found out later it was spring break for them) but we'll get there! We were also able to have a bunch of member meals this week which was good. 

For those of you who are familiar with my fish of 1 1/2 years, Desmond, I am sorry to say that it was his time to go. My family had a funeral for him, which I appreciate. Here's a little tribute to Desmond!

-Favorite song: Little Saint Nick by the Beach boys, and another by 1D that I can't remember.

-Favorite activities: Watching me do homework, hiding behind his tree

-Favorite food: The tan pieces in his fish food, I always assumed it was krill but I have no idea what it is

-Least favorite activity: Bath time

I love you and will miss you Desmond! You will be in our memories forever! 

Spiritual thought for the week: When Joseph Smith had the first vision, he was "called by name." He also experienced this when Moroni appeared to him. What is the significance of being called by name? When we receive priesthood blessings, when we are set apart, and when we are given a responsibility by the Lord we are always "called by name." I am a big believer that names have power. They add emphasis and personal meaning to any sentence, and they have the power to make any compliment, insult, or phrase strike us to the core. So, let me ask again, what is the significance of God always calling us by name? That He knows us personally and loves us? That he individually chooses us, by name, for our responsibilities? I would like to invite you all to think about your names, and the fact that God knows them and knows you! He knows what He is doing when he calls you by name for a responsibility or even just for communication. Trust Him. 

 Anyway, sorry this was so long, I love you all and hope you have the best week!  

This is an adorable little doll that some people in my ward had made for me! Thanks so much I love it! 

I'm Free!!

Hello everyone! This week was good! A little rough in the finding department, and we had to drop some people which was sad, but we were able to have lessons with some people that we haven't been able to get teach in a while which was nice! It was good to see where they are all at. Wade, one of our friends who they have been teaching on and off for about five years, is preparing for baptism and we got to meet with him and discuss some things holding him back which was good. We're excited for him. Lots of good lessons this week :) some big changes were that we don't have to wear masks everywhere now! If it's required or recommended, we still have to, and if other people are too out of respect for them. But any other time we don't have to! And we can eat in member homes now! And we can street contact now! Except everyone in the mission now has only been here during covid and nobody knows what they're doing! It's gonna be an adventure but I'm so excited!

Today we were able to go to an overlook over the city and do personal study there which was super pretty! In honor of pie day, we also made a pie. On Saturday we were asked to fill the font for a baptism, and we stayed for the baptism which was fun! Saturday night we had a lesson with the Alexander family, which was good, and then it seemed the topics we taught were totally emphasized in church the next day which is so cool. Our friend Edward said he would come to church tomorrow, but he didn't again :( but we're going to try to arrange a ride for him next week! Other exciting events, sometimes (after 9 of course) my companion and I will have a "movie night" and watch some church videos. The most recent one was "The phone call" which is super funny and old and is on gospel library for some reason :) it's an adventure. I don't really know what else happened this week.

Spiritual thought for the week: The whole point of this gospel is to become. Become like the Savior, through the Savior. Humility and hope lead to growth. When you are humble, you don't need to be uncomfortable because you know that you are submitting to the Lord's will, and through Him we prevail. Hope is to know and trust that God can comprehend all things, and He does all things for the benefit of His children. When we are humble and depend on the Lord for strength, and hope that He will give us that strength and that He will follow through with His promises even if we are in a difficult situation, we grow. Heavenly Father wants us to see our progression! I would like you all to write every night for this next week how you have grown that day. I know that God wants us to see our progress and will help us become more and more like Him as we make an effort to grow! Anyway, I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week :)