Secretly a Poet 👀

Hello beautiful people! Hope you are all having the most lovely Monday out there! My week has been good, but not all that exciting. So, I don't blame you if you skip to the pictures. But here's the rule: if you skip to the pictures, you have to email me back! Hehe I win.

Monday, we went to Bali and had dinner with the Chen family! They are super funny, and it was a good time! Tuesday, we had district council, and we did the English Challenge that evening. Not too much success with that, but it was fun! 

Wednesday, the Elders put together a poetry and rhyme themed English Group and we wrote a poem together! I think it deserves an award. This is our poem: 

 "This is our weird friend Mike.

In Summer he likes to chill.

Mike rides his small pink bike,

He falls! Yet still a thrill!"

There was more too but I won't include it haha. 

 Anyway, on Thursday we had the 6 week follow up for all of the new missionaries coming to Taiwan! It was really good, and I learned a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and my purpose as a missionary.

Friday, we had zone council and dinner with a recent convert which was fun! 

Saturday, I had an EUL training (English Unit Leader). Apparently, I am one for my district, which nobody told me about. I just got added to a group chat haha. We also had dinner with a lost sheep and also ate at the Bishop's house! 

Sunday was good, we had ward council (I really really tried hard to keep my eyes from going woozy, it's kinda difficult when you don't know what is going on and the meeting is 2 hours, but we got let out a little early so I can't complain). We also had dinner with some members and their cute kids! 

Today we are going to Jinhua for P-day to play sports! Good times! 

Spiritual thought for the week: I think we as humans don't realize that whatever we face in life, whatever responsibilities we have, we have been prepared for. Whether before this life or in this one, we have been prepared for our missions. For our families. For our callings, responsibilities, and struggles. While at the 6 week follow up, the AP'S invited us to write our purpose for coming on a mission. So, I did. Then they invited us to pray and write our purpose for coming on a mission. It was in that moment that I realized that I have not come on a mission solely because this message has given me direction and security, and not solely because I want to help other people. My purpose for coming on a mission is that I was called. I was called long before I received my call. I was called before this life, and I have been preparing since then. I think deep within myself I always knew, and that is why I have always had the desire to serve. This is true for all of our callings and responsibilities. We were always called to do them, and the Lord has been preparing us beyond what we can see. Sorry for that tangent, I hope someone receives some sort of insight from that. 

 

🍕🚲🌞

大家好！ How are you all doing this fine morning? I've been doing well; it's been a good week! 

Tuesday, we had breakfast with a member which was fun, and district council which was super good! If you are wondering about the chair pictures, the number of chairs you sit on indicates what transfer you are in so that's kind of fun! 

Wednesday, we had a funny miracle in the morning, on the way to a lunch we were biking, and there is this part where there is a big thing on the sidewalk, and it is always scary trying to get past it without falling off the sidewalk. Well, my luck ran out that day, cause my bike to hit it and then fell over. It had to happen eventually haha. But then a member saw us because I fell and offered to bring us for dinner another day! Jin Jiemei was like "Hey nice going!" It was pretty funny. Then we had lunch with a member and a potential named Sunny, and we were able to teach her and make her a new person! She's super awesome! Then that night we had the English group, and we had 12 people show up and 5 of them were nonmembers which was super awesome! 

Thursday was transfers, so that morning Jin Jiemei packed up and we went to Jinhua! It was my first time killing a companion (they are going home) so that was sad, but it was good! I picked up my new comp, Sister Yao, and we were able to go to lunch with a Filipino lady named Sister Mary and a bunch of other missionaries which was fun. Afterward we came back to Danshui and got settled and started cleaning and organizing our apartment. Then we had a phone call lesson with a member which was good! Sister Yao is super sweet and I'm super excited for this transfer! Her English is limited, but it is still better than my Chinese, and we make it work :) She is very quick to encourage and show love! 

Friday, we had weekly planning, and then we had dinner with the member who saw us when my bike fell, so that was fun! It was a good time! 

Saturday morning, we were able to help out with a primary activity where they made pizzas, and that was fun! Except I used too much sauce, and the crust was soggy. My friends from my Papa Murphy days would be disappointed haha. Then we had a lesson with the new relief society president, and afterward we went to Taipei to pick up Sister Yao's bike! That was pretty much it.  

Sunday we were biking home from church, and Yao Jiemei's bike tire popped! It was the middle of the day so we just walked the bikes to Hongshulin to pick up later, and we took the MRT home (our chapel is around 20 minutes biking from where we live). Later that day we had a dinner with some members who invited some of their friends too, and that was a lot of fun! And they are super sweet and offered to pick up our bikes to bring home for us! 

Spiritual thought for this week: One of the greatest gifts and resources we are given in this life is the opportunity to perform sacred ordinances and make sacred covenants with our Father in Heaven. Ordinances are a sacred action that teach us about the promise that we are making with God. Every ordinance has this purpose. Covenants give us the strength we need to continue following Christ. They bind us to the Savior and allow Him to lift our burdens. It is through ordinances and covenants that the power of Godliness is made manifest. In 1st Nephi 14:14, the prophet Nephi saw our day. He saw you, and me, or rather he saw what we could be, should we choose to take upon ourselves the Savior's name through covenants. It is one of the greatest gifts we are given and it is the way we receive His image in our countenances. Are we using this resource to its full capacity?

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Let me know how things are going :) 

 

I never thought I would miss swimming so much🌊

大家好! 

Welcome to another email, brought to you by Sister Jensen! We're not going to talk about how today is my 9-month mark. We're not thinking about that right now. 

Anyway, last week we spent p-day with most of our zone which was fun! Tuesday, we had district council and dinner and a lesson with our friend Jim which was fun! I accidentally pulled some very illegal stuff while biking and afterward my comp and I pulled over and went over some of the traffic laws and map of the area which was extremely beneficial haha. 

Wednesday, we had a miracle, we were at the church planning our English group and a lady came up to the door! We answered it and she said that she passes by our building and the gate is always closed, but today it was open, so she thought she'd check it out! Her name is Vivian, and her family is looking for a church! So we were able to show her around a little bit. Blessings! We also had a "Wild West" themed English Group and we got to play around with cowboy hats and nerf guns which was fun! 

Thursday, we had some lessons and Friday we had an ultimate frisbee activity! Since we didn't have lights on the field we used, we planned to have it be glow in the dark. Unfortunately, it started raining a little and it turns out our glowsticks didn't work, but it was still fun and we got some nonmembers there! 

Saturday, we had our friend Willy's baptism! The way they found him was that he walked into the church asking if he could use the bathroom! The Elders taught most of his lessons, but it was fun to be there for it. On Sunday we had a little missionary work fireside which was good! My poor comp is going home this week and was asked to speak at Willy's baptism, in church yest4cuerday, and at the fireside. She was not the happiest about it to say the least haha but she did a good job! 

Today we were able to go hiking and go to a beach! It was great and super pretty! Seriously I needed it, I felt so much joy even though I wanted to swim so bad haha. Everything says that on a mission you will have more joy than you have yet experienced. I realized today that even though most of it will be from teaching others, it doesn't have to be! It can even just be as simple as putting your feet in the water and feeling inexplicable joy at the beautiful scene and smelling the seaweed. It felt so good. I even got a sunburn line from holding Walter (my water bottle) which I found hilarious. Also, I had I think the best cheesecake I have ever had in my life. Not even kidding. It was quite dangerous.

Other updates, this week is transfers and I will be with my new companion, Sister Yao! I have met her a few times and she's nice, she also does not really speak much English. So it'll definitely be a learning experience for me. Jin Jiemei usually uses English when she speaks with me, but again it had to happen eventually! I'm excited for this transfer though it'll be good! 

Other weird things I ate: This wasn't this week, but I have had pig and duck blood, not my favorite thing. Also pig ears. Again, not my favorite.

Spiritual thought for the week: I have really been thinking a lot about the significance of giving your will to the Father and reserving nothing. It is in this way that we have the most joy and satisfaction and the most change. I would highly recommend you all to read "The Fourth Missionary" and "The Riccardi Letter." Very well done. Giving our will really is the easiest way, because we aren't fighting. The Lord will not change us against our will, so it only makes sense that the way to change the most as missionaries and as disciples is to stop fighting Him and dedicate all we have, however small, to Him. This does not necessarily equate to doing more "things," but instead means to put His will as our predominant desire above everything else. We can all do it! It is a change of mind, a decision made, and the heart will follow! 

 Anyway, I love you all and hope you have a great week! Please write me I love to read them and my deepest apologies if I don't respond!

 

Pretend this is a Good Title

I don't have too much time today, so I'll make this one quick, but I hope you all had a fantastic week! Email me please :) even it I don't respond I promise I still love you! 

On Thursday we had zone conference which was so good! We had an activity where all the natives had to do a role play street contact with the foreigners speaking English, and we were supposed to speak really advanced English words and make it hard for them so they would have an idea what we face every day. I'm glad my President focused on the foreigners this conference. Not saying that the natives don't have a lot of hardships too having a comp that can't do much, but this was probably the more immediate problem. I always love zone conference! 

A few days ago, we had a miracle and met a guy named Jim who we taught and made a new person! He is a college student and super nice, we also met with him yesterday and for lunch today! 

On Wednesday we also met with our friend PeiZhen and set her on date so that's exciting! 

Other fun updates: 

-I thought our apt only had cold shower water, but apparently our water heater was just unplugged. Would've been nice to know three weeks ago haha.

-garbage trucks play music like ice cream trucks here

-stop signs aren't a thing here I guess

Spiritual thought for the week: 

When it seems like Satan is hitting you with full force, it's just because he knows we're on the winning team! The Lord will never give you an assignment or a task you can't complete without His help. He didn't just call us on missions to teach and baptize converts. If that was the only purpose to missionary work, it would be significantly easier. He knows His elect and could immediately lead us to them. But He doesn't, because missionary work is about learning to give your will to Him, even if you don't seem to experience success. He wants us to learn to give our will to Him in the good times and hard times, because that is when our conversion truly deepens. Every time you experience rejection or hardship, recognize that the Lord is teaching you something, because He loves you! 

I love you all too, hope you have a great week!