Still doing great and improving here in Bolivia 

This week was all about changes and dreams ready?

It is crazy how many people believe that they will receive answers in a dream. This people is blessed with this though, as children of Lehi. But not all receive dreams, we have to explain. But, two of our investigators received answers in dreams. One dreamt that her dead dad told her that baptism was the right step for her and her son. Her name is Jessica and she is progressing but she is afraid and timid. 

The other was Maria, she is 17 years old and dreamt that a man kept asking her over and over again what was the Plan of Salvation. She couldn’t answer and so she asked us, the missionaries. SOOOO CRAZzY right?

Changes are happening with the changes of the President in June. We were trained by the area president this week and he spoke that in our area it is possible to baptize without conversion. But, our new goal as a mission is to convert then baptize. It is crazy the changes that are going on. 

I don’t have any more time. I took too long reading your emails and other stuff... But I am great and I am loving every day more and more. I LOVE THIS MISSION and I am learning more of the love that God has for me and for His children.

Write me dearelders, I still get them and anyone can write them 

Dearelder.com---select Santa Cruz Bolivia mission—it’s FREE!

I LOVE YOU

Little By Little

My family! 

Hi there! I am still here in Bolivia, still working hard, still adjusting and still learning to become a better missionary. This week, more of the same things, not much changes so this letter wont be grand, but at least you get to hear my email voice in your minds. 

Okay, some information for you... We have a pensionista, she feeds us lunch every day with some kind of soup, tons of rice, chicken or carne, and sometimes something else, but it is the mostly the same. They are members and live like 2 houses down. Her daughter makes me teach her English some days. She washes our clothes too, but I have to iron them.

We eat dinner every night of the week with members of the ward. My area is pretty much the only area that the missionaries eat dinner, it isnt common. But, the Stake President lives in my area and he basically yells at the members if they forget.

Guabira, my area is small, so we walk everywhere. My shoes are fantastic and I haven’t felt any pain or anything. But, when we have to go somewhere, we take the Trufi, or taxi system here or Motos, motorcycles that drive around everywhere. Everything is cheap here, so I am not mad.

My area is known for producing really strong Elders, so we shall see if that happens with me... And also, really fat Elders since we eat a lot. 

(My companion has a gut since being there, but I have lost weight. He asks me how it is possible, I have no clue)

Dad- no, Hermano Isaias doesnt have family joining him. He lives alone and is seperated from his wife, and his daughter moved away so we cant teach her, but because of him, we are teaching his neighbors. 

I am steadily improving on all fronts. More happiness and joy for the work, progressing with Spanish and knowledge of the scriptures, more thinking about the people and work and less about you all. It has been good and I am glad to be here and to continue to work hard. 

I don’t have many super spiritual experiences here, so not much to tell yalls. I try and find and recognize the promptings of the spirit of where I should go and to whom we should teach, but I have a really hard time with this, but little by little, I will get better. I know I will. I know this week we will find more families to teach. 

Sounds like your lives are boring and only Chase and I are doing fun things. But, here are some fotos, I am hoping for you all!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Talk to you next week! 

Oh and tomorrow is Fathers Day here in Bolivia, so the ward gave us Saltañas, which I love for being future fathers. 

Happy Fathers Day dad, from Bolivia!!!

Four Months Out

Oh, hi! How goes it everyone?

I loved your letters this week and I am so happy to hear from you! Mondays are great days. Happy anniversary yesterday mom and dad! and Happy Birthday, you old fart on Wednesday! I can’t believe it has been 4 months this week since we were last together. Time has gone by fast, but I still have a lot of time here.

This week was a good one, it passed quickly and I learned a lot.

MONDAY- We played some futbol after emailing you all. I must say, I am getting better at this game. We play it every other Monday as a zone and I like it more and more. It helps relieve my stress. The Latinos are crazy good and I just try and help out and do what I can. Whatever.

Tueday- We had to go to Santa Cruz this week since Elder Chub had a training meeting as a District Leader. I just sat outside of the room, and thought about things and studied a bit. Santa Cruz is an hour south from Montero, so not too far. Then, later we taught some people. We are having troubles finding families to teach. We teach people, but the majority of the time, the husband isn’t home. There are people here that don’t see they spouse for more than a month and a half at a time and then for only one or two days, and then he goes back to work. It is crazy, and very annoying because we want a family. I know they are out there; we just need to find them.

Wednesday- We had a service project! We dug some dirt into a pile and then put bricks on top of it. It looked like something the Aztecs built or something, but that is the way they do it here. After the dirt pile, we took some machetes (Everyone and their dog have machetes here) and we chopped down a tree. I didn’t have my camera so I don’t have pictures of that.

Thursday - We had training again in Santa Cruz with President and Sister Calderon. They are so strong and so great. I left there with renewed strength and excitement for this work. I literally could feel my testimony and the joy that this gospel brings in my soul. I can feel in now as I am writing about it. He spoke on the Atonement and the ability that we have to share with these people that they can be freed from pain and sin. It was such a good day and there were Elders from my MTC group there, which was good to hear from them and their experiences. We learned that they will be splitting the mission in July (Santa Cruz north and Santa Cruz south mission) and that we will be visited by Elders Christofferson and Bednar in May! So crazy and amazing and great that we get that chance to be taught by prophets of God.

Friday- BAPTISM!!!! We baptized Hermano Isaias. He asked me to be the one to baptise him, which means of the 5 baptisms we have had, I have done 4. It was so good and special. The spirit was strong and he was ready to be baptized and excited to do it.

Saturday- Just a normal day working and doing well. We worked hard but like I said, we aren’t finding many families to teach.

Sunday- We had Stake Conference in Montero. It was really good and we worked really hard and found and taught a lot of people. I realized that most of the time, I am teaching by the spirit, it just doesn’t whisper the words in my mind so I can hear them, but as I am talking, sometimes I will say something that connects really well with the person. That is the Spirit talking. I know it now. I am still learning and progressing, but I am improving. I like teaching and talking with the people here. Dad, thank you for the advice about the questions! I needed that because I have been struggling with asking questions and stuff. I am going to apply what you said and ask better questions so they can see that we have the truth and that they will think about what we talked about after we leave.

I hope this letter was better than the others! I am getting better at forgetting myself and going to work, which I am so grateful for. I can’t believe Chase only has 8 months left! So crazy! But, I know he will work hard in these last months!

I really love you all so much and I can’t wait to talk to you next week on the 12!!!

Have a great week!

The Church Is True!

Hi! 

It is me, Chan man. This week was a good one. It is Monday again and I am here in Bolivia still. 

Thanks mom for the Dearelder! I loved it. I love hearing that you are going to the temple and that you love where you live.

This week... I dont even know. I feel like I do the same thing every single day. We talk to some people in Spanish and we teach. This week we taught more than past weeks, we are working harder. We have people progressing but not many. We need more for the Lord!

I honestly still have days that my heart hurts to be home. But I am getting better at forgetting myself and going to work. I have great days and masomenos days. Great days where I am happy and love the work and I just lose myself and then the other days. But, without the bad, we cant appreciate the great, am I right?

This week, we are working more with the members and the bishop here to find people and to strengthen the ward. That is the key to this missionary work.

I baptised two more kids this Saturday, and I knew what to expect and it was much better. March is going to be a great month for us. 

Sorry for not explaining last weeks pics. They dont eat tortillas here and Elder Chub misses them so much, so we had the lady who feeds us make these tortillas.. They were delicious and that picture is the last one that we ate. It was a sad moment for me. 

I dont know what to write ever because like I said, it is all just the same. We get up, eat some breakfast, study, then go out and teach. I talk to people about our church and I am learning that I am a missionary of God and that I can be bold. It is getting better, just little by little.

I am sorry that my letters are lacking. This work is hard and I constantly have to work at it, but it is coming along. I like my area and the members here. I dont like the heat and sweating and feeling disgusting, but who cares about that when we have work to do. I know I am learning and growing better each week. 

I know that this church is true. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I need to be here and I will be here until the end of my two years. Ya, there will be hard days, but the Lord suffered harder days than I and am I better than he? We all know the answer to that one. 

I love you so much everyone and I am so happy that I know that this life  doesnt end after death! I am so grateful for you, my eternal family! I am going to be working hard this week and maybe, just maybe I will have a good story for yall next week. 

Until then! 

Elder Jensen!!!