digging in to the chicken hearts

Hi everyone! I hope everything is going really well. I am doing great here in  Santa Cruz Bolivia. 

This week went by really fast. But, it was good. 

This week, my companion and I were able to finally finish teaching Martha Duran the 5 missionary lessons that we needed to teach so that she could officially be ¨rescued¨. It is great to see the changes in her. She fasted with us on Wednesday and told us that she is going to put her life in order and do everything like she should. Her kids are still rebellious and she was really sad about that, that she let her kids be the way they are. We read with her the story of Alma the Younger, when the angel appears to him. She understood that it will take a lot of faith, a lot of patience, and a lot of prayers, but the Lord will one day soften her sons hearts. 

It was a really good lesson. 

I sent you some pictures, I hope you like them. 

I love you all so much, I am doing great. wWe have transfers coming up this week again, so it is likely that I will be transferred. 

I love you 

Elder Jensen

chicken hearts

district

bishop's son

This week was good. We are continually seeing the miracles of the Lord as another family was about get baptized. This week, the Dolorier family (Maximo, Diana and Patrick) were able to get baptized. Maybe they werent my investigators, but I have seen them progress as they listening to the missionaries. I love them and I was so happy to see them get baptized on Saturday.

I have realized I need more  patience. As hard as I have been working I felt a bit frustrated that more people arent coming to church... We still had a lot of people there, but less than I was expecting. I realized that the patience is the ability to work and trust the Lord, maybe without seeing the results that are wanted. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, I can be changed. I can be more patient, I can be changed.

This week, we are still working with Jonathan Cabello and Milton Cabello Jonathan is getting excited to get his life in order and send in his mission papers. I am happy for him, he is progressing. Milton is a bit harder, but still we are seeing progress.

The Duran family is also doing great. Martha is doing great, but she needs help. She has so much on her plate, but it´s great, we were able to teach about fasting, and she is so willing to fast to have the Lord´s help with her family ( teenage rebelious kids) her work (super busy single mom) and her calling (primary president). She asked us to fast with her on Wednesday to help her with everything. She is great. I´m so happy for her and the changes she has made in her life.

I love you all so much. I know the Lord lives. He lives and through his atonement we can be better, we can become new creatures, we can and will be cleansed through him.

I read today a talk about the mercy of Christ, it said that Christ already paid everything for our sins, the debt that we owe has already been paided, but Christ asks us to show how much we love him and appreciate what he did for us by living the gospel... obeying the commandments and just being good, happy people. I know this to be true and I know that I love my Lord and Savior.

I love you my family. Have a great week!

-Elder Jensen

Interesting How the Lord Works

It´s interesting, how the Lord works. I have been able to see that truly He knows what He is doing. And He prepared each of us before we were born.

This week, we have been working with two teenagers, Milton and his older brother Jonathon. They are less actives. They are 22 and 19 years old and we have been visiting them so they can go on a mission. They are the oldest brothers of 6 boys. Their mom is Sister Peregrina, a single mom, who doesnt make enough money to support her family. They are hurting bad for money, but we have explained and helped Jonathon understand that the Lord can take better care of his family than he can, so yesterday, he had an interview with the bishop and he is going to start his mission papers this week.

His little brother, Milton, is a bit harder. He doesnt have a testimony of the church, he has a desire to go on a mission, but he isnt doing anything to prepare himself, so we have been helping. Yesterday, it was so great see their entire family there in church.

I was able to truly see and feel what it is like to be a bishop here in Bolivia. It´s a bit different here in Bolivia. Everyone thinks that the Bishop has to do everything, and so they all go to him to ask for church manuals, chalk, or for everything. Yesterday, he was doing something for a ward activity on Saturday instead of doing Bishop-related work. I looked at him and asked, ¨Bishop, do you want help?¨  He looked at me and with a sigh of gratitude, said thanks. My comp and I took that and helped him with some other things. With my love and knowledge of computers, I have been helping them put the ward in order, since there isnt a ward clerk, and the other Exectutive Clerk does nothing, so the Bishop asked our help. It was stressful, for the one minute of having a tiny bit of having his responsibilities. I learned that Bishop Vidaurre is a great man and he was prepared and chosen from before the world was to be a Bishop in a ward in a stake of Zion. That is just so amazing to me.

This week, the ward members went to the temple to do Baptisms for the Dead. It was so great to hear the words of a recient convert family, the Chavez family, Osman and Maria. They said that they felt just by going in the temple, they were changed, that they felt so much stronger and so much better. Sister Maria said, ¨After we finished, I didnt want to leave.¨ They felt the Lord´s spirit there in the temple and it was so great to hear and to feel the power of the Lord through them.

I know the church is true. I know it with all that I am and I know that the Lord lives. I know He has given us temples so we can feel just a tiny bit of what it is like in heaven. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and that he really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know that, it´s so clear to me now. I know it. I love it. And I will live it forever, forever being faithful to God.

I love you all so much. Thanks for the pictures and the videos of Oaks. I love her. Haha. Stay safe and be happy!

.- Elder Jensen

Twenty Months

You know, when one has 20 months in the mission, one starts to see things differently. Every moment is truly the best, I mean, maybe the people yell at me and things, but really as I have said in past letters, I have and will continue to be changed by the mission, by the Bolivian people and by the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This week, a couple things happened. 

We had the opportunity to listen to a city-wide training for the missionaries and ward leaders. Elder Uceda taught us how to work in the Work of Salvation. It was really good. I loved it as he spoke and taught us about union. That with separation, comes weakness. When we are together as ward members, missionaries, family members, parents, there is strength and the power of God. The Lord will help us when we are united in one... Just as in the times of old, we will become the Lord’s people...ZION: 

I also had an excellent interview with President Willard. He is the best man ever. I talked with both President and Sister Willard about... Well, really one thing, now that I have a little time left, we talked about what I want to do, what I want to be when I go home. We talked about my worries. President gave me excellent advice that made me understand more... He told me if I give all that I have in these last months, the Lord will give me all after the mission. It was a great experience being there with President and Sister Willard, talking and just feeling the spirit.

I learned even more love for these people here. It has been raining, my clothes and my socks are worn out, but I don’t want to buy new ones, because it doesn’t bother me that my socks have holes in them. I am trying to give everything I have, and not worry about the little things.  The members take care of us. I learned more about humility and service- we went to visit Brother Yuri Chavez and his wife Silvia, who have the goal to go to the temple to get sealed the first week of August. We entered their house, and since our shoes were super dirty we took them off. They saw my wet/worn out socks and they made me take off my socks and they gave me two new pairs. I felt such gratitude and love for these people. They are the best ever. 

I feel so blessed here in Bolivia. The Lord has had his hand in my mission and my life, changing me more than anyone else. And for that, I am super grateful. I know the Lord loves me. I know He is there taking care of us. I don’t understand how He knows me and my problems out of the billions of people in the world, but I know He is there listening to my humble prayers. I can never be good enough to be worthy of His love; I can never repay Him for what He has done for me in just these 2 years. 

With all the love in the world, I want to say thank you for everything that you do for me. Your strength, your prayers and your love are felt, even here in Santa Cruz. 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Elder Jensen

Baptism

Another week has passed by. I honestly don’t know where the week went. I was just working and doing everything like normal and now I find myself here in the internet café writing you. Time is passing fast, no? 

This week was great. We were able to witness the baptism of the sister Maria de Chavez. She is the wife of a recent convert- Osman Chavez. He got baptized about 7 months ago and since then, has been progressing and doing a lot in the church. Last week, he received the Melchizedek Priesthood, and Saturday, he baptized his wife. 

When he got baptized, his wife was the one who was most against him getting baptized. So, the Lord has worked a miracle in softening her heart and calling her to the discipleship of Jesus Christ. 

Osman was able to baptize and confirm his wife. it was so great as we saw the Spirit work in this family. 

Tomorrow, President Uceda, the Area President, is coming here and will train all the stakes/wards/missionaries in all of Santa Cruz. It should be good. And since my ward has experienced such a change in things, the Stake President told us that it is super likely that President Uceda calls us up front uses the ward as an example of how to do the Work of Salvation. 

I have grown to love the conference talks and the church magazines, they are the best.  Today I was reading a little bit in the November 2010 Liahona and I really liked this talk by Elder Uchtdorf. He says: First, our relationship with God is most sacred and vital. We are His spirit children. He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments.

We improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father by learning of Him, by communing with Him, by repenting of our sins, and by actively following Jesus Christ, for “no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Christ].” 10 To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him. Quietly focusing on daily personal prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend—these will be some wise investments of our time and efforts to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us heed the invitation in Psalms: “Be still, and know that I am God.” 11

Our second key relationship is with our families. Since “no other success can compensate for failure” here, we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship.

The third key relationship we have is with our fellowman. We build this relationship one person at a time—by being sensitive to the needs of others, serving them, and giving of our time and talents. I was deeply impressed by one sister who was burdened with the challenges of age and illness but decided that although she couldn’t do much, she could listen. And so each week she watched for people who looked troubled or discouraged, and she spent time with them, listening. What a blessing she was in the lives of so many people.

The fourth key relationship is with ourselves. It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God’s creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally. Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential.

I love you all. You are the best family ever and I hope and pray for you all to be happy. Keep safe this week.

-Elder Jensen