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

Well, that week went by so fast... As did that hour and a half that I was emailing everyone. 

I am so sorry about Tammy. But I know we will be able to see eachother again. Death holds no power, thanks to Jesus Christ. We will be together again as a family. I know that. I know the Lord has a plan that we will be happy forever. 

My time is just about up. I am sorry that I didnt have enough time to write my weekly email that I usually write, but I hope the individual emails that I wrote to a couple of you will make up for the difference. 

Next week, I wont be able to write you all, since it is Carnaval here again... Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I will be locked up in my house. I will talk to you in two weeks from now then. 

I love you all so much. The Lord lives. He loves us. He is rooting for us, and wants us to come back to his presence. Keep doing good things, and as Doctrine and Covenents says in spanish--- Since I dont remember how to say it in English --- No os cansais de hacer lo bueno. 

Just Keep Swimming-.- And Just Keep Praying. 

I love you all!

TO DAD:

I always love your messages. Thanks pops for the pick-me-up. I love
you so much.

I hope you know how much I look up to you. You are the reason that I
left in the mission, and your example has kept me here in the mission
when times were tough. Thank you so much dad, for everything you
taught me, whether it was said by word or by action, I learned so much
from you and I honestly want you to know that I am so grateful for
everything that you have done and just for showing me how to be a man
of God.
When I was little, I used to think that when one gets older, we no
longer have problems or temptations or hardships. You were always so
happy and so faithful that I thought that there is no way that satan
tempts you.
Thank you for being strong in the gospel and showing me how to be a
man of God. Now that I teach to families about how to be happy, I
think a lot about how one day I will be a dad, and I think that would
be the best, if I could follow your example and be like you- A man of
God.

Thank you so much dad. I love you so much.
Keep on doing what you are doing. I promise you that the Lord is
mindful of you... He loves you. He is pleased with the great job you
did with your family and that you continue to do.

I love you and miss you so much.

TO MOM:
Tell Brooke and Corey and Oakley I say hi and that I love them!

I am so sorry mom. When did you hear that she died?

I know that you know, but arent we so blessed to know that we will see
our loved ones again. That death holds no bond on family ties. That
families are eternal and that now, your sister will have the
opportunity to accept Christ as her savior. Tammy may not have lived
her life like the Lord would have had her live, but now she will know
as you know that the Lord lives. That Christ is our savior and that we
need to have faith and repent and be baptized.
One day, our family will do the temple work for Tammy, so she can be
with us in the heavens. Isnt it amazing, the truth that the Lord has
given us?

There is a Mormon Message that I like a lot...
https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#until-we-meet-again


I love you mom and I know that we will see Tammy again. And she will
be with us up there, in heaven.

Stay strong mom. Even if you feel helpless, there is a lot you can
do... You can share your testimony with your family... Invite the
missionaries to talk to your family members that are hurting right
now... Just an idea... The Lord prepares the people hearts, and maybe
now they will listen.

I love you mommy. 

Going Strong

Another week has passed and I am still here going strong. This week went by faster than the last and I honestly dont have much to tell you all, since we just worked like normal but here is what happened with me...

This week, we started teaching new people.
Sister Diana Sandoval is a 22 year old girl who listened to the missionaries before and this week we taught her about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. She was really nervous to pray because she thought the bed or things would start to move, but we explained to her, and she prayed and read the Book of Mormon, she said she believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and she accepted a baptismal date for December. 

She has her husband and baby girl, but the husband doesnt want to listen to us, maybe some day soon he will listen.

We also taught Brother Delfin Flores and his wife, Daisy, the couple that I told you lost their baby reciently. We taught them about eternal families and they had a lot of questions, about death and where is their daughter now. They are really confused because people from other churches (namely the Jehova´s Witnesses) are visiting them and they are just so confused. They thought their baby girl was there in the ground, just in a really deep sleep. But, we taught them and they said they would pray to know if it is true. 

The hard thing with them is that they never have time for us to visit them... just once a week every Sunday. But, little by little, they will hear our message and I hope they progress. They are hurting a lot, and I know the gospel message will help them with everything.

Other than those two, we didnt do much this week. Last week, we thought we found a house for the new missionaries and us to live in, but the zone leaders told us that we couldnt live there, so this week was ¨Find a House¨ week. When a lesson fell through, we went out on the hunt. The houses here a either just rooms put together and they all share the bathroom,  or they are really small. So, it was tough to find a house for us to live in, but we found one that is more or less suitable. But, it is fine.

Ummm... What else happened? Umm... It is getting really hot and everyone started giving us watermelon to eat, instead of just soda. It has been a nice, delicious change.

Other than that, there isnt much left. I love you guys so much. I will talk to you later... Until next week!

... My card reader broke. Pictures... some time soon!

They Call Me White Boy

My family!

It is Monday again and I am here in this Internet Cafe writing you this letter! Cool story, huh?

If you couldnt tell, last week was rough. But, my companion and Heavenly Father are helping me every day. 

For example, last week on Monday after writing, I just couldnt help but think that maybe I couldnt do this. Then, we went to eat lunch with the members here. And he was on his computer and he just stops, pokes me to get my attention and then we watch this movie about the football coach making the football player do something that he though he couldnt do, and just over and over again, the player said I cant do this. This is too hard. And the coach just kept screaming yes, you can! Until, when the football player takes off his blindfold, he realizes that he did more than was required, more than he thought he could ever do. 

That is what happens with me every single day. I think, I cant do this anymore. And Heavenly Father yells at me, yes you can!!!

To my brother in Guatemala, Elder Chub and I say que onda! Hopefully that makes you smile and laugh, because it isnt an expression that they say here. And yes, I have told him that you are they.

Elder Chub tells me all the time about the amazing food that he misses from his country and he says enjoy it until it lasts!!

Anyways, I am here in Bolivia. I realized last time I didnt tell you much. So, I am in a tiny-ish town of Guabira, which is 15 minutes away from a much bigger town of Montero (which is where I am now) which is 1 hour away from Santa Cruz city. I like it there and the people are nice. We have a couple of good investigators that are progressing, but the majority of the people just say, I am Catholic, I dont need your church... Which really they do!

Elder Chub is great! He has opened up a lot this week and we laugh and just have a good time while still working hard. He is district leader and he has 11 months out here in the mission. I am only his second trainee, and the first that has to learn Spanish, so sometimes I think he gets annoyed, but he is great. 

I am adjusting well here, the heat doesnt bother me, I am getting a nice tan, and the mosquitos dont really like me that much anymore! Everything is fine on that side, now to just master this Spanish language. 

WE HAD OUR FIRST BAPTISM!!! She is a 17 year old girl named Maria Yamba. Her family were baptised by Elder Chub before I got here and she just needed a few more lessons. Basically, I inherited her as a baptism, but I dont even care!

The members here take care of me. They all know I am new. They laugh, the kids ask what color my hair is, and the Bishop calls me Choquito, which here, means little white boy with blond hair. Fun stuff! 

I dont know what I am going to do with my electronics. Elder Chub says we might be able to find a battery charger for my camera, or I might just have to buy a whole new camera. 

The reason I have a problem is because the whole different voltage thing here. The adapter we bought doesnt convert electrity, just allows you to plug in a converter. So, I dont know. 

here are some pictures for you.- They arent good and I may look like a goon, but I dont mind. 

I love you!!!!! Until next week!