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

This Week

Hi there everyone! I hope everything is going really well for everyone. I know for me it is going well, and I pray for you all the time so I know the Lord is taking care of you.

This week, we started another transfer cycle. My comp and I are still here in the area Guaracal 1, in the Cañoto stake... still here in Santa Cruz. 

This week was good. My companion and I talked and set some goals for this new transfer, for his last year in the mission, and for my last couple months in the mission. He wants help with his english so we have been practicing and talking english more. 

This week we visited and we are teaching more about Family History work and the eternal family. Last night, we passed by the Bishop´s house. Usually we pass by to ask him for favors or help with our investigators, but we thought that it was time to finally teach his family. We taught their family, and we realized that everyone needs help, whether they be bishop or stake president. We all need help, and especially in the Family History part of the Work of Salvation. I know the Lord will help us in this. 

I LOVE YOU!

UNTIL next week. 

--Elder Jensen

This week in Santa Cruz was wet. It rained so much this week, we got drenched, and our clothes never dry, but I love it. This week was filled with miracles and with great things. I loved them.

This week, we worked so hard. We wanted to fill the chapel, as yesterday was the last Sunday of the transfer. We passed by less actives'  houses and we called people. We did everything we could. We  got to church on Sunday, at 8 in the morning for the Ward Council, then we went out to find people to go to church. We passed by some houses in hopes they would to go together. Every house we went to, they weren't there or they were getting ready. So, we went to the last house and we went to church with a less active family, the Limpias family. We got to church, just as it was getting started. It was super full. We were so happy. I thought, ¨wow, this is so great¨ but I realized that there was still people missing. 

We start singing the sacrament hymn, a group of people came. We start passing the sacrament (there are only 2 active deacons in the ward so sometimes we help.) as I was passing the sacrament, I glance outside the door - our chapel is 2 separate buildings 1. the chapel  and then the other building all the classrooms - I noticed more people coming. We finished passing. Opened the door. those people sat down somehow (not many seats left) and then 10 minutes later more people came. It was such a miracle... the biggest church attendence that I have had in my entire mission - 165 in the Sacrament meeting (when we got here the usual was like 112) It was so great!!

That is the biggest miracle that happened this week. I loved it so much. 

We have rescued the family Duran.. 3 sisters... Martha, Paola y Cinthia. They are all serving in the Primary Presidency. Maybe it was slow but the Lord has shown us miracles here in Guaracal. 

I am doing really great. I am happy and healthy and just enjoying the time here. 

Thanks for everything.

I love you all so much!

Until next week.

-Elder Jensen

Hey everyone. I hope everything is doing really well. I am doing really well.

This week was good. I felt humbled today. I felt the love of our Father in Heaven in my life as yesterday my companion and I and the other missionaries in barrio Guaracal we were able to see miracles in the ward.

A recent convert was called to be Young Men´s President, a rescued less active, Martha Duran, was called to be Primary President- her sister, another rescued sister, Cinthia Duran, to be her first counselor. A less active family, Saulo and Fanny Ortiz, who had been inactive and had been talking bad about the ward to other members, came to church yesterday as a family. they had their interview with the Bishop and they told him that they want to come back to church and go to the temple.
The wife of the new member that got called to be Young Men´s President, Osman Chavez, came to church after a long time of always failing the sisters Baldridge and Ariza.

I am just humbled, as we do all we can do, and then the Lord does the rest. It is great to be a missionary in this time.

In my personal study, I finished the 4 gospels and started reading the book of Acts. I am completely convinced that if we pray with faith and we live righteously, we too will be able to see miracles in our lives- God never stopped being a God of Miracles. I have seen that in my mission.

I love this gospel. And I love you all. I know the Lord lives. and I know He loves us. I know that if we pray we can have more faith, and we can become more like Christ wants us to be.

I love you all so much. Sorry there isn't much this letter, but more next week.
Bye!

Good Week

Hi there, I hope you are doing really well. I am doing really well.

Well, here in Santa Cruz, another week has passed. It was a strange week, because some days were super cold and others were hot. The weather is a bit strange here, but I love it, so all is well.

This week, we were able to see miracles in the mission. With a sister that we have been teaching for a while now, Ana Alcantara and her two daughters, usually we have an appointment with her Monday nights, with a member. We passed by on Thursday and she said, that she was so surprised to see us, because that day, she prayed to know what church is the truth, and then we showed up. She said she felt something telling her that that was her answer. I felt so honored to be a servant of the Lord and be able to help this sister. She wants to be baptized, but she doesn't have the support of her husband but we are working with her and we are praying that we can talk to the husband.

Yesterday, was a good day, well, really this whole week, but I liked yesterday. The morning was cold, which means that a lot of people stay in bed sleeping, including the active members. So, we got to church, there werent many people there. The meeting started. I just loved it. More and more people trickled in...investigators, less actives, active families. And every time people entered the room, I just felt love and I just felt so happy for them. Honestly, I love this ward, Guaracal. They are the best. Tons of people gave wonderful testimonies and I felt so good in that ward, even though it was cold outside, the chapel was full and we felt the spirit.

After, at night, we had a special meeting for all of the recent converts, and rescued less actives. The stake president, President Enrique, spoke and called on 3 people to bear their testimonies. All 3 of them were from Barrio Guaracal. Martha Duran, who we are rescuing, her sister Cinthia Duran, the other elders are visiting her. And a recient convert, Osman Chavez, who yesterday got called to be Young Mens President. I am so grateful for these people who are trying so hard to live the gospel.

I know the Lord loves us, and that we can be together forever with Him and our Heavenly Father. I know this thanks to the scriptures. I can feel the Lord´s love for us and I know He lives. I know it with all that I am. I know I am not perfect, but I will keep on trying to give Him my entire heart. I love Him.

And I love you all. Thank you so much for your love, prayers, and your support. I love you so much.

Until next week,
Elder Jensen