Wednesday, December 23, 2015

A visit from Santa's Elves!


December 23, 2015

Today Elder Jensen was surprised by dear family friends with his box of Christmas surprises from home.  He was able to go to lunch with Jim and Dorreen Yeates and feel the love of those back home rooting for him.  It's a great day and a great time to be serving the Lord in Encino. 

Elder Jensen and Elder Horito surprised with Christmas goodies by Jim and Doreen Yeates in Encino!

Delivering a Christmas Hug from Mom!



Lunch with Jim and Doreen Yeates at "Salsa and Beer"....which was recommended by their Bishop! 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Because our Savior was born we NEVER have to go through anything alone

 December 21,2015


So I've noticed that almost every weekly email starts with "Crazy week" or something like that...so I decided I'm not going to type that part anymore.  From now on it's just implied because literally every week is crazy! First of all we are not on bikes like we thought! We got a call later in the day last Monday that we could have the mission presidents old car he had been using. It's a pretty nice 2014 Corolla and it's super fast! No complaints.

I have a new companion now! His name is Elder Horito (like Dorito but with an H) and he's from Hawaii! He has only been out 4 weeks so I'm finishing up his training which is crazy because I just got out of training a few weeks ago! He was emergency transferred down to my Encino area Wednesday night because of some issues in his first area up in Santa Clarita. On Wednesday morning Elder Taylor and I were supposed to go on an exchange with the zone leaders just for fun but I decided to cancel because I felt like we should just focus on our area for the day. We ended up having to run some of Presidents old gas slips up to the office for the car coordinator. When we rolled up President Henrie pulled us into his office and started chatting with us (which usually happens and is totally normal) then he closed the door (Definitely not normal) That's when I started to get worried haha. He asked why we were at the office, and after we explained he told us that he had been praying to see if Elder Taylor and I should be the ones to help with the emergency transfer and that having us roll up to the office at this time wasn't at all a coincidence. It was an answer to his prayers. So we went home and packed and transferred  a few hours later. Elder Horito and I get along so well!! He's chill, easy going, and a hard worker but he knows how to have fun! We are going to have a sick transfer!!

We had an awesome lesson with our potential investigator named Pedro! He's 47 and has an awesome family. We ran into him during knock outs a few weeks ago and he invited us back! We started out the lesson with a prayer and right after that he started crying. He told us that his parents died when he was ages 6 and 7 and that life has never been the same. We taught him about the restoration of the gospel and how it makes it possible for us to see our families again and how they were learning about the gospel in heaven just like he was right now! He was so happy to hear that and told us he would be baptized if he found out that The Book of Mormon is true! He invited us back and before we left we asked if he would pray for us. He thanked God for "sending two boys to show him the way". Not gonna lie Elder Horito and I may have cried a little too. He hadn't prayed in years but he said it was one of the best feelings he had ever had. Missions are just so cool!

We also had a crazy experience on Elder Horito's first night here! We had to get him a few things from the store so he would have something to eat this week. As we were walking out of the store a woman named Martha came up to Elder Horito and started talking to us about Christmas. Then she asked him for a hug. When he told her he couldn't because he was a missionary she threatened to punch him in the face hahahaha! So Elder Horito hugged this crazy woman and I think he's still traumatized! I died laughing once we got to the car!

We met with our referral John Kim this week. We had tried by a couple times before but we had a prompting to go back and try again. We were walking up to his apartment and ran right into him pretty much! He was so happy to see us which was a nice surprise! He invited us back and will hopefully want to take the lessons eventually!

Message of the week: Christmas is coming up so obviously this week is about Christ. Because a savior was born we can all have the atonement applied in our lives. We all have our own struggles, our own pains, our own challenges...but because our savior was born we NEVER have to go through any of those things alone. He has already taken your burdens, both emotional and physical, upon him so don't let anything hold you back from taking advantage of that. Remember that this Christmas and be thankful for all that Christ did for you.

Love you all so much and hope you have a great Holiday Season!!!

Elder Jensen