Monday, December 28, 2015

Don't live life with a fishbowl on your head!

December 28, 2015

Hey Everyone! Merry Late Christmas!! I hope you all had an awesome time with your families and friends. We had an awesome week here in Encino...it was full of miracles! We picked up three new investigators this week which is so sick!

We got a referral for an Iranian couple named Fatima and Patrick. We went to their address and found out that they lived in an apartment complex with 209 apartments and  we had no idea which one they lived in. We checked the mailbox's for names but they didn't have any so we decided to leave. As we were walking out we turned a corner and literally ran into this woman who had just walked out of her apartment. We asked if she knew a Fatima or Patrick and she said "I'm Fatima". We couldn't believe it! A few seconds sooner or a few seconds later and we would have missed her! We ended up teaching her and her boyfriend and they were both super excited to talk with us! We have a return appointment this week and hopefully they want to keep meeting with us! The Lord knew we wouldn't be able to find them on our own so he provided a way...he's always got our backs.

On Wednesday night we decided to stop by a referral, John Kim, who was totally out of our way but it felt right. It was 8:00 and we hadn't eaten dinner yet so we were both like what the heck are we doing. We pulled up to his apartment complex and he ended up not being home so we were so confused as to why we felt like we needed to go there. We got in our car and started looking for somewhere to eat on our GPS when a lady carrying two big bags of groceries knocked on our window. She said she was diabetic and that she had been walking back from the store and that she felt like she was going to pass out if she walked any farther. She told us she had said a prayer that she would be led to someone who would drive her home and help her get her insulin asap. We were the only ones on this deserted street...so even though you're not supposed to drive anyone in your mission car how can you say no to that?! We told her to get in and we drove her home. Her name is Sandra and we are teaching her next week. She feels like it's a sign from God that he sent missionaries to help her so hopefully she feels the spirit when we teach her and will invite us back for another lesson!

Christmas as a missionary is a lot different than I'm used to! Not a bad kind of different though. It's pretty awesome because you get to focus on Christ and testify of him to others. Christmas time is also a time of softened hearts because we celebrate the saviors birth, so sharing the message of the gospel is a lot easier. People are more willing to listen and learn. On Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents. Then we meet up with the Sherman Oaks Elders and got breakfast at a bagel shop. We bought a lot of extra food though because there are a lot of homeless people around here. We took breakfast to a few of them and they were all so thankful. That was a pretty cool experience. Nothing makes you feel better inside than helping out someone in need. After that we went to a care center and visited with some of the people there that didn't have any family or friends to visit them. We stayed and chatted for a while and then left a Christmas message to help them all know that the Savior was born to help them with these exact trials they are going through. Then we went and Skyped our families!! That was SOOO weird but way fun! My siblings were both wearing all my clothes just like I expected! It was nice to catch up and remind them all how blessed we were to have a strong supportive family because not many people here have that. Then we visited some people Bishop Deakins asked us to check on. Overall a great Christmas! Hard being away from home though.

This Sunday we had another awesome miracle happen! We had a random guy walk in and ask to investigate the church!! His name is Sam Smith...not the Singer Sam Smith though. He's 37, Turkish and has lived here for about a year. He converted from Muslim to Christianity when he moved here and he wants to follow Christ. He went to all three hours of church and said he'll be back next week too! He loved how friendly the ward was and how we follow Christs teachings just like the Bible says. He told us he wants to be baptized because that's what Christ did.....we were pretty mind blown after that. We got his number and address and have an appointment to teach him tomorrow! So many people have been directed to us and it's all thanks to God. We don't give any of the credit to ourselves.

Message of the week: Don't live life with a fishbowl on your head. I heard a story this week about a certain type of coy fish. If you put the fish in a fishbowl it will grow to about 2 inches long. If you put the same fish in a bathtub it will grow to about 6 inches long. If you put it in a pond it will grow to about a foot long. If you put it in a pool it will grow up to 2 feet long. If you put the same exact fish in a lake it can grow to be 5 or 6 feet long. It's growth all depends on the conditions it is in. Sometimes we go through life with a fishbowl on our head. It restricts us from personal and spiritual growth. When we face trials or challenges in our life, or are given callings that we feel inadequate for it's usually our heavenly father throwing us in the lake so we can reach our full potential. Trust in him and let the saviors plan for you help you reach your full potential. Fishbowls are bad!

Well I love you all and hope you have a wonderful new year!
Elder Jensen
Christmas gifts from home!

Ugly sweater Christmas party in Encino 2015
Ugly sweater Christmas party with my new companion Elder Horito, My mission companion from the MTC Elder Phillips, and my first companion and Trainer in the mission field Elder Anderson.


What a great day!

December 25, 2015

We were able to Facetime with Elder Jensen today!  He is so happy.  Best part of our day!!