Monday, October 24, 2016

Missions are so worth the sacrifice

October 24, 2016

Another transfer over. We got calls on Saturday night and Elder Silva and I will be staying together for another transfer! That's 1/4th of our missions that we will spend as a companionship! Haha we are super stoked as I'm sure you could already guess.

Well here's a quick update on our week...

First off with our investigators James and Shannon are doing awesome! We went to the LA temple visitors center with them on Saturday and had a really family centered tour from some sisters there. Then we went for a walk around the Temple with all of them and it was just so beautiful! It is so amazing to see a family who is devoted to trying to follow Christ and to see them together. They are so humble and are really trying to make it through their struggles to follow Christ more fully in their lives and ultimately so that they can be sealed together as a family for eternity! They all had a special experience and I hope to see them back there a year after their baptism to get sealed. We gave the little girls little gifts that my sister sent them all the way from Utah! They loved them and were excited to read her testimony that she wrote inside copies of the Book of Mormon for them. They all came to church on Sunday as well and the girls are still loving church! The 13 year old girl, Isabel, has made so many good friends with the youth and they just feel right at home which is exactly how the church should feel. Then we took James to a priesthood meeting at 7 and he said it was the most inspirational meeting he'd ever been to. The stake presidents father came and spoke and was talking about how he was rescued by a worthy priesthood holder when he was inactive and how our stake president wouldn't even be a member if it wasn't for that person reaching out to them and helping them come unto Christ. After his father sat down James just looked over at me, put his huge hand on top of my head, and just said "Thank you". One of the most meaningful thank you's I've ever received. Missions are so worth the sacrifice....you help people more than you could ever have imagined and that far out weighs the sacrifice. 

Also this week we had a really good lesson with our investigator Nelly and she came to church for the first time. It was super cool because after wards she told us that she loved the tight night feeling of the ward family and that she loved the spirit she felt.

Jim is still plowing through the Book of Mormon. In the past Jim had been reading through really slow and hadn't made much progress but something changed this week. In our lesson he had so many questions about 1 Nephi chapter 8 when it talks about the tree of life, so we explained and answered them through chapter 11. The Spirit really spoke to him in that lesson because after we answered all his questions he said "you know what...It looks like if I just keep reading I'll have everything I need to know revealed to me. I'll just have to finish all of 1 Nephi before our next lesson on Tuesday." He is just so immersed in the stories in the Book of Mormon and he is loving it. He'll be baptized soon guaranteed.

Elder Martin and I also got to go on an Exchange! Just like the Burbank 3rd days! It was super fun. Stinks that we were only comps for 1 transfer though.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! Sorry about the short update.

Elder Jensen



Los Angeles Temple with Shannon, James, Layla and Kylie.

Kylie and Layla at the Los Angeles Temple.

LA Temple

Annalisa shared her testimony with Kylie and Layla, and sent them a Halloween treat that she made for them.

Books of Mormon for Layla and Kylie from Annalisa.

Annalisa's handwritten testimony to Layla and Kylie.  Way to share the Gospel Annalisa!


The Zone!



Sister Whitbeck, a recent convert.