The Spirit really changes hearts...I've witnessed it so many times on my mission.

September 19, 2016

Oh my gosh the craziest thing happened...I'm living in a straight up posterity apartment haha!! So here's the set up. Elder Silva, Elder Martin, and Elder Kerr (who is from Skyline Highschool by the way!), and myself! I'm living with two of my trainees and my trainees trainee. Lets just say it's a really good time haha! It's really awesome having such a solid bond between all of your roomates. Elder Silva and I are starting out this transfer here in Canyon Country just like we started out our companionship in Van Nuys....deathly ill. Elder Martin brought a terrible cold with him and it spread quick. We're healing up quick though.

We had a killer lesson with Jim Jacobson this Wednesday. It was the first lesson Elder Silva and I taught together since Van Nuys and man...we still have the flow! When one of us would stop the other would just pick up where they left off and it was just so spiritual. The Spirit can really flow when you can flow with your companion and teach in unity. We started off by answering lots of Jim's questions about the family and how it should be...then as we started to see the Spirit work on him we asked him if he would be baptized on October 22nd and he said "You know guys...I have a lot to learn and I couldn't learn it all by the 22nd. When I'm ready I'll get baptized." And then the Spirit took over the conversation and we were able to show him that he knew enough...he knew all of this was true and he knew it was the only way to true happiness in this life and the next. Then he asked us what the significance was behind the 22nd. We told him that we had prayed about it very hard and that was the date that God told us he could be ready by. Now this is where Jim showed how humble he was...he said "Well...if God told you I'd be ready...then I'll do it! The 22nd it is!" Jim and I have grown pretty close over the few weeks I've been here and I just bore my testimony about how big of an influence he will be on the youth's lives because he will seriously be the coolest youth leader ever. I told him how I wish he could have been one of my leaders because I've already learned so much from him. So keep Jim in your prayers! He's already starting to make big changes so he can be ready in a month. The Spirit really changes hearts...I've witnessed it so many times on my mission.

We have so many awesome investigators and there is so much I wish I could tell you about but there's never enough time.

Funny story: Elder martin has no idea how to cook...some how he started a grease fire while cooking white rice.......yeah don't ask me how that happened.

Another Funny Story: Some sisters broke their apartment door so we literally fixed it with super glue and a kitchen knife...pics attached. Don't ask questions.

Elder Silva and I are huge jokesters and Sister Henrie has grown to really enjoy our senses of humor so last night she invited us to have dinner at the mission home! President cooks a mean Tri-tip!!! And sister Henrie's brownies are straight heaven...although I think they're just out of a box...none the less they were brownies.

Well I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week!!

Elder Jensen

Fixing the Sister Missionaries door.

Elder Silva and I fixing the Sisters door with a kitchen knife and super glue!

Our tools.

Elder Silva, Martin and Kerr with Elder Jensen.

Elder Silva, Martin and Kerr with Elder Jensen

Transfer News! Elder SILVA is going to be my companion again!!! Miracles are happening all over.

September 12, 2016

Transfer News! Sadly Elder Wade is going to be leaving me :( He's going to be a District Leader and a Trainer back in the promise land! (The San Fernando Valley) I'm sure going to miss him. He's been one of my favorite companions ever and has the most powerful testimony of The Book of Mormon that I have ever heard. It literally saved his life and it's just amazing. But to make this sad moment a little less sad...Elder SILVA is going to be my companion again!!! We always joked about how we were going to get reunited and be Zone Leaders together and now it's actually happening haha! This transfer is gonnna fly by even faster than the last.

Here's a little update on how our week went.
We had an awesome lesson with Jim Jacobson on Wednesday. The only downside was that he made us eat the dove he just shot hunting that day...it's not the tastiest meat. Plus you had to make sure you didn't mash your teeth with the bird shot. I'm just sticking with chicken. Our lesson was sick though. We talked about the Priesthood and he pulled out his note pad and was jotting down scriptures and things he was going to study. His interest in the Priesthood all started when he came to the 7am Priesthood Session of Stake Conference and saw so many men all together learning the Gospel and talking about how they can improve. It really impressed him and now he wants to be a part of that as well.

James came to church with his entire family and his girlfriend had so many friends in the ward that she didn't know were Mormon! Such a miracle and blessing for James to have her on board now. She loves the CC1 ward. She also said she would marry him!! WOOOHOOO! So stoked about that! She sees the changes he's making and she knows he's sincere! So now he just needs to boot smoking get married and he can be baptized! Keep him in your prayers! I'm almost positive that Shannon (the girlfriend) and her daughters will all get baptized too as they continue to learn with James.

We gave a blessing to a lady named Shirley this week. She was having some health issues. Well her daughter was there and was asking a ton of questions and was really interested. Well the next day Shirley called us and she was all better! The blessing had totally healed her! Her daughter was so impressed that she wants to come to church now! Miracles are happening all over the CC1 ward!!

Well I'm so sorry for the short email this week but we have to go get some things ready for transfers! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Elder Jensen

James at Church!

Ian and his crazy motorcycle he's fixing.

We were asked to drive cars to the office...got to drive alone! Crazy!!!

More car pics.

The Jellings kids!!

Kids love me I guess.

The Spirit straight up took over

September 6, 2016

We had a crazy crazy week full of lessons, apartment inspections, exchanges and meetings here in the Santa Clarita Valley. I've gotta say, I've never been more tired on my mission than I have been the past transfer...but time has never gone faster. This has been the fastest transfer of my mission and I hope I get to stay here with Elder Wade for a little longer!

Well here's our week:
We had a sweet week of finding new investigators! We taught this old potential investigator named Tony who's an audio technician and producer in the music industry. He's a Navy Veteran and has a wife and a young toddler. He was in an explosion of some sort while he was in the service and escaped with only an injured leg. Ever since then he has had a strong belief in God and his love for each one of us. He could have easily died but he was protected and was able to return home to his family. Well anyway we sat down with him and taught the Restoration and the Spirit straight up took over because the lesson just flowed better than any other lesson I have ever been in. We talked about how God works through Prophets and how that's what he has always done, so when we got talking about Joseph Smith it just made sense to Tony that that is what God would do because he loves us. He was stoked to hear that we can feel God in our lives more through the words of the living Prophet and his Apostles. We testified that as he puts forth the faith and effort to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it that he will get his answer.

Mark Stewart is starting to freak me out. We had a lesson in the chapel with him and it just felt like he was trying to pull us away from the Gospel and convert us to his church. Elder wade and I both got the impression that we should drop him and that seems to be the next step. It's tough when you have literally done all you can to help someone get an answer that the Gospel is true but they just aren't willing to listen to the spiritual promptings they receive. So discouraging!

Edwin is still awesome. He wasn't able to come to the soccer thing on Friday but during our lesson he was just so sincere at heart. He truly wants to learn and he wants to find the way that Heavenly Father has prepared for him to return back to him. Keep him in your prayers.

Funny Story: We did some service for James this week. We were laying paving stones in his back and he was looking all over for his rubber mallet to level out the pavers. Well he couldn't find it so as we would hand him the pavers he'd just take his massive fist and use that as his mallet and just smashed those things into place hahaha.  He's literally a redneck giant guy! Love the guy though. He's still making awesome progress with his smoking. Every day he's been cutting back. He's down to 6 cigarettes a day which is SO good compared to 4 every 5 minutes like it was before. The spirit is really helping him get over this and having his girlfriend there to enforce this change is also helpful!

We had a lesson with our investigator Nelly. She's just out of high school and is probably going to get passed off to the YSA Sisters soon. The lesson was an interesting one. We rolled up and she was in her garage so we pulled up some chairs and she pulled out some internet printouts about the church. Elder Wade and I were just like "Oh shoot. She's playing hard ball with us." Haha so we braced for impact but it was a pretty soft landing which was a blessing. She didn't try and bash us or anything which was nice for a change. (Tons of bashers here in the Valley) She just had some legitimate questions about some of the wording in the Book of Mormon and the curse upon that Lamanites etc etc. We handled it well and were able to clarify it all for her. She said she would stay away from the internet from now on, thank goodness.

We also picked up a woman named Carol. She's the sweetest lady ever. We walked up to her son, who looks like Birdman in the NBA (covered in tats from head to toe) and tried to talk to him but he shewed us away. But we were persistent and went to the next person outside the house...but she also shewed us away. Then we tried one more time with Carol and we had a great discussion about her faith in Christ and God and we were able to teach her the Restoration right there on her porch. She told us how she wishes her son (birdman) would come to the light but that he wasn't gonna change any time soon...then we watched him do 5 drug deals right outside the house. Cars would pull up and he'd hand them something through the window, they'd hand him something and then they'd take off. We felt so much Christ like love for Carol because she had tried her best to teach her son about God and Jesus Christ. That gave us a perfect opportunity to testify about the Spirit World and how we will be able to continue to learn and be taught the Gospel on the other side. If she ends up not being interested I still know we were sent her way to give her a little peace and comfort.

Funny Story: The Spanish Elders area overlaps our area in some spots and so while we were on exchanges we were dropping by one of "our" investigators Beatrice. Well we pulled up and Elder Clarke was like..."Elder Jensen this is our former investigator Beatrice...are you sure this is the right house?" I assured him that we were at the right house and that we had been here before to build her stroller for her, so we went up to the door and set up an appointment and when we got back to the car Elder Clarke said.."Yo...she won't answer the door for us anymore. I think she dropped us for you and Wade." Hahaha she just switched missionaries 😂  Savage Beatrice!! I guess she likes us more because we built the stroller!

Another Funny story: So we were trying to drop off a bike at these elders apartment but they weren't there so we didn't know what to do. Well the 7year old neighbor kid Shey was outside and was like "Let me see what I can do." So he disappeared behind the building and we just chilled for a few minutes. Next thing we know we hear the Elders door knob rattle a little and out comes shay hahahahaha! He straight up broke in some how and we have no idea how he did it!! I wonder how many times he's done that!

Well I hope you all have a great week! Be safe!

Elder Jensen

Elder Call and I.

Elder Call, Wade Me, And Elder Green

Ping Pong before dinner!

Elder Jung and Kang. My Korean homies. So entertaining.

Elder Jung as frying pan Korean batman?

Not really sure how I got this at the perfect moment.

The Lord is hastening his work!

August 29, 2016

Where to start...man we had a busy week! So many cool things happened but I'll just give you some of the highlights.

First off...Ashley Abrego got baptized in the Burbank 3rd area on Saturday and Elder Wade and I got to go! It was nice to see all of the old ward members there and catch up with them. Elder Martin is doing an awesome job of holding down the fort and the investigators that I had to leave behind are in great hands. He's only been out a few months and he's doing amazing!

We'd been trying to contact Edwin all week and we hadn't had any luck and we were both worried that his parents banned him from talking to us. But we were driving down his street Sunday before church and he was outside with his family! So we stopped and ran over to talk to them. He was so stoked to see us! His family didn't say much but they were chill with us being there so hopefully the ice was broken and they'll let Edwin come to church! Edwin said he was hoping we'd come by so he could tell us about his Book of Mormon reading. He hadn't been able to call or text us because his phone got disconnected. That was a relief. He said that earlier this week he was feeling really down and he just felt like darkness was all around him, so he turned to the Chapter we asked him to read and he felt so much comfort and love from Heavenly Father as he read. Then we talked about his "theory" on where our spirit goes after we die. Well he basically explained the Plan of Salvation and we were like, "Yeah Edwin that's exactly right!" Haha it was so cool to see how prepared he is and how the Spirit has been teaching him things as we've been meeting! We love this kid so much. He'll be coming to play soccer with us this Friday at the church with the Spanish Branch and he's gonna bring a friend! Already being a missionary and he's not even a member yet!

We also had a Danish breakfast with our investigator Jim this week! We got talking about where our ancestors are from which lead to us talking about Denmark which led to us planning a breakfast lesson haha! He's such a cool guy!! He also invited a family friend that recently had his dad pass away so we were able to bare him our testimony on eternal families and the Plan of Salvation. It was a pretty cool experience.

Last night we got a call and were asked by the Stake High council to teach the mission Prep class. Well we only got a 30 minute notice. We basically just had to wing it...by the Spirit of course. We trained on teaching and finding by the Spirit and we shared all the miracles we have experienced on our missions then we answered all their questions about missions and preparing to leave. It was super cool! So many good young missionaries getting ready to head out. The Lord is hastening his work!

Well sorry for the short email this week. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Elder Jensen

Introduced the Koreans to pretzel sticks....not a good idea!

Cool cars in Cali!

Danish Breakfast with Jim!!!!

Ashley's Baptism

Bel Aire in Burbank

The Lord always puts us in the right place at the right time

August 22, 2016

Hey everyone!

I love Santa Clarita so much! So many miracles are happening in this area. Elder Wade and I have noticed that the Lord always puts us in the right place at the right time. We'll have a 15 second gap to cross paths with someone and some how that 15 seconds lines up perfectly. Plus it always ends up that we crossed paths with someone who is interested in hearing the Gospel. It just blows our minds sometimes! We were looking for a referral at this apartment complex in our area and we ended up walking around the whole complex in a big circle like total idiots haha. Well this guy named Joey got out of his car and we started talking. Well turns out that his girlfriend is a member and he's been really interested lately. So we taught the Restoration and he asked for a Book of Mormon and said he would read it and come to church and everything! Stuff like that happens every day which is pretty awesome.

Update on Manet. So she has still been meeting with Elder Martin and she has made some huge progress! She got her answer and knows that she needs to be baptized!! She said she wants to talk to the Bishop and make sure it's ok for her to get baptized again and if he says yes then she's all in! Hahaha we already know his answer will be yes! They also taught her the Word of Wisdom and during the lesson she got up, walked into her kitchen, and handed them all her tea and coffee. She's such a cool woman! If only everyone was as willing as her to live the Gospel...our jobs would be a lot easier haha. Keep her in your prayers.

We set a date with Ian which is a huge miracle considering that he's spent most of his life as an atheist. He's still confused about a lot of things and isn't sure if he believes anything but if he gets an answer that this is true he'll follow Jesus Christ and join this church. The ward really took him in yesterday at church which was awesome. He can feel the support and love they have for him and that's something he's never had...not even from family. So he knows there's something special here.

James also came to church yesterday! He smelled like an ash tray and it was awesome haha! The ward has always been super supportive. He brought his 6 year old daughter Kylie and she LOVED primary! She's a little rowdy but she's never been taught otherwise so it's God for her to learn how to be reverent. We introduced James to the Elders Quorum and said he was visiting with us this week...then he corrected us and said he was visiting from here on out and never leaving the church. SO COOL! I'll have to get a picture of him so you can realize how crazy it is to see a guy like him at church...and more importantly enjoying church. He's prepared!

We also had interviews with President this week. We set up times for everyone in the zone to meet with him and lets just say it was a long day. We were at the church from 8:30am to 5:30pm. But on the bright side we got free lunch! Haha, and it was cool to get to chill with Sister Henrie. Elder Wade and I just told jokes the whole time and made her laugh. After interviews we laid down on the floor and just passed out. Zone leader Life!! hahaha


Well that's pretty much my week! Hope you are all having a great week so far!

Elder Jensen

Lunch with the Sister Training Leaders, and President and Sister Henrie, at lunch in between interviews.

Operation Gratitude with Elder Shaw!

Our favorite Korean sister Nam.

Zone Leader lunch

August 19, 2016

Lunch with President and Sister Henrie and the Zone Leaders and Sister training leaders.

Elder Wade and I at the Zone leader lunch.

Things I have learned this past year as a missionary

August 15, 2016

We asked Andrew some questions about his mission experience this past year, and loved his responses.  What an amazing mission he has had...what a great and dedicated missionary he has been.  We are so grateful for his willingness to serve the Lord and for the genuine responses to the questions that we gave him.  He knows who he is, that he is where he is suppose to be, and that the Lord's hand is in our every day lives.


What has been one of your greatest challenges to overcome on your mission?

The back lash we receive for simply trying to make others lives a little better.


What has the Spirit taught you on your mission?

The spirit has taught me that I need him all the time. That I can't do anything on my own.


What thoughts can you pass on to others that are thinking about serving a mission? 

I wish I would have studied the scriptures more before I left. I would have been more effective sooner. Also it's the best decision ever.


How has your testimony grown since you left home?

It's grown more than I can explain. I know without a doubt that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


What have you learned to do better on your mission that at home you may have not done as well at?

Scripture study, cooking , laundry, cleaning, self reliance in general.


What are some life lessons that you want to never forget after your mission?

That you can trust in the plan God has for you personally. That prayer is powerful. And that if I stop going to Church the missionaries are gonna come looking for me. haha


What has your Mission President been doing to inspire the mission? What do you love about your Mission President? 

He is having us work through the members. They open doors that we can't.


What is your mission theme?

We are the Great California San Fernando Mission. We teach repentance and baptize converts.


What should we do to be better missionaries at home while you are gone?

Simply invite people to come to church or meet with the missionaries. That's all it takes. And give referrals!

One Year Down!

August 15, 2016

Hey everyone!

Well I hit my year mark this week...so crazy to look back and see how fast it went. Now we're on the count down! It's been one of the best learning experiences I've ever had, full of funny stories and miracles.

Speaking of miracles we had such a sick miracle happen with Jim this week. We had a lesson scheduled at his house and I decided to just shoot him a text and see if we could switch it to the church. He's never been to the church so it was kind of a long shot but we decided to just send it. He replied super fast and said he had nothing going on so he'd meet us there. Well we show up to the lesson and he was already sitting in the chapel reading his Book of Mormon. Then he told us about this super spiritual experience he had as he was walking into the chapel. He had a super mellow day at the office which was unusual to him but it was nice. Then he showed up to the chapel an hour early and was a little nervous to be there. He walked down the hall all stressed and  anxious because it was new to him. Then he got to the chapel door and he stood there for a second and just tried to calm down but he couldn't. So he decided to just go into the chapel and read. The second he touched that chapel door handle he was just filled with this feeling of peace and he felt so at home. God has his hand in the work! He made this whole thing possible. He blessed Jim with a peaceful day and, then some how made it possible for Jim to get into the church because it was supposed to be locked at that time. But someone was there to let him in so he could get that personal spiritual witness that this is where God wants him and that he's on the right path. Jim has investigated for 2 years and lately he's come a long way. We also had Stake Conference this Sunday and Jim showed up to the 7:00 Priesthood session. That was his first time at church. That experience changed the game for him for sure!

So we met this awesome kid named Edwin last week during knock out and picked him up as a new investigator. He's 17 and is golden. We talked for a while about God and he said recently he's been trying to find out if God is real but he is struggling. So we talked about the Book of Mormon and bore our testimonies and told him it would help him find God. Well we came back this week and he had read some of it and loved it. He doesn't believe in coincidences and he's ran into lots of Mormons in his life and he's always liked them. Then we showed up at the perfect time...right when he was struggling to find God. He knows this wasn't just an accident that we crossed paths. There's only one problem. His parents are hard core Catholics and every time he tried to come to church they get real mad. So we're working on them slowly.

Ian came to church this week! We named him "stanky flakes Ian" because he would always flake out on us. But we did a church tour with him and he's been so solid ever sense...so we have to change his nick name haha. Ian came to the Saturday and Sunday sessions of Stake Conference and liked it a lot. He did say something super funny though that Elder Wade and I still laugh about. He said "Man that was a good meeting but I feel like you're atheists." Hahahah what? We are so far from atheist. He asked to be taught the lessons though so we're stoked!

Another highlight of the week is that we have the coolest service spot! We get to go to a Gibbon Conservatory and feed the Gibbon monkeys and stuff! They just swing around and like parkour in their habitats haha.

Here's a sad story for you. We were walking into wing stop to grab some lunch. Just a causal normal day. Well we walk into the store and turn the corner and BAM....the TV was eye level and it was golf highlights from the Olympics. My biggest weakness. Bubba Watson had a pretty sick eagle not gonna lie hahaha! That's all I saw though. Golf is Life!

Now here's a funny story. We knocked on this guys door and he opened it and started yelling and told us that if we didn't run he was gonna let his dog out on us hahaha! So I said "Oh awesome I love dogs!" So he got so mad and let his dog out and it was this tiny little dog so I just petted him and was like "Thanks for letting us see your dog bro!" then we peaced hahaha. He was sooo mad hahaha. Some people.

I love the new area! It feels a lot like Utah though haha. Love the companion and love the ward and people we serve! 

I don't have tons of time because now some of our email time is taken up by Zone Leader duties and spread sheets we have to fill.

Well I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

P.S. We decided to take knockout to the next level with this 100 degree weather so we bought some tanning lotion hahahaha!

Elder Wade at the Gibbon Conservatory

Me at the Gibbon Conservatory

Gibbon Conservatory mural.  Me and the monkeys!

Taking knock out to a whole new level.

Hidden Missionary skills!

August 8, 2016

Hey everyone! This week has been crazy. Elder Wade and I have been holding down the fort here in the Santa Clarita Zone! We've had to tap into some hidden skills to do so though haha. For example, we both found out that we are pretty decent plumbers! Some Sisters toilet was broken so we took it apart and had no idea what was wrong so Elder Wade just started pulling on tubes and stuff until it started working again! Problem solved! Then we tapped into our cleaning skills and deep cleaned a nasty apartment that some Elders were moving into. Then some bikes broke so we became bike mechanics for a minute. Then someones car exhaust pipe got bent on their car so we became chauffeurs and took them to get it fixed. It's been fun so far though so no complaints!

Here's our new address by the way!

27614 Susan Beth Way Unit C
Santa Clarita, CA 91350

Quick flash back to last Monday in Burbank. After email, we had our last zone activity, and we played 'How well do you know your companion?' which was pretty much the Newly Wed game if you've seen that. And only two arms were broken in this non-contact activity... just kidding. Just a few broken hearts from when Elder Martin and I dominated and won! We definitely bonded over the one transfer we were together. Then we went to the Harmons for dinner. Brother Harmon works for Dream Works and is an amazing artist so he drew a caricature of me.

Now back to Santa Clarita:

Our area is pretty diverse. We have some really nice areas and then there are some areas that are basically just a cleaner version of Van Nuys haha. So I love it here! Our area is also really small so we are running out of places to knock that Elder Wade hasn't already knocked in the last month haha. But there are people prepared everywhere! We have already found 2 future investigators this week so I'm stoked about that.

Well here's a little about our week. We have some super sick investigators we have been teaching. The first one is James. He's been in and out of prison and his parents are Hell's Angels so he grew up in a super rough environment. But the Gospel is really helping him make changes in his life. He wants to quit smoking and drinking so badly and he's just waiting until he finishes this bag of tobacco...then he's gonna fight it and stop. We had a lesson with him this week and he told us how he wants to be baptized and he is willing to make the changes, but the only problem is that he is living with his girlfriend and he can't get her to marry him. So we talked about how her heart would be softened as he began to make changes and follow Jesus Christ. He's such a sick guy.

We also had a lesson with Mark this week. Hahaha oh Mark....Mark has been investigating the Church for about 2 years now. He confuses me. We rolled up to the lesson and he refused to call me by anything but my first name lol...so he calls me Drew and he calls Elder Wade Josh. We pretty much just laid down the law with him and told him that he needs to listen to the Spirit and that if he denies the answers that he receives then our job is done and there's no point in us meeting because he won't soften his heart. We had this whole lesson in the Chapel and the Spirit was so so strong. You couldn't deny that. Elder Wade and I were tearing up and were just so passionate about the message we were sharing. Then we asked him what he got from the lesson and he honestly got nothing. He just confuses me...don't really know what to do with this guy.

We also teach Dennis who we are pretty sure is a hard core computer hacker hahaha. He's a great guy though and he's seriously a genius. He came to church this week and wowed the entire Elders Quorum with his comments.

Well that's pretty much our week! There will be more to come next week!

Funny Story: Our apartment used to be a Sisters apartment so everything is covered in long hair! We can't get it out of the carpet and we're so grossed out!

Love you all so much!! Have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Jensen and Wade reunite.

Bro Humphreys and his daughter!

New Comps!

Benny took a selfie!

 The drawing!

It's amazing how God's timing works!

August 1, 2016

So much happened this week in Burbank!

First off...I'm being transferred away from Elder Martin. Super sad about that. I'm not going to be able to finish his training. He's an awesome friend and I'll hopefully serve around him again! I've been called to be a Zone Leader in Santa Clarita. It's a huge change of culture and surroundings but it's all part of the adventure for sure! And God knows where I need to be better than I do. My new companion is Elder Wade! My old district leader back when I was serving in Encino! It's gonna be an awesome transfer up in the other valley!

Here's my address:

27614 Susan Beth Way  Unit C
Santa Clarita, CA. 91350

There's been a huge fire just over the hill in Santa Clarita and the sky has just been full of smoke and ash lately. The smoke was so bad that the sun actually looked redish orange for a while. So far it's still out of control but we're not being affected to much anymore. But I'm going to Santa Clarita so that might change soon haha.

We visited with Manet, and she still wasn't done with the Book of Mormon, which was strange because she read to 3rd Nephi in a week, and then in the last two, hadn't read very much, so we asked her why. The reasoning? Because she rented books about our religion at the library and was reading them, and they're not written by Mormons. Not good for an investigator. So I asked her if it was okay if we borrowed them for 'study'. And by that, we meant they would stay in our trunk all week, that way she could focus on the Book of Mormon hahah. We also met with Manet on Sunday. We went to church and with it being the 5th Sunday, it was combined third hour. The lesson was on food storage. Talk about trying to stay awake! Manet didn't come which was a bummer but she said she still wanted to meet after church. Sister Andrus came, as well as another member, named Ryan. They connected instantly, which was perfect. Exactly what we want with members and our investigators. P.S. Manet asked us to take her books back for her..YES! We talked about the Kingdoms of Glory and usually that's a really hard piece of Doctrine for investigators to accept. But Manet told us that it made so much sense and that is the only way God could be a merciful and still a just God at the same time. She's so prepared! I'm going to miss her so much! Can't wait to come back and visit her!

Ashley Abrego is still doing amazing and is on track to be baptized on August 27th! We had another lesson with her this week and her mom is just loving the church. She's just sharing the Gospel with people left and right! Anyway, we talked about the Resurrection and Judgement and what we can do now to prepare for that day. Ashley is following in her mothers footsteps and is marking up her scriptures like crazy! It's so cool! I'll be back for that baptism soon as well!

We picked up a new investigator this week named Gary Bell. He is a former teacher at UCLA and has actually met with missionaries before. He almost got baptized in 2013 but couldn't understand the concept of faith and lost interest. So we talked about faith and read in Alma about faith being like a mustard seed. After our lesson he told us how badly he wants to know if this is all true. It's amazing how Gods timing works. This man dropped off the map for years and then two years later is ready to be taught again. Timing is everything.

We went back to the Wilson's this week. We found a way to motivate them to read the Book of Mormon. We bribe them with more hymns hahaha. If they read we sing an extra hymn and if they don't we sing one less hymn. So I'm wishing Elder Martin the best of luck on that one haha. I've never sung so many hymns in my life! I love them though...they remind me of my Grandparents and I just have a soft spot for oldies haha.

Well Sorry for the short email today. I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Mangos with Elder Olivas

Studio City

The fire is killing the air quality

I always need to remain faithful and will always be a Disciple of Christ

Hello everyone! It's been another hot week in Cali!

 So after emailing last week, we played flag football. Exciting, right? Elder Martin was so excited to play because he played football in high school so I just sat on the sideline and watched. Well it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And this week, it happened to be Elder Martin. As he was pulling the flag from someone, they spun, and his hand went with them, and all I heard was "POP" and he turned to Elder Olivas and said "I broke my wrist". We thought he was fine but it was literally just dangling there. Elder Andersen made a make-shift splint for him out of socks and sticks haha. The Eagle scout really came out of him! So Elder Martin joined me on the sideline.  Pre x-ray, was nerve damage and sprained wrist. Post x-ray, in the doctors words "Snapped wrist and minor nerve damage". So now, here's Elder Martin with a broken wrist in a splint, and me...broken elbow, also in a splint and a sling. I bet that's the first time President Henrie has heard of companions both being broken at once hahaha.

Since we were both in splints this week we couldn't drive and we couldn't bike...so we ended up walking everywhere. It was terrible!!! It was in the 100's all week and we were just dripping with sweat. We'd talk to people on the street and they'd say "stay cool today!" And we'd just chuckle and then definitely not keep cool. But here's an update on my elbow. So last week I got x-rays and the doctors said it was fractured. There was a distinct crack on the first x-ray, and blood filling the joint.  So I got a Priesthood blessing from Elder Olivas and just had faith that everything was gonna work out how it needed to. So this week we went in for a follow up at the Orthopedic Surgery Clinic. They took more x-rays and the doctors couldn't find the fracture anymore! It had just disappeared. The doctors couldn't believe it and the mission nurse, Sister Farrimond, said it was gonna go down as her "mission miracle!" haha. So I'm currently out of the split and sling doing some stretches every day to get my range of motion back. We have the car back and I can drive. The Priesthood is real!!

We met with Manet twice this week and she is still amazing. She finished the Book of Mormon last night and is following the council in Moroni 10:3-5 tonight before she goes to bed. We talked about 3 Nephi chapter 8 where it talks about the last days and she was just amazed at how much is coming to pass. That was definitely a big testimony builder for her. She knows this book has so much validity she just needs that spiritual witness now. We went through the first three baptismal questions with her and she believes that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. She said "Why would anyone lie about this? It's too beautiful!", said in an Armenian accent haha! She's so awesome. She calls us her Grandsons and wants us to tell our mothers that she is our Nanna while we are away from home! So mom...I'm being taken care of by a sweet Armenian woman...no need to worry haha! Keep her in your prayers this week.

We also met with Ashley and Diana this week! Ashley is still so excited to join her mother as a member of the church! We taught about the Plan of Salvation and how they could be together as a family forever! They are seriously best friends and Ashley loves her mom more than anything in the whole world. Her face just lit up when we testified about eternal families and how death doesn't separate us. She's found the missing piece to her life that she never knew was gone and you can just see that she is so happy.

We finally got in contact with a less active member that has been off the radar for so long! He just got back from his mission in Milan in February and has only been to church a hand full of times since. Recently he hasn't been at all. He called us the other night and was so sad on the phone. He asked us to meet him ASAP so we told him we'd be right there.  He said "Elders...I'm less active. I never would have guessed that it would be me. I served a mission and never thought it would be me!" We read together in John 21 and talked about how the Apostles returned to fishing after Christ died and how Christ told them that Disciples never die...they are always Disciples and they are always supposed to share his Gospel. The Spirit was so strong and Elder Martin and I were basically crying haha. He was so thankful for our message and he said "I'm coming back. This Sunday I'm coming back!" Such a special experience and a huge reminder that I always need to remain faithful and that I will forever be a Disciple of Christ!

Well those are the highlights of our week! I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Dumb and Dumber!

Another year mark ceremony!

Burbank

Dang it!

I broke my arm.. but we got a car out of it!

July 18, 2016

Hello everyone! This was another sick week here in California!

Last Monday after emailing, a couple of us Elder's, got together and went to Universal, to go to City Walk and to be honest, it was a big let down at City Walk. Besides a couple Universal themed stores, so we didn't stay long, just long enough to take pictures.  Afterwards, we went to play kickball and it was Sand Lot (mission edition) because elder Martin kicked the ball over the fence and it popped so we couldn't "play no more" hahaha.

When Elder Silva and I were companions, a few months ago, we knocked into Daniel and he was immediately receptive to the message we shared. He was so prepared through his experiences and trials he faced during his transition from the Philippines to the United States. Daniel had been searching for a way to get closer to God and feel his support and guidance more fully in his life. Well this week I got to go back to Van Nuys and see Daniel Noora get baptized! I'm so happy for him and I know that the gift of the Holy Ghost and this Gospel will fill that gap that he has been trying to fill his whole life. I'm so happy for him and I can't wait for his family to see his example.  It was an awesome day for both of us seeing someone we found and taught together getting baptized.

We met with Diana Del Mundo this week to teach her a recent convert lesson and she brought her daughter! So we decided to teach the Restoration so her daughter could hear our special message! Well the Spirit was so strong and the daughter was loving everything we taught. At the end of the lesson we committed her to be baptized on August 27th and Diana was almost in tears! She has been praying that her daughter would gain interest in the church and her prayers were answered. It was such a cool experience!

"On Friday's, we have district workout in the mornings, so we play games as a district. The sister missionaries always come up with games for us to play (usually turn out a disappointment). So this week, we played "Sharks and Minos". And in every group, school, mission, fun, whatever, there is always that one person, who thinks it's the Olympics and takes it too serious. Well, this particular Elder, was in the middle, and hadn't tagged anyone yet. Elder Jensen was near the end, and this Elder decides to dive for him, and he took his legs out. Elder Jensen put his hands on the wall to stop himself, and hurt his wrist, and had pretty bad bruises on his knees. So we left right away, and we called the mission nurse. After I hung up, I decided that my elbow had started hurting. So I called the nurse back, and she showed up about an hour later and took me to the doctors. Turns out, Elder Jensen has a Radial-head fracture in his elbow. But we got a car out of it!" - I asked elder Martin to type that all up because I am too slow with one hand haha. So yeah I am now in a sling for a while! I'll keep you all updated on what happens!

Manet couldn't meet this week. More updates coming next week!

We met with Peter Roses this week! A huge miracle happened. He had always told us that he wasn't getting baptized because he needed to figure out some personal things first but it just didn't feel right. So on Friday we figured it all out! Elder Martin was coming in clutch with some inspired questions and we found out that he doesn't have a testimony of the Priesthood. He believes everything else but he can't understand the need for that authority. So now that we know what he needs we are feeling a lot better about helping him progress.

Funny story of the week: Elder Martin is the pickiest eater that has ever walked the planet hahaha! Man I love this kid. So we go to the Mathov's for dinner. She is Philippino, so she cooked a Philippino dish. Well Elder Martin was struggling to get it down hahaha. He leaned over and whispered, "Elder...I'm about to throw up." As he gagged a little hahaha. All I could tell him to do was to drink water hahaha. Poor kid is still adjusting to the mission life!

Well my hand hurts at this point so I think I'm gonna call it quits for the day. Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Universal Studios!

Candid with my boy Daniel.

City Walk with Elder Anderson and Elder Olivas.

Burbank

Daniel's Baptism

Daniel's Baptism.

Sand Lot -mission edition.