We're all striving to make it back to our Heavenly Father and we all need to just help others along the way.

November 21, 2016

Hello everyone! Week 2 in YSA was much better haha! I actually really love the YSA area we are in! One of the reasons is because it's so cool teaching kids that are your age and can really relate to you and your experiences. Also, they're not close-minded and are open to learn and hear the message of the Gospel!

We had a couple really cool miracles happen this week! First off we had the Valencia Elders text us and ask to have a pass off with a Young Single Adult age guy named Albert. Albert is from Russia and has never really been taught about the Gospel or Jesus Christ at all and this has been an eye opening and uplifting experience for him. He recently learned how to pray. Being totally new to this he's super sensitive to the Spirit and even just a simple prayer blows him away because he can instantly feel peace and comfort. It's so cool! He came to church with us this Sunday and loved the ward. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has already started changing his life.

We also picked up a girl named Evelyn. Evelyn was a former investigator and this week she called and said she misses meeting with missionaries because she can't feel the Spirit anymore. So we met with her this week and taught her the Restortion and explained how it could bless her in her life. She accepted a baptismal commitment but we're going to take this slow. She came to church and had a great experience!

We picked up some new investigators that my trainer Elder Anderson taught a while back! It was cool to see how God really places us in the path of people we can connect with. They hadn't had missionaries there in a while and they seemed glad to see us! But right after they accepted to be taught again one of the daughters yelled "AHH BUT I LOVE COFFEE!!!" Hahahaha so that's gonna be a struggle.


Something cool I've learned in YSA so far is the importance of looking after others and doing home teaching. So many kids have just dropped off the map and it's because they just didn't feel the love of others, then no one went looking for them. That's something I'm going to really focus on when I'm home. We're all striving to make it back to our Heavenly Father and we all need to just help others along the way.

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

Elder Jensen

It's snowing in California!!!!!

Just kidding it's just rain.

This was our first week in the Young Single Adult Ward

November 14, 2016

Hey everyone! This was our first week in the Young Single Adult Ward and wow it's different than what I'm used to! It's been tough not being able to teach all the people we got close to while in Canyon Country. That's one of the amazing parts about being a missionary...you get so close to those you serve and teach.

We Started off the week with a bunch of pass off lessons. So the sisters would be there with us. We always got to the lesson a few minutes later than the sisters and the investigators would see us walking towards them, they'd look so confused, and then we'd hear the sisters drop the bomb about us being their new missionaries now and the investigators would start to stress out. We thought they would have already told them but they did it for 3 or 4 consecutive lessons...people warmed up to us though and it wasn't a big deal in the end.

We taught a guy named Quico Spang about repentance this week and it was great. He has a baptismal date for December 10th. The only downside to all this is that he was super high. That was my first YSA experience lol. #cali

My second YSA experience was institute! I was stoked to go because I've never been before. Well it was definitely interesting. The lesson was on marriage and then they went around the room and had everyone say why they loved being single...kinda contradicting but whatever!

We got Nelly back! We taught Her and her brother Sam when we were in the Canyon Country Ward and sadly had to pass her off to the Young Single Adult Sisters. Well now we are her missionaries again! She was super stoked to see us again and said she was glad to have us back because she was able to be more open with us and ask questions without getting nervous. We had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we read 2 nephi 31. We committed her to baptism and had a super spiritual lesson that ended with some tears from her and the member we brought. She's coming to the Young Single Adult Family Home Evening activity tonight and she's gonna make some great friends there!

We went to 3 sacrament meetings the other day. We went at 9:00 so Nelly could come because she had work. We went at 11:00 so we could say goodbye to the Canyon Ward. And we went at 1:00 to the Young Single Adult Ward. James and Shannon were at church with the whole family and they were all dressed up so nice! Shannon came in a dress and James came in a button up shirt. They've made some major progress these past few months. Gotta keep in contact with them for sure!

Well that was our week in a nut shell! I hope you all have a safe week! Love you all.

Elder Jensen

P.s. Sorry that literally all the pics are of the same thing. We'll do better next week!

Elder Martin and Kerr bought us customized trophies hahaha!!So sick!

We are the first Elders in the Young Single Adult ward in 6 years!

November 7, 2016

Hello Everyone!!
Some crazy things happened this week and history was made, so get ready for today's email. First off, the stake's ward boundaries were redone and everything got messed up. Our ward combined with the Canyon Country 2nd ward and became one big ward. So since we combined wards there were 6 missionaries in a ward that was definitely not big enough for 6 missionaries. We had a feeling that one set was going to have to get moved into a different area and we were pretty stressed about it haha. So anyway the Mission President decided to put Elder Silva and I in the Young Single Adult ward that covers the entire valley which has been Elder Silva's dream area his whole mission. The cool part is that we are the first Elders in theYoung Single Adult ward in 6+ years! The sad part is that we can't teach James and Shannon's family, Jim, Dennis, or any of our other investigators that we've been working with :( So sad about that.  Also this week we had a mission leadership meeting where we got to see the new Christmas initiative that we will be using this year which is sooo good! We can't wait to start using it later this month!

But here's a quick update on how they are all doing:

James and Shannon are still doing good! Shannon has really stepped up her game lately. She has been reading and praying every day for the past week and it's made such a difference in her personality and everything about her! This week also started off with a really cool experience with Shannon and her mom. We got a call from Shannon saying her mom was in the hospital and said that her mom wanted us to call her, so we did. She was so sweet and was very grateful we called. We set up a time the following morning to come by and give her a blessing. We went to her hospital that we had to get permission for because it was in the other valley way out of our area and we ended up giving her the blessing after talking with her about what we do as missionaries and taught her about the Priesthood. When we left, Shannon called us later that night and told us that when her mom had called her the first time the first thought her mother had was to ask for the missionaries that are teaching her. Her mom had also called her Priest (she is catholic) but the priest didn't come but we did. The mom was overwhelmed and so appreciative that we could come and give her a blessing. She will start coming to church with Shannon and her family shortly! Such a miracle.

Jim is still doing great. His job has really been busy lately and it's been tough to see him but he's reading out of the Book of Mormon a ton and he has frequent meetings with the Bishop which is so cool. Hopefully he can really connect with the sisters who teach him.

Dennis is on date for December 3rd!! We've been working hard with that guy and he's really made progress! Hopefully I'll be able to come back and see him join that ward family soon.

Well that's our week in a quick update. Sorry about no pictures this week. We dropped the ball on that one!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Jensen

Prayers are answered every time!

October 13, 2016

Hey everyone, another crazy busy week here in Canyon Country first! We got some news this Sunday that the ward boundaries will be reconstructed in a week. Not that excited for that because James and Shannon are on the edge of our boundaries and might fall into a new ward after the changes...it's gonna be a stressful week anticipating the changes.

Anyway, here's the week in a quick summary:
We had a sick lesson with James and Shannon with our ward mission leader. James had a family member visit him this week and they told him that they are all so happy that he is getting out of the lifestyle that they raised him in and that they want him to join the church! He told us that during the lesson and just knowing that his family was behind him on this made such a difference for him. He said that it had been super hard to quit drinking and smoking and not drinking coffee or tea because he wasn't ALL in. But after that experience he said he's all in. James has now been 5 days without Smoking, drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee! And he says that he's never felt better!! Shannon is almost more committed to being baptized now than James is and James is super committed! Just seeing the gospel change James and her kids has really helped her see the importance of it in their lives. She knows that this is The true church and she wants to be a part of it forever! Their whole family came to our Halloween party at the church this Friday. Shannon helped run the games while James (and elder Silva and I) took care of the kids and took them to games and stuff. They all loved it. Oh and James came to church in a white shirt and tie this week!! So sick!!

Jim is still doing great! He is in 2 Nephi now and is just flying through. He said his favorite app on his phone is the Gospel Library app...nothing you'd rather hear as a missionary haha! He's also making some lifestyle changes and is making awesome progress. His baptism will be soon...that’s my gut feeling.

Nelly is doing great! We weren't able to meet with her this week but she came to church! She prayed Saturday night that the talks in church would really apply to her and help her through the week. Well she thought that they were all directed at her specifically and was just in awe. Prayers are answered every time!

We also had a lesson with Mark and we brought brother Singley along. Brother Singley seems like a super soft spoken guy but when he gets into the lesson...man he's a whole different person! Mark has been investigating off and on for 2 years and Brother Singley was super bold and told him that if he wants to get an answer he needs to do a little more than just read a chapter here and there...he needs to come to church. SO hopefully something will change with that guy.

Funny Story: Shirley Whitbeck came up to us at church and said..."You know boys, I was thinking about you last night and I you know what there has never been a companionship that has jived as good as you two. You're like salt and pepper!" We just replied "Starsky and Hutch!" Then walked away lol.


Well I love you all so much! Have a safe Halloween!

Elder Jensen

California sunset.

Halloween Party

Halloween Party

Sith Lord Vs. Servant of the Lord

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.

James got a haircut !

October 17, 2016

Hello everyone! Another week down in the California San Fernando Mission. Time's flying by...it's almost 2017...so crazy!

So here's an update on James and Shannon. James got a haircut last Monday. We took him to the Barbers after a long discussion about his appearance lol. This is how it went.

   James: "No guys I can't cut my hair. It took me two years to grow it out this long so I
                 could put it in a pony tail."
   Elder Silva: "James...it doesn't look good man."
   James: "It's the biker look...you can't go wrong there."
   Me: "James...you drive a fiat 500..."

So to make a long story short, he's looking fresh in a new haircut! Also...we had a super cool miracle happen at our last lesson. James has been really sad that his girlfriend wasn't really planning on getting baptized with him so we followed the Spirit and decided to reteach the Restoration to really help her see the need to be baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood. At the end of the lesson we asked James if he would be baptized on January 14th and he was so happy he almost started crying...he gladly said yes and then we turned to Shannon and asked her the same question and she also said yes!!! SO sick! Were stoked for them...this is life changing for them. Lots of changes to be made but they have a new drive and desire to do so.

We had an awesome lesson with Edwin this week as well. Back when I was with Elder Wade we promised Edwin that if he was ever having a tough time, that if he just opened The Book of Mormon and started reading on what ever page it landed on that God would give him the exact scripture he needed. Well this week he had that exact thing happen. He's been having some really hard family problems lately and he decided to just open the Book of Mormon...well he landed on the perfect scripture and he said he's never felt so good inside in his entire life! The Church is so true...and the Spirit is inside the pages of the Book of Mormon...all we have to do is open it up. He's gonna try and make it to church this next week just in case one of us gets transferred.

We had a lesson with Mark (our eternigator) and we decided to bring the Gospel Doctrine teacher (Brother Sage) this week so he could maybe talk some sense into him. I'm convinced that he's going to be an Apostle some day...he just layed everything out there and it all made so much sense...even questions I still had were answered. Mark accepted to be baptized he just wants to receive a witness that the Book of Mormon is true first. Don't know what will happen there because he's already read the whole thing once or twice and just doesn't seem to be asking for an answer.

Well that's the week for me. I hope you have a great week! Be safe!

Elder Jensen

Layla (6), and Kylie (3) at church.

James and Shannon with thier family at church.

Church

Haircut

Haircut

Before

After

Miracles happen everywhere!!

October 11, 2016

Hello Everyone!

We had another sick week as usual, filled with tons of miracles and cool experiences. And also some not so cool experiences. One of which is Tiwi's. They put these devices in our car named Tiwi's that monitor your driving and talk to you if you speed or hit bumps to hard or turn too sharp...and then they report you to the office and you can lose driving privileges. So needless to say...my driving has been so amazing lately! Haha they're so annoying but oh well just gotta deal with them for a little while.

Well here's an update on my boy James. So James is making some huge changes! He's almost completely off coffee...he went from an entire flask to only one small cup each morning. He's down to 3-4 cigarettes a day and he's not drinking! Huge progress...we're super proud and excited for him. Shannon and the rest of his family are also doing great!! They all came to church and Shannon had a really spiritual experience listening to peoples testimonies. (being their missionaries we kinda know the inside scoop on their lives and it was so cool to see the spirit prompt certain people to get up and bare their testimonies about things that were so relatable for them) We sat in on the primary class this week during church and Layla and Kylie were answering questions and having a great time! And Shannon and James loved the Gospel principles class. In Relief Society Shannon signed up to help with the ward Halloween party which was really cool. They're all getting involved with the ward and they just feel at home!

Elder Silva and I were asked to give a training in Zone Conference this week to quite a few missionaries so that was a little stressful. It's crazy though...being a missionary has made public speaking super easy so it wasn't a big deal. Anyways we had to train on the Book of Mormon and it's role in conversion and it went super well. We set up the stake center at 7:30am and didn't get out of our meetings until 6. It was brutal. Also, we really struggled to find time to plan our training because we were just so busy throughout the week teaching all our investigators...so we ended up staying up till 2am planning that thing...hahahaha...felt like we were back in high school trying to finish a project that was due the next day.

Israel is such a stud. We went by this week and he's been reading in the Book of Mormon a lot lately which is so cool. He's excited to work towards his baptismal date on November 12th and he even asked his mom and she said she thinks he should do it! That was a miracle right there!

We also went on exchanges this week and has such a sick miracle!! We were knocking in the other Elders area and we knocked on this door and no one came. So we knocked a little harder and a sleepy looking woman answered. We taught her the Restoration and told her about The Book of Mormon and then she stopped us and said. "I prayed earlier that God would give me more guidance and direction. Then I told him I'd do his will. Right after that I fell asleep and then I woke up to you two standing at my door. This is exactly what I've been waiting for!" We told her where the church was (Literally two houses away haha) and she said she is excited to start attending every week! She also told us how they had just moved in 3 weeks ago and they weren't supposed to get the house but God made it possible and now she knows why he helped them out...so she could meet the missionaries. Miracles happen everywhere!!

Well I hope you all have a great week and stay safe!!

Elder Jensen

Planning for our Zone Conference Training meeting.

Our Zone Conference Training meeting went well.

Zone Conference Training meeting

Sometimes it's hard to make the right choices because we 're afraid of what others might think...but in the end none of that matters. We have to have the determination to choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong

October 3, 2016

Another great week with Elder Silva here in Canyon Country! It's so much fun being with this guy again. We were talking the other day about how we have had some of our most spiritual experiences/lessons ever with each other and also some of our funniest mission experiences together hahaha. It's been a great transfer so far and it's hard to believe, but it's already half way over. So weird...time is going faster and faster.

Well here's an update on a few things that happened this week...

We met with James and Shannon this week and things were super rocky when we first got there. Contention, arguing, and definitely not the Spirit. We listened to the situation and learned that James had had some major Word of Wisdom slip ups the last couple of days. Shannon was broken hearted and James was as well. But an amazing thing happened...As Elder Silva and I spoke to them boldly and lovingly we watched  the Spirit bind up their broken hearts, change their attitudes, recommit them to following Jesus Christ, and give them a new determination to try and overcome their trials harder then ever before. The Gospel is truly the only way to true and eternal happiness. I also learned another lesson from James that night. As I looked at him I saw one of the biggest, strongest guys (physically) I've ever seen looking weaker than ever before. Although he was strong physically he was weak spiritually...and that's why he couldn't succeed. We can seldom achieve our goals without Heavenly help..."in His strength we can do all things." We gave James and Shannon both blessings and everything had completely changed thanks to the guidance God has given to all of us through the Gospel. That whole family will be sealed some day...mark my words.

Jim is still doing great. He was able to meet with the bishop and a few other friends he has in the ward and got some council from them. When we got to his house for a lesson he told us he's decided to make some serious life changes to help him work towards baptism! He's on a more dedicated Scripture reading schedule and he's in this for the long haul. He said something super cool to us..."If I become a member of the church there will be a lot of people that will be mad at me...but that's ok because God will be proud of me and I'll be a step closer to him." Sometimes it's hard to make the right choices because we 're afraid of what others might think...but in the end none of that matters. We have to have the determination to choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong.

We were able to set another baptismal date this week with our investigator Israel! He's 16 and he's a huge soccer player so I talk soccer with him and share my limited FIFA knowledge haha. We retaught the restoration and  we were able to help him understand every principle. He was finishing our sentences before we could and it was just crazy to see how prepared he was. He wants his family and his future kids to be baptized and follow Christ as well. One thing that is really helping him find this desire is the book of mormon. He's been reading a lot and he's felt the Spirit speak to him.

Funny Story of The week:  Elder Martin popped both the tires on my road bike this week haha.


Well I hope you have an awesome week. Be safe!

Elder Jensen

Conference

 

Wendy's

 

So many miracles and people placed in their paths.

September 26, 2016

Hello everyone. Another great week here in Santa Clarita. My favorite Canadian and I are still tearing it up Starsky and Hutch style. We definitely work well together haha!

Jim is still on date and things are going pretty well! We set up a baptismal calendar and set some goals to help him be baptised on the 22nd of October. We also got all of his friends in the ward on board to support him and help him with the Word of Wisdom. He's got changes to make but it's all possible with God's help. I don't know if he'll reach his date but it is definitely an inspired date because it's helping him progress more than ever and getting serious about this.

James and his whole family came to Church this week! And we picked up his Girlfriend as an investigator! Things are moving along with that family for sure. So many miracles and people placed in their paths. Elder Silva and I are learning great parenting skills thanks to them as well...we keep Layla (6) and Kylie (3) busy during church by just sacrificing our planners so they can draw haha. They destroy every page...

Well sorry for the short email this week...I'll finish off with a few funny moments.


Funny stories:
- We had exchanges this week with Elder Ha and Elder Corey. I went with Elder Ha who is from South Korea and he is so funny! He doesn't really understand American humour/anger so people would be super rude to us and he's say "Good door right there. Nice people." After they literally told us to never come back hahahaha. I love Koreans.
- We stopped by our investigator at 8:00pm and he opened the door so paranoid. He kept saying "Guys it's so late....like answer your door with a shotgun late!" It was only 8:00...Californians confuse me.



Well I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Elder Jensen

Service at a Ranch

Helping with the horses.

Feeding horses.

Upgrading to handcarts for tracting.

 

Pictures from the CASF Facebook page

 

 

 

Elders Orchard, Olivas, Horito, Silva Jensen and Wade  on transfer day September 13, 2017.

New companionships on transfer day:  Elder Jarman and Wade with Elder Jensen and Silva.  Together again!

Mission Leadership Council meeting, Sept. 7, 2016.

Elder Wade and Elder Jensen at Mission Leadership Council meeting. 

Mission Leadership Council meeting.

Elder Wade and Elder Jensen at Mission Leadership Council meeting September 7, 2016.

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