Happy Thursday...

Hola everyone!

Sorry I didn't write home yesterday, but I couldn't.  The power left around 1:30 here and didn't come back until a little after 6pm, so I wasn't able to come and use Internet.  But, here  I am; alive and well.

This past week has honestly just blurred by.  I can't believe we're already back to Thursday again.  My companion and I really tried to focus on finding some new people to teach over the past couple of days.  We've walked around alot and tried to meet with lots of members to get referrals.  We haven't had a ton of success with that, but we did have a really neat finding experience late last week.  My companion and I were trying to follow the spirit and end up where we needed to be.  So after walking around for a while we ran into a guy named Juan.  He was standing in front of his house right by the beach so I just started asking questions about the beach, cruise ships, tourism, and stuff.  We talked for a while and then he asked us if we were "Mormones."  I told him that we were and he agreed to let us stop by and visit with him a couple of days later.  Well, when we passed by for the visit he was outside waiting for us and happily invited us in.  We began talking about bible, prophets, and then we ended up on the Book of Mormon.  HE JUST LOVED IT!  He kept saying, "this makes sense.  God would have had more prophets and scriptures then just the bible."  It was a really cool experience finding him and having him just get it and see the connection with all of it.  He's really excited to come to church and he's been reading alot of the Book of Mormon, so it's been really neat meeting and teaching Juan.  We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him soon and help him continue gaining his own testimony.  It was a really great experience running into this guy.  I feel like God has prepared him for this gospel.

Well, everything is going great!  The area is coming together and we're continuing to find more people to teach.  The members are progressing starting to leave with us more.  The bishop is working alot with less-actives; and the people are just ready to learn.  I'm so very grateful that I'm able to finish up my mission here in Nagua and see the progress of the area.  I love being a missionary and my companion and I are having a great time trying to help build up the kingdom in this little town.  I know that God loves us.  This work is rolling onward and I'm grateful to be a part of it.  God has called a prophet and he is leading the church today.  I know that Christ lives and he's our savior.  The gospel is true and if we live it, God with give us all that he has in store for us.  I know that to be true.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have an excellent week everyone!!  Que vaya con Dios.

Love,

Elder Jensen

 

 

Hola Everyone...

Hola everyone!

Holy Cow!  I can't believe that another week has already gone by.  It's weird to think that we're already have way through January.  Pretty soon we'll be entering into February and then moving along to march before that; where's all the time going?  But, it sounds like everyone had a great week except poor Charcoal; I feel bad for the poor dog.  Losing your manhood has got to be a blow to the ego.  Oh well, at least everyone else seems to be doing well!

So, this past week has been interesting.  We've done a lot of walking and not a ton of teaching.  President Douglas is stressing working only with members and referrals, which I think is a great idea.  However, that all depends on the attitude of the members and the members here need some motivation or something because they aren't getting the whole "Hastening the work" or "every member a missionary" yet.  The four of us that are assigned to the ward are doing our best to help them realize their roles as members of the church, but we're inching along you could say.  More members have started to commit to leave with us, and we've started some different weekly activities, and the bishop is really excited about the work; so I'm confident that we'll see some good changes soon!  I think the members just need to see that the missionaries are excited about the work and ready to do their part to build the kingdom and then they'll see that we're serious when we tell them that we need their help.  But, we're moving along and the work does too!

So Nagua is turning out to be a nice little place.  I like the beach, the people, and the small town feel.  It's better then when I was in Fantino because it's bigger, there's always power, and tourists pass through here, so the buses are big greyhounds (which are quite comfortable).  Right now there is 10 missionaries in Nagua.  8 elders and 2 sisters.  6 Americans 4 Latinos.  And I'm the district leader for all of us.  We all kind of feel like we're off in our own little world away from everyone.  Haha, it's actually a very funny feeling...

So, we're continuing to find people to teach and I hope that we start seeing some people progress to baptism soon.  I really want to finish up my mission strong and see alot of progress in the area and leave knowing that I helped the lord build up his kingdom in Nagua.  I grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary in the lord's work.  I know the church is true and that I'm doing a marvelous work.  God lives.  He loves us and wants us to be happy.  I'm grateful that I can share that message with his children everyday.  Being a missionary isn't always easy, but I feel it's very fulfilling experience to serve heavenly father's children.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have a great week everyone!  Que vaya bien.

Love,

Elder Jensen

 

Hola from Paradise...

Hola everyone!

Wow, I can't believe that it's already Wednesday again.  I honestly don't feel like I've been here a whole week.  Time seems to be flying!

So things in Nagua are going great!  I'm starting to get down the area, so we're not getting lost all the time anymore.  It's funny that I some how always seem to run into the beach when I get "lost", haha.  The beach in my area really isn't even that pretty, but I just like seeing all the waves and the beauty of the ocean.  It's a pretty cool site to see.  The house here is a little small, but we're all having a good time trying to make it work.  Our food is scattered all over the place until we get cupboards and our refrigerator broke last weekend, so we've been using the neighbors to keep the important stuff cold.  Did I ever tell you guys how much I like cold water?  It's a pity when it's gone.  But, all the same things are going well at home.  I feel like I'm all settled in for the most part.  After all, it's going to be my home for the next 3 months.

Well, the area is an interesting place.  We have a little chapel that currently is plenty big for this ward.  The average attendance is about 75-80, so it definitely has room for improvement.  The leaders are a little scattered from each other and don't really believe there's a "unity" in this ward. But if everyone is thinking that, of course there's not going to be any unity.  So, we're working hard to help the leaders band together and get excited about missionary work.  They all talk about the growth this area can have, now we're just trying to help them realize it can happen if they all join together and work alittle bit.  So, there's hope of seeing a lot of progress during my time here, but this ward (especially the members) is going to need to step up and do what needs to be done.

I'm still trying to get to know the investigators and get to know more members to get myself established here in Nagua.  We have a couple investigators, but this next week will be alot of trial and error trying to get more help from the members.  President Douglas is really pushing working with members and less-actives to get the work of the lord rolling.  The days of tracting and contacting are over and missionaries just can't have success unless they are working hard with the members.  It's important to reach out to those who just need a friend in the gospel to help them find their way.  I've been reading alot in the bible lately, and the savior constantly teaches his disciples the need to share the gospel with others.  He invites all to come unto him, and it's up to his followers to share that wonderful message!  I hope that all of us can reach out and help all people, whether they'd be members or non-members to "come unto Christ and be perfected in him."  I know that Christ lives.  He's our savior and redeemer and he wants us all to be happy.  This church is true and we are lead by God's chosen prophet here on this earth.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have a great week everyone!  Que vaya con Dios.  Adios!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Russell Jensen

I made it...

Hola everyone,

Wow.  I´m the outskirts of my mission.....again.......but I do have a nice beach about 5 minutes from my house this time(:

After a long, long day yesterday we´re finally here and alive in Nagua.  We waited a long time in Santiago for the bus to take the missionaries to a city called San Francisco.  From San Fran we had to take another bus to Nagua, which was another hour and half ride across the countryside.  Finally, around 6:30 we reached Nagua and headed to our house.  There are currently 2 other elders living in our house, so it was nice that they came to find us.  However, the house is really, really small and we can´t figure out house 4 missionaries can all live in the house.  So need less to say it should be really interesting to see how this plays out.  

As most of the family knows, I´m here in Nagua opening an area and training a new missionary.  My new trainee is named Elder Gothard from Goodyear, Arizona.  He´s 18 years old and is really excited to be a missionary.  He´s really laid back, so he hasn´t been really stressed out like I was at the beginning of my mission and he seems to be doing really well!  I´ve only been with him for about 24 hours now, so I don´t know too much about him, but I look forward to training him and working hard out here in Nagua.

Well, here I am.  I just entered my last two transfers of my mission.  I´m in a really neat area (with the beach down the road, haha), I have a nice companion, and I´m really excited to work hard here in Nagua.  It should be a great last 3 months, and I hope to see lots of good things happen here in Nagua.  It´s been an adventure getting here, so I´m excited to see the crazy adventures Heavenly Father has planned for us here.

Have a great week everyone!  Happy New Year!

Love,

Elder Jensen

Merry Christmas...

Hola everyone!

Well, this past week has been full of lots of changes.  I'm currently writing this email from the city of La Vega in my mission.  There's about 26 missionaries in La Vega, and 6 missionaries in the ward I'm in right now, so it's been fun.  Elder Farnsworth is a great guy and we're really having a good time.  He loves technology, movies, ice cream, and sleeping; so what else could I ask for in a temporary companion, haha.  I've enjoyed being a regular missionary again and doing the missionary things like teaching, walking, and sweating all day in the hot sun; it's really been a great couple of days.  However, I constantly receive calls from the mission office asking for help or questions on clarifying how things are suppose to go.  So, I guess you could say I've left the office, but the office hasn't left me, haha.

Did I tell you guys I'm a famous singer in the Dominican Republic now?  Well, not really, but I guess I'm going to be on TV here.  I arrived last Wednesday night to this area and Elder Farnsworth told me that the branch was preparing a charity event/choir recital for the public.  That sounded fun, so I decided to jump on board and participate.  Well, as it turns out it was a public charity event and a news company is funding it to play on TV all next week.  That means that I'll be on TV as a choir member in this 2 hour Christmas special of "Voces de Navidad."  It was taped last night and people said that the choir and orchestra did a good job, so I guess we'll find out when we see it next week.  All of us laugh a little bit though because it was a choir full of Dominicans with 3 Americans in the center of the choir singing; we stuck out like a sore thumb!  However, it was a fun experience and I was happy I participated.

So, mission life is growing great!  I'm happy I'm back out into the field and I'm able to teach more people now.  Being a missionary is great and I'm grateful that I decided to serve a mission.  It hasn't always been easy, but I'm grateful for the support, strength, and love I receive from Heavenly Father and all my family and friends.  I know that God lives.  He loves us and wants us to be happy!  If we do our part, I testify that God will always do his.  I hope that we can all remember that; and not just in the hard times of life.  I know that Christ lives and he's our savior.  I love this time of year when we can celebrate Christmas and realize what is important in life.  I'm so excited I can skype my family next Wednesday and celebrate Christmas with them.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have a great week everyone and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Love,

Elder Jensen

3 Weeks left in 2013...

Hola Everyone!

It sounds like everyone is doing great!  I'm excited to know that things are going well and that everyone seems to be happy.  Christmas is approaching quickly and I'm excited to talk with the family and celebrate Christ's Birth.  I'm still opening a present everyday from the family and my companion and I have a fun time trying to figure all of them out!  Thanks for all the support and love this Christmas season!

Well, things for Elder Jensen are about to change really quickly.  Three elders are going home on December 19th to be home for Christmas and get ready for college.  So, that leaves 3 empty spaces in companionships.  That means that Pres. Douglas decided to send me and Elder Astacio out into the field to fill some of these spaces.  This means that I'll be out of the office now, and I'll spend Christmas some where new.  That changes my plans a little bit, but I'm excited to get back into the field and be a "full-time" missionary again!  The plan is that I'll head to La Vega next week and be with a new missionary named Elder Farnsworth.  He's a funny elder, and President Douglas and I figured that it'd be good for him and me to spend Christmas together as temporary companions.

After spending the last two weeks of this transfer in La Vega I'll head out to my final area on the first of January.  It's not 100% set in stone, but President Douglas said he's planning on sending me out to open a new area in a little town called Nagua on the north-east coast of the country.  There's 6 missionaries already out there, but I'm assigned to serve and help out one of the wards that is struggling.  I'm very excited to serve in that area and train a new missionary too!  It should be a fun experience to finish up my mission like that!  Guess we'll see how it all happens, haha!

Big changes are coming up soon!  I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve in the mission office.  I've learned a lot about "grown-up" work, working with others, and the system of an office.  But, I'm very excited to head out to the field again and be focused 24/7 on finding people to teach and inviting all people to follow Jesus Christ.  As we live from day to day, there's always something that needs to be done.  It might be working, shopping, cleaning, etc., but I've found that spending time with people we care about brings the most happiness out of anything.  During my time in the office I've been busy doing a lot of "temporal" things.  But, the times where I've taught less-actives, helped out other missionaries, and seen Carolina get baptized are the times I remember most about these last couple of months.  In the end of it all, the most enjoyable and memorable experiences we'll have in life will where we did something to or with someone we cared about.  I'm grateful for this opportunity to serve the Dominican people and be a missionary!  I know this church is true, and that God's Plan is to help us be eternally happy with the people we care about.  I challenge everyone this coming year to take a little bit more time out of life and use it to make the day of someone we care about.  I know that pretty soon we'll find our lives a little bit happier and brighter too!  I know it's true, because I've seen it for myself.  I know we'll all be happier if we take the time.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have a great week everyone!  Happy Holidays.

Love,

Elder Jensen

Winter (Rainy) Wonderland...

Hola everyone!

Wow!  I can't believe that we're already 7 days into December.  It's also weird to think that Mitchell is coming home next Thursday and that he's already finishing up his mission.  But, I guess that is what happens after two years and I hope he has a good homecoming to his family.  Also, it sounds like all the family is doing well and staying pretty busy with the Holidays.  Dad said that snow is planned for this week, and it's planned here for this week as well.  However, the planned snow here changes from snow to rain in the atmosphere, so need less to say I'll be planning on lots of rain the next couple of days.  But, it's all good.  It's been a while since it rained.

Well, my training continued this past week with Elder Morey.  He's learning a lot and is starting to get  the hang of how the office works.  He's not the fastest learner, but it's helping me learn a little more patience and we're both having a very fun time with being companions.  He's getting better at driving, so I'm not quite so stressed out anymore while he's behind the wheel, haha.  We've worked on getting the mail system down, church materials, and minutes.  We've just got to keep working on vehicles and cellphones and then I think he'll have it all down.  It's been interesting re-teaching something and trusting that someone else can do it as well as you.  I kind of feel like I did when I had to train new projectionists at Walkers.  But, it will all work out.

Last Sunday my companion and I had a really cool experience.  We had been contacting people all day and were on the verge of just throwing in the towel when we decided to talk to a big-buff guy and his friends about a t-shirt that they (and half of the neighborhood) were wearing.  He answered our question and then said, "Hey, I used to be one of you guys."  I was taken back.  "You mean Mormon?" He responded again, "Yeah I was Mormon 'I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded for I know that the lord giveth no commandment unto the children save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he had commanded him'.  Yeah I know a lot about you guys."  My companion and I were completely speechless.  We talked to him a little bit more and turns out he was one of the first baptisms in Santiago.  He joined the church at 14, served a mini mission, was the head of the young men, and was a stake missionary.  We couldn't believe this guy!  Then, he told us what happened: He joined the military about 15 and they completed brain-washed how the thought and it was impossible to stay active.  Good news is that he's left the military and was willing to have us pass by another day.  We put a date and left the man to talking with his friends.  It was really cool that we randomly walked into it!  I definitely feel like the spirit intervened on that one.

So, Thursday night was our follow up visit with that buff guy named Edward.  He was there waiting for us and happy to let us into his home.  We visited, got to know him, and listened to his story.  He told us that he still feels the church is true, but needs a lot of help to change is mind-set from Military form.  I'm really excited though, because he is excited to come back, read his scriptures and attend church.  He even said, "I'm 100% positive in making it to church on Sunday."  I'm hoping that he comes and can starting receiving the gospel blessings in his life again!  These moments make me LOVE missionary work when I find people who are ready and prepared by the lord for me to find and help out!  I hope that this man can repent, come back, and be a leader in the church again.

Well, I know that this church is true and that God allows us to answer people's prayers.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and help the Dominican people find the gospel of Jesus Christ!  He lives and he wants us to be happy!  The gospel truly blesses families and helps us become eternal families.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Have a great week everyone!  Enjoy all the cold!!

Love,

Elder Jensen