WEEK 8 -- MESA, AZ

hahahah yeah what the heck! ;) NO you're a great "MAW" lol. hahaha I know right?! I heard "Elder Jensen!" hahahah and I was like what the.... I was soo happy to see them and talk to them! I got their numbers and stuff so they said they would take us out or something or if we needed anything! It was great! yikes, I hate being sick.. hahah I've had a sore throat since i left the MTC which is strange.. hahah so hopefully it goes away. It's crazy cause It didn't feel like the holidays at all!! But it makes up for it being out here!!:) hahahahahha connner!!! so funny! Have you guys been blessed?? Everyone always says you guys get blessed along with the missionary and I'm so happy you guys are being blessed! I've been praying for everyone lately.. How are they all doing? thank you so much for everything you've done for me! You're the best Mommy!

Hahhah so I don't even remember what to talk about.. there's been so much! First I'll just start out by saying how awesome christmas was!!! There's an investigator who doesn't have like anything... no home, car, phone, nothing! just her and her kids. It's wayy sad!! So we've been trying to help her, so we went and got presents and stuff and It was just amazing seeing how happy they were and like how much we helped them! It was amazing! umm... lately I've been studying humility. Because before this week I just wanted to feel so close to the lord!! I had an awesome experience while studying humility and now because I've made some changes I've felt so much closer to the lord! The way I think is different and I've felt the spirit so much stronger when I've testified!! hahahah so the spanish is slowly slowly slowly coming.. I expected it to come like right away but I was so wrong.. hahah I've been understanding more but I can't really contribute a whole lot but It's coming! I promise I will keep a better journal so I can write more in my weekly emails! It's just crazy how nice people are when you go out of your way to be nice to them! I love feeling the spirit with me all the time!! Oh we also had a reference from the christmas lights and we went and talked with him and he like totally believed everything that was said! hahah like we were like do you believe joseph smith was a prophet and he was like "claro!" hahha which means like clearly! hahaha so he said he would prepare to get baptized! hmm.. when we went to this one appartment complex this one guy saw us and like ran away and his friends were like go talk to him he's mormon and he was like nooo i'm catholic and ran away. hahaha I love you guys!! I know heavenly father is always there for us, we just have to seek him and truly want what we are seeking for and asking with faith! I know he is just waiting to help us! 

WEEK 7 - FIRST WEEK IN ARIZONA

Hey family! So it's been great since I got here! The night we got here I got to go on like a little missionary night experience thing! It's been awesome! I love being a missionary! So my trainer is Elder Fenton! He's great!! He's been out for about 14 months! He's such a great missionary and he loves to work!! It's been great working with him!

So Wednesday night we were out visiting references and we ran into a couple kids named Eduardo and Kevin! I swear Hispanics are the nicest!! Hahaha I have yet to wave at a Hispanic person and have them not wave back!! They're awesome!! Hahah we had dinner with a couple of families and like I didn't understand a whole lot at all and I would kind of just sit there!! Hahaha but they understand I'm just a white kid who doesn't know Spanish!

The area we're in is central Mesa! It's super there's so much work!! We have tons of referrals from the temple!! I honestly love being a missionary! Like sometimes I'll miss home a little but then we have a great lesson and you can just feel the spirit work through you and it's the best feeling ever and I just love being a missionary! So they're so nice!! Hahaha like we were talking to a guy we found and you could tell he just wasn't having any of it! He was a hardcore Catholic! But he was so nice so he just listened to us!!

And yesterday I fasted that I could understand Spanish more!! And holy cow l just wanna testify that I know if we're doing all we can fasting and prayer definitely works! Because after fasting and praying I understood SO MUCH MORE!! It's crazy!! We found this one referral and I shared Helaman 5:12 and shared a spiritual thought about it and I felt the spirit so strong and afterwards my companion was like "hey elder Jensen, do you realize that you spoke almost perfect Spanish while you were reading that and testifying!" I know that's like a crazy missionary story but it's so real!! I love this gospel and I know that there's no where else I need to be, and I know this gospel can bless us in so many ways!

I can't wait to talk to you guys! I love you guys!!! You guys are the best family I could ever ask for and I love all of you guys!!:) tell Conner I'm out of the "Empty sea".

Farewell MTC!!

finally got some pics for ya! haha

Elder Jordan Jensen's  final day at the MTC.  First picture is of him at the airport, ready to leave.  Second picture is of him and his MTC companion, Elder E.; third  picture is of his district at the MTC.

Life at the MTC

Questionnaire #2 from Mom

QUESTIONNAIRE #2:
1. How many computers are available when you get time to check your email? A whole room.
2. What else do you do on P day? We do laundry, play basketball, workout, go to the temple…that’s it.
3. What time do you do your physical activity—morning or evening? Usually mid-morning.
4. Will you get to be a host to new missionaries every week? No, just whenever they need us.
5. Do you speak Spanish even when you go to the cafeteria? Mas a menos
6. What about when you are in your dorm room. Do you speak Spanish then as well? Not usually; we try to tho’.
7. How many different Spanish instructors do you have? 2 – Hermana Thomas & Hermano Clark
8. Is the MTC gated all the way around it? Yes!
9. Is the temple usually full when you go on Saturdays? Yes.
10. Have you recognized anyone at the temple when you’ve been there? No.
11. What do you usually eat for breakfast? Cereal-hahaha. For lunch? Dinner? Whatever they have. Hahaha.
12. Do you usually go with your companion or do you do almost everything with your district? Usually all the elders in our district—we’re way close. Sometimes Hermanas annoy us. Hahaha.
13. Have you done anything during sacrament meeting, like speak or pass the sacrament, etc? Me and my companion prepared and blessed it in Espanol.
14. Just curious—do you hang up your clothes on the hangers or just throw them on the floor? Hangers—hahaha.
15. How many floors is your dorm? 4 Which floor are you on? First, which is nice.
16. What has made you laugh the hardest since you’ve been there? Everyday is hilarious!!
17. What does everyone think of your tooth? They love it!!
18. Do they have a nickname for you? “Nancy-boy” LOL. I actually have no idea how I got that name!
19. Have you fallen asleep in class? No, in choir, yes.
20. Who makes sure you are doing all the things you are supposed to do? No one, really. It’s nice to take accountability.

Finally leaving!!!

Heyyyoooo yah!! So I leave on Tuesday! ahhaha I'm super ready to get outta here! This week was super boring.. hahah all I really have to say is that I've just been trying to pound the conjugations into my head! But yeah there really hasn't been anything huge going on! Last night I got siiickkkk... The last week in the MTC!!! Hahahah I was hoping to make it through without being sick but I didn't quite make it! I'm sooo pumped to leave! Oh I also sent a package today with some stuff I didn't need and the SD cards! I mean if you guys even want to see pictures..;) So we got to host this last wednesday.. Oh yeah and then that's when that Stephanie Nielson lady took a picture with us! We watched her videos and stuff and it's super sad. I couldn't even imagine living the life she has to! We're so blessed and we don't even realize! So that was cool! Then on Friday our teacher Hermano Clark gave us a really good lesson on becoming a missionary and not just being someone how does missionary things. Super motivating! I just want to work as hard as I can to become a missionary and not just Jordan who does missionary things. I can't wait to get out in the field and actually feel like a missionary and not just sit in classes forever! Sorry this one is shorter but there's just not a whole lot to write about! Love you guys! Be expecting a call from me in the not so distant future:)

They called him "darling"

On December 9th, Elder Jensen happened to be "famous" by being in Stephanie Nielsen's Instagram from that day.  She and her husband are dynamic people.  They volunteer at the MTC each Wednesday.  On this day, Jordan was assigned to act as host to newly arriving missionaries, and they were all hosting together.  His big smile shows how happy he is!!

Last Weeeeekkkk

This is the last week in the MTC! It's crazy how fast everything goes by! I'm so excited but I still feel like I can't speak spanish.... :} hahah but I know I'll be blessed If i keep working hard! So tuesday morning I have to go to the travel office here at 3:35 A.M. hahah and then I'm pretty sure they'll bus us over to the Airport! So my guess is that I'll be able to start talking around 5?? hahah If anyone wants to wake up that early to talk to me??? :D lol So My flight leaves at 8:35 so I think I'll have quite a bit of time to talk! But about the spanish! So I can basically get my point across but It sounds like I have bad case of gringoitis. I've been trying to pound the conjugations into my brain and So far I have Present, future, preterit (kind of) and Imperfect (kind of) they said those are like the stems of what you'll use so I decided to practice the crap outta those! There are some other conjugations that are easier that I have down too, but It's amazing how fast you can learn a language here! Like It's been a month and It's crazy that I can blabble on about something in spanish and that the native speakers can kind of understand me! OH! that's the other thing! The native speakers will always come and hangout in our class and It's awesome to just try and talk to them and they help us out a ton! I love It! So on monday we became the oldest district in our zones! Our branch president (who speaks spanish) told us that we are probably one of the best districts as far as spanish goes  that he's had in a long time! He said he's really impressed with our espanol yo!!! I'm a district leader now! hahah which doesn't mean a ton. I'm in charge of handing out mail which I guess is cool. haha no but I love being a leader and helping others!  I really feel like there's not a whole lot to write about. Everyday is basically the same.. On Thursday we got to teach someone over skype! That lived in Florida! That was awesome! It was really hard to understand her but I shared a scripture about the atonement and me and my companion bore our testimonies and the spirit was crazy strong! Even over skype! So cool! I ran into a kid from layton high! So that was cool to talk to him!

 For my little thought of the week or whatever I just want to talk about obedience! It's something that I've been thinking a lot about lately! There's a lot of rules that I don't understand why it's so important to keep like I can't chew gum in the MTC or in public in the field and even tho I don't know why It's important I have been trying to follow that rule and I have noticed I've been happier and I've been learning more and just I feel more peace! Something you hear a lot here is "STRICT OBEDIENCE" and at first I was like yeahhhh.... whatever! hahah But it is true! As I've been keeping little rules like waking up at 6:30 and not chewing gum I've been able to learn more spanish and I feel closer to god! I love It! Sorry this is totally cliche missionary but I want to share a couple sciptures with you guys!

2 nephi 33:4 It talks about nephi thinking his words are weak but the lord will make them strong to the people. hahaha if nephi thinks his words are weak then mine are... I don't even know what to compare them to lol. But I do know that I am not the teacher at all. I just have to live worthily for the holy ghost and Slap them spiritually with the holy ghost and let it do the teaching!

2 nephi 33:6 "I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell" BEST SCRIPTURE EVER haha for me!! I love it cause our gospel is made to be so simple, a lot of people like to try to make it into this deep thinking meditating process but i just try to look at it with plainness, and I do glory in jesus! I know that he has made me strong on my mission and He has saved me! and whenever I am sad and I just want to go home because I would rather watch regular show he picks me up and helps me carry on! Jesucristo es mi slavador y el es mi mejor amigo! I love you guys! I can't wait to be with you guys again but I love this work and I love everything the gospel has to offer! That's why I must serve! love you all! carrry on and pressforward:)

<3 Elder Jordan James Jensen

Working on week 4

So its crazy that this wednesday will be week four! But i love it! The MTC is awesome but I can't wait to get out into the field! Yeah! so for thanksgiving we got to prepare some dried meals for people in UT! We made more than they ever had at the mtc! It was like 350,000 meals or something like that! It was way fun! I'll try to remember about the highlights of my week. hahah all the days blend into one! Oh thank you so much for the thanksgiving package!!! I loved it! It was so good! I wish i could reply to every dear elder and everything but I can't remember most of the time what you guys have said! I'm so sorry! Please don't get offeneded if I forget to reply to something! I love you guys!:) Okay! craziest thing ever! Me and this one latino elder going to NY started talking and he's from Payson UT, anyways we started talking and our lives were so freaking similar it freaked us out and it was hilarious! Like both of us are going into the medical field and have our transcripts at the U. He used to play soccer at ponds park and he's from payson! So many other crazy experiences we shared! But the craziest is that he was one day away from serving in the ARMY too and then he got an answer that it wasn't right! How crazy is that?! We got eachothers emails so we might keep in touch but it was insane! But anyways on Monday it wasn't that good of a day. In our lesson like i couldn't focus and for some reason the spanish wasn't working for me very good the spirit wasn't there or anything that day and i was getting frustrated because I couldn't understand what our investigator was saying and I couldn't explain what I wanted to say and I just got so frustrated! Then the next day we had a great lesson on teaching! It was amazing and i'm really trying to put my investigators in all of my prayers and studies and connect with all my investigators and just be Jordan! Just be their friend and just love them instead of just preaching. It was such a great learning experience! We've been teaching our other investigator about prayer a lot too and trying to tie it into the lessons, haha but I was able to explain difficulties with coming on a mission and my leg and stuff and how praying helps us through all of that! It was an awesome lesson! The spirit was totally guiding it! Thanks giving was great! In the morning we got to hear from Dallin H Oaks! It was awesome!! Right when he walked in there was definitely a different feel to the room! It was amazing! He talked about working through our trials and that subject always gets to mi corazon:') hahaha But then we got to do our service project which was sweet! Then we got to watch 17 miracles and I was sweating out of my eyes so bad! hahaha Like I've seen that movie so many times and been like wow, thats cool.  hahah but on thanks giving It was like "OH MY FREAKING HECK I LOVE THE PIONEERS AND I LOVE SERVING A MISSION" in between my rivers of tears coming down my cheeks. lol. yesterday was fine! nothing crazy happened! just sat in like 10 hours of class again. Tonight we're having a fiesta! Because one of the elders in my room's mom sent him a ton of tortilla chips and queso so we're doing that tonight! hahaha I don't really have any funny stories really... Everyday is hilarious cause all of us have grown so close! Like there's no way any of us would've hung out in high schools cause of the cliques so it's cool to be able to put all that aside and just be friends for who we are! I love you guys so much! I'm so glad we have the opportunity to be together forever! Prayer is so important in our lives! with True Faith we can do anything! I know Christ Lives! I know that Heavenly Father is proud of us all! He's there and He wants us to talk with him! Don't leave him hangin' yo! ;) You guys are the best family I could ask for! love you guys! :) <3

Elder Jordan 'potts' Jensen ;)

Playing 30 Questions With Mom

Because  Elder Jensen (EJ) doesn't have a lot of time to write, I sent him a questionnaire so all he had to do was fill in the blanks and send it back to us.  And he did!!!!   Which thrilled me!    Here are the answers he provided us.

QUESTIONNAIRE #1:       DATE: ___________________

1.    What’s your favorite food at the MTC?Fries (LOL) & chocolate milk

2.    Do you get any breaks between your classes? like 15 min. 1 time a day

3.    What do you do on Sundays? 8 - 11 is study time, then sacrament, then priesthood...Choir & devotionals and films!

4.    What day do you go to the temple? Saturday!

5.    How comfortable is your bed there? Much better  haha

6.    Do you sleep on the top or bottom bunk? Top!

7.    How many roommates do you have? 3!

8.    Do you have access to a microwave? Yes, but I'm never hungry  haha

9.    Have you gotten lost there? 1st day!

10.  Have you seen anyone from dear old Davis high? Like 5 people!

11.  Have you gotten in trouble yet?  (Not that I’m expecting it.)  Let’s rephrase it—reprimanded?

Haha--Never!  My hair is kinda long tho'.

12.  How many of your roommates are going to Mesa? Only 1 But we're way close.

13.  Where are your roommates from? Indiana, Orlando, Idaho, Roy, Ephraim

14.  How has your leg been doing?  Does it swell? I wear the sleeve every day and the swelling hasn't gone down.

16.  How are your shoes working out for you?  Great!

17.   Do you get a chance to Email Gus, Brody, Spencer, etc?

Gus and Spencer. 

18.   Have you gotten sick yet? First couple of days.

19.   What Is your cleaning detail every week?We clean a residence and help stock the cafeteria.

20.   How about laundry—do you get enough time to do that? 

What do you do while you’re doing it? Yeah!   I do it way better now!

22.  Have you needed to buy anything at their little store?

Just books; I got a shirt too!

23.  How do they teach you your Spanish?_Basically complete immersion.

 24.  Who all have you gotten Dear Elders from?Our Family

25.  Have you gone to any devotionals? Yes. Every Sunday & Tuesday

26.  Have you heard any of the general authorities speak?

No, just 2 from the 70s.

27.  Have you heard what time your flight will leave when you go to Arizona? No, we find out like the week before.

28.  Do you know how many missionaries are going to Mesa the same time as you? Only 2 so far!

29.   Do you always eat at the same time every day or do they stagger your eating times on different days? It's pretty  much the same time.

30.   Do you usually go right to sleep when it’s lights out? It usually takes like 30 mins. pero I'm falling asleep faster tho'.

Mi familia!!!!!!!!

Hola! I love you guys so much!!!! These past two weeks have flown by!!! I'm loving it here! Oh and the Spanish has definitely picked up!!! It's crazy how if you try your hardest and study the lord definitely blesses you!! I can now explain the plan of salvation in six minutes in terrrible, butchered spanish grammar but it really is amazing that i can now pretty much communicate with my teachers! I love it!! Hows everything going on back home?? I love hearing all the dear elders and THANK YOU so much for all the letters!!! I freaking love you guys!!!! All the missionaries are jealous of me because of all the support I get lol. I brought my journal so i could distinctify between days because they all blend into one cause its basically one big day! So on monday me and my comp planned this one lesson for like two hours like, super duper planned like we planned out everything I was gonna say and I was Like nervous and scared and I was doubting myself, andddd it went terrible. Hahaha the spirit wasn't there at all and our investigator was falling asleep and everything. Tuesday we just went into this other lesson with this girl named daniela. and She like didn't pay attention or anything and the lesson wasn't going well then like I had the impression to bear my testimony on the Atonement and I swear for like 3 min straight spanish words were popping out of my mouth and I was crying and everything and I felt like the spirit was pouring out of my mouth. It was awesome haha! OH also I asked my investigator to "offer" the prayer but I used "brindar" instead of Offecer and apparently that means to like make a toast to a drink.. hahahah and He gave me the weirdest look and was like what? hahahah we all laughed at that one. I had to host the new missionaries on Wednesday and I took this one kid to the wrong room.... hahahaha and he ended up being in my zone which was funny lol! Oh also my roomates are being nice to me and suffering through working out with me!!!! Hahahah I love working out!! I didn't realize how much I missed it! Last night two other of the elders came and had a sleep over in our room which was hilarious cause you just see two elders dragging mattresses around in the residence! lol. But I'll go all missionary for a second and just talk about how much the Atonement means to me. I was so sad and depressed and homesick when I first got here. I wasn't happy and I wanted out.  Then I read this card Tori's mom gave me and It says "I am called of God, my voice is his voice, my acts are his acts, my words are his words, my doctrine is his doctrine" Then I had the impression to just pray and try to use the Atonement to make me happier and help me think about the work.. HOLY MOLY POOP. I can testify that the Atonement is used for so much more than just repenting of our sins. The Atonement can carry us on in life when we just can't do it by ourselves. It makes us stronger and It has made me so happy and I can feel Heavenly Father molding me into the Jordan I want to be and The Jordan He wants me to be. So far they haven't brainwashed me into this preaching robot... So far. Hahah I know I will always be the same fun loving Jordan I am!!!! I love being a representative of christ and I love that He died For me!!!! The Atonement Is so real!! I miss you guys like crazy But I know I'll be with you guys soon! I'm coming up on a month gone and its crazy to think about how fast its gone!! ONly 23 (almost) to go!!! :D hahahahaha But I love you guys!! So much! I'm so happy we can be together forever! jesucristo es mi luz y jesus es mi salvador. Estoy mucho MUCHO agradecido por su expiacion.Yo se que nosotros podemos ser tambien por eterno vida...? ( Ben don't judge me if that isn't right ;) lol ) I love you guys!!!

Elder Jordy Jensen :) <3

Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015

Hahaha I love you guys so much!!!!! The dear elders and the packages and the letters, wow its all just the best!!!!! I love it sooo much!!! I couldn't have asked for a better family in the whole universe!! I wish i could reply to all the dear elders and everything but I honestly like never have any time haha. I try to remember what you guys have said in them so that i can reply in the email but you guys are the best at sending them so i can never remember what to reply!! hahaha I love all you guys sooo much! Thanks for sending all the support! I'm doing great!!! the spanish is kinda really hard for me but i Know i just need to have faith and work really hard and the lord will do the rest! It's crazy tho because whenever me and my companion are teaching I feel like i just get lost in the spirit and i can pretty much understand whats going on and in very broken, terribly pronunciated spanish get my idea across that I want my investigator to know and feel! Oh also it's crazy the peace that i feel whenever I bear my testimony in spanish!! Like even though I am limited on what I say I can always feel peace and the spirit sooo strong! it's amazing! I would go day by day and tell you what happened but to be honest this week felt like one big giant day. hahaha like my days are all so similar they just kind of all blend into one. I don't get to workout a ton :( but I do get to play basketball almost every single day for about an hour which is awesome! I was for some reason like really really really good when i came here but now i can't make a shot to save my life. hahaha. But anyways all the elders are super jealous of me because of the amazing support you guys show!! I love you guys! I read every single letter, dear elder and everything! I have one of the huge ziploc bags that I keep all of them in:) I love the peace that I feel hear! The spirit is all around here! No I don't have an Ipad..... So I only get one hour each saturday to email. But it's okay! Oh yeah, anyways about the spirit. The spirit is SO STRONG. I always am like why don't i feel the spirit all the time? Cause missionaries always talk about the spirit being amazingly strong and everything so I was like what the heck?? Haha then I remembered my experience in the temple when I first went through and the spirit for me was more of like a peace and serenity. That's exactly how it is for me!!! I feel so calm and peaceful all the time. It's amazing. I've been trying to work on being more charitable and kind and loving and comfortable. In one of our classes we read 1st Corinthians chapter 16 i think? I wish I had my scriptures right now to check but it talks about if you have the faith to move mountains and raise people from the dead but you don't have charity you are nothing. I know that is true! I know that it is so important to make people feel good about themselves and just show brotherly love (yo) to everyone we meet and come in contact with!!! I can feel tears swelling and my hear softening as i type this. I know this is true and I love it so much! Hahahaha I also figured out I'm probably the biggest cry baby when it comes to stuff like that!! I love the work that I'm doing and I love you guys so much!! my love for all you guys has grown so much since i've come out here! please keep on sending the dear elders and everything! I love you all!

love, Elder Jensen :) 

The first email....

Mom!!!! holy cow you're right I do miss your nagging!;) haha but really i miss you and our family tons! It's kinda crazy how you don't realize how much you love some people until you aren't with them! I love you guys so much!! Thank you so much for all the Dear Elders and everything! I love it!!! I'll tell you about my week! So the first day was just so weird I was like kinda in shock and it just felt like a huge dream! Then came the second and third day! Holy cow when they say missions are the like hardest things you'll ever do they mean it!! I was super homesick and I was just scared and I wanted to go home soooooo bad! Hahaha but then that whole night was a miracle in and of itself! My district who like consists of 3 companionships of Elders and 2 compaionships of Hermanas. So Our District leader (who is also going to Mesa) Elder Johnson just had all of us say everything that was on our mind to relieve stress. So naturally I broke down and told them how this was so hard and how I wanted to go home. Everyone was so loving and helpful and a lot of people were in the same boat! So that night I still was feeling super down and everything and I prayed so hard!!! harder than I ever had and with more faith than I ever had!! I prayed that i will feel comforted and I came across 2 nephi chapter 9 verses 3 and tweleve I think. It just talks about how the lord will comfort you when you stand in need of comfort and holy cow right then I was just blanketed with the spirit and I felt so good! That is one of the reasons I am serving a mission is so that other people in Arizona can feel the same comforting feeling! I love this gospel sooo much! Oh I also forgot to mention that Me and My companion (Elder Eskelson, He's awesome! He's from Roy and he's going to Argentina, He's helped me chill out so much hahaha) anyway, we had the opportunity to teach an 'Investigator' named Marcos in spanish (who i'm pretty sure is Tori's brother in law's younger brother) lol. and The whole time we were teaching I just felt the holy ghost working through me! Let me tell ya, the Gift of Tongues IS SO REAL! there were times that words were coming to my brain that I wouldn't have been able to think of without that very special gift.  I love this Church, I know this is where I am supposed to be! I took the advice of putting my family and best friend on the shelf of my mind so that I only think about you guys every so often so i don't get too sad and that I can get lost in the work and feel the missionary spirit and happiness! I love you guys so much!! hasta en el fin!

WIth So so so so so sooooo much love,

Elder Jordan James Jensen:)