Saturday, November 28, 2015

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 ;)

Saturday, November 21, 2015

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, November 14, 2015

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 :) 

Saturday, November 7, 2015

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:)