Week 25 - Apache Junction, AZ

IM HAVING A SON!!!!

Hahaha so I got a call from President on Thursday and he told me I was
training.. Gulp. Hahaha I'm so excited very nervous but really
excited. I was teasing my companion I was like dang you won't be
here for the baptisms or anything! But then when we got Transfers it
said I was white washing and I was like wow. Hahaha. So now I'm out in
Apache Junction which is just more east and more deserty and a little
more ghetto. Haha. So I have the Adobe Branch with two other elders
that are white washing in and I have another English branch. But it's
nice because I will have to do most of the talking But I live with
Elder J______ so he can help me with Spanish! But I get to meet my
trainee tonight! His name is Elder V___. I think he doesn't speak very
much but we will see! :) We put Isidro and the Molina girls on date but
I won't be there for the baptisms :(
I have a Nissan Frontier though!:) I love you guys! I love serving the
lord! I know that everything in this church is worth it! Well sorry
this is short but I've been moving all my stuff and now I'm gonna go
pick up Elder V___!

Elder Jensen

Week 24

What's up what's up!

Hey so I just realized like you all know nothing about like who I'm
teaching or anything. Hahah so I'll just give a quick run through!

Isidro- super solid guy! Sooo humble! He told us he knows this church
is true and he feels happiness when he goes to church! He wants to be
baptized!! I love him!

Los Molina- the Molina girls are so awesome! We street contacted into
them and their parents are less actives of 20 years! But the girls
haven't been baptized! And they love reading the Book of Mormon and
the parents are going to ask for Sunday's off!

Eva- she loves us. Hahaha she always calls us her hijos. Her family is
Catholic but we just barley started teaching her

Sara L. - she's been investigating for like 9 months but always
cancels our lessons but always comes to church.... Hahah we don't know

Hilda G.- she has 2 sons that are members but her boyfriend is
married in Mexico but he can't divorce her because he couldn't come
back. So Hilda can't get married to him so she can't get baptized. But
she said after investigating for 5 years it's time to make a
decision.... So we're gonna see what happens!

Los Millers- they're less active but we talked to the ward council and
as soon as I heard their name I was like we need to visit them! And we
have and they've come to church last week! It's crazy how I just feel
so much love for people I don't even know!

Hahahha Elder Fairholm ran into a pole Hahahha he was behind me and I
just heard "Dong!" Hahahaha he's okay it was way funny though. Today I
had a really good study! My personal studies haven't been the most
efficient recently and so I was studying how to make my studies more
efficient so I could better hold the spirit better and I just received
so many answers of how I could better myself and it was humility and I
realized how not humbled I am.. But I'll get better. Everything is
good down here. I'm using my sunscreen and they said in a couple of
weeks it's gonna get really hot! Yay... Psych. Time is flying.. I
can't believe April is halfway over and we get to talk soon?! Weird.
Hahaha I love you all! Be safe! Love the Lord!

The Few, The Proud, The Missionaries

Look Mom, I can cook!!

How to treat an ingrown toenail-ouch!

WEEK 23

Hola hola!

This week was good! It was a little hard at the beginning and we
hadn't found like any investigators but then I read a quote that just
like hit me hard! It was "Pray as if everything depended on God, Work
as if it all depended on you" and it just hit me so hard because I
hadn't been talking with very many people and I knew I could talk with
more people! Then it was so cool because We would pray so hard and
when we would talk with more people we found like 5 new investigators
in 2 days that were so prepared! I love this work and there's no doubt
that Heavenly Father is behind it all!

Let's see... We went to organ stop pizza! It's like a a pizza place
where this guy on an organ plays and takes requests and stuff! It's so
good and awesome! I for sure wanna go back there! Let's see later that
day someone tried to bible bash with us in English so that was fun
hahah. Oh then we went to a guy that seemed really interested but he
was seriously exactly like the other.

Oh so sorry Aaron, I met a guy from Vegas that does spray paint art
thing on the strip like for yours and Mysti's wedding but the
investigator I was gonna buy it from was thrown in jail. Haha. But if
he gets out in time I'll send it over to you all!
Ok so a while ago I think I told you all about Jose who came up to us
in the trailer park and asked for our help to feel better? But we've
been teaching him and he came to church yesterday and he loved it! He
said he wants to learn more by reading the Book of Mormon and he feels
like this is the most true church! It's so awesome to feel like this
love for guys you barley know! Hahaha I love it! :) we
taught him how to tie a tie yesterday,  he's all grown up :')

It rained yesterday so hard! Hahah we were so surprised! I love you
all! Thanks for everything that you all do for me! I love you all! I
can't believe I talk to you all in 1 month! Then only two more times
for my mission! Hahahaha crazy! Love you all!

Elder Jensen

Organ Stop Pizza Place

Apparently, this company from SL area is starting up business in Mesa.  They gave the elders a ride!

Escritorio de Hermano Jensen.

 .

WEEK 22

Fam Fam!

How's it all goin?? Hahah this week was crazy! On Tuesday we had a
couple lessons but seriously we were out from like 10 in the morning
to 9 and all of our lessons canceled and it was just like oh dang.
Haha but it's ok because we finally had a lesson with Eva! She's this
Latino lady and she's so awesome! She always calls us her Hijos hahaha
she's just like the nicest lady ever!

Oh on Thursday we were out trying to find a person who lived on this
main Road. Then we saw the Google car! Haha so hopefully in a couple
years we will be on Google earth!   On Friday we went to go get the scans, everything went well! But I had to drink like two 32 oz iodine and so after the scan we were driving home and like it just hit me. Hahahaha so I jumped out of the car at a red light and me and Fairholm ran to a 7-11 but they didn't have a bathroom. (At this point my
kidneys were killing me) and so we ran across the street to McDonalds and I just went for like 2 min straight.

After the Saturday Morning conference I just had the want to teach
better! Our mission president calls it "teaching fire" like making the
atonement central to our teaching. And also like increasing my faith!
Like truly pleading for the spirit in every second! And we had such a
good lesson with these two investigators! It's a mother and a
daughter. THe mom  is like 60 and the daughter is like 30 but Diana
the daughter was like zoned in the whole time and like super into it!
The spirit was probably the strongest I've felt in a lesson this
transfer! It felt so good to have a lesson like that! It helped so
much to plead with the Lord for that extra help! Then we also had a
lesson with Jose! The super humble guy that asked to be taught! He
said he would pray to Heavenly Father to see if the Book of Mormon is
true! He just can't read it cause the letters were too small!

Ok wow! I don't think I've ever actually been this excited to watch
conference. Hahaha I was more excited about the conference than not
having to go to church. But I LOVED IT! And I think it was the first
time I stayed awake for all of conference but I loved Jeffrey R
Hollands last talk. What I got from it is that our "Practices" are the
conferences. Then tomorrow and for the next 6 months is our time to
show that we can play! #GAMEDAY  I love that we get to hear from our
servants of the Lord and to hear how we can better live the gospel and
help others! And now is our time to show it! So I'm so excited to show
the things I learned from Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful that we are
here and we can prove to him we deserve eternal life and happiness!

#GAMEDAY

ELDER JENSEN JORDY JAMES


Todo está muy bien! Gracias madre! Oh they're Ramiro and Alonso!
Ramiro is a member of about two years! He's great! He's so funny! He
had us over for chicken and beans!Hey Mom! Before I forget I was just
wondering if you could send me a list of everyone's birthday??

Hahaha it's so hot. Like everyday I'm so sweaty but whatever! Yeah it doesn't really matter. I
put on sunscreen everyday! But it's gonna be so hot if I'm still out
here next transfer!! Cause our area is smaller so this area will
always have bikes I bet. But I just drink lots of water! Hahahha
Man my mission is going to fly by. I can already tell!! It's gonna be crazy!!
Ok love you mommy!! Thanks for everything! Truly couldn't be out here
without you!:)  Love your Elder :)

Zone Conference

Clouds--does that mean that wet stuff that comes from the sky?

One of Elder Jensen's favorite pictures.

WEEK 21 -- MESA, AZ

Lately, Elder Jensen's emails are in response to my letters.  I've included what he is referring to, which is in the red print.    dj

Hahaha you have a count down going? Nice! (82 weeks left or 577 days, and you have completed 1/5 of your mission!!! ) Yeah no it's for sure so much better down her!  (How it rains, then snows, is cold, then it warms up and is beautiful, only to have it rain and snow a couple days later.)  We heard about that.. That's super sad. It wasn't aimed at them right?  (I read the accounts given from the missionaries in Brussels, Belgium.  How blessed they are!  Oh my gosh--I've tried to put myself in the parents' place and it just grieves me think of what they are feeling.) When did we get a sandbox??     Hahaha when  did that happen?   Hahah I'm actually really liking Mexican food!  (We went to Red Iguana and told him the chile verde is outstanding.) I'm gonna ask some Hermana's to show me how to make these "Sopes" they're

so good! They're potatoes on these tortillas with cheese and lettuce... SO GOOD! We should go there on the ride home from the Airport!    I'll have to drive it when I get back! (My new car.)  Just send it to the mission office cause we don't go to Walmart every week.  (Care packages). Yeah! Right
before he left we saw him at the mission office.   (Elder Gray.)  It's actually cloudy today! How crazy is that?? It hasn't rained since like my first three weeks! Hopefully it rains! Except I'm on bike.. Oh well. Love ya mom!! Thanks for everything! Thanks for transferring money! I've bought a
bike pump, a Book of Mormon Stories for kids thing! And a cheap long sleeve shirt thing! You're such a good mommy! I loved the pics! Have a great week! Loves :)

Elder Jensen

The cheap long shirt thing. :)

Looks like a healthy snack there....

They love habernaros!!

That couch looks very familiar.....

Miracles happen in Mesa!!!

Week 20 - MESA, AZ

 Hey family!

Wow this week has been crazy!! So White washing is hard, hahha but I
have grown SO MUCH! no comfort in the growth zone, no growth in the
comfort zone right!? But anyways, it's still hard for me, but I've
gotten significantly better at talking to people on the street. Like
way Better! It doesn't really scare me that much anymore! Hahaha after
you get cussed out, getting rejected doesn't really seem too bad. Some
guy just swore a lot at us and told us to get out of Mesa and just
some good ole stuff like that. Also, one of the Hermanas that I served
with in my first Ward said that now my Spanish is way better! So
needless to say I'm grateful I've had these hard times to grow more!:)

The bikes are doing good! I haven't had any more troubles with those!
It's SO HOT hahah on bike I'm always smelly and sweaty but that's ok.
I can't believe this isn't even hot to them.. I'm gonna die if I'm on
bike in the Summer.

On Monday we were looking for this one house when a lady came up to us
and said hello! We started talking and we found out she was a member
but innactive but we just started talking and it ended up being super
powerful and spiritual for both of us! She said she had been wanting
to make it back to church but she just hasn't and then she had been
praying and we ran into each other! It was amazing! It ended up that
we shared the same birthday too! Hahaha it was crazy! We're gonna have
a lesson with her and the Sisters in the Ward she's in.

Then we street contacted into this one family in a trailer park. We
were like hey have you talked with missionaries before?? And they were
like yeah we're members.... Hahaha what??? So we ended up talking with
the dad and they moved into the Branch about a month ago and him and
his wife are both members but the kids aren't. So we were talking with
him and he said he knows the Book of Mormon and church are true but he
just works every Sunday. So we're gonna take baby steps and have a
family home evening with them and stress the importance of daily
scripture and prayer!

Then on Saturday, (the night of the pagent, which was amazing by the
way!) we went to the same trailer park and as we were leaving a guy
came up to us and was like "Hi aren't you guys from the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter day Angels?" And we started talking more and he
was like I've been feeling empty and I feel sad and like I'm missing
something, can you help me? Hahha and I said "Hermano, I know EXACTLY
what you need." Hahha so we gave him a Book of Mormon and were gonna
go by and teach him! Literally some came up asking to be taught! Such
blessing!

Elder Hoffman from the MTC

We were working very hard and the Lord blessed us! That's kinda why I
was a little down last week but it just strengthened my testimony that
the Lord always blesses us! Every day when I wanted to quit I had
little spiritual moments that picked me up. There's a talk that is
called "The Atonement and Missionary work" by Jeffrey R holland and in
it there's so many good parts and one of them says " As missionaries
we are proud to say we are disciples of Jesus Christ, but be prepared,
that means we must walk a bit of the path that he walked, to feel a
bit of the sorrow he felt and to shed a bit of the tears that he shed"
and it goes on saying "When missionaries are struggling or rejected or
spit upon etc... They are standing shoulder to shoulder with the best
missionary this world has ever Known." I read that this week and it
hit me! I know I'm gonna struggle and that's okay! I'm gonna work my
hardest and if I don't have anyone listen to me, that's ok! Because I
know Jesus Christ lives! I know that he helps us in times of trouble!
I know he's always there for us even when we don't think he is. It may
get tougher to be a disciple of Jesus Christ as the World moves on but
it will also be more worth it. I love you all!! Thanks for all the
birthday wishes and everything!! I love you guys! I wish I was there
to spend it with you! But hey, only one more!:) take care!

Elder Jordy James

Munch a bunch of Fritos, even if the bag broke!

Happy Birthday to me!!

Nailed it--making my birthday cake!

Week 19 Mesa AZ

Hey family!!

Hahaha wow. This week has been hard! So me and Elder F_____ are
companions now! We are white-washing, which means like both of us are
new in the area, we don't really know anyone, and we had like 10-15
names in our Area Book to work with haha. And both of ours Spanish
isn't amazing. His is better than mine but I think we're both learning
more and more! Like usually I would kinda let Elder F______ do all the
talking but just this last week I feel like I've talked so much more!
We've found some people though to teach in some good ole trailer
parks:) it's great!



Yeah so we've been on bikes! Also, both of my tires were super old and
the inner tubes were too so I had to end up spending 50 ish dollars on
a bike that I might not even use after this transfer. But it's okay!
Do it for the Lord!

My nice set of wheels!

On Saturday night there was a baptism for one of the  investigators of
the Sisters that was in our Ward. Me and Elder F______ contacted him
and we saw him at church a ton and we grew really close! Haha his name
is Elias and he calls me his little brother! Hahaha but he asked me to
give a talk at his baptism and the Spirit was definitely there and
helped me tons! But it's crazy how the Lord helps me know what to say
when I need to! It's honestly amazing and I love it! Let's see... I
think that's about it! I'm getting better at talking to random people.
It's still so hard for me. But I'm getting better! Hahha yeah this
week was really hard for me. Probably as hard as like the first week
In my mission! But I know I'm growing from it! Salvation isn't easy!:)

Oh also! The church building we're in is SO PRETTY! It was built in
like 1912 and it's super old and cool! It has a courtyard! It's sooo
cool!

 Oh! Today we had like fried potatoes in hard shells with lettuce
and cheese. SO GOOD! yeah we usually get fed by members for dinner.

Well Family, I miss you all so much! I love you guys!! Seriously
sometimes I miss you all!  I wish I could be there for all the fun
that's going on. But I know I need to be here! Am I seriously like
that far into my mission?? It's crazy how in May 4 I will have 6
months! Hahah but it still sounds far away. I love you guys! You
should watch because of him! Everytime we watch it I get Chills and it
just makes me so happy for what he did for us! Truly amazing!:)

Right??? That's why I chose it! Hahaha because it looks the same! It's
so hard.. Hahah some days I just want to be home to be honest. Hahha
it's very hard right now but I can do hard things right!? I think
so... But since I have my iPad I haven't used it once.. Hahha. So it's
okay. Also, I tried to go get the things from Walmart but they weren't
there. Do you have an order number? And which Walmart? Can you send me
the address?:) hahha wow you must speak French!;) te amo!  

Elder Jensen

Me and my new comp

We meet so many wonderful families!

She is our mission mom.

Rock solid investigator!

This post was on Elder Jensen's FB recently.   I'm so proud of Jordan and how he is touching lives for good!   dj

S.  M. feeling blessed.

March 15 at 10:04pm · 

I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!! ❤ i noticed a couple missionaries on their bikes this evening and felt compelled to say hello. Our conversation ended up being one of the most motivating and strengthening encounters ive ever experienced. It was definitely what i needed to hear ☺❤ ‪#‎LDS‬‪#‎ILoveTheGospel‬ ‪#‎missionarywork‬ Elder Jordan Jensen Elder Jacob Fairholm