Still in Hesperia!

So this week was awesome... cuz well.... CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so monday we did regular p-day stuff.... but then we had a Zone gift exchange, which was awesome!! I got a 6 pack of seven up. tuesday we had district meeting which was interesting becuase we had another district added to ours... while some companionships were figured out. But it was awesome becuase a few more heads means a few more brains right? Then in the evening we went caroling as a zone. Caroling in California is a lot different than caroling in Canada. In california there is no ice to slip on, or snow to fall in / be pushed in, a lot less wind to make things even more cold and most people don't like people coming over/ knocking on doors after dark.... wierd eh? However the people we visited were still very grateful for what we did and wanted us to " come in and get warm"..... cuz ya know it was all the way down to 5 celsius. wednesday was interesting. the morning was slow... becuase of christmas eve. We had some members drop off  some gifts( mine was curiously round)... but then in the atfernoon we had a ward correlation with our ward mission leader and then we had dinner with him and went caroling again. as well as some ding dong ditching... during which i lost my first name tag :( how ever it was still tons of fun! then we made cookies to give away... Yes we bake!

THURSDAY!!- aka CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we woke up and went for a run...( life of a missionary running on christmas)...... then we opened some gift and had our regular studies....( again life of a missionary) BUT! then we went to this super nice families super nice house for breakfast it was AMAZING! they were very kind and very brave to offer to feed 20 missionaries! after that we delivered some cookies. then we went to the Uphams. they are the very generous couple who agreed to feed us and allow us to skype at their house! so we get there and the sister missoinaries in our ward are still there and still skyping so we decided that we would skype after dinner instead of before. Dinner was not even close to  what i know to be christmas dinner.... but it was still amazing! Ham and funeral potatoes or cheesy potatoes as they are called down here (i cant tell much difference) were really good! Then i got to skype with my fam jam! it was AMAZING! we finished off the evening by delivering the rest of the cookies and  creeping around a yard trying to find my name tag.... which we did!

friday was slow but we still did our best to do work! Saturday i finally got my bike in to be fixed! so that will be nice to have back!We recieved our transfer doctrine too... so that made the day exciting. I also found what will be my addition to Forsyth tradtional christmas dinner on saturday!! before i come home i will perfect tamales! Sunday was slow... but church is always wonderful. in the new year we switch to 130 church. 

Today is transfers and that means that it is a  crazy day... there are missionaries all over and all sorts of weird shinanigans going on today. I am staying in the ward i am in with the same companion...no big surprise as this is his last transfer and i am not done training...

so yeah crazy week!

hope you are all good and doing well. love hearing from you!

love Elder Jensen!

Playing what the Jensen family calls 'the chocolate bar game'

So good to see his smile!

Looks like they had a great time stealing from one another!

Alrighty... so slower week again...

On Tuesday we did service for the Salvation Army. We packaged probably close to 5 thousand toys... so like 1000 total gifts ( there were a lot of separate pieces)... it was a good thing we had the whole zone there. 20 young Mormons make that kind of work go by way too fast and way too fun. hahahah It was crazy. The people there said that what took us like 3 hours would have taken them all day and all night! HAHAH too funny! 

Wednesday was the high desert christmas devo-( PARTY!)-tional. It was super fun. so all of the missionaries in the high desert got together and had fun. we were given toques and scarves... which I don't really know what to do with... I guess save them for 2 years. But it was very nice of the Relief Society sisters who made them for us!

Thursday I got to go on an exchange with one of the zone leaders, as my companion is a district leader, so that was super cool! Got some really good advice and learned a lot about how mission leadership works....

Friday was just the usual.. try and find new investigators and talk to less actives...

Saturday morning was slow...we did some more service for a family that recently got new carpet and needed furniture moved. But the evening was busy. we went out with Bishop delivering packages to less well off families... it was a lot like back home except there was a lot less ice to slip on.

Sunday church as per usual... then our dinner appointment took us out carolling. Again a lot like back home but i couldn't see my breath as we sang, we sang Feliz Navidad just as much as any other song... and at the end i could still feel my fingers.

That is my week! I hope you are all doing well

Love hearing from you!!!

Love 

elder jensen!

PS. OH and on tuesday we were able to set a baptismal date with a new investigator we found! that was momentous and exciting for our area!

oh i also got the package from the young women so that was awesome!

anyway...i am dong fine. we have wonderful ward members that take wonderful care of us. The work is slowly progressing... but i still like it out here.

Polar Express goes all the way to California!

K so this week was way busy but in a good way ... I actually have stuff to talk about. Monday was P-day.  Nothing exciting.  Tuesday was Zone meeting and we talked about working with members and ward leadership. It was really good!! On Wednesday we met with a less active lady who we had contacted earlier...  We shared the He is the Gift video with her and challenged her to share the gift with someone.  She said she would try and share it with her nonmember husband and said that the day before we knocked on her door she had been thinking about families and praying that there would be a way for her family to be sealed in the temple! It was so cool! Then, like, right after we met with her we had to head down the hill for a trainer/trainee meeting. Which was also super sweet!!! I love Pres Hobbs and Sis Hobbs! They are the best!! Thursday we had a lesson with one of our investigators and we taught the restoration. We had the first counselor to the bishop and his wife there with us. His wife is a convert and so she was able to add her testimony of how she came to know of the Book of Mormon's truth. It was a really good lesson! Also I got a flat on Thursday... that sucked. Friday was weekly planning so we didn't leave the house till like lunch and then after that we had our Ward Christmas party. Which was awesome! Saturday we did a lot of service and got my tires fixed.  Sunday was church and an interfaith christmas festival! Also I guarantee y'all ain't doing enough missionary work! So get on it!!!

Love Elder Jensen


PS.

typical day: wake up exercise... just sit ups and push ups...then studies till 11 the proselyte till 5 or 6... then supper( or dinner as they call it here) then proselyte till 9/930

we probably bike like 70 or 80 miles in a week... so I am still in decent shape

the members feed us pretty good here... we eat out for lunch maybe once a week...the only mexican i have had yet is at del taco ... so nope no really good mexican.... actually we had good tacos at our bishops house once ... but he's white so I dont think it counts.

 we tract alot ... i wish we had member referrals... that would mean the member did missionary work on their own... please try to be better than that!!! 

thank you for keeping our house clean... thank you for teaching me how to work (met some lazy missionaries... not my trainer though). Also I always knew that we were good enough off ... but compared to some down here we are wealthy... so wow. be thankful for a basement they don't exist down here.

tell Corinne Bonsteel that I found Sister Ellis.

Are we related to the Steele's down the campbell line? I would ask gpa but i don't have time.

YOU NEED TO DO MORE MISSIONARY WORK!!!

California missionary work

Sorry if this is the first letter you have received from me... but I have been busy. Unfortunately even though I have been busy that does not mean I have a lot to say. I am in a ward of about 280 but the attending population is 85-95 every week... so we are trying to work with the less actives. we have grown our teaching pool from 0 to 4 since I have been here. And 3 of those investigators we found in the last week so the work is progressing slowly. We have had more success with the less actives tho. This week we even got a less active convert to come to church again. we take every win we can! The active people in our ward are great tho! MOM what is this blasphemy I hear about no christmas tree hunting????? Good to know that traditions went with me right out the door!!! Life is good and I am happy!! We have been chased by a few dogs and such but its all in the name of missionary work hahah anyway that is all for this week. Hopefully I have more to say next week.

Love 

Elder Jensen

Serving in Hesperia

Hey sorry.  Just have a few minutes today... i am bumming them from my trainer, Elder Robbins! Life is good! I am well. This place is just like home. hahaha I will have more next week.  Glad you got the pics. Tell everyone that I will respond more next week... just have to get a library card....

OK nevermind got a few more hahah No mass email tho.  I'll do that next week! However I can talk a little more about life here. I am in Hesperia, in the Bear Valley ward. It reminds me a lot of home. A lot of old couples and a lot of brand new families and only a few middle age families. There are 6 active young men and that is all there are in the ward! So we get to help with the sacrament a lot! I spoke yesterday... just my testimony but still! Me and my trainer get along good. He is from Rexburg and almost has fewer months than i do years left in my mission. I can count on one hand how many yards i have seen with grass in them... mostly just sand! But it reminds me of home. We are biking everywhere so i am getting in good shape. Also that black/charcoal suit no longer fits... I'll hang on to it for a bit to see if biking helps bring my waist down ... but I doubt it. This means that I will need/ really want a pair of black slacks... but I can get those later. I will however need a sweater soon! Its cold enough when we bike to need more than a shirt but not my big jacket.  In the christmas package send Oh henry bars!!! Hand written letters coming sometime.... as soon as i write them hahah miss home but not to much!

love elder jensen!!!

OH and we did get to go to the provo temple. it was cool but not as cool as cardston!

Touch down in California!

We haven't yet heard from Elder Jensen, but we received these two photos....evidence that he has arrived in the California Rancho Cucamonga mission borders.  We look forward to hearing from him regularly on Mondays.

Week #2

This week went way faster!! Its crazy! Love the work! Dont know what to say..... the food sucks...... my zone is rad. I can't wait to leave this place  but then again I don't. I'm conflicted. Also thank you mom and dad for reading the scriptures with me since I was ever a thing. I am not a scriptorian but I would definitely say I have one of the most practical, comprehensive and realistic understandings of scriptures in my zone. Which I think is sad. Also thank George and Larry for making me work 18 hours a day...that makes the 15 hour days seem easy. Also work ethic is everything out here. I have so many stories in my journal but i don't have it with me so I'll try and remember next time. Tell aunt Corinne that i got her packages! Also i got the Laytons package too! There is another letter coming.... i think? 

Anyway we leave at 330 tomorrow so that sucks. Everybody here thinks its cold.... I just tell them not to come to Canada . Everyone makes fun of me for how I say bag and aunt and pop and spell colour ...... i always bring up the fact the we have a better education system which typically puts everyone in their place. hahah Its hilarious how ignorant everyone is down here.... one kid actually thought i had maple syrup for blood. Also the "maple" syrup they have here is corn syrup... no maple flavouring added. Another kid didn't know what a sugar beet was he just assumed that all sugar magically came out of the factory. Hahaha its ridiculous. 

love it here

Love elder Jensen

PS. the computer i am on doesn't have a sd card hook up... so I'll have to wait. Also your pics are tiny.... grandpas were not. Don't know what to say... life is good the food is not. My branch president reminds me of grandpa F which is cool! This is life now. did one stamp do the trick to get the letter home?

love elder jensen

1st P-day!

Hey so it so crazy here! but its all good. My district and Zone are just the best! Instant brothers. So sad some of them aren't coming to Cali with us! But its all good! Aunt Corinne Bonsteel I got your package. Thank you so much!!!! To my Canadian Family start sending stuff to Cali because it won't get here before I leave! Loving the doctrine and am getting lost in it. Like a night ago i fell asleep thinking about seraphim and cherubim.  hahaha yah crazy. Also praise and thanx for sister missionaries!! Us elders need some moms in our lives. Mom did you get my letter??! 

love you lots more to come when i have more time!! only have an hour.

Elder Jensen

Hey so i have a little more time. Most of my Zone and Branch ( basically all of us) have gone through something way more terrible than any one should ever have to go through. and because of that we can lean on each other so much more. So cool to be with people that understand! The Gift of tongues is real!!! While i cannot speak any other language at all fluently i can understand many languages now!!! So cool also i am learning tiny bit and pieces of spanish as i go!!

Met up with like ten missionaries from Canada and we are gonna try and have a remembrance day ceremony here! Love gpa-J!!! Also americans are all patriotic and stuff but its a terrible facade that i hate!!! Only one other elder knew that it was veterans day and that is cuz his dad is in the navy core. so yah its a struggle. however i am now Captian Canada hahaha it's awesome!!

Please share this with my friends back home as i have not had an opportunity to add them to the email list yet!!! 

My comp is from Birmingham Alabama and was in a band before he came out. We get along pretty good and teach together even better! Idk if you did this when you were here but we have this thing call a TRC and they are an actual investigator that the MTC brings in for us to teach so we got to meet him yesterday!!

 Life is good doing fine. Miss home but not too bad.

Elder Jensen

18 year plan becomes REALITY!

Elder Reed Brody Roane Jensen

Since the day this boy entered the world, we have planned for this moment.....and now it is here!  Elder Reed Brody Roane Jensen entered the MTC in Provo, Utah on Wednesday November 5.  He will be there until November 18.  Then he will fly to Rancho Cucamonga, CA to serve the Lord for 2 years.  We now anxiously await the first email from him.

Feel free to write him at the MTC

Elder Reed Brody Roane Jensen

NOV18  CA-RC

2009 N 900 E Unit 128

Provo UT 84602