Hello everyone!
I have come to realize that the most satisfying days for me are the ones where I come home super exhausted, knowing I've worked hard and well, and flop into bed and fall asleep instantly. A couple of nights ago I actually woke up around midnight still kneeling at my bed, having fallen asleep while praying, haha.
The highlight of the week: 4 investigators came to church yesterday.
And we only expected one! The other three just walked in completely on their own. Two were people I have never met before, but we're going to start teaching them this week!
Also, Sister Schenk and I sang in church on Sunday. We did an acapella version of 'I feel my Savior's Love' in German, with harmony, and it went really well!
What else... oh, the other day we were at an appointment in Rosbach (the furthest north city in our area) and it went late so we missed our train, but we had an appointment in Ober-Ursel that we had to get to, so I suggested we bike back to Friedrichsdorf, about 1/3 of the way there, as fast as we could, and try to catch our train connection. But just as we were passing Friedrichsdorf we could see that the train had already left, so we said, 'Okay, let's bike to the next city and catch a different train!' but then we didn't catch it, so we ended up biking all the way from Rosbach to Ober-Ursel, which is about 30 km, and then we missed our train coming home, so we biked back to Friedrichsdorf from there! In total I think we biked 35 km that day, which is the same distance as a marathon! (Although luckily we didn't have to run it, haha).
A couple of people you could pray for this week:
Emmanuel - He's 14 and decided he wants to be baptized. The only snag is that his father was a member and is now inactive. His dad even served a mission, but now he's sort of against coming to church. He's letting us teach Emmanuel, but pray that his heart will be softened. Sometimes it's hard to bring the spirit into our lessons, because his dad is really sarcastic and tries to trip us up in what we're saying.
The de Luz family - SUCH a cool family! We've been teaching them for about 4 weeks now, and the wife is severely pregnant. Like... the baby could come any second. Pray that everything will go well with the baby!
Okay, that's pretty much it. I love you all!
Love,
Sister Jensen
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Best week ever!
Hello,
This week was awesome! The highlight was: we taught more lessons and found more new investigators this week than in any other week in my whole mission so far!
Man, everything just seemed to be going right this week. We had a lot of "finding" time this week, which is always pretty exhausting, but we just had a good attitude about it, and it was amazing! Sometimes we go hours at a time with nothing but slammed doors in our faces, but it is so worth it when that one person stops and listens to you and realizes that you have the answers to the questions they've had for years and years.
A couple of really cool experiences:
Last night we were going door to door, talking about happiness, and a lady poked her head out her window and I shouted up to her, 'What does the word 'Happiness' mean to you?' and she just stared at us for a few seconds and then said, 'Um... just a moment, I'll come outside.' All of a sudden I was panicking because I didn't know what to say next, but when she came outside I just said, 'when we understand who we are, it makes us happy' (I felt like I was quoting a Michael McLean song, but oh well). We asked her who she thought she was, and she said, 'I've been asking myself that for a long time.' We taught her, gave her a Book of Mormon, and then made a return appointment.
We were still sort of in shock as we turned the corner, and there was a man there, and we started talking to him about the Plan of Salvation, and we asked him what he thought happened after death, and he said, 'I've been asking myself that a lot lately.' Almost the exact same answer! We taught him and made a return appointment with him, too.
I had a couple of really, really hard days this week, too. Sometimes I get into slumps, and I just feel exhausted and down and not wanting to work, and not believing that anyone will listen to us, but luckily Sister Schenk always helps me to refocus and be happy again. And then the next day, when she's struggling, I help her! I suppose we go two-by-two for a reason. :)
Well, that's about it. So many cool things are happening in Germany. There are some awesome prophesies about missionary work here, and they're starting to happen!
Also, my President Ninow goes home in a few short weeks, and we'll have our new mission president, President Lehi Schwartz (A native German from Nürnberg). It'll be sad to say goodbye to the Ninows, but also exciting to see what changes will come!
Love you all,
Sister Jensen
P.S. Grandma Jones - Thank you so much for the Kool-ade! It arrived intact! I laughed so hard when I saw it, haha. I'm going to use one as a bribe for the Elders. I don't think they'll be able to resist Kool-ade. :)
This week was awesome! The highlight was: we taught more lessons and found more new investigators this week than in any other week in my whole mission so far!
Man, everything just seemed to be going right this week. We had a lot of "finding" time this week, which is always pretty exhausting, but we just had a good attitude about it, and it was amazing! Sometimes we go hours at a time with nothing but slammed doors in our faces, but it is so worth it when that one person stops and listens to you and realizes that you have the answers to the questions they've had for years and years.
A couple of really cool experiences:
Last night we were going door to door, talking about happiness, and a lady poked her head out her window and I shouted up to her, 'What does the word 'Happiness' mean to you?' and she just stared at us for a few seconds and then said, 'Um... just a moment, I'll come outside.' All of a sudden I was panicking because I didn't know what to say next, but when she came outside I just said, 'when we understand who we are, it makes us happy' (I felt like I was quoting a Michael McLean song, but oh well). We asked her who she thought she was, and she said, 'I've been asking myself that for a long time.' We taught her, gave her a Book of Mormon, and then made a return appointment.
We were still sort of in shock as we turned the corner, and there was a man there, and we started talking to him about the Plan of Salvation, and we asked him what he thought happened after death, and he said, 'I've been asking myself that a lot lately.' Almost the exact same answer! We taught him and made a return appointment with him, too.
I had a couple of really, really hard days this week, too. Sometimes I get into slumps, and I just feel exhausted and down and not wanting to work, and not believing that anyone will listen to us, but luckily Sister Schenk always helps me to refocus and be happy again. And then the next day, when she's struggling, I help her! I suppose we go two-by-two for a reason. :)
Well, that's about it. So many cool things are happening in Germany. There are some awesome prophesies about missionary work here, and they're starting to happen!
Also, my President Ninow goes home in a few short weeks, and we'll have our new mission president, President Lehi Schwartz (A native German from Nürnberg). It'll be sad to say goodbye to the Ninows, but also exciting to see what changes will come!
Love you all,
Sister Jensen
P.S. Grandma Jones - Thank you so much for the Kool-ade! It arrived intact! I laughed so hard when I saw it, haha. I'm going to use one as a bribe for the Elders. I don't think they'll be able to resist Kool-ade. :)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Zone Conference
Hello everyone,
It's been such an awesome week! The highlight was.......... Zone Conference!
Zone Conference is always fun, because we get to see the other missionaries and catch up with them, but more than anything, it really builds me up and gives me renewed energy and inspires me! Although it's a lot like what they said in conference, about how General Conferenced is there to 'comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable', haha. Same with Zoko!
Sister Schenk and I also got new haircuts, which was fun, and I dyed my hair a new color, too. Gosh, this week has felt like a month! I just flipped back through my planner, and it feels like an eternity since I last emailed. I don't even know which experiences to share, because so many cool things have happened in the last week!
Oh, we have bikes now, so I feel like a "real" missionary now. I even biked through a rainstorm yesterday! We have girlie bikes so we can ride in skirts.
We also went out to this super far away part of our area this week. There are a lot of little dorfs (tiny towns) in our area, and since we don't have a car, there are parts of our area that I still haven't seen, even though I've been here for five months. But finally we went to this tiny town called Glashutten (Sister Thaden always called it Outer Darkness), and it was so misearable! Haha. There's only one bus that takes you there (a two-hour ride), and once we got there we realized there was only one main street, all the shops were closed, and the place was swarming with bugs and mosquitoes! We visited a less active there, did some doors, and then waved goodbye forever. The next pair of sisters can visit it in a few months. :)
We have been doing a lot of contacting this past week, and it is hilarious to see how people react. Some people have the craziest excuses to hang up on us. I was talking to a man through his Klingel (like... doorbell/intercom thing) and he said, 'Oh no, sorry, I've been kicked out of the church' and we said, 'Which church?' and he said, 'Uh, whichever one yours is' and we said, 'Do you know which church ours is?' and he said, 'I've been kicked out of EVERY church!' and then hung up, haha. There have been some other funny ones, too, but I can't remember right now.
Also, everyone thinks we're Jehova's Witnesses. In fact, some real Jehova's Witnesses actually thought we were other Jehova's Witnesses, and got all excited when they saw us, until they realized we weren't from their church. That was an interesting conversation.
This week has been so busy, and Sister Schenk and I are having so much fun! She has a really pretty soprano voice so we sing together while we're going door-to-door, and we're constantly laughing, and it just makes the work so much fun.
I hope all is going well at home! I love you all!
Sincerely,
Sister Jensen
P.S. I attached a photo of Sister Schenk and I (note the matching outfits, haha. I borrowed some of her clothes).
Love,
K
Sorry it's a week late...
Hello!
Well, the highlight of this week: Mother's Day Calls!
It was so great to talk to Mom and Jess yesterday. Our mission is allowed to use Skype now, so I actually got to see the both of them! It was so much fun. It went by waaay to fast, though. I wish we could have talked for a few more hours!
I picked up Sister Schenk, my new companion, last week. Right from the start we are getting along really well, and we have a lot in common. She served in Frankfurt for the last two cycles, and she learned a lot there that I think is going to help this area a lot, and already we're seeing a lot of success!
We contacted a referral last week for a really cool family, the de Luz family, and we've already met with them twice and have another appointment for tonight! The spirit is really strong in all of their lessons. I'm also learning tons about contacting (street contacting and doing doors and stuff).
It's really sad that Sister Thaden is gone, though. :( She was also so awesome. But I'm sure she's really glad to see her family again. Right at the end of Sister Thaden's mission, Friedrichsdorf started to see a lot more success, tons of temple tours, a lot more lessons, etc. I think it helped a lot, because then Sister Schenk and I were able to hit the ground running.
I really feel a lot of hope that things are changing for the better in Germany. There are a lot of cool prophesies that missionary work is going to explode here, and I feel like it has already started! I just need to do my part here in Friedrichsdorf, and I know we'll start finding a lot of people who are prepared and ready for us.
I love you all!
Sister Jensen
P.S. I'm cutting my hair short again today! I'll send pictures next time. Love you! Bye!
Well, the highlight of this week: Mother's Day Calls!
It was so great to talk to Mom and Jess yesterday. Our mission is allowed to use Skype now, so I actually got to see the both of them! It was so much fun. It went by waaay to fast, though. I wish we could have talked for a few more hours!
I picked up Sister Schenk, my new companion, last week. Right from the start we are getting along really well, and we have a lot in common. She served in Frankfurt for the last two cycles, and she learned a lot there that I think is going to help this area a lot, and already we're seeing a lot of success!
We contacted a referral last week for a really cool family, the de Luz family, and we've already met with them twice and have another appointment for tonight! The spirit is really strong in all of their lessons. I'm also learning tons about contacting (street contacting and doing doors and stuff).
It's really sad that Sister Thaden is gone, though. :( She was also so awesome. But I'm sure she's really glad to see her family again. Right at the end of Sister Thaden's mission, Friedrichsdorf started to see a lot more success, tons of temple tours, a lot more lessons, etc. I think it helped a lot, because then Sister Schenk and I were able to hit the ground running.
I really feel a lot of hope that things are changing for the better in Germany. There are a lot of cool prophesies that missionary work is going to explode here, and I feel like it has already started! I just need to do my part here in Friedrichsdorf, and I know we'll start finding a lot of people who are prepared and ready for us.
I love you all!
Sister Jensen
P.S. I'm cutting my hair short again today! I'll send pictures next time. Love you! Bye!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Amazing week!
Hallo,
Highlight of this week: We taught more lessons this week than Friedrichsdorf has EVER SEEN before! (at least in the last year, after that it's hard to tell because the boundaries were different)
We had an AMAZING week. We soooo busy and running around the whole week, but we got a lot done! We did 7 temple tours, we had a bunch of appointments with less actives, and we had a few really spiritual lessons with Karin, and during one of them she said she wants to get baptized! She said maybe in August, but hopefully before then because I want to be there. It was just such a great week! I'm really glad, too, because it was Sister Thaden's last week and I wanted her to end on a high note. It was really touching to watch her say goodbye to everyone, because she was here for HALF of her mission, and she did so much good in this ward.
Oh, and I also found out who my next companion will be, and I'm really excited because she is super nice. I've met her a few times. And she's a native German speaker! (she's from Salzburg, Austria). Sister Schenk is her name.
Well, I'd better go. Can't wait to talk to you on Mother's day, mom!
Sincerely,
Sister Jensen
Highlight of this week: We taught more lessons this week than Friedrichsdorf has EVER SEEN before! (at least in the last year, after that it's hard to tell because the boundaries were different)
We had an AMAZING week. We soooo busy and running around the whole week, but we got a lot done! We did 7 temple tours, we had a bunch of appointments with less actives, and we had a few really spiritual lessons with Karin, and during one of them she said she wants to get baptized! She said maybe in August, but hopefully before then because I want to be there. It was just such a great week! I'm really glad, too, because it was Sister Thaden's last week and I wanted her to end on a high note. It was really touching to watch her say goodbye to everyone, because she was here for HALF of her mission, and she did so much good in this ward.
Oh, and I also found out who my next companion will be, and I'm really excited because she is super nice. I've met her a few times. And she's a native German speaker! (she's from Salzburg, Austria). Sister Schenk is her name.
Well, I'd better go. Can't wait to talk to you on Mother's day, mom!
Sincerely,
Sister Jensen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
