A Missionary on the Go!

November 18, 2009

 

Hey Family!!

WHEW!!!! It's kinda hard for me to remember the blur that we like to call this past week. I think last week I wrote on Thursday, so I'll start from last Friday. We finished up the zone conferences last week in Roca on Friday. It was really fun to see my old district there where a couple of the members are still intact and doing well. We drove by Allen on the way down to Roca and I said in the car with president driving ´president!! Take me home!!´ It was kind of a joke, but in all seriousness I would go back there in a heartbeat. We kept going and had a good conference with Roca. It was fun talking to the hermanas and finding out all the stuff that was happening in Allen with our families and investigators and members that live there. I got a couple of letter s from them and they are doing alright. They've had a bit of ups and downs since we got pulled, but they'll pull through I hope.  I really want to go back and see them, but unfortunately, the schedule and rules we have make it pretty tough to get back there. We did get to drop the hermanas back in Allen on our way back, so I got to drive right through my area. It was awesome and made me miss it so bad.

Saturday and Sunday are precious days for me now because those are the only two days I get to work all day like a normal missionary. Except this Saturday and Sunday were really hard for me. I feel like I'm whitewashing again because this area really has nothing. The only problem is that we don't have too too great of a relation with the members because when we go out we only have 4.5 hours to work so we try and visit investigators. The only problem—we don't really have any. So we've been working and talking to EVERYONE, just like we've been teaching the mission. I've been really struggling here because I haven't gotten into a single house in my two weeks in neuquen and that was eating me alive. I was dying and miserable, just so desperate to get in and teach someone something that is going to help them out. This past weekend, I carried on with that anguish, just trying with all of my might to get in somewhere. I decided that I had to change something—being here and having our schedule makes it really hard to get more than a half hour of personal study in. When we are traveling, it becomes almost impossible. I decided that I had to start studying and making it something I just did everyday. So I began setting my alarm even earlier on the days that we had to leave and travel. I found some time each day and have started studying again. I also became as some of the prophets in the book of Mormon just ´wrestling with the Lord´ and praying hard hard hard that He would just guide us to some house, have some person let us in. And we didn't get in Saturday. Sunday we walked around doing straight contacts again. In my two weeks here, I had done 360 contacts, 3 lessons, and not entered into a single new house. It was awful. But, Monday was an incredible day. We did 40 contacts, taught 3 lessons, entered into 3 new houses, and found 8 people, including a family of 5 that me and elder Nilsson are going to go make skyline for in a bit. It was a miracle, and I have never been so happy!!!! It was a big tender mercy from the Lord. Yesterday, we continued and entered a house and found a family of 3. I just breathed a big sigh of relief, and now I'll be able to settle into this place and do what I've always done—find, teach, baptize!!

Last week we had a funny experience—I got robbed!!! Aw man! This one was fun. Me and my 6´4´´ companion, elder Nilsson, my best bud from Roca, were working together (I almost never work with my real comp because when we go on the Gira we want the office elders to know our investigators and stuff, so we always just work on divisions with the office). I thought being with him would give me some protection, that all the unity stuff we've been sharing in zone conference would do something but it didn't.  We do a contact with a guy in the street and invite ourselves over to his house. He says sure I live 4 houses that way and we start walking over with him. We're chatting and everything and enter with him through his fence. He then takes us around to the side of his house and starts being weird and playing around in his pockets and pants. He then says my grandma has interest in your message. There she is! He says, pointing to his dog. At this point, my companion says this is dumb and turns and leaves. In the mean time, the guy has me cornered a bit by the wall and tells me to give him my money. I told him I don't have any and that I'm going to leave. He says no seriously give it to me. I respond no seriously I don't have any. I turn to leave, keeping my eyes on this guy. He grabs my proselyting back from behind and I just tear it away from him and leave. I left the fence only to find that my companion is about a half a block away just walking. I jog over and say ´hey man. How are ya? Good, and you? He responds. I'm fine. Other than I just got robbed, everything is going great.´ His surprise was hilarious. I gave him a half hug as we walked away laughing and joking and me making fun of him for leaving me hanging. But, again, if these people want to rob me they just have to bring their A game. And I'm really lucky again the guy didn't have a knife or gun or anything.

Noelia passed her interview and is getting baptized this Saturday. President said we could work our schedule for when we are in Trelew so I can go and be there. That is going to be very special. The elders there have told the ward I'm going to be there so I am really hoping to see a lot of my people!! I'm really pumped.

The new missionaries are getting here tonight, we are training tomorrow and then leaving at about 2 to go down on the gira (the loop) we have Trelew and Puerto Madryn together on Friday, Caleta Olivia on Tuesday, Comodoro on Wednesday, and Bariloche on Friday. The other days will be used for doing divisions with zone leaders and traveling. We are going together in president's Hilux (it's a lot like mom's car) and he and I will take turns driving. It's going to be a great time to study, talk and get to know president, and maybe sleep a little????? Well see.

I'm on the run again. My time is so darn limited!! Oh well. Have a great week—I'lll be writing from the south of the world next week!!  I love you all and really appreciate all of your prayers!


I love you all. Love, Elder Jensen