Week 24

We were able to Skype Brody on Christmas. It was great to see him. He was in good spirits (until the end). He was appreciative of those who sent him gifts for Christmas. He also revealed that he has put on about 15 pounds. That might not seem like a lot, but Brody tried forever to gain weight. He is staying in Coalinga. He mentioned in our conversation that he will have spent at least 25% of his mission in the same place. I asked him why he doesn't say something, and he replied that the president would just say the lord has work for you there. Thanks for all of your prayers and support for Brody. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas. 

Well how was everyone's Christmas? We had about three Christmas dinners. On Christmas day we got to watch Frozen haha. We still had to wake up at 6:30, I want to thank everyone who sent me something for Christmas! On Christmas Day I got to Skype with my family and it was so weird and unreal. Christmas day was pretty rough out here in Coalinga. Anyways, all of our investigators are bums. They won't do the stuff that they need to do to progress. Elder Falslev and I talked about dropping everyone and just starting over haha. It seems like it takes a tragedy for someone to want to change which is pretty sad. We haven't been having success out here all that much. One day we were teaching a hispanic family (they are members) and the dad wasn't home so we just taught the mom and kids outside on the porch. The mom kept grabbing stuff off of me while we were teaching....I wasn't sure what it was at first but then I realized that she was picking cockroaches off of me! They were crawling up my pants and on my shirt! haha I don't know how people live like that. We also taught a hispanic family that eventually wants to get baptized after the parents get married. The mission reached the goal of 1,000 baptisms this year with 1,001. We also had transfer calls on Saturday... and I am staying here in Coalinga again! I think President Clark just forgot about me way out here in Coalinga. Elder Falslev is also staying and becoming a district leader so I will have to go on a lot of exchanges. Yesterday after church a hispanic member told us to wait there for a while... he came back and gave us carne asada burritos from the restaurant haha. I hope you all have a good week and a happy new year. I love and miss you all! 

Elder Jensen

The District 

Week 23

Merry Christmas and thanks for all of your support. We are looking forward to skypeing Brody on Christmas Day. 

Well hello everyone, 

This week had it's ups and downs. Usually more downs than ups though. It doesn't feel like Christmas here, it has been like 65 degrees and sunny. It's also really hard being away from home during the hollidays. So this past week Gurvinder drank coffee because he had to work early in the morning. I was so mad at him and like chewed him out. He frustrated me so bad because he had gone 10 days without it. I even got so mad that I got his stupid coffee beans and started to dump them down the sink, he freaked out and stopped me. So the next time we were over there I found  his coffee and I hid it, so hopefully he doesn't find it. Haha one thing that is really hard for me is when we talk about Christmas and everyone says it is a time to be with family and I just think, well I can't be with my family so this sucks. I miss the good old days. One thing that might surprise you all is that I am really quiet. Ever since I have started my mission, I have become really quiet except in lessons I am not sure why. This past week we also had the ward Christmas party. It was pretty good but it sucked seeing everyone with their families. So, BIG NEWS from this past week is that we got a callout from our mission president. And at the start of July the mission will be split and the California, Modesto mission will be created, which will include Stockton and parts from the sacramento mission... we won't know which mission we will be assigned to until like June. Well that is pretty much it. I hope you all have a good Christmas. I love you all. 

Elder Jensen

5 Months

Brody had a pretty good week. He sent a picture of his xmas tree. He said that things are pretty slow right now for he and his companion. He had some questions about how things are going back here at home. He is looking forward to getting to see us on Christmas. He anticipates transfers taking place on New Years Day. 

Thanks for all of your support. 

How are you all? Is there a lot of snow back at home? It is a little weird not having snow in December. But it has been raining lately and is pretty cold. Last Wednesday we drove to Fresno for a Doctors appointment. I watched my companion get an ingrown toenail fixed. I seriously almost puked and was so white. That would really be the worst job ever, being a foot doctor. Feet are so gross, I hope I never get an ingrown toenail on my mission. So after that we had a pretty normal week. Gurvinder got hired at Subway so guess where we went to lunch while he was getting trained... haha we showed up at subway and he was so mad. We gave him a hard time but it was fun. We are still working with him and on Sunday we went and knocked on his door for church. He wouldn't wake up so we just walked in like he told us to. He wouldn't get up so I had to like kick him and we pretty much made him come to church. The Bishop here likes to joke around with me and calls me a hick because I am from Payson. This past week we also had to teach seminary again because the teacher fell and hurt herself. I am so glad that i didn't have to do early morning seminary because it sucks! I really miss all of you, especially at this time of the year with all of the family get togethers and parties. The work here is still pretty slow, there is a big state prison that is not too far away and I have figured out that everyone who lives in Coalinga either works there or just got out of there. Haha I am pretty sure that most of our investigators are former inmates. Well that is pretty much it for this week. I hope you all have a good week. I love and miss you all. 

Elder Jensen

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent me the picture ornaments for the tree! 

Week #21

Brody was finally able to email us late today. He was able to attend the temple yesterday. It was refreshing to read in his email that he may know the reason as to why he is where he is. He shared those reasons with us.
He told me that transfers are on New Years Day. He sent some pictures the I will have Rachel post to his blog.  Brody didn't say it, but I think he had an ok week. I didn't dare tell him, but there aren't a lot of people that like us here either. Haha
Thanks for your prayers and support for Brody.


 Hello everyone, 

This past week has been pretty crazy. To start off we had our Christmas zone conference. Everything went well there and we watched a short clip called, "He's the gift" we are using it a lot in our teaching, its a short 3 minute video about how Jesus Christ was the 1st gift and He is why we all celebrate Christmas. This past week I also went on an exchange in Lemoore. Lemoore is always pretty fun. Over here the fog is really bad, and we have to drive through it. Visibility is only like 15 to 20 feet. It's pretty crazy. On Sunday we held a family home evening in avenal. Gurvinder is still doing about the same, he's just trying to stop drinking coffee.  Yesterday we went to the Fresno temple. We get to go like 3 times a year or something. It's a smaller temple but it was good. I will send pictures of that. The weeks don't really seem to be getting faster. Coalinga is still here and hasn't changed. Coalinga is a pretty hard area and there are a lot of people that don't like us. It can be really hard to be out here in Coalinga, but I'm pretty sure that I have found the reason why I am out here. Thank you everyone who sent me a picture for Christmas. I miss and love all of you. I hope you all have a good week. And Happy Birthday to Courtney.
Elder Jensen

Elder Jensen and Elder Pazmino 

The Zone

Week #20

Brody celebrated Thanksgiving this week a few times. The food was the same but the people were different. After chatting back and forth, I think the Holidays will get Brody a little homesick. Please keep him in your prayers. 

This past week had some pretty crazy parts. So to start off we went over to a member's home for Thanksgiving and as she pulled the turkey out of the oven it slipped onto the ground. So we didn't have turkey for our thanksgiving dinner!! Haha but luckily as missionaries we had like 3 thanksgiving dinners and got plenty of turkey. The next thing that happened was a gay guy knocked on our door with a girl... she asked if she could take a shower in our apartment. We told her no and the gay guy wanted our number! Me and Elder Falslev slammed the door and started gagging. Now for the scary part... so two nights ago I woke up at 2 in the morning because I heard people running and yelling outside of my window. I looked out and saw a bunch of guys. Come to find out they were Nortenos (gangsters) and they jumped someone and kicked in a door. There were about 10 of them and the college football team ran them off. It was a pretty crazy night. Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on the resurrection. A family that we have been working with came to church! They are a hispanic family, The Reyes family. Gurvinder is still doing really well and hasn't had coffee for a week. When Elder Falslev got here I had Gurvinder banging on the door screaming, "Where's my money!?" Elder Falslev was pretty scared and freaked out. Gurvinder and I planned to scare him like that. this next week we get to go to the Fresno Temple, so I'm looking forward to that. I hope you all had a good thanksgiving. I love and miss you all

Elder Jensen

Thanksgiving 

Week #19

Brody is still in Coalinga. He seems to be doing pretty good with his new companion. Elder Faslev is from Logan. Brody had a lot of questions about what is going on here. Everything from treatment for cold sores to how many points Stephen Curry is averaging. He said to please mail him letters. Thanks for all of your support. 

Hello everyone, 

How are you all doing? I don't really have any crazy stories from this past week. Elder Falslev and I did some door knocking and got a lot of rejection but a couple of people told us we could come back including an old hispanic guy that gave us hugs and he had chocolate all over his mouth which got all over my white shirt  Haha. We also visited some less active members, one was crazy and called my companion a Catholic Choir boy and then he went on with some B.S. stories. People in this small town sure have unrealistic stories. Elder Falslev and I are getting along great. This week we have to give a training together in district meeting, we also got asked to talk in sacrament again, and we are in charge of the third hour on Sunday. I guess it's just a busy week for us, but it's alright. We will be eating our Thanksgiving dinner at Sister Pulcheria's, she is from Asia somewhere so it might not be the usual food for Thanksgiving. It's going to be different spending all of the holidays away from home. This past week when we were knocking doors we found a 95 year old women who was painting. We raked her leaves for her and she said, "You Mormons are clean people" That's like the best compliment we have got in Coalinga haha! Not too much happened this past week. My Spanish is still not great. Oh me and Elder Falslev set two baptismal dates for next month but they aren't all that solid. It's also starting to get pretty cold here... well cold for California at least. I love and miss you all. Have a good week and be safe. Enjoy thanksgiving break! 

Elder Jensen

Week #18

Well Brody is truly being humbled. There must really be a purpose for him to be in Coalinga. He has been there for 12 weeks and will be there for at least another 6 weeks. I think he is starting to wonder if they have forgotten about him. It might be some sort of cruel joke. Anyhow, Brody was pretty disappointed. He was hoping to start a new adventure. He did however get a new companion. I told Brody that he has a purpose there and it will be made clear to him. Thanks for your prayers in Brody's behalf. 

This past week had its ups and downs. So to start off I got to go on my last exchange with Elder Jones. We had fun together and did some crazy stuff haha. Also this past week was rough with Gurvinder, he is still looking for a job. one night he had nowhere to sleep and we ended up calling the bishop who then got a hotel room for him. He was also sleeping in his friends car for a couple of nights. He says his parents are rich but he is hiding from them because they control his life and like tell him who he has to marry and he doesn't want anything to do with them. But he is doing better now and is really progressing towards baptism, his only hold up is that stupid coffee. But we know that he can quit that eventually. So hopefully we can baptize soon. So the biggest news this past week is that we had transfer calls... I was so ready to leave Coalinga and get out of the middle of nowhere. but guess what... Elder Jensen is staying in Coalinga for another transfer. Elder Wall is getting transferred and so is Elder Jones. I am getting a new companion named Elder Falslev, he is currently in my zone so i know him a little bit. He is just finishing training one of the Elders that I shared a room with at the MTC. haha I don't know what I did to deserve 3 transfers in Coalinga! I just hope Elder Falslev and I get along really well because that will make the time go by faster. I hope you are all doing well and having fun. I'll talk to you all soon. I love and miss you all. 

Elder Jensen

Elder Jensen and Gurvinder 

More November Pictures

4 Months

Brody emailed us late Monday night and told us that he wasn't going to be able to email us until Tuesday or Wednesday because of a zone activity. He emailed us tonight. We were a little late to respond so we weren't able to chat as long as we usually do. He seems to be doing good. He finds out this Saturday if he is going to be transferred. In his words, "I want out of here." I hope he is happy with whatever happens. Take a close look at the picture attached. Brody is at the wheel. Pretty scary. They also have matching ties. They bought the ties and wore them to their district meetings together. I am sure it was a real hit. Brody should be letting us know where his next adventure will be next Monday. Thanks for all of your support. 

Hello everyone,

How is everyone doing? This past week has been pretty slow and not too busy. I was in Coalinga at the start of the week. I went on an exchange to Lemoore with Elder Jones' companion. I was there for the weekend. He has been out the same time as me but he is really struggling. I had to lead all the lessons because he didn't want to. But Lemoore was pretty fun, it's crazy how much better the day goes when I get to speak in english haha! This past week was Elder Wall's 22nd birthday as well. Transfers  are in a week... so I guess we will see what happens there. I'm almost done being trained. Gurvinder is doing really good and he got him some church clothes, he also is quiting coffee then he can get baptized. Me and him have fun together and he gets me the sports scores once in a while. He really has come so far. As of now he is the only hope we have in Coalinga. Oh we also taught seminary this past week twice in the morning. There were only 4 students but it was good. Yesterday we had a zone activity and had some carne asada. Me and Elder Jones hit up the mall as well and had some fun there. That's about all that happened this past week. I hope you are all doing well. I love and miss you all! Have a good week! 

Elder Jensen

Elder Jones and Elder Jensen with matching ties

California Fresno Mission 

Elder Jones and Elder Jensen

Week #16

Once again Brody is a witness of miracles…Apparently it rained in Coalinga. Gurvinder is the investigator from India. He is in Coalinga to play football at the college. Believe it or not, it must be getting a little cold down there. Brody was asking when his jackets would be arriving. He was able to email back and forth with most of us aging today. He and Brennan were able to finally get caught up on how the Warriors are doing. Thanks for all of your support. Brody said to keep the letters and pictures coming. I will attach some pictures in a different email. Just a reminder you can read his letters and see his pictures at elderjenseninfresno.blogspot.com

Hello everyone, 

I hope you are all doing well. This past week was pretty busy. So we cover a little town called Huron and we have been told to not go out there after dark because gangs and there are shootings every night. But we got a call to go out there and that some people needed blessings. We got out there and saw these Hispanics that had rolled their car, one had a broken neck and the other hurt his head.You could see his skull!! I guess the jaws of life cut his head and if it would have went one centimeter more his brains would have gushed out. They are taking skin from his leg to cover the hole on his head...we gave both of them blessings and got out of there as fast as we could. We saw the gang at a party outside but avoided them. another thing that happened this past week was with Gurvinder. We teach him on the college campus and there is always a basketball game on in the window... he saw me watching it and said he was going to tell the bishop! I told him I would tell the bishop that he drinks coffee haha, we like to joke around a lot. he also said, "can you believe the stuff Elder Jensen says? And he's on his mission!" Anyways we were sitting in fast and testimony meeting and all of a sudden Gurvinder goes up to the front in his shorts, hoodie, and with his little white thing in his hair. the members, including me probably thought he was gonna bomb the church or something! but he got up there and said that he was thankful for the Elders and wants to be a mormon and to be baptized! after that he said, "Elder Jensen has to come up now because I did." haha so I had to go up as well! It also rained here for the 1st time in eternity. I love and miss you all. Have a good week.

- Elder Jensen 

Elder Jensen enjoying his Halloween package from home

Ward Halloween party

Elder Jensen and Elder Munson (from Columbia) at a district meeting

Week #15

As you read Brody's email, try to imagine the facial expressions I bet he had while moving the ashes. Brody looks forward to exchanges and getting out of Coalinga. He has been in Coalinga for 9 weeks. He has three weeks left. We were able to send and receive some text pictures and messages on Friday night while he was visiting a member in Lemoore. He looked really good and wanted to wish everyone a happy halloween. He even sent a video text showing off his witches broom. 

Thanks for all of your support in Brody's behalf. 

Elder Jensen and Elder Jones

So how is everyone doing? This past week was stake conference, exchanges, and we helped an old lady move some furniture around. At stake conference we heard from the temple president, mission president, and stake president. They all talked about temples. I liked stake conference because I got to see other missionaries. But it was kind of weird to drive an hour to get to stake conference. This past week I also had to give another training in district meeting, that is my 3rd one already. My favorite part of this past week was the weekend because I got to go to Lemoore with Elder Jones on exchanges. Elder Jones and I get along very well. We taught some crazy guy that was trying to show us his high school diploma to prove that he had already been baptized. I laughed during that lesson a lot because the guy was so crazy. Doing missionary work with Elder Jones was a lot more fun than with my companion. Lemoore is a busier town and I liked that it wasn't dead the whole time like Coalinga. Oh so i have a story... this past week we were helping an old lady move her furniture around and we took Gurvinder (our investigator). We started to move her tv stand and on top of it were two boxes... I read them and they were her daughters and mothers ashes. As we were moving they almost fell! We nearly spilled the ashes all over the floor hahaha. Gurvinder was freaking out when i told him what they were and refused to move it. I can't even imagine what we would have done if we spilled her ashes all over the place. So yeah that was pretty much my week. I love and miss you all. Have a great week.

Elder Jensen

Week #14

Brody visited the mexican flea market this past week. Needless to say we all have new California Hoodies. He talked about how slow the work is right now in Coalinga but he is hanging in there. As you will read, he had some interesting experiences this week. Brody really likes to receive letters in the mail. His address can be found at elderjenseninfresno.blogspot.com

Thanks for you support in Brody's behalf. 

Hello family and friends, 

it's been another crazy week in Coalinga. So last monday right after I got done emailing me and my companion went to teach a lady. As we were pulling out this guy stopped us and made us get out. He said he was Isacc the son of Abraham. He started telling us that we had been to his house and that we knew him. I'm sure he was wasted as can be. Luckily we just said a prayer and then left. Then on Wednesday night at about 9:25 we were walking back to our apartment and we ran into him again. He demanded a ride in our car and started commanding us in the name of Jesus Christ. He had a back pack and who knows what was in it...I thought we were gonna fight with the way he was talking haha. we werent sure what to do and he started to get really mad. So I called a member from the church to come help us out... of course he thought I was calling the cops on him and freaked out. So then our friend from the ward came to help us out...and Isacc jumped in his back seat. So I jumped in the front because I wasn't gonna leave our member alone with this crazy guy haha. We went and dropped him off at the bar and before he left he said the innercessory prayer and prayed for like 10 minutes. While we were doing this I felt a really bad spirit, this Isaac guy is sketchy and must think he is one of the 3 nephites or something. We have seen him a couple of times since but luckily we have avoided him. Oh and also this past week there were like these 20 people that dress up as clowns and try to scare/ kill people. We were warned to look out for them multiple times haha. People these days are crazy. There were these 2 mexicans that wanted me and my companion to drink a few beers with them. Elder Wall said he had to drive for his excuse so I said sure why not? haha just kidding I told them no and they started telling me that Jesus drank wine, and they asked me if I was too good for Jesus. I wanted to ask them if I could sacrafice their dog that they had because people also use to do animal sacrifices. So the work is pretty slow in Coalinga. I hope you are all doing well. I love and miss you all. 

Elder Jensen

3 Months

Brody had a good week. He even said that this was probably the best week he has had in the field. He had a zone conference and Elder Nielsen from the seventy was there. Brody said that was the highlight of his week. He has picked up on some of his mothers talents. He is cutting his own hair. Maybe he can get a side job while on his mission cutting hair. This email marks Brody's three month mark. Thanks for all of your support. 

Hello everyone, so this past week was pretty stressful. So the bishop asked us to talk in sacrament on a general conference talk. So I spent three days writing my talk then he assigned us different topics. I then had to start over and write it  the night before. I didn't even get to read through it first! But everything seemed to go fine, oh and the last speaker was an 82 year old man and he commented on how much brown there was in the congregation haha. So last monday I got my haircut, and I looked

 like macklemoore with the sides super short and the top really long. So once again I had to go and cut my hair myself.... I will send pictures of it haha. A story from this past week is that Gurvinder (our investigator) asked us if we could loan him some money for his rent and he would pay us back the next day. We didn't know what to do because we are not suppose to give people money but I wasn't going to let him sleep on the streets. So we prayed that Heavenly Father would provide a way... we didn't know how but that is what we prayed for. We then went to go and find him... and the first thing he said is that he figured out a way to pay his rent! I dont know how it worked out but it did. A couple of nights ago we  had two dinners and you have to eat like three plates when you are with the hispanics or they dont think you like it! I was so full and almost puked!! haha I weighed myself for the first time and I have got to go on a diet! On monday I bought a lot of healthy food! This last week I told my companion I was sick of the work so we came back from a service project and had to shower. When he got in the shower I put a note on his bed that said I was at the movie theater haha. So I then crawled under my bed and waited for him to come in and read the note... he read it and started running through the house and opened the door and was searching for me! I came out and was

laughing so hard! He thought I left! I hope you are all doing well back at  home! Happy anniversary this past week to Kade and Courtney as well! You all have a good week! I love and miss you all!

Elder Jensen

Week #12

Sounds like Brody had a little more going on this week. It is good he is busy. I was hoping for an "I went to conference" but instead he said, "he liked it a lot", which is even better. 

He didn't enjoy it so much when he was here. Interesting how he sees the apostles as "familiar faces".

He is having multicultural experiences. He was teaching an African lady, a mexican, and a dude from India tonight. He mentioned that he likes to read hand written letters. 

Thanks for all of your support this past week. 

Hello everyone,

Well this past week was another normal week other than conference. So we met this 19 year old that is from India and his parents are like sheek or something weird like that. But he contacted us and we went and talked to him. He is having some really hard family problems and is going to college out here. He plays football for the college but he doesn't have a room so he stays on a friends couch and is looking for a job. We invited him to come to General Conference with us yesterday and he did. When we went over to get him we gave him like 4 bags of plastic bottles that he could recycle for some money. He was so surprised and couldn't believe that we were giving him the bags. He was so grateful. We then started to walk to the church which was about a mile away. On our way as we were talking he found a $10 bill on the ground. He asked us if he could pick it up and we said yes. So we then got to the church and watched general conference. After it was over this 19 year old man tried to give the money to the bishop. We taught him about tithing and he then filled out a tithing slip and payed tithing. Later when we were walking back home he said that he was going to buy medicine with that money because he was sick but he got a feeling to donate it. So here is a guy that has nothing, knows nothing about our church, and receives a prompting to pay tithing. It was crazy to see how humble he was. Anyways, I liked general conference a lot and it was good to see some familiar faces. all of the apostles had such great talks. I hope you are all doing well. Stay safe and have a good week. I love you all!

Elder Jensen

The District 

The Zone 

Little girl's birthday party from the ward.

Haircut

Week #11

Brody's trip to the zoo was cancelled so he was able to email us today. He seems to be doing a little better. He is definitely having experiences that are helping him to appreciate home here at Payson.
He told us that there is this thing called "valley fever" and the worst places in the state for it are the two cities that he covers. it is really bad and ruins your lungs as if you have been smoking for your whole life. Some of our friends told us they plugged their nose as they drive through. Now we know why.
Thanks for your support of Brody this past week.

____________________________________________________________

Hello everyone, how are you all doing? So I've now been in Coalinga for just over a month. This past week was alright, it had its crazy parts. One thing that happened was we convinced a drug addict to break her pipe and we watched her go and get it and throw it at the ground. Haha when she wasn't looking I grabbed a piece of the ground for my journal. So I was on another exchange in Coalinga with Elder Jones, and he wanted to do some door knocking. so there were these kids outside, probably high school aged. and one of them thought i was the kid that he put a gun to my head and i got him expelled or something crazy like that.

Elder Jensen and Elder Jones 

 So that was a pretty fun time telling him i had no idea who he was while he was talking crap haha. and then we knocked on another door and while we were teaching this crazy guy his 3 year old son spit on me and threw dirt on Elder Jones. This world is crazy. we also had a little bit of a "bible bash" with a guy that believed in the trinity. I also gave my first church tour to a lady and her two daughters. Another event that took place is that I had to give my first training at district meeting. I gave it on "helping people resolve their concerns" it seemed to go pretty well. Things here in Coalinga are still really hard and we are still working with our investigators to try to help them commit to be baptized. Me and my companion still have our disagreements, well a lot of disagreements. We had to get the Flu shot this past week as well. It's been a pretty eventful week. I hope that we can see success and a reward for our work soon. The Spanish is still pretty bad, I am trying to not get too down on myself. I hope you are all doing well back at home. I love and miss you all more than anything. Have a good week! Love, Elder Jensen

Coalinga Valley 

Week #10

Brody mentioned that things are a little better this week. He had a few investigators attend church with him. He was able to go on splits with Elder Winterton. 

For those of you that know Brody, can you imagine him being the one that wants to "bend" the rules…me neither. 

Thanks for your support and prayers in Brody's behalf. 

Well it's been another long and tough week in Coalinga. There hasn't been much going on here except drug busts and gun shots every once in a while. It's a really tough area and it can be frustrating. The only good thing is that we had around 3 or 4 investigators at church yesterday. We hope that they keep progressing. The days are pretty long here... we wake up and run and then we have 4 hours of studies before we even get out of the apartment. I absolutely HATE studies. My companion is always so positive and happy and it can drive me crazy haha because like most of you know I am usually not the most positive. haha he gets mad at me when I look at the magazine covers in the store or if I try to peek through peoples windows to see the score to the football games. like the other day we were walking down the street and someone was playing some Brad Paisley music and i started to walk really slow so I could hear the music and my companion noticed and made me walk faster haha. its hard to not be able to watch tv, and listen to music and do other worldly things. I told my companion that he is lucky that he is not rebellious or we would be "bending" the rules a lot. this past week I went on exchanges and led the area with Elder Winterton, we got offered some Bud's on a porch while teaching to drunk guys. The other event this past week is that I had my first zone conference. there's not a lot to report on this week. I miss each and every one of you back at home. I hope you are all doing well and I'll talk to you soon. I love you guys. 

Love, Elder Jensen

Week #9

In messaging with Brody I could sense his frustration. He told me that he has some investigators but they are to lazy to go to church. He said that the language is pretty tough and as you all know, Brody doesn't like to be told what to do. Please keep him in your prayers this week. Thanks. 

How is everyone doing back in Utah? things here are pretty boring. the only good thing about this past week is that I got to go on exchanges and went with an English speaking missionary.

I liked it a lot better because I actually knew what was going on and I could contribute more to the lesson. I wish I didn't have to come back to Coalinga and speak spanish. its really hard and really frustrating. they actually thought about closing down Coalinga a while ago because there is not a lot of success and its a tough town. the one thing I have learned this past week is that companions are hard... I have not really been getting along with my companion. He always has to be right and has to be "smarter". Like he makes me do stupid stuff because it will be good "practice". Like fill the car with gas or call someone on the phone or just dumb stuff like that.

Elder Jones, Elder Jensen and
the mini missionary for the weekend

He acts like I don't know how to do anything... so yeah we fight quite a bit haha. When I went on splits my other companion Elder Jones was really cool and we got along great. That's why I didn't want to come back to Coalinga. Another thing that happened this past week is a thing called "special ops" its when a priest from the stake gets to come on like a mini mission and come with the missionaries for the weekend. So me and Elder Jones were with a 17 year old for the weekend. I will send a picture of us three. While I was on exchanges there were more people in the other wards priesthood than Coalinga's sacrament. It's been a really rough week... I'm always thinking and praying about all of you guys back at home. I love and miss you all. I hope you have a good week! -Elder Jensen

Two Months

Not a lot to add to this one. Brody did tell me that he lives in an apartment across the street from the college. His companion is from farmington and has been out 19 months. They are the only two missionaries in the area and they are both new to the area so Brody tells me they have a lot of catching up to do. I have a couple pictures that I will send in another email. Thanks for your support. 

Hello everyone. So I have two stories this week for you. So the first one is pretty sad... me and my companion were teaching this old lady on her porch that is a recent convert. She was talking how she has no family and cant even remember what her daughter looks like. It was really sad... and then her 3 grandchildren walked by on their way home from school. she asked them to come and give her a hug and the girl and grandma started crying when the girl said, "we cant or we will be grounded and can never come over again." I started tearing up on her porch because she couldn't hug her grandchildren. it was really sad, but we said a prayer with her and tried to comfort her. so... the next story is the opposite of sad. we were teaching two older people on their porch and some guy that must have been drunk walked up and said, "Oh the Mormon children, are you guys talking about me?" and we said no we are talking about jesus Christ. And he said, "no I think you're talking about me and someone is gonna get cut!" He had his hand in his pocket like he had a knife and me and my companion were kinda trapped. and I was right by the crazy guy with my companion behind me. I thought I was gonna get "cut" haha. luckily he eventually left and I bet you can all imagine how fast I got out of that neighborhood. I am so grateful that I was protected. this past week we have also been teaching a couple of investigating families.

It is hard because they all have a strong catholic background, but we are hoping they will come to know the truth. I have also got to play soccer with the little Mexicans a couple of times. Not much else is going on here. I hope you are all doing well and having fun. you are always in my thoughts and prayers. I love and miss you all. ill see you all soon. Love, Elder Jensen 

Happy 21st birthday to kade tomorrow!!

In the apartment 

Week #7 Finally in Fresno

Brody arrived in Fresno this week. I was able to chat back and forth with him on the computer for about an hour. He sounds pretty good. He was finally able to get his burger Saturday after picking grapes. 

He said it is a small town not much bigger than Goshen. Go Figure. He did say the food is so much better than what he was eating at the MTC. 

Thanks for your support. 

Hello family and friends. this past week has been a long one. so i got to California on wednesday, i have a new companion named Elder Wall. He is almost 22 years old. he is my trainer for the next 12 weeks. he is super serious about the work and has been out for a year and a half. We are in the town of Coalinga. It is as far south and as far west as the mission goes. we are like an hour away from other missionaries. It is a tiny town with a tiny ward. there were probably like 30 to 40 people at church on sunday. i had to give the opening prayer and bear my testimony in sacrament meeting,

Elder Jensen and his trainer, Elder Wall

 luckily it was in english. my companion tells me that my spanish is really good for just getting out of the MTC  but i think he is just trying to be nice. so the first door that i knocked in the field an old man answered the door. he was super angry and said get off of his property and he wanted no religious people around him. and he then chased us off his property while yelling at us haha. my companion said that only happens like once a month. I like the hispanics so much more than the white people because they are so much more humble. on saturday we got to go to the vineyard and pick grapes at 4:30 in the morning. it was crazy and a lot of hard work. California is so stinkin hot, luckily we are in a car for the most part. we have to run 3 miles every morning and I'm so out of shape. we haven't got to teach very many investigators because we haven't been in our area for too long. we have ate meals with the members every night and its even crazy to see how some of them live. And what they live in.

Elder Jensen with President and Sister Clark. 

thats why they are so humble and will listen to our message. I hope you are all doing well and having fun. i miss and love you all more than anything. ill see you all soon. 

love, Elder Jensen

p.s. write me letters!!

Week #6

This is the last email Brody will be sending while at the MTC. His 6 weeks are up. I am sure his companion is as happy as Brody. I was able to message back and forth today for about 2 hours. He was able to play basketball with Daniel and Brody Adams today. He said it was a pretty good day. He also mentioned that one of Daniels bags is lost somewhere at the MTC, and just our lack it had some of Brody's stuff in it. He was hoping to find it today before he left. He is looking forward to getting back to the united states and buying a real american burger. I asked him about his talk and they basically go to church with a talk prepared and they call a few elders out of the congregation to speak. I have some pictures I will forward in separate emails. Thanks for all of your support this past 6 weeks. It means a lot to Brody. His next email should probably be Monday from Fresno. 

Hello everyone. Well this past week has been pretty eventful. To start off I will tell you why our district had to meet with the MTC president. Haha. So a couple of weeks ago we got chosen by another district to receive a book that has been passed down 65 times and it has stories in it from other peoples experiences at the MTC. No one knew about it except for the two districts that hand it down and receive it. the way you hand it down is you hang a flash light from the ceiling around 10 at night. then you turn all the lights off and have a ritual and hand the book down. but just with our luck two teachers saw us and emailed the president. after 65 times we are the ones that get caught. our teachers were pretty mad at us but the president thought it was kind of cool. So he let us pass it down and continue the tradition, but not in the

 dark. he said that people could be kissing in the dark haha. there is also a sweater that the district leader has to wear the next day, it has never been washed and its been worn 65 times. President Pratt was pretty cool about it surprisingly, look him up. he reminds me of the old turtle on kung fu panda. haha and he usually gives me the chills. the next event is that I had to give a talk on sunday in sacrament meeting in spanish! I spoke and personal revelation. My Spanish is not good at all but I'm ready to get to California. i leave tomorrow at 2 in the morning. its been a long six weeks and I'm ready to leave. another thing that happened this past week is that I got to see my buddy Daniel Reno.

Elder Reno and Elder Jensen

he seems to be doing pretty well. its always good to see my friends and people from back at home. It's crazy to think that i will be in the field tomorrow! i am hoping it will be a good adjustment. this past week I found out that my companion is deathly afraid of spiders haha. i had him standing on the toilet with the door locked because I was guiding a spider around the room with the fly swatter haha. he probably doesn't like me but it was way funny and he was screaming at me almost crying! Oh and today I got my haircut... I will send a picture of it! Let's just say that the lady missed a couple of spots so i had to go do some touch up work with my scissors in my room haha. i want all of you guys to know that I couldn't do this without you.  your support and help keeps me going and it motivates me. I'm always thinking and praying about all of you back at home. I hope you're all doing well. have a great week... and be safe! i love and miss you guys so much!

Love, Elder Jensen

Haircut 

Elder Jensen's Testimony in Spanish

Week #5

As you can see Brody is somewhat himself this week. He has gone from threatening to punch his companion to directly  splitting their open their lip. I am glad that his companions in his district still love him enough to give him a nickname Hahaha. Brody told us that he received his flight information. He leaves Mexico next Wednesday at 7:00 am. He can hardly wait. Seth left Monday for the mission field. Brody told us that he and Seth were able to spend some time together on Sunday Night. He told us how that experience went down.  I am so thankful they realize how important each one of them was to the other. Thanks for all of your letters to Brody and your prayers in his behalf this past week. 

Hello everyone, I'm now starting my last week here at the MTC. It seems like I've been here forever. I'm ready to get to California and see what its like out there. this past week has been another regular week, except i accidentally made a kid have to get stitches in his mouth while playing basketball. my district has also gave me a name it is, "sunshine" because I'm always so happy and positive haha not. i finished reading the book of mormon this past week, its actually the most entertaining thing to do here because we are always speaking spanish and i love when i get to read something in english. before my mission i always looked at prayer as something i was just suppose to do and i never prayed with my feelings and faith. but

now that I'm out here i know that i need prayer to feel comforted and i make my prayers more meaningful. this past sunday we watched a talk by one of the most motivational speakers i have ever listened to, it was Jeffrey R. Holland, his talk was about peter talking to jesus. in the story jesus told peter to leave his boat and to stop fishing. jesus asked peter if he loved him... Peter replied and said yes. Jesus asked Peter two more times if he loved him and on the third time peter said, "Yes i love you more than anything." Jesus then said, then leave your boat and gather my sheep. And it hit me, I started asking myself if I love Jesus. and I do, Jesus suffered for me and every other person on this earth. the least i can do is sacrifice 2 years of my life for him when he sacrificed everything for me. 2 years seems like a long time now but compared to eternity its literately nothing. We also watched a movie on Joseph Smith and the restoration. Joseph Smith was an incredible prophet and he always had faith in the lord. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and the

determination he had to do the Lord's work. the hardest thing for me this past week was saying goodbye to Elder Colby on Sunday night. he was such a blessing to have here. and to be honest, i don't know where i would be without him. He helped me get this far and i couldn't have done it without him. he's the little bit of home that i had left and I'm gonna miss that kid. I'm always thinking and praying about all of you guys at home. I miss you all like crazy and love you more than anything. I hope you all have fun starting school Haha. I'll see you all soon. 

Love Always, Elder Jensen