Subject: Week 68!

This week has been pretty good on Tuesday we met a cray guy named Franky.
He was mowing his lawn and hoped off the mower and ran over to us and started
to tell us what he new about the name Jesus.I honestly don't know what his point
 was, he really didn't have anything against us he just wanted someone to share
his ideas with I guess. He was just really upset because the English work Jesus
 is not what they actually call the Savior in Aramaic. Then he told us that since
we didn't speak in tongues that we did not have the Holy Ghost but he did.  Then
 he said that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon and anytime we would have
 something to say. He would cut us off by just talking louder. Then he taught us
 how to pray by getting down on his hands and knees and praying for us. It was
 pretty good.

Other than that we have had some pretty good lessons with people. We met a
Part Member Family and the guy kinda hesitantly let us in and we shared a short
 message and then left. It was a good contact and we will continue working with
 him but we will see if it goes anywhere.

We have also had several people who just want to bash with us and tell us to
repent or we will be Damned, its been fun.

But if everything works out well we will have 2 or 3 members returning from
inactivity in the next couple week so we are super excited for that.

On Saturday we were able to drive to my last area (Ottawa) because Twila Got
 baptized!! It was so awesome to be able to see her enter in to the fold of God
and be one with the Saints. A good friend of hers who originally introduced her
to the church was able to baptize her. It was great.

Thank you all so much for the support. Being a missionary is the best



I found a goat



Elder Jensen

Area: Harrisonville, MOCompanion: Elder Cope
 
Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  
 
Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

So to start off the week we went to a members home for dinner and quickly observed that they love to travel the world. So they took us on a tour of their home and showed us all the cool stuff they had collected from all over Europe and Africa. They also had a page out of the first edition of the King James Bible. That was cool, apparently it's worth enough to be insured. 

On Tuesday we did some service for a member and we burned down his burn pile. It was awesome he let us throw gasoline on the fire and make explosions. Then as we were standing there a baby rabbit ran out of the flames and Elder Cope caught it with his hands. I just turned around and saw him sitting cross legged on the ground with a rabbit in his hands trying to feed it a carrot.  I didn't get any pictures sadly, I really wish I had though.

Wednesday we had Zone Conference which took pretty much all day. It was awesome but a 7+ hour meeting is long.

Thursday we had a sweet lesson. There is a recent convert who has moved into the area with her husband's parents (who used to live in Provo and investigated the church). So we went over and had a really good lesson about the restoration and it was kinda weird because the RCs grandpa was there and he had read the Book of Mormon and the D&C and knew the BoM and Joseph Smith was a prophet but didn't agree with some of the things Brigham Young did. So it was awesome to see a non member testifying to our investigator about the Book of Mormon. It was great. We hopefully will meet with them again this week.

Friday we made some good contacts and had a few cool lessons on peoples doorstep.

Saturday we drove down to the bottom of our area to contact some less actives that have recently moved in. The first guy was in a trailer with Confederate flags all around and had a huge Ford truck with window stickers about the marines and biker gangs and guns all over it. So we knocked and the guy answered, he had tattoos all over, was wearing a leather biker vest, had huge metal skull rings on 8 fingers, and had a big fu manchu. He was the nicest guy, he told us that the guy we were looking for didn't live there anymore and that he wasn't interested but he was real polite and laughed and made jokes with us.

Sunday we met another character just sitting on his porch, kinda the same feel as the biker guy. Chain smoker with a bottle of whiskey in his other hand. He was super nice also, we sat down and he talked for almost two hours.  It was kinda funny he said "you guys want something to drink? You look like you do, I know something that you'll love. But first I have to ask how old you are." So we told him and he came back with some orange cream soda and it was really good. Then he showed us all of his "collectibles" and we left him with a Book of Mormon and have an appointment for later this week.  

Then we had dinner with the Kelleys for Easter and it was super fun, we played a personality quiz. Apparently my spirit animal is a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Beaver. So that was informative.

Thank you all so much for what you do. Being a missionary is awesome. Finding and teaching people about he gospel is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

Thanks!

Elder Jensen

Kinda hard to see but its a snake :)

Area: Harrisonville, MOCompanion: Elder Cope

Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  

Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

This week has been pretty fun. I got another companion, the 3rd in 3 weeks. My new companion's name is Elder Cope. He is from St. George, Utah and has been out for about 21 months, so he has lots of experience.  I was transferred to the Harrisonville Ward in the Kansas City Stake. The area seems pretty sweet and I am excited to be here. Before I left Ottawa we were able to have some amazing experiences teaching people and sharing what we know to be true. 

Once I got to Harrisonville we have been trying to build our teaching pool. We do have a few investigators on baptismal date but they are all out of town for a few weeks. So that will be cool when they come back. The ward just got a new ward mission leader this week so we will be breaking him in, but he has only been off his mission for 4 or 5 years so he still is super missionary minded. I think I am going to like the Harrisonville ward. The people seem great and my companion is super fun.  When I got into the new apartment I looked in the pantry and we have about 25 bags of peanut butter M&Ms - so that's nice.

Thank you all for the support that I have received. I know the church is true and the church is true no matter where you go.

Make it a good one,

Elder Jensen

Area: Ottawa, KSCompanions: Elder Timmreck and Elder Jeffery
 
Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  
 
Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

Alright, so this week was interesting. First off Elder Timmreck returned home on Saturday and I stayed in Ottawa and received a new companion. His name is Elder Jeffery. He is from Utah, likes fishing, is 6 foot 7 inches, and speaks Spanish. Lots of people say we look like brothers.

So closer to the beginning of the week had a huge storm come through and it actually turned into a tornado closer to Kansas City. The church sent our "Helping Hands" to help clean up. I took some videos but the wind was blowing so hard you can hardly hear me. It was actually kinda hard to stay flat on your feet because of the wind.

We helped a member do some renovations to his house. It is super run down and the member is usually away with the National Guard or on business trips. So it's not taken care of very well and is kinda falling apart. We put up some sheet rock and installed a tile ceiling. I learned to make sure your ladder is in a good spot before you climb on to it. To put the sheet rock in I had to stand on a ladder and hold the sheet rock in just the right place above my head and Elder Timmreck was trying to use a 2x4 to steady the other side while the member screwed it in. So after I set the ladder and was already on the ladder with the sheet rock above me, I realized that the ladder was not directly underneath me. I had to wrap my leg around the ladder and lean way out to hold the sheet rock just in the right place.  It felt like I was going to tip over and I definitely got my work out for that day. I hope you can imagine me doing this, I'm sure it was graceful. Probably like a baby giraffe trying to stand up for the first time.

On Thursday we had a Zone Conference which was a really awesome spiritual meeting that lasted from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. So it was long, but really good.

This week we have been able to teach some amazing people who have been so prepared for the gospel. The Ottawa ward is really good for less active work as well. So we have been in contact with some people who don't go to church that often but most still have a very strong testimony that the church is true.

Thank you all for everything you do. Missions are amazing, the church is true.

(My Hick accent is only growing stronger)

Thank you!

Elder Jensen

Area: Ottawa, KSCompanion: Elder Timmreck
 
Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  
 
Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

Well last week I mentioned that my companion had been struggling. So we went to the temple on Tuesday and he has done a lot of praying and has decided that it is time for him to go home. We will be finding out today what day he will be leaving this week. So by the end of the week I will have a new companion or I might get moved to a new area. It will be an interesting week to say the least. 

The highlight for this week was the ward council had asked us to contact a lady named Twyla. She had previously met with missionaries in the past and they wanted us to go check on her. So we did and right as she answered the door she said "I have so many questions!" She asked amazing questions about God, the Holy Ghost, the Book of Mormon, Prophets and more. They all led perfectly into the restoration. So we pretty much taught her all of the restoration just by answering her questions. At the end she asked "Well how can I know for myself that this is true?" Which was awesome! She is so prepared and we were able to meet with her again on Saturday and she said that she has been praying a lot and really feels like this could be the church for her. She has so much faith. We have another appointment this week and she has offered to have us over for dinner this week as well.

Being a missionary gives us such an amazing opportunity to get to know people in a setting that no one else really gets to see. It is a privilege to get to meet the humble and meek in the world and watch the gospel turn them from good people into faithful saints, truly "the salt of the earth".

Thank you all for the support that you guys have given me. I definitely would not be the person I am today if it was not for you.

Make it a good one,

Elder Jensen

Area: Ottawa, KSCompanion: Elder Timmreck
 
Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  
 
Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

Well, this week we weren't able to get a ton of work done. My companion is kinda going through some trials so we have relaxed the intensity of what we have been doing.

That being said on Friday we were swamped with service. It started with going to a retirement home to play games with the old ladies there. We all had mini pool noodles and hit a balloon around. Then when they got tired we played Sorry. Then we went with our Ward Mission Leader to a friends house and did a bunch of yard work. They told us that we would be cutting down bamboo but when we got there we saw that it was actually sorghum. Then we drove to the southern part of our area and moved some rose bushes and broke up some dirt with a ton of clay in it. 

On Saturday we went on exchanges. Elder Parker came to Ottawa with me and we got some good work done and visited some less actives that we haven't seen in a while.

The Fishers fed us dinner this Thursday and they fed us "water chicken" which tuned out to be frog legs. So that was fun. And then later in the week another family fed us gumbo. Also a new experience. They were both good, I would probably eat it again.

So a little while ago we got a referral for a lady that lives in a sorority, so we really didn't just want to knock on the door. We tried several different ways, but could not get a hold of her. So we just went and knocked. It was a little awkward because the girls had absolutely no idea how to act when religious people knock on their door. But the referral wasn't there at the time, so we left a card and will try again later. Knock on a giant sorority with a ton of girls living in it. Check.

That was pretty much my week. Thank you for all that you guys do, you are awesome!

Make it a good one,

Elder Jensen

Cool picture of Enos

Area: Ottawa, KSCompanion: Elder Timmreck
 
Email address:  kenneth.jensen@myldsmail.net  
 
Mailing Address:
Elder Kenneth Jensen
Missouri Independence Mission
517 W Walnut St
Independence, MO 64050

This last week was transfer week and we found out that I am going to be staying in Ottawa for another transfer with Elder Timmreck. I will end up being in Ottawa for 6 months when I am done and members are already saying "wow, it feels like you've been here forever". So I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I am excited though, I love the ward and the area and am grateful to have the opportunity to serve here.

So this week Elder Timmreck was still getting over his cold and right as he was getting over his sickness he passed it on to me. So this week has consisted of mostly staying inside and trying not to be bored. I think we watched almost every video the church has produced. We eventually got bored enough that we just started telling each other improved stories and just seeing how creative we could make them. We (Elder Timmreck) came up with some good ones.

We did get to go proselyting for about 2 hours while we were both feeling well. We stopped at a guys house who we randomly knocked on and turns out he was a member. We went and tried to share a message with him and he was nice enough to talk to us but was clearly not interested in what we had to say. He didn't pay attention at all. Then his girlfriend came home and said hi then started breast feeding there 1 1/2 year old daughter and did not cover anything... at all. 

We did get to teach a solid lesson with Darrin this week and he is still planning on being baptized in March!

 

So yea, sorry there is not much to report on but for the most part we have been trying to get better. We are both feeling much better today though and are planning on getting back to work this week.

Thank you!

Elder Jensen