Lila didn't write a blog letter this week, but I'll post a few details from her letter to me.
I think backwoods Oklahoma is getting into her subconscience because she told me of a weird "random" dream she had--she dreamed that someone handed her a dead rabbit and asked her to skin it!
I had my own strange dream about Lila. I dreamed that someone had given her a baby to raise! In my dream, she and her companion are tracting and Lila is carrying this cute little baby wearing a fuzzy, hooded snuggly draped over one arm while she is knocking at a door with the other. I chuckled all day! THAT would be Lila--take good care of the baby, but just keep on working!
Back to real life...Lila had a baptism on Saturday! They've been teaching a 28 year old man since November and he has been a joy to teach. He was confirmed a member on Sunday at church and I can only imagine how gratifying that was. :-) Lila says he is "awesome!!!!!"
Apparently, some sisters in the ward are trying to set him up with the single ladies his age. Poor guy. Now they want to get him married!
Next week, Lila has one last baptism planned before she ends her mission on Thursday, March 1st.
She has grown so much and done so much good during her 18 months as a missionary. We are really proud of her.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Chastity and Tithing...that was EASY!
Hello world. Happy Valentine's Day!
This Sunday was wonderful! And the members were giving us lots of holiday treats! :)
But sometimes as a missionary I have felt responsible for the whole ward; well, for all the less-active members and all the other people living in Lawton. And that seems like a huge burden. It is nice to sit in on ward meetings before church and hear how other people are working to help people come unto Christ, and I realize that I am not alone in this task. Because missionaries cannot do it alone!
First, there are just too many people to start with.
Second, we can't be the friend that talks to them all the time and hangs out and shares hobbies with them. But members can be that friend and show love in that way. As a missionary I show love to people by teaching them what God asks of us and by asking them to follow the Savior and do better! Luckily I know while I am accountable for my own choices in how I help these people I'm not expected to bring every single person back to church, even if I feel like that sometimes.
Each week we record who of our investigators and less active members come to church. And we write a list of all those that we are working with who didn't come to church, so we can go out again and try to build their faith. But progress is made, faith is built, people listen to the Spirit and their lives become happier as they shift their focus more and more towards the Savior.
This week we tracted, a lot! And nobody wanted to listen to us. But we keep on going and working with those who are making progress and those that just need a boost to get back into church.
Well, I don't really know what to say because it all blends together and just seems like missionary work. The names, stories and people change, but other than that, it's all the same.
But I will share a funny quote. We have this awesome, solid 28year old we are teaching and he grew up a strong Catholic and is so ready to be baptized. Last week we taught him the Law of Chastity and he didn't have a problem with it at all. And so this week we taught him about Tithing and Fasting and he didn't have a problem with that either and he completely understands and is willing to live it. So during the lesson about tithing he said "This is as easy as the law of Chastity was last week" which made me smile and I was totally laughing (on the inside of course) because that is something you don't hear people say very often.
There is a really sweet, young, less-active couple that we have been trying to help. She is pregnant and due in a month and recently she has been having complications. She has been passing out a lot and the doctors haven't found out the reason yet. We felt like we should call her yesterday and turns out she had been in the E.R. yesterday and was feeling worried and lonely (because her husband was doing mandatory training for the army and had been gone for a week). We talked to her and she didn't sound good at all, so we called the RS president and she and her husband who is 1st counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency helped arrange for a blessing. The blessing went well and I am so glad that we called her because we're pretty sure she wouldn't have called us.
I know the Spirit is working through me to help others and so no matter what happens I know I am doing what I should be.
My testimony is strengthened on a daily basis that this is the Lord's work
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
This Sunday was wonderful! And the members were giving us lots of holiday treats! :)
But sometimes as a missionary I have felt responsible for the whole ward; well, for all the less-active members and all the other people living in Lawton. And that seems like a huge burden. It is nice to sit in on ward meetings before church and hear how other people are working to help people come unto Christ, and I realize that I am not alone in this task. Because missionaries cannot do it alone!
First, there are just too many people to start with.
Second, we can't be the friend that talks to them all the time and hangs out and shares hobbies with them. But members can be that friend and show love in that way. As a missionary I show love to people by teaching them what God asks of us and by asking them to follow the Savior and do better! Luckily I know while I am accountable for my own choices in how I help these people I'm not expected to bring every single person back to church, even if I feel like that sometimes.
Each week we record who of our investigators and less active members come to church. And we write a list of all those that we are working with who didn't come to church, so we can go out again and try to build their faith. But progress is made, faith is built, people listen to the Spirit and their lives become happier as they shift their focus more and more towards the Savior.
This week we tracted, a lot! And nobody wanted to listen to us. But we keep on going and working with those who are making progress and those that just need a boost to get back into church.
Well, I don't really know what to say because it all blends together and just seems like missionary work. The names, stories and people change, but other than that, it's all the same.
But I will share a funny quote. We have this awesome, solid 28year old we are teaching and he grew up a strong Catholic and is so ready to be baptized. Last week we taught him the Law of Chastity and he didn't have a problem with it at all. And so this week we taught him about Tithing and Fasting and he didn't have a problem with that either and he completely understands and is willing to live it. So during the lesson about tithing he said "This is as easy as the law of Chastity was last week" which made me smile and I was totally laughing (on the inside of course) because that is something you don't hear people say very often.
There is a really sweet, young, less-active couple that we have been trying to help. She is pregnant and due in a month and recently she has been having complications. She has been passing out a lot and the doctors haven't found out the reason yet. We felt like we should call her yesterday and turns out she had been in the E.R. yesterday and was feeling worried and lonely (because her husband was doing mandatory training for the army and had been gone for a week). We talked to her and she didn't sound good at all, so we called the RS president and she and her husband who is 1st counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency helped arrange for a blessing. The blessing went well and I am so glad that we called her because we're pretty sure she wouldn't have called us.
I know the Spirit is working through me to help others and so no matter what happens I know I am doing what I should be.
My testimony is strengthened on a daily basis that this is the Lord's work
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Monday, February 6, 2012
Using faith to overcome obstacles!
Hello All!
Wow, time flies.
I love seeing people use their faith to motivate them to action. I am amazed by the motivation of some less active members in our ward to work through sins and obstacles and make it to church. I know God is helping and will help them!
I am so proud of everyone who overcomes challenges through faith. Every person is different but each of us need faith, repentance, covenants, the Holy Ghost and endurance to get us through life and back to God.
Chinese New Year was fun and my companion and I purchased and made some great Asian food. Yum!
Lots of miracles are happening here in Lawton, OK!
Love
Sister Lila Jenson
Wow, time flies.
I love seeing people use their faith to motivate them to action. I am amazed by the motivation of some less active members in our ward to work through sins and obstacles and make it to church. I know God is helping and will help them!
I am so proud of everyone who overcomes challenges through faith. Every person is different but each of us need faith, repentance, covenants, the Holy Ghost and endurance to get us through life and back to God.
Chinese New Year was fun and my companion and I purchased and made some great Asian food. Yum!
Lots of miracles are happening here in Lawton, OK!
Love
Sister Lila Jenson
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| Sister Jenson is an awesome cook! |
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| Sister Holt and Sister Jenson in the sunshine! |
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Letter from Pres. Taylor
Here was the letter dated January 27, 2012 that we received from the mission office with Lila's flight itinerary.
John & Kristen Jenson
456 Palm Drive
Richland, Washington 99352
Dear Brother and Sister Jenson:
We cannot thank you enough for sharing your daughter with the people of the Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission. Sister Lila Whitney Jenson has represented The Lord and your family extremely well. She has been dedicated to The Lord's work and her Christ-like love has earned her many friends and admirers. You have every right to be especially proud of her service.
[Flight info etc]
Sister Jenson has experienced many growth opportunities tha will form a foundation in Christ upon which she can build for the rest of her life. We return her home with an expression of our deep love and appreciation. She is truly a choice spirit and we will miss her greatly.
Enjoy a wonderful reunion.
Sincerely,
Nolan S. Taylor
Mission President
John & Kristen Jenson
456 Palm Drive
Richland, Washington 99352
Dear Brother and Sister Jenson:
We cannot thank you enough for sharing your daughter with the people of the Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission. Sister Lila Whitney Jenson has represented The Lord and your family extremely well. She has been dedicated to The Lord's work and her Christ-like love has earned her many friends and admirers. You have every right to be especially proud of her service.
[Flight info etc]
Sister Jenson has experienced many growth opportunities tha will form a foundation in Christ upon which she can build for the rest of her life. We return her home with an expression of our deep love and appreciation. She is truly a choice spirit and we will miss her greatly.
Enjoy a wonderful reunion.
Sincerely,
Nolan S. Taylor
Mission President
Monday, January 30, 2012
Church is a blessing and so is service!
Hello World!
This week had its ups and downs, but overall it is always a blessing to do the Lord's will (or at least strive to)!
We taught a wonderful part-member family! It's amazing the example and influence one person can be. The 20 year old son was the one that helped the family come to church! We set a baptismal date with their 10 year old son and are going to see them again tonight! They all have made decisions they are not proud of, but I know that the power of the gospel and Christ's Atonement will be able to help them heal and get rid of the guilt that is wearing them down.
We have met several less active members this week and they each have different stories and reasons for not coming to church, but none of those reasons are significant when compared with the blessings of the Atonement and living the commandments. If we think of all our reasons for not coming to church (too early, busy, tired, we were offended, don't want a calling, etc) and then compare them to the blessings for coming; (the Holy Spirit being with us, a rest from the world, showing God we love him, peace, joy, learning the gospel, being supported by others with testimonies, etc) and then think of the ultimate blessing-- ETERNAL LIFE-- nothing else can be more important than having that!
Saturday night I was thinking of all the effort and hassle and work that goes into helping people come to church, and of course into my head popped the thought, "Is it really worth all this work?" Thankfully I didn't entertain that thought but dismissed it and prayed to Heavenly Father before going to sleep. The next day as I went to meetings before church and then church itself, that thought from the night before was answered. Yes it is worth it. It was answered in the peace I felt at church and the happiness for people that came. That day I saw the blessings of having my faith strengthened by coming to church. It was one of many experiences that have built my faith and testimony that we should honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy!
On Saturday we helped 3 people move. One was an active member, one a less active/ part member family and the third were some people moving into our apartment. We saw them moving in and it was just 2 adults and a child trying to move in lots of stuff so we stopped and helped them for about an hour and a half. They seem like good people. The child is 14 but has autism. After we were done helping, the mother told us that her son can tell when people are honest and good people and she said it was a big sign to her that we were true people because her son talked to us and liked us. They offered us money but we declined and instead they are going to have us over for pizza sometime. We thought this was a perfect compromise and plan on giving them or watching the Finding Faith in Christ video with them.
Overall a great week of serving many people!
Sister Lila Jenson
This week had its ups and downs, but overall it is always a blessing to do the Lord's will (or at least strive to)!
We taught a wonderful part-member family! It's amazing the example and influence one person can be. The 20 year old son was the one that helped the family come to church! We set a baptismal date with their 10 year old son and are going to see them again tonight! They all have made decisions they are not proud of, but I know that the power of the gospel and Christ's Atonement will be able to help them heal and get rid of the guilt that is wearing them down.
We have met several less active members this week and they each have different stories and reasons for not coming to church, but none of those reasons are significant when compared with the blessings of the Atonement and living the commandments. If we think of all our reasons for not coming to church (too early, busy, tired, we were offended, don't want a calling, etc) and then compare them to the blessings for coming; (the Holy Spirit being with us, a rest from the world, showing God we love him, peace, joy, learning the gospel, being supported by others with testimonies, etc) and then think of the ultimate blessing-- ETERNAL LIFE-- nothing else can be more important than having that!
Saturday night I was thinking of all the effort and hassle and work that goes into helping people come to church, and of course into my head popped the thought, "Is it really worth all this work?" Thankfully I didn't entertain that thought but dismissed it and prayed to Heavenly Father before going to sleep. The next day as I went to meetings before church and then church itself, that thought from the night before was answered. Yes it is worth it. It was answered in the peace I felt at church and the happiness for people that came. That day I saw the blessings of having my faith strengthened by coming to church. It was one of many experiences that have built my faith and testimony that we should honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy!
On Saturday we helped 3 people move. One was an active member, one a less active/ part member family and the third were some people moving into our apartment. We saw them moving in and it was just 2 adults and a child trying to move in lots of stuff so we stopped and helped them for about an hour and a half. They seem like good people. The child is 14 but has autism. After we were done helping, the mother told us that her son can tell when people are honest and good people and she said it was a big sign to her that we were true people because her son talked to us and liked us. They offered us money but we declined and instead they are going to have us over for pizza sometime. We thought this was a perfect compromise and plan on giving them or watching the Finding Faith in Christ video with them.
Overall a great week of serving many people!
Sister Lila Jenson
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Last Transfer
Dear Family and Friends,
So my last transfer as a missionary begins. I am staying in Lawton and I am excited for all the wonderful things that will happen! We had 17 less active members at church and we hope to help many of them become fully active and help them keep all of their baptismal covenants!
We invited 5 people to be baptized on Saturday and Sunday and they all said yes! Some have a fair bit to go before they are ready and able to keep all of God's commandments, but I know that it is possible! We have found several people to teach and we are excited by the stories we are hearing from members as they are reaching out to their friends!
Yesterday we watched the video "Finding Faith in Christ" with a mother and her two kids, 8 and 12. Throughout the movie I could feel the Spirit pretty strong and it all culminated when after the movie we asked the 12 year old how he felt. "I don't know how to describe it but I feel good inside." The Spirit was so strong and we testified that that was the Spirit and that it was telling him that what the video showed was true and the Christ is our Savior. We invited the two kids to be baptized and it was awesome! Inviting people to be baptized is the best ever! Later that evening we got to speak to the youth in the ward and talk with them about being a missionary at a fireside. I wouldn't give up being a missionary for anything! I have had so many wonderful experiences and have seen the changes in who I am! For anyone considering a mission, I would say, Do it!!! You won't ever regret it!
Thanks to all of you for the letters and prayers!
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
So my last transfer as a missionary begins. I am staying in Lawton and I am excited for all the wonderful things that will happen! We had 17 less active members at church and we hope to help many of them become fully active and help them keep all of their baptismal covenants!
We invited 5 people to be baptized on Saturday and Sunday and they all said yes! Some have a fair bit to go before they are ready and able to keep all of God's commandments, but I know that it is possible! We have found several people to teach and we are excited by the stories we are hearing from members as they are reaching out to their friends!
Thanks to all of you for the letters and prayers!
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Monday, January 9, 2012
Everything is connected
Howdy!
We had 13 less actives at church yesterday!!! And there is another couple that we are graduating to active status (in our book) as of this Sunday. This week as we went through the ward roster we picked out a lady to go see. We stopped by in the evening one night and she didn't answer. Then a few days later after an appointment fell through we decided to check on some less-active members in her area and we biked past her house. We decided to stop by and she opened the door right up! (Because of her screen she could see out but we couldn't see in.)
We talked with her and she wants her children to come back to church and has a testimony it seems, but hasn't been to church in a long time. She's in her 70's and is going into surgery for her hand today. So we arranged to see her again on Thursday and invited another sister in the RS of similar age to go with us. The RS sister we brought with us had lots of connections with this sister and they were able to connect and hopefully start the beginning of a friendship. We had a wonderful visit and the less-active sister shared her testimony of the restoration and of her conversion. We invited her to church and she promised to be there. AND SHE CAME!!! Despite a lot of trouble with her neck she came and the Bishop talked with her and gave her a priesthood blessing to prepare her for her hand surgery.
The Bishop is very happy to see several less-active families coming back! I'm sure the 11:30am time is helping too. (We used to meet at 9am.) The key is to strengthen everyone's faith enough so that when it switches back we won't lose them. We also have started reporting to the RS presidency every week the less active sisters that we visit and they count it as visiting teaching and it helps them know who is willing to have Visiting Teachers and who we can help fellowship as a ward.
We are really excited for the baptism next Sunday of a 9year we have been teaching. His mother is a really sweet lady and has been coming back to church. Teaching him I've come up with a few more ways to teach the different lessons. For example we made a matching game to pair pictures and words for the different principles and people, like baptism, tithing, Jesus Christ, prophets, priesthood, etc. We also had fun teaching tithing as a math lesson since he loves math.
President Taylor challenged all the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon again by the end of March and look for 50 different questions that he gave us. He also asked us to pray every day before we read and ask Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon is true and then to look for the answer as we read it. He told us to loop around from where we are now.
I'm currently in Ether and before I never really enjoyed reading Ether because I felt it was just a story of lots of people rebelling and killing each other. But as I have been reading and looking for the questions that Pres. Taylor posted I have seen how many wonderful things are contained in Ether. One favorite verse that I found shares one reason why we need the Book of Mormon. Ether 8:26 "Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no more power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved." Throughout this chapter he talks of secret combinations and gangs that destroyed both his people and the people he writes about and that he is pleading with us not to allow those things in our society. I am grateful for all the bad examples both in life and in the scriptures that we can see and learn from!
We got to teach the Sunday School lesson on Sunday because the normal teacher (our ward mission leader) was out of town. It was on Spiritual Gifts and at first we didn't really know what to share. But as we pondered it we saw how connected this lesson was to the Atonement. It is the Atonement that not only overcomes sin, death and pain, but also exalts us. It is through the Spirit that we are prompted and it is the Spirit that sanctifies us! Developing these spiritual gifts are a way that we use the exalting power of the Atonement and take a few more baby steps on the path to Exaltation (becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ).
During the lesson we also had a great discussion also about how we can help others on this road of discipleship. We stressed that we have to develop our own faith before we can strengthen that of others. I have found that Christ's parable about the beam and the moat to be soooooooo true! As a missionary I see people that are trying to get other people to come to church or to learn about the gospel, but yet they themselves are not going to church or living what Christ teaches. And then they are surprised why they are not able to help their friends and family. But if we are developing our own faith and have the Spirit with us, it is then that others can feel the Holy Ghost and can be influenced by him.
I am so grateful for all the lessons that I am learning. I know that Jesus Christ and His atonement are connected to everything. So often I feel that as humans we forcibly separate things that are connected. I have a testimony know that everything we do in life is connected to Jesus Christ and his gospel. No matter how mundane or temporal we think it is, it is all connected! I know that Jesus Christ came and fulfilled his Father's Plan and through him we can be saved and exalted.
God loves us, every one!
Sister Lila Jenson
We had 13 less actives at church yesterday!!! And there is another couple that we are graduating to active status (in our book) as of this Sunday. This week as we went through the ward roster we picked out a lady to go see. We stopped by in the evening one night and she didn't answer. Then a few days later after an appointment fell through we decided to check on some less-active members in her area and we biked past her house. We decided to stop by and she opened the door right up! (Because of her screen she could see out but we couldn't see in.)
We talked with her and she wants her children to come back to church and has a testimony it seems, but hasn't been to church in a long time. She's in her 70's and is going into surgery for her hand today. So we arranged to see her again on Thursday and invited another sister in the RS of similar age to go with us. The RS sister we brought with us had lots of connections with this sister and they were able to connect and hopefully start the beginning of a friendship. We had a wonderful visit and the less-active sister shared her testimony of the restoration and of her conversion. We invited her to church and she promised to be there. AND SHE CAME!!! Despite a lot of trouble with her neck she came and the Bishop talked with her and gave her a priesthood blessing to prepare her for her hand surgery.
The Bishop is very happy to see several less-active families coming back! I'm sure the 11:30am time is helping too. (We used to meet at 9am.) The key is to strengthen everyone's faith enough so that when it switches back we won't lose them. We also have started reporting to the RS presidency every week the less active sisters that we visit and they count it as visiting teaching and it helps them know who is willing to have Visiting Teachers and who we can help fellowship as a ward.
We are really excited for the baptism next Sunday of a 9year we have been teaching. His mother is a really sweet lady and has been coming back to church. Teaching him I've come up with a few more ways to teach the different lessons. For example we made a matching game to pair pictures and words for the different principles and people, like baptism, tithing, Jesus Christ, prophets, priesthood, etc. We also had fun teaching tithing as a math lesson since he loves math.
President Taylor challenged all the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon again by the end of March and look for 50 different questions that he gave us. He also asked us to pray every day before we read and ask Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon is true and then to look for the answer as we read it. He told us to loop around from where we are now.
I'm currently in Ether and before I never really enjoyed reading Ether because I felt it was just a story of lots of people rebelling and killing each other. But as I have been reading and looking for the questions that Pres. Taylor posted I have seen how many wonderful things are contained in Ether. One favorite verse that I found shares one reason why we need the Book of Mormon. Ether 8:26 "Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no more power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved." Throughout this chapter he talks of secret combinations and gangs that destroyed both his people and the people he writes about and that he is pleading with us not to allow those things in our society. I am grateful for all the bad examples both in life and in the scriptures that we can see and learn from!
We got to teach the Sunday School lesson on Sunday because the normal teacher (our ward mission leader) was out of town. It was on Spiritual Gifts and at first we didn't really know what to share. But as we pondered it we saw how connected this lesson was to the Atonement. It is the Atonement that not only overcomes sin, death and pain, but also exalts us. It is through the Spirit that we are prompted and it is the Spirit that sanctifies us! Developing these spiritual gifts are a way that we use the exalting power of the Atonement and take a few more baby steps on the path to Exaltation (becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ).
During the lesson we also had a great discussion also about how we can help others on this road of discipleship. We stressed that we have to develop our own faith before we can strengthen that of others. I have found that Christ's parable about the beam and the moat to be soooooooo true! As a missionary I see people that are trying to get other people to come to church or to learn about the gospel, but yet they themselves are not going to church or living what Christ teaches. And then they are surprised why they are not able to help their friends and family. But if we are developing our own faith and have the Spirit with us, it is then that others can feel the Holy Ghost and can be influenced by him.
I am so grateful for all the lessons that I am learning. I know that Jesus Christ and His atonement are connected to everything. So often I feel that as humans we forcibly separate things that are connected. I have a testimony know that everything we do in life is connected to Jesus Christ and his gospel. No matter how mundane or temporal we think it is, it is all connected! I know that Jesus Christ came and fulfilled his Father's Plan and through him we can be saved and exalted.
God loves us, every one!
Sister Lila Jenson
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