Lila has A Christmas Carol Moment



Sister Jenson and Sister Fraire at Mt. Scott on P-day. Gotta love that smile!



Dear Family and Friends,

 

A baptism of an eight year old whose family has started coming back to church.



One night this week I couldn't get to sleep and was pondering many things--things about my mission and things from before.

 

Here’s what I was pondering: 

• I want to be an awesome member missionary when I go home! 
• If I don't become a good missionary now, how will I become a good one after my mission?
• Have I changed at all since I've been out on a mission?
  
• I recently gave advice to a teenager preparing for a mission, but did I do the things I suggested before my mission?



This Elder likes to make scarves for the sisters. These are "camo scarves!"



 I feel like Heavenly Father reminded me of some experiences from college that helped me see how I have changed, and what I still need to repent of.

 



Sister Jenson's two "daughters"--ie the missionaries she trained.



When I was in my last year of BYU, I had several roommates who didn't attend church, one in particular that I didn't get along with and that I was very frustrated with. That same semester I was called as the Relief Society Compassionate Service Leader. Because it was BYU and everyone was supposed to have a calling, I had about 4 other people in a committee that I "led." I had no idea what to do with this calling, but I focused on "programs" instead of people. I had several small duties from the RS presidency, and I did them--mostly by myself because I didn't want to bother other people to help me. I also was about 50/50 on my Visiting Teaching assignment and didn't think it was that important. I knew it was, but allowed myself to say that "later" I would be a good visiting teacher. I did want to help people, but I allowed myself to focus that desire to help people farther away from me, while in front of me I had several roommates and other people that were in need of help. Instead of loving them I chose to judge them.

 



Sister Fraire and Sister Jenson at a dinner during the Temple Conference.



I know that now I am not the same person that I was back then. I know that I have changed because I do care about people now. I do focus my energy on helping those around me. I try to minister to every less active person I meet no matter what they are choosing to do in their life right now. Heavenly Father wants us to focus on people, not programs! As a missionary I have been taught to "teach people, not lessons." We can build faith in those around us! Faith is what drives all progress! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father allowed me to serve a mission to learn these keys skills that have made me and will make me a better person. For an instant that night I could see in my mind what kind of person I might have become if I hadn't gone on a mission or changed; and it wasn't a pretty picture.

 



Recently in the Christmas Devotional Pres. Monson mentioned several Christmas stories, such as A Christmas Carol, where people had experiences that changed who they were. I feel like I had a similar experience except in miniature. Memory is a powerful thing and I learned that I have made progress and I never want to step an inch back towards the attitude I had then.

 



Sisters Bennet, Draper, Esau, Fraire and Sister Jenson in front of the OKC Temple.



I don't say these things for any other reason than to warn others not to fall into the trap that I fell into. I know that it is easy to judge (for many of us) instead of love. However I know that so much more happiness comes from loving, helping, and serving others than comes from judging them. I look back on that semester and think about how frustrated I was and how I was always miserable when I was in my apartment and I think that I could have easily changed that.

 

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas Season and that you may all have the Spirit of Christmas-which of course is the Spirit of Christ and Love.

 

Sister Lila Jenson

 



Sister Jenson, Sister Fraire and Sister Marks, the member from the ward who hosted them for Thanksgiving.





Lila's District in Lawton



Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends and Family,

Guess what! There were five people that came to church on Sunday!

We are consistently finding about 3 new investigators a week which is excellent because many of them don't progress so we have to keep finding more. But we found 2 awesome investigators this week! One is a 60ish African American lady that we tracted into on Friday. She's very typical Christian lady and one of the members was kind enough to give her a ride. We also found a 28 year old guy from New York. We tracted into him at about 4pm on Saturday and he said he'd come to church and then he did! We taught him last night and invited him to be baptized which he said he would if the spirit confirmed that is was true. He was raised Roman Catholic and is a super smart well-read person. He seemed to really like church and we are excited to teach him more.

The work is going really well here in Lawton and I really hope I stay here the rest of my mission. We had an excellent conference on Thursday with all the Sisters in the mission and President and Sister Taylor. We talked about missionary work but it was mostly focused on how to be a leader in the church as a women and a leader in the mission as a sister. I learned a lot of amazing things. President Taylor keeps telling us how our mission is going to prepare us to serve the Lord so much better. He said that we are learning things here on a mission that it would be hard to learn other ways (especially in the short period of 18 months). We had an amazing testimony meeting with all the Sisters and I could feel the Spirit so strong. In the past I haven't had the best opinions about some of these sisters. But I felt such a great love for all of them. It was a testimony for me that the closer we grow to the Lord the closer we will grow to other people.

This week we also met a "prophet" while we were tracting. She seemed like a nice lady. But she was telling us all this stuff about how we needed to stop teaching about Christ and teach people about how they can defeat Satan using the "word of God" like Jesus did. I've never had a Christian lady tell me to stop talking about Jesus Christ before; that was pretty crazy. She pretty much talked at us for over an hour and wouldn't let us get in a word. So not a very productive experience, but very interesting.

This week an 8 year old of a less active family got baptized. We have been teaching this family and they have started coming back to church! The dad even got to baptize his son it was awesome! I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost which was fun. I basically used a few analogies to describe the Holy Ghost. I told them: "Heavenly Father wants you to be a Prince in his Kingdom and he's giving you the HG to teach you how to become that person. And so we should listen to the Holy Ghost because it's going to help us be a prince or princess with God." And I drew a crown on the chalk board :) And used the phrase "Be loyal to the royal within!" I love that phrase! I felt the Spirit so much at that baptism. I just felt like these people truly had changed and that they really saw the consequences of their actions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Lila Jenson

Can I solve this problem if I'm a little less selfish?

Hello All! This week has been an amazing week!

Guess what! We set baptismal dates with 6 people this week! So we've got a lot of work ahead of us to get them to the point where they are worthy and prepared to be baptized. But it's super exciting. We have several part member families that we are teaching and lots of less active members. I love being able to invite people to come unto Christ. Recently we taught a lady who is battling cancer and her 11 year old daughter. It's amazing to get the chance to be a small part of someone else's life and be able to be an influence for good.

It was an amazing week. We had a zone training meeting on Monday after P-day. For Preperation day we got together and went bowling and it was super fun! I got a 103 the first time and 109 the second time. So I kept my record of being a average but not bad bowler. Then we met together in the church and were really motivated to do better. One lady told us of her struggles and I realized I have absolutely nothing to be discouraged by. I have not faced the sin and temptations that this lady has worked and is still working to overcome. Then on Wednesday we had a meeting with all the new missionaries and the trainers and President Taylor and the AP's. Then on Saturday and Sunday we had stake conference! We had a lady we are teaching and her member husband come to the Adult session Saturday evening and it was awesome! I had such a feeling of love for her!

One thing I learned at stake conference was about not being selfish. The man was talking about marriage but it applies to all relationships. He shared that he started asking himself the question, "Can I solve this problem if I am a little less selfish?" when faced with disagreements or situations. I love that question. I am going to ask myself that question a lot from now on!

I have learned that Love is the huge motivating factor for everything. At a missionary meeting recently we discussed the topic of feeling "burn out" when we feel we've given all we can give and are just tired and don't want to work anymore. Later in another meeting we were talking about Love and how it really is what keeps everything going. When love is the motivation for what we do we are energized by the work and feel happy and do not get burned out. When we are motivated by simply duty or fear of justice or something like that, then all the work we do drains us.

I started a grateful collage on my wall in front of my desk. Everyday I am writing six things I am grateful for on a mormon.org card and taping it up on my wall. So far I have serious things and silly things: leggings, pens, the Holy Spirit, Sister Fraire (my current companion), etc. Hopefully this collage will build me up whenever I am feeling ungrateful and I will be able to visually see all the amazing blessings in my life.

Love you all!!!!!

Sister Lila Jenson

The Blessing of a Grateful Heart

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

I had a great experience at Fast and Testimony meetings this week. I was fasting for a less active member, and that I would have the ability and power to become a better missionary. I was pondering what Christ had done for us and I realized how amazing it was that we are able to repent and receive forgiveness. I had this wave of gratitude wash over me for Heavenly Father's forgiveness for both me and all the people that were sitting in sacrament meeting. I know that God loves us and wants to forgive us. Isn't it amazing how repentance works!? And the less-active member that I was fasting for came to church with her two kids for the first time in a long time! She's had bad experiences with people at church before and I was so glad that many people came up to her and said hi and were talking with her. She has been going through a lot of health issues but I think this good experience will help her come in the future!

In Relief Society there was another less-active sister that got up and bore her testimony and said that it was because of the sister missionaries that she was there that day. She has been coming for the last three weeks and I am so happy to see her there. We were going through a list of part member families and we knocked on her door and she let us right in! We talked with her and she is just wonderful. She was raised in the Church, but married a man of another faith and stopped coming to church. But she's coming again! In her testimony she said that her grandma had recently died and that made her see how fragile this life is. We were definitely there at the right time to help her come back! We are eating dinner with her tomorrow and she has 3 kids who haven't been baptized and her husband, who hopefully we will be able to teach!

I recently finished The Book of Mormon and before I started it again and wanted to pick out several specific things to look for as I read it. After a few days of pondering I came up with 4 topics.

• Why we need The Book of Mormon?

• Why do we need a Savior?

• How do we overcome challenges and problems?

• What are the strategies and philosophies of Satan?

I am marking each of these in different colors and I am seeing so much more of it apply to my life and the lives of those I am teaching. There are so many verses in even just 1 Nephi that talk about the Lord helping people to overcome challenges!

We had a great lesson on Thanksgiving in RS this week and I am so grateful for gratitude. That may sound a little repetitive, but it's not. I know having an attitude of gratitude makes life so much happier. What if we didn't know how to be grateful, that would be just so sad! May you all experience the joy of a grateful heart as we come close to celebrating Thanksgiving Day.

Gratefully ;)

Sister Lila Jenson

P.S. Sorry for all the letters I haven't responded to yet. You will get letters this week!

Carving Pumpkins New Experience for Lila's Companion

Lila didn't write a "blog letter" this week, so I will fill you in on the latest:
Lila got a new companion named Sister Fraire. She is originally from Mexico but moved to Georgia with her family 7 years ago. She speaks English well and is excited to work hard. Apparently, carving pumpkins was new to her. Lila loves holiday traditions so I'm not surprised that they carved pumpkins on their P-day which just happened to fall on Halloween. No members had them over for dinner so they had extra study time. Lila carved the mission logo on her pumpkin. It has arrows leading from Faith to Repentance to Baptism to the Holy Ghost to Endure to the End. So like Lila...!
Lila bought a new inexpensive digital camera and she's very excited that it's purple!
Lila and Sister Fraire are reading the Book of Mormon together in both Spanish and English--Lila is excited to get a little practice with her Spanish, though she says that she can understand most of what she reads.
Lila and Sister Fraire have several people they are teaching. Lila asks us to pray for her increased ability to contact each of them daily (usaually by texting or calling).
Lila loves where she is serving right now (Lawton) and would enjoy finishing her mission there. There are three more transfers before she comes home on March 1st so we'll see what happens.
That's all folks!

Kristen

Typical Lila--praying for trials because her mission isn't hard enough!

Sister Jenson and Esau with Josh on his baptismal day.

Hello Friends, Romans, Countryman! (That just never gets old to me! :-) )


Mission life has been going excellent!

This week I have a stronger testimony of prayer and an even stronger desire to watch what I wish for! After the spiritual high of awesome missionary meetings and General Conference I told the Lord in prayer that I wanted these next few months to be the hardest of my life up to this point. I had always heard missionaries talk about how hard their mission was and I never felt it was really that hard! (I guess student teaching with 10 students with severe disabilities and I was responsible for all of them was more stressful for me.) Don't get me wrong, a mission has stretched me and my faith is much stronger and vibrant then it ever was before. So I told the Lord that I was willing to work hard enough to make my last 6 months as a missionary the hardest so far.

Well, the Lord has started to answer my prayer. This week we didn't have anyone feed us, I didn't feel the best, only 1 of our investigators came to church, and 95% of our appointments canceled on us this week, and we had to give a lesson in Sunday School about priesthood organization that was tough to prepare for. I was talking to my Zone Leader about this lesson and mentioned what I had prayed for and he said "Sister Jenson, why did you do that????" I responded "I know, I know." He said "Well, the Lord sure does answer our prayers!" So now I have been asking the Lord for the strength and inspiration to deal with the difficulties that may be upcoming. I am doing all I can to qualify for the Spirit so that He will be able to be with me always, because I'm going to need it!

I did a close reading of 3 Nephi 27:27 because I had to talk about how it applied to being a trainer for a missionary meeting for all the new trainers. At first I didn't know how it applied at all, but then as I read it over and over again different parts of the verse stuck out to me

"And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

"And know ye"= I was given 2 weeks to prepare to be a trainer, just as Christ was preparing and forewarning his apostles.

"that ye shall be judges of this people" = judge in Israel= bishop, a bishop counsels and gives guidance and is there to help people progress, I shouldn't get angry at people or be harsh but try to help my greenie just like a bishop would.

"according to the judgment which I shall give unto you" = God is going to help me to be a good trainer, if I ask him he will give me help and answer my questions.

"which shall be just."= I can completely trust the answers I get from God and I can trust him. Even if I don't want to do what he prompts me to do, it will be the best thing and I will be successful if I follow him.

"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?" = manner/type = in the end there will be 3 types of people Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. What kind of person should I be? I should act Celestially now, just as I want to be in the Celestial kingdom then.

"Verily I say unto you, even as I am" = "I am" was a title used in the Old Testament as another name for God. Christ declared that he was that same person (I Am) to the people in the New Testament. Christ was there from the beginning and he has a very Eternal perspective. If I am to be like him in training a new missionary I should consider not just the time that I will be with my greenie (new missionary), but also the rest of her mission and the rest of her life. I will have some effect on her and that effect is going to carry on with her in some way.

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful week and that you do all you can to have the Spirit with you to deal with the crazy world out there!

Love

Sister Lila Jenson

Lila is still going strong!

Lila had a fun birthday last week and enjoyed being treated to a frozen yogurt by her companion, Sister Esau. They baked a cake and shared it with their missionary district. But it's pretty much back to work as usual for a missionary!
This week she'll be going to a "Train the Trainer" meeting because she's getting a new "greenie" companion from Georgia. She'll be staying in Lawton and her companion Sister Esau will be leaving. So goes the life of a Mormon missionary!
For the record, Lila has had 8 different companions in 10 transfers. (A "transfer" happens every 6 weeks. Sometimes they stay in one area for several "transfers" but they may get new companions.)
Lila is still working hard to teach their "investigators" as well as look for new people to teach. They are also teaching several families who have been "less active" and are now coming back to church.
Here are some pictures of a recent baptism and her district.

Sister Lila Jenson, Danny, the brother who performed the baptism, Sis Esau

Danny and his son

Lila's district all eating in a line in the church's kitchen.

Lila's current district in Lawton

Sister Taylor and other sisters (including Lila)

The obligatory "crazy" distirict picture. :-)

How Am I Becoming a Disciple of Christ?

All of the missionaries in Lila's mission were asked to prepare a 2 page response to the question "How am I becoming a disciple of Christ?" for a vist by Elder Packer (the Apostle's son) later this month. Here is what Lila wrote:
Connecting to the Vine: Thoughts on Discipleship


In discussing the questions "How am I becoming a disciple of Christ? and What am I learning in the process?" we might first ask, "What is a disciple of Christ?" In John 15:1-6 the Savior told his apostles, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” The Savior says that he is the vine and we have to connect to him. Becoming a disciple of Christ is simply the process of learning to connect to that vine.

I have learned that independence doesn’t sanctify me. It is only through the Atonement of Christ that I can become exalted. If I was determined to be independent of God or Christ’s help I would land myself in the Telestial Kingdom. It is only through accepting Christ’s help and Atonement by learning to connect myself to that vine that I will become a disciple of Christ and a celestial person.

To connect to the vine I have to be willing to receive instruction. Just as is said in the sacrament prayers “that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (D&C 20:77). I know that giving our will to God is a key aspect in becoming a disciple of Christ. As I am working on this process of turning my will over to the Lord I have learned that I can become like God; but it’s going to take a long time and it will only be possible through a power much greater then my own: the power of Christ’s Atonement.

Christ told his followers repeatedly that if they were to be his disciples they would have to be willing to give up everything. He told Joseph Smith in modern revelation, “Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again. And whoso is not willing to lay down his life for my sake is not my disciple” (D&C103:27-28). Part of being willing to give all to God includes listening and obeying God’s commandments. Christ expressed this in the Doctrine and Covenants “He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple; and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple, and shall be cast out from among you” (D&C 41:5). Thus acting in obedience is essential to being Christ’s disciple. Because of my obedience to the Savior I am learning to be steadfast and immovable in the gospel and have been able to avoid many pitfalls of sin.

After we are willing to accept Christ as our Savior and strive to do his will we must accept his gospel. As James E. Talmage explained in his book Jesus the Christ, “Acceptance of Jesus as the Christ implies obedience to the laws and ordinances of his gospel” (pg342-343). Through partaking of both baptismal covenants and temple covenants I am beginning to see the power inherent in those ordinances. I have learned for myself that there is a great strength in covenants. As I have been able to be in the temple and feel the Spirit there I have learned to better listen and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I am better at sensing the peace and calm I feel when the Spirit is near. Christ explained, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27-28). I know that as I learn to listen to these promptings I will be better able to recognize the voice of the Savior and have a greater desire to be a disciple of Christ and to follow his commandments.

One of the commandments that Christ gave to his followers was to love others as he had loved them. “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). Loving others is a key sign of being a disciple of Christ. When Christ asked if Peter loved him, Peter said,“Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Along with feeding people spiritually, Christ also implored us to nourish them physically, “And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple” (D&C 52:40). Becoming a missionary has opened up my eyes to the potential of all of God’s children and has allowed me to feel greater charity for those around me.

So “What is a disciple of Christ?” Someone who loves others not just in word or emotion but in action; they apply Christ teachings into their lives through obedience, and express this obedience through the principles and ordinances of the gospel. In my personal journey to become a disciple of Christ I have found that the process is not anything that has stemmed from my talent or personal ability but stems from the Savior. Ultimately all the spiritual knowledge I have gained are all things that have increased my ability to rely on Him.

Listening to the Spirit

Dear Family and Friends,
Here are some pictures from a recent P-day excursion to "Mt. Scott" which isn't really a mountain. :-)

We had a great experience on Friday. We went with a member in our ward-- "Sister Forbes"--to see a guy that had ordered a Lamb of God DVD from a pass along card we left in his door. We had a district meeting about the Doctrine of Christ and especially how the Prophet and the 12 Apostles have asked us to invite people to be baptized in the first lesson. This is something that is often surprising to members so we told this sister about it. That when we paused, we weren't struggling for words we were trying to listen to the Holy Ghost and allow the Holy Ghost to speak to the investigator.


So we got there and listened to "Bro. Bradley" and asked him several questions about his religious/spiritual life. Several times I was about to make a comment and I felt like I should just listen and then two seconds later he would say something important that helped us understand him better.

Sister Forbes and Sister Esau (my companion) both bore great testimonies and we built his knowledge of the gospel off of the things that he had shared with us. I felt the spirit very strongly in that lesson! After we had talked about prophets, the apostasy, Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon, I asked him, "What do you think of the things we've shared with you?" He said that he believe what we had told him and that it seemed to him that the Book of Mormon was just there to add additional light and truth. Inside I was shouting Yes!!!!! Exactly right!!!!! He gets it!!!!!!!!!! We asked him to be baptized, and he said yes. We invited him to be baptized on Nov. 12 and he said yes and put it on his calendar!

After we got in the car Sister Forbes said she learned so many things during that lesson, and that now she understands why we invite people to be baptized in the first lesson. She mentioned how she always wants to tell people about everything at once and how she sees now that you have to start where they are at and build from there. She said that we did an excellent job in teaching him. It was so nice to hear her say that!

Learning to know when to listen and when and what to teach has been something that I have had to learn on a mission. I remember before when I would talk about the church I was all over the place and trying to tell people everything at once. A convert told us of his experience talking with the stake president who explained to him that you have to start with the roots and the trunk of the tree and then you have to get to the branches and then to the leaf on the outermost limb of the tree. Just like God teaches us line upon line and precept upon precept, that's how we have to teach others!

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson

Sept 12 Humility and Pride

Dear Family and Friends,


We found 5 new investigators, and now we just have to help the ones we do have progress and come to church. We currently have about 20 investigators and it is going to require a lot of mind space to think and pray about all of them. (Another reason I didn't want to teach students with mild/moderate disabilities--I would have had a case load of 30-80 students!) I really hope I don't end up being a relief society president. But I am grateful for all the opportunities God has given me to serve. And if that or something similar becomes the case then I will deal with that bridge when I come to it.

I was thinking about humility and pride and the results of those two this morning. Every time I see a weakness it's like there is a fork in the road. I can turn left and be prideful and the weakness won't get fixed or I can turn right and be humble, ask for God's help and work through that weakness and get it fixed. It sucks to stare your weaknesses in the face but as someone once said "It's better to face fear once, than to always live in its shadow." (I got that from some Ensign article. We've got stacks of them in our apartment and it satisfies my desire to read.)

I think when I get home I am going to read lots of different things and read all the time. I love to read. 1 hour of personal study is not enough I want to read all the time :) I guess it was a good thing I was an English minor :)

It's true that we should bear testimony of the joy of living the gospel instead of just the knowledge. I try to bear testimony of both. I have seen so many less-active members who have a perfect knowledge of the gospel, but it's the joy in living it that they don't have. It's not having a deep knowledge of the principles of the gospel and the details of how or why things happen, but the person that we become by living it that makes the difference. Hence the primary song "I'm a Child of God" doesn't end with "teach me all that I must know" but "teach me all that I must do" (to live with Him again).

I know that if we let us living the gospel will change us into who we want to be and who Heavenly Father wants us to be.

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson

Leaking ceilings, Zone Conference and a plea for letters!

Dear Friends and Family,


This week we had an adventure. The lady upstairs moved out and the movers took her washer and dryer, but the connection was leaking. So we come home and our washer and dryer and carpet was all soaked and there was a hole in our ceiling with water dripping down! The lady came home a few minutes later and we thought the water got shut off, but it leaked all night. I set an alarm for every two hours so that I could get up and empty out the bucket that was catching the water. The next day the repair people came and "fixed it" but it still has been leaking so we'll call them again today. But a leaky ceiling in no way takes away from how awesome this week has been!

On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference and we learned more about planning and how to have effective companion study. It was great and I learned a lot. I know Satan works the hardest on us when we have the most potential for growth, because all last week I was struggling to be excited about missionary work. But towards the end of the week I applied the Doctrine of Christ (Faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the end) and I felt much better. We had a training by Pres. Taylor about the Doctrine of Christ. He had a chart where we listed concerns in missionary work in rows, and then across 5 columns was the principles in the Doctrine of Christ and we talked about how it applies to any concern and any question.

And for Zone Conference I organized a musical number! (Completely out of character for me, right?) We organized it beforehand so it went really well though we only had about 10 minutes to practice together. We had about 9 missionaries singing and we sang "I Am a Child of God" out of the hymn but on the chorus of the first verse some missionaries sang in Spanish and after the second verse Sister Esau and I sang in Kiribati (her native language) and then after the third verse it was all the languages together. It was fun :) and it was something different.

We just had an awesome zone conference and this Monday a zone p-day! We played 4 square, 9 square, dodge ball, scatter ball and a basketball game called Poison. I am so sore today but it was worth it.

Sister Esau has helped me be more faithful. Before lessons I was getting myself all stressed out before we went to go see them about what we were going to teach. But Sister Esau mentioned something about it and now instead of fretting before a lesson we always pray before we go see them. This has made a big difference and it has been a "small and simple thing" that has brought about more faith in my missionary life. That way we go into a lesson with faith and relying on the Lord instead of in fear and "trusting in the arm of flesh" (A phrase that my mission president uses all the time!).

I love you all, and if I don't yet, I'm praying for charity so I will ;)

Sister Jenson

P.S. Just wanted any of you reading this to know that even if you haven't written me a letter yet, I would still love to hear from you. I remember feeling guilty writing a missionary who only had a few months left because I hadn't written them before that. But now as a missionary I realize it doesn't matter. I would love to hear from anyone! And I promise letters in return. So if anyone wants mail :) write me a letter :)

Missionary version of Apples to Apples

Hi Friends and Family,


I finished my scripture version of Apples to Apples! I've got two separate sets of cards: Bible cards and Book of Mormon cards. It’s been fun to play with members and less active members. I'm trying to think of a name now and a member last night suggested that I call it "Abraham to Isaac" or "Jacob to Israel." I was thinking of the name "Prophets to Prophets" or something like that. This member said that I should save it and market it when I get home. I guess I shouldn't put the idea up on a blog then... oh well. Anyone else is free to take the idea, as long as I get several free copies :) I think a homemade version of Apples to Apples could also be a great teaching tool to help children use new vocabulary words they are learning and review ones they have already passed off.

I am ready for it to be fall. I can't believe it's almost already September. September 1 was the day I met my first companion and started being a real missionary. It also is the day that marks 6 months left. I have always been a person to procrastinate, and I'm hoping that starts to help me about now. I have worked hard on a mission, but now it's time to "kick it up a notch" as Emeril says.

We taught an amazing person who has now returned to El Paso. We tracted into him one of the first days he was in Lawton while he was house sitting for his sister and brother-in-law. We only knew him for about a week and a half but he is very humble and before he returned he was committed to baptism and living the Word of Wisdom and studying The Book of Mormon. We passed the referral on to the church and we will be calling to make sure the missionaries find him. He promised that if the missionaries didn't find him he would find them. It is a real privilege to teach humble people. I know that we were put in his life at this time when he wanted to change and we were able to be there at the right time and the right place to teach him. It is sad to see people go and not know the end of the story, but I know that there are going to be a lot of people I'm going to want to talk to in the Spirit World and find out what happened to them.

There are many miracles going on here in Lawton and I know the Lord is preparing people to receive the gospel!

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson

Some Great Success!

Dear Friends and Family,


Before my mission taking the sacrament was just something I did every week. I knew what it meant, but I didn't realize the significance of it in our lives. Being on a mission I have seen a little bit of how important taking the sacrament is. Coming to church and taking the sacrament allows people to get baptized, to seek forgiveness, to feel renewed, to hold a calling and help others, and especially to be worthy of a temple recommend. I know I still don't understand to full import of the many ordinances in the church but I am seeing the consequence of them in my life and in the lives of others. It's that whole idea that keeping the commandments allows you to have even more freedom. If people keep the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, and other commandments they have the freedom to go to the temple; whereas without that they don't.

This Sunday we had an amazing experience--a man who has been investigating the Church for the past 5 years on and off has finally decided that it is true. He has already read all of the Book of Mormon and sounds like Doctrine and Covenants too. A few weeks ago he ran into one of the less active members who was struggling with her testimony and through bearing his testimony of this Church the Spirit spoke to her and she has been coming for the past 3 weeks and now has a goal to get to the temple in the next year.

For the sake of this blog we'll use the name Michael--he came to church and the first counselor in the bishopric who knows him invited him, the ward mission leader and his wife and us over for dinner. He asked us during the dinner how he could get baptized and we explained that we would review some basics of the gospel with him and the commandments and then he would have an interview with one of the Elders (male missionaries) and then he would get baptized. A person has to go to church at least 3 times to show consistency and that they are willing and able to come to church, because that is one of the things they covenant to do at baptism. So we set a date for him to be baptized on Sept. 10th! We are going to teach him at the first counselor's house and we have 3 appointments set up with him. Pretty much everything will be a review to him because a few years ago he attended church for 6 months straight! It's going to be interesting to teach someone who probably knows everything already, but that just means we have to be even more on our A game.

This week was awesome! Even though about 3 investigators dropped us we found 4 more. So far none of our current investigators, except Michael, have come to church. So that is what we will be focusing on this week. We have been able to teach a lot of lessons, but so far no one is progressing towards being baptized. But we helped a 10 year old recent convert to come to church and I think through her eventually her mom will come back as well.

Our mission president has given each companionship a portable DVD player and The District I&II (training DVD's for missionaries) and I have really enjoyed watching them. They show other missionaries and how they teach and how they follow Preach My Gospel. Of course these missionaries are not perfect, but they are great examples to me and they have really helped me in the last few weeks to learn better how to be a tool in the Lord's hands.

Just before we went tracting we had stopped by an investigator’s house (who doesn’t have a phone) to confirm our appointment for that week and he said he was no longer interested, that he would stick to the Bible. I went on to promise him so many blessings from The Book of Mormon and that God wanted so much more for him. He responded with "Well some people just want to stay where they are." It made me so sad for him and for all the other people in the world who believe that. Sister Esau said after we left that there are going to be many people that will be satisfied with the Terrestrial kingdom. (A place where people go who lived good lives but were not willing to live Christ's gospel of faith, repentance, baptism by proper authority, receiving the Holy Ghost, and continuously living Christ-like lives. There they will be happy but will not live with God or be united with their families)

We also had some cool tracting experiences.

We talked to a guy that had no hands that was out in his yard pulling weeds. He had some sort of weeder attached to his left hand and apparently he weeded his own yard and the yard of all his neighbors because he was a farmer when he was younger and wanted to stay busy. He lost both of his hands as an electrician repairing the lines after a tornado. Someone a ways down the line turned on the power while he was working on it and he fell 30 feet away and lost the use of both of his hands. He wasn't interested in learning about the gospel, but he sure was an interesting person to talk to.

That same evening we had a great experience walking back to our car after tracting. We saw a man and a woman out walking and I introduced ourselves and gave her a Finding Faith in Christ pass along card and we kept talking and turns out a lot of her family is Mormon. She's been to a Mormon church before and is at a point in her life where she is looking for direction and is trying to find her way back to the path. We got her number and address and will be teaching her and her boyfriend on Tuesday! It was a great tracting experience. And it helped me to see that God really is preparing people who are ready to hear the gospel!

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson

Lila's first Sunday in Lawton

Hi Ya'll!
We have several good people to teach and we are working with 3 part-member families. We found 2 new investigators last week. The mission standard is to have 20 lessons a week and find 3 new investigators and have 30 itc's (initial teaching contacts). I'm happy about the people we have to teach. Also we are going to ward council meetings which really helps to get to know the ward leaders. This week we didn't have any investigators come to church but 4 less-active members came. We were able to introduce one of ladies to the Relief Society president and this lady wants to be a visiting teacher. Cool!

John Bytheway had a version of "I hope they call me on a mission" and instead of "work and work and work like missionaries do" it was "and sweat and sweat and sweat like missionaries do." Well, that is true of Oklahoma as well. Whether or not we are working we are very sweaty. Sigh... life as a missionary! :)

Oh. I LOVE my district! The Elders are all hard workers and all excited to learn more. We have several fairly new Elders and it's just great. One Elder that was in my district in Woodward is now my district leader: Elder Gonzales. Next week for P-day we are going out to the only "mountain" Oklahoma has: Mt Scott. Apparently they have a replica of what Jerusalem might have looked like. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Yay for zucchini! We have a couple here who order vegetables and fruits and they came over with several bags of yummy healthy stuff the other day! Guess what?? Sister Esau loves to wash dishes and I love to cook! It's perfect! She wants to learn how to cook to so we are going to have a lot of fun with that. And she's not picky!

I went up and bore my testimony yesterday. I bore my testimony of Jesus Christ and of the Book of Mormon strengthening my faith in Him and shared one of my favorite scriptures: 2 Timothy 1:(6 or 7) "For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." I know that each person has the power to make changes in the world. I never used to believe that.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson

July 25 Tracting Success!

Hi Everybody!

This week I had a different other companion. Sister Holt was still here with me but Sister Weaver went to a Leadership training meeting.


So Sister Bowles, a new missionary, came with us because her companion, Sister Grant went to the meeting too.

We had some amazing success this week! We found 5 new investigators and have some really strong potentials that might turn into investigators this week. We had 2 people at church, Mark, who we have been teaching for a while, and Kristen a 16year old girl who the spanish sisters handed over to us.

Two of our investigators we found tracting. And three of them were people that had been reffered to us by the Spanish missionaries. We were really excited to have people at church! It's amazing how ward members notice when people are in church and get more excited about missionary work because of that.

We taught Mark the Word of Wisdom and he committed to stop smoking! So far he "is still with us in the land of the non-smoking" and he is actually starting to progress. He is reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon and he came to church! Our Sunday school teacher Bro. James is doing an excellent job fellowshipping him!

I actually haven't done all that much tracting this week. We have been looking up less-active members and then tracting around their house.

Finding Five by Faith! It works! will probably be transferred next wednesday. Both my companions think I am going to Lawton, a town about an hour south of Oklahoma City.

Love,
Sister Lila Jenson

Tranferring to Lawton!

Dear Friends and Family,


Sorry to all whose letters I haven't responded to; I've been a slacker, but I am calling myself to repentance! I promise letters in the next two weeks since this week I have to pack because guess what?! I'm getting transferred to Lawton, Oklahoma!

So far I have served 1/3 of my mission in Oklahoma City and 1/3 in the small town of Woodward in the NW of Oklahoma. I have a feeling I will spend the rest of my mission in Lawton! From what I know it's a military town with lots of people moving in and out.

Every week we have a scripture study class on Thursday evenings and last week we had two of our investigators show up. For the sake of the story we will call them Justin and Matthew. We have been teaching Matthew for a while and he has a very logical mindset and wants to ask everything and have proof of everything, but he has a strong faith in Jesus Christ. Justin we had just taught one other time and he has attended a Methodist church all his life, but has a very agnostic point of view. We decided to teach the Plan of Salvation at our scripture study class and while Justin was asking questions, Matthew started bearing his testimony of the principles we were teaching and saying that although he isn't sure about everything, he knows that what we were teaching made sense and had the Spirit of Truth and that everything he has read in the Book of Mormon has the Spirit of Truth and has answered questions about Christianity that he had in the past when he was agnostic. It was perfect. The Spirit was there and it was amazing to see the progress that Matthew has been making.

Matthew was saying that he now has to re-learn how to have fun without drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. That was something I hadn't considered. Mormons are excellent at having wholesome fun! I would say that we have more true fun then anyone who uses any substance to alter their brain chemistry. He asked us what we do for fun and we listed off things like board games, card games, ultimate Frisbee, social dances, rock climbing, hiking, etc. There are so many wholesome ways to enjoy nature and other people's company.

We taught a lot of people that are less-active in the church this week and it's amazing to me how many of these people still have testimonies. They will even quote General Conference talks to you, but yet they are completely breaking the promises they have made to Heavenly Father. It is very sad to me to see how one degree off course really does affect a person’s life. I never really thought about how absolutely essential the Sacrament is before I was a missionary. But I see that our actions really are an outward sign of our inner commitment to God. I know that God loves each of us! I now can testify as do the Apostles every General Conference that God loves us and wants each of us to return to him. As a missionary I invite people to take the steps that will allows them to bring their lives in closer harmony with His teachings and I love that! I love being able to be a tool in God's hands!

Love

Sister Lila Jenson

Lila Posts Her Profile on Mormon.org

Hi I'm Lila

I'm a missionary in Western Oklahoma, a Special Education major, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm currently serving as a full-time missionary in Western Oklahoma, and I love being here! I grew up in WA in a small family, my parents, a younger brother now in heaven, and a younger sister who is now just starting college. I graduated college with a degree in Special Education and after a mission I plan to teach children with severe/profound mental and physical disabilities. I love to learn new things, read, and listen to music. Someday I want a pet frog.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because of loving parents who taught me to have faith in Jesus Christ and because I recieved answers to my prayers about whether all of this was true. I knew from an early age that God was there and that Jesus was my Savior because I had felt their love as I prayed and read the scriptures. It was when I was a teenager that I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if The Book of Mormon was really an ancient recond of His prophets and if Joseph Smith really was a man called of God and I did receive an answer, an answer of peace and calm and comfort. But the reason I am Mormon today is that Heavenly Father didn't just answer me once, He answers me everyday as I feel the Spirit as I share His gospel with others.

How I live my faith

As a missionary I live my faith a little differently then other mormons. For 18 months I completely dedicate my life to God, to do His work and build His kindgom. This means that I don't date, I don't hang out with friends or pursue my own interests such as school or a career. I live my faith by sharing what I know to be true with other people. I teach people about this church and how it has blessed my life. After a mission I will go back to normal life, finding a job, and apartment and so on. But I will still live my faith by trying to be as Jesus would have me be, kind to all those around me, involved in serving my comminuty.

Why do Mormons perform proxy baptisms in their temples?

Lila answered...

This is a question that is important to me because a proxy baptism was preformed on behalf of my brother. My brother almost drown when he was 18 months old from rain water in a bucket of toys. Because… Show more

This is a question that is important to me because a proxy baptism was preformed on behalf of my brother. My brother almost drown when he was 18 months old from rain water in a bucket of toys. Because of that he had severe physical and mental disabilities. I know that the Savior has said that baptism is nessesary for Salvation. I know that baptism is making a promise to Heavenly Father to keep his commandments and always remember Jesus Christ. My brother was not physically or mentally able to do that or be baptized. But a year after he died my cousin was baptized on behalf of my brother in a temple. I know that I will see my brother again and I know that he is grateful that my cousin was baptised for him. To me God teaching us about proxy baptisms allows Him to be perfectly just and merciful. There is a standard established that everyone needs to be baptised. But on the other hand, there are millions of people who have lived who haven't had this chance or heard of the Savior. Thus, proxy baptisms are preformed for them here on Earth and those on the other side are able to accept or reject this proxy baptism.

Find Five by Faith!

Howdy Folks!
Q: "Have you found any new investigators?"
A: Well we found three, but they are now being taught by the Spanish Elders :( But we got to teach them twice with the Spanish sisters, and I think at least one of them will get baptized. They are here for a year from Texas to do the painting and caulking for an apartment complex here. And they are all between 18-21.

We do have several people who are strong potentials. But they haven't become new investigators because we don't have a specific return appointment, but I think some of them will.

President Taylor has started something new: "Find Five by Faith." Basically after an appointment falls through we don't just go off to check on someone else--we stay in the area until we have talked to 5 people. Because many times the Lord has prepared other people in that area and there is a reason that appointment has fallen through. We have had a fair bit of success with this method. So we either talk to people walking around or we knock on doors around that house. We went to check on a former investigator and he had moved, but we knocked on the door next to his and their was a former investigator there that we didn't know about who invited us in and gave us a drink of water and as we talked to her she decided that she wants to have us come over, and she even wants to feed us :) Yes!

This was also the way we found the three Spanish boys. An appointment fell through and one of them was working on the caulking and we started talking to him.

I know that President Taylor is inspired and I am so grateful for his guidance and counsel. We had an opportunity to have interviews with him last week and I am so grateful for the things he said. He said that I was a leader in this mission and that he trusted me. I know that I still struggle so much to be a good missionary and it was nice to hear that President Taylor trusts me.

Recently at district meeting my district leader Elder Wilson pointed out that the covenant we make is to be WILLING to take his name upon us, WILLING to keep the commandments and WILLING to always remember him. Being willing to do what God asks us to do is so important. Being willing to obey the rules and listen to what our leaders tell us is soooo important. I have seen the consequences when people are not willing to do what is right. Any companionship whether on a mission or not works so much better when both people are willing to do what is right.

It is so true that going to people's houses tells you a lot about them. That is what we were just talking about last night. We get to go into so many people's houses. I love that privilege. I love being able to meet lots of new people and have awesome experiences. At the begining of my mission I didn't realize what a privilege and blessing that was, but now I think its really cool.

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson

Some thoughts on murmuring...

Hi Family and Friends,

Sister Lila Jenson and Autumn at her baptism

Autumn and her grandma

 

Lila, Sister Weaver and Sister Holt at tornado clean up



Strong sisters helping collect tornado debris for pick up by the city.

This week most of our investigators dropped us :( So the next few weeks is going to be a LOT of tracting! But that's okay. This week we are going to be working as a companionship to get better at finding people to teach and trying to more powerfully teach and testify of the truth.

I learned a lot this Sunday. For a while I have not known how to help my companions. But this Sunday I realized that I really needed to be the one to change, to be nicer and to work harder. During the Sacrament I read many of the hymns like "Let us oft speak kind words," "Should you be inclined to censure," etc. Their words really touched me, and I prayed to Heavenly Father to help me know what to do. The July Ensign has a wonderful article about a roommate and the advice given to her by her bishop that I read again and gave me some additional insight.

Last transfer I started writing down things I loved about my companion and that really helped. Then I started reading Elder Holland’s talk from April 2007 General Conference entitled "The Tongue of Angels." I love this talk and suggest that everyone read it! There really is no reason to say an unkind thing. As I was pondering what to do I had several ideas pop into my head. So I followed them. While my companions were napping during lunch I wrote them both a Thank you card and told them some of the things that I loved about them and thanking them for the things they've done. Then I cleaned the kitchen and when we had companion study I apologized for any critical things I had said and told them that I would be working on being more positive this week. I know their hearts were touched and I think we will get along better. I have been studying the leadership section of the missionary rule book and the scriptures in that section have also been a great help. I am so grateful for God's help. This is another instance in which I can see His direct involvement in my life through the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Ok, so I have to quote Elder Holland because this is one of my favorite things he has said:

"I have often thought that Nephi’s being bound with cords and beaten by rods must have been more tolerable to him than listening to Lamen and Lemuel’s constant murmuring. Surely he must have said at least once, “Hit me one more time. I can still hear you.” Yes, life has its problems, and yes, there are negative things to face, but please accept one of Elder Holland’s maxims for living—no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse."

I love this quote and I say amen to the second half. I know that complaining always makes things worse!

I know that we can each be of good cheer! No matter what we are facing.

Love to you all,

Sister Jenson

New Car and New Companion

Dear Family and Friends,
Well we got transfer calls last night and guess what??????


Sister Holt and I are both staying, but we are getting a third companion!!!! Her name is Sister Weaver and she has been out for 6months. I don't really know her that well, but I talked with her a little bit at the temple conference and I think it will be great. Also my MTC companion, Sister Grant is going to be whitewash training a new greenie in an area in my district! One of the Elders went home because his mom was about to die and so no missionaries have been in that area for about a month now. But we taught the girl that had a baptismal date. And she got baptized on Saturday!!!!!! Deanna is so awesome! We are excited for her! But so we will have 5 sisters and 2 elders in our district, lol crazy! And Elder Olsen, one of the Elders in my MTC district is going to be one of our Zone leaders! I am so excited! Did I ever mention that he was Sister Grants and my companion for a day at the MTC? All the other Elders in our district left the day before we did, so for a whole day we were his companions and he had a little sticker on his name tag that said "solo". It was super fun and funny. People at the MTC kept giving him weird looks for walking around alone with two sister missionaries, lol.

We got a new car, a 2011 Ford Fusion. It's silver and its name is Mushu, like the dragon from Mulan. We got it on Thursday and they are going to sell our old car, which was a 2008 Toyota Corolla, and it was red and his name was Elmo. It was one of the oldest cars in the mission and had about 60,000 miles on it. Missionaries are so spoiled. When we got our car it had 32 miles on the odometer! Crazy! This will probably be the nicest or at least newest car I will ever drive, lol.

One thing I learned in the last few days is that once we are baptized we enter into the Kingdom of God on Earth. And then Enduring to the End is simply abiding in God's Kingdom and not choosing to leave. The walls of this kingdom are the covenants we make, one side being baptism and the other the temple covenants so God is simply asking us not to walk over and trample our covenant. I like thinking of it that way.

I love learning about the Doctrine of Christ (Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Enduring to the End). Every time President Taylor speaks on it, it is always different yet the same. I know there is more substance to these principles then I will ever fully understand on Earth but I want to understand as much as possible.

Everything I learn strengthens my testimony of the Savior. I see so quickly that those who follow him are really happier and those who don't have it harder and don't have peace. In Relief Society the teacher asked us to list the consequences of obedience: eternal life, peace, joy, happiness, charity, knowledge, etc and then the consequences of disobedience: sorrow, guilt, pride, temporary pleasure, etc and it was so easy to see again, why it is so important to be obedient to God's commandments.

Love,

Sister Lila Jenson