Dear Family and Friends,
This week we went to OKC (Oklahoma City) for a Zone Conference. It was really good and focused on planning. It's amazing how much always needs to be improved. I learned some great new things about how to better receive revelation about how to help people rather than just trying to do it on my own.
President Taylor also talked again about the Doctrine of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost) which is always wonderful to hear about. He also talked about how this mission has grown since July when the General Authorities trained President Taylor and his wife about the new way to teach out of PMG (Preach My Gospel).
I know that the Lord inspires the Prophet and the Twelve Apostles today. I know that they receive revelation for the world. I am so grateful that I could come on a mission at this time because we as a mission are really learning and growing and becoming better. President Taylor has said that as much as he wants us to help other people find the gospel he also wants us to strengthen our own testimony and build a firm foundation for who we want to be the rest of our lives. He said that he cares just as much or more about who we are the rest of our lives as who we are as missionaries right now. I know that I am "laying the foundation for a great work" I know that this time in my life as a missionary is strengthening and building me so that I will be more able to serve the Lord the rest of my life.
This week has been a wonderful week. I love teaching and we have been able to teach a lot of people. Sister Grant said something this morning that I very much agree with: "You can't teach and discuss the gospel with someone without becoming their friend." I know that's true because when people share things with each other that are near and dear to them you do become friends. I am grateful that I am teaching several people with whom I hope to stay good friends.
I know that the Lord has prepared people to hear the gospel and I know that if people are looking for the truth they will find it and they will see that The Book of Mormon does support everything in the Bible and it is so much more full of doctrine and full of Christ. I know that there are so many wonderful people here in Oklahoma and it is a privilege to serve around people of such great faith. I know that some people I teach here have greater faith then I do, and I just hope that I can share with them the truth.
Sister Lila Jenson
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Hand of God: Feb 21, 2011
21 February 2011
Hello All!
I had a wonderful opportunity this week to see the hand of God in some one's life. We stopped by an investigator’s house and we were able to talk to his wife and she related an amazing experience about how they were able to learn to rely on the Lord. Her faith and reliance on God touched my heart and I'm grateful to be able to serve around such wonderful Christian people here in Oklahoma.
She and her husband have six children and because her husband had seizures he got fired from many different jobs, and because of this and other circumstances they were homeless for a year and a half. She told us that throughout that year and a half they never missed a meal and they always had a bed to sleep on because the Lord always put people or temporary jobs in their path to allow them to live and have a place to stay. She has a very strong testimony of keeping the Sabbaths Day holy and of tithing. She bore her testimony to us that she knows that all we receive is the Lord's so how could we not give back just one day and 10%. She said that over and over again people would come up to her with food or money and tell her "God told me to give this to you." Every morning before the kids went to school they did an hour of scripture study. She says that she knows that they were in God's hands completely and that she is so grateful for that experience that they had because it taught them to trust in the Lord and be able to see his miracles. "Every day we never missed a meal and we had a place to stay so that's at least four miracles a day that we were able to see." Because of this experience, her 18 year old son has started to change his rock music. Instead of listening to death metal and punk rock he has started to take old style hymns that teenagers might not ever listen to and change them to rock music. Because of this the teenagers are starting to sing the lyrics to themselves and are more able to feel the Holy Ghost in their lives and not the anxiousness and depression that can come from listening to other music with inappropriate lyrics.
I am so grateful when I get the chance to see how God is really working in every one's life. I know that God works in my life to help me find and teach those who are looking to make the Savior more a part of their lives. I look forward to the time when I might be able to see the whole picture. I know that even as a missionary I get caught up in my own goals and plans and I forget that God works with everyone and I'm just a very small part of that. As I drive through town it's interesting to think that God is calling and working in each person's life to bring them close to Him.
I am so grateful for opportunities I have to hear of the miracles in other people's lives. I am grateful for all the truly Christian people I meet every day. I am grateful that I have the privilege of representing the Savior Jesus Christ and to help others come unto him. I know that it is through diligence in keeping His commandments and always seeking for knowledge that the Lord wants to give us, and practicing charity that we will truly become like our Heavenly Father.
For anyone reading this, I would invite you to look for the miracles that occur daily in your own lives.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Hello All!
I had a wonderful opportunity this week to see the hand of God in some one's life. We stopped by an investigator’s house and we were able to talk to his wife and she related an amazing experience about how they were able to learn to rely on the Lord. Her faith and reliance on God touched my heart and I'm grateful to be able to serve around such wonderful Christian people here in Oklahoma.
She and her husband have six children and because her husband had seizures he got fired from many different jobs, and because of this and other circumstances they were homeless for a year and a half. She told us that throughout that year and a half they never missed a meal and they always had a bed to sleep on because the Lord always put people or temporary jobs in their path to allow them to live and have a place to stay. She has a very strong testimony of keeping the Sabbaths Day holy and of tithing. She bore her testimony to us that she knows that all we receive is the Lord's so how could we not give back just one day and 10%. She said that over and over again people would come up to her with food or money and tell her "God told me to give this to you." Every morning before the kids went to school they did an hour of scripture study. She says that she knows that they were in God's hands completely and that she is so grateful for that experience that they had because it taught them to trust in the Lord and be able to see his miracles. "Every day we never missed a meal and we had a place to stay so that's at least four miracles a day that we were able to see." Because of this experience, her 18 year old son has started to change his rock music. Instead of listening to death metal and punk rock he has started to take old style hymns that teenagers might not ever listen to and change them to rock music. Because of this the teenagers are starting to sing the lyrics to themselves and are more able to feel the Holy Ghost in their lives and not the anxiousness and depression that can come from listening to other music with inappropriate lyrics.
I am so grateful when I get the chance to see how God is really working in every one's life. I know that God works in my life to help me find and teach those who are looking to make the Savior more a part of their lives. I look forward to the time when I might be able to see the whole picture. I know that even as a missionary I get caught up in my own goals and plans and I forget that God works with everyone and I'm just a very small part of that. As I drive through town it's interesting to think that God is calling and working in each person's life to bring them close to Him.
I am so grateful for opportunities I have to hear of the miracles in other people's lives. I am grateful for all the truly Christian people I meet every day. I am grateful that I have the privilege of representing the Savior Jesus Christ and to help others come unto him. I know that it is through diligence in keeping His commandments and always seeking for knowledge that the Lord wants to give us, and practicing charity that we will truly become like our Heavenly Father.
For anyone reading this, I would invite you to look for the miracles that occur daily in your own lives.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day from OK!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
On Sunday one of the ladies in the branch who we don't even know that well brought us valentines. It was a glass cocoa-cola bottle with peanut m&m's and paper stuff on top with a Tootsie roll pop and it looked like an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top, it was super cute.
GUESS WHAT!!!! Sister Maude goes home on Wednesday, and yesterday night was transfer calls! Sister Grant, my MTC companion is coming up to Woodward to be my new companion. Neither of us are “senior” and I don't know who will be driving yet but I am way excited!!! Both of us were hoping that we would get to serve together at some point and I'm so glad that we get to be companions! Sister Grant has been serving in Norman, OK on the Oklahoma University campus since she came to Oklahoma. So she's had a very different experience then me. She'll teach me how to OYM (Open your mouth, i.e. approach people on the street) and I'll teach her how to tract, I guess. And we're going to have lots of super fun Elders in our district as well. All of us are either 6 or 7.5 months old (in the mission). Basically we all came out together, which is way cool.
On Friday I had my six month mark! It's crazy how fast it goes. I'm already 1/3 of the way through my mission!
It's funny how we don't see ourselves clearly. I've always thought of myself as shy, but of my last companions I've been the more bold and forward one. I love the gospel. I love the instruction that we have been given by the prophet in regards to missionary work.
Recently I have seen the inner peace that I have because of my faith in the Savior and His servants today. I know that things are going to work out OK. I know that I am doing what's right and I love having the Lord's direction in my life. I know that the Lord will direct me wherever he wills. But I also know how to plan and have righteous goals.
It's amazing how the Spirit can help to give us ideas. We we're teaching someone in the branch and we didn't really know what to teach but I had the idea of speaking about the Valentine we can give to the Lord. One of my favorite scriptures about Christ's love for us, i.e. His valentine for us is, Romans 8:35-39. "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." It reminds me of the song "Ain't no mountain high enough." But yet that song is about a mortal who is fallible, but Christ is not. He really can be there for us whenever we need or want his love or help. That's his Valentine for us, and that's huge. The Valentine wants to receive of us, "If ye love me, keep my commandments.. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him." John 14:15,23. The Valentine we can give to the Savior is to more fully walk towards him by keeping his commandments.
I have seen a huge difference in the lives of those who strive to put God first in their lives and commit to living all the commandments as opposed to those who are 75% dedicated to the Lord. It is so much harder to straddle the between the straight and narrow path and wherever the world wants to take us, then to just commit and fully live the gospel. I know peace and happiness come from putting the Lord first in our lives; otherwise things just don't work out as well.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
On Sunday one of the ladies in the branch who we don't even know that well brought us valentines. It was a glass cocoa-cola bottle with peanut m&m's and paper stuff on top with a Tootsie roll pop and it looked like an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top, it was super cute.
GUESS WHAT!!!! Sister Maude goes home on Wednesday, and yesterday night was transfer calls! Sister Grant, my MTC companion is coming up to Woodward to be my new companion. Neither of us are “senior” and I don't know who will be driving yet but I am way excited!!! Both of us were hoping that we would get to serve together at some point and I'm so glad that we get to be companions! Sister Grant has been serving in Norman, OK on the Oklahoma University campus since she came to Oklahoma. So she's had a very different experience then me. She'll teach me how to OYM (Open your mouth, i.e. approach people on the street) and I'll teach her how to tract, I guess. And we're going to have lots of super fun Elders in our district as well. All of us are either 6 or 7.5 months old (in the mission). Basically we all came out together, which is way cool.
On Friday I had my six month mark! It's crazy how fast it goes. I'm already 1/3 of the way through my mission!
It's funny how we don't see ourselves clearly. I've always thought of myself as shy, but of my last companions I've been the more bold and forward one. I love the gospel. I love the instruction that we have been given by the prophet in regards to missionary work.
Recently I have seen the inner peace that I have because of my faith in the Savior and His servants today. I know that things are going to work out OK. I know that I am doing what's right and I love having the Lord's direction in my life. I know that the Lord will direct me wherever he wills. But I also know how to plan and have righteous goals.
It's amazing how the Spirit can help to give us ideas. We we're teaching someone in the branch and we didn't really know what to teach but I had the idea of speaking about the Valentine we can give to the Lord. One of my favorite scriptures about Christ's love for us, i.e. His valentine for us is, Romans 8:35-39. "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." It reminds me of the song "Ain't no mountain high enough." But yet that song is about a mortal who is fallible, but Christ is not. He really can be there for us whenever we need or want his love or help. That's his Valentine for us, and that's huge. The Valentine wants to receive of us, "If ye love me, keep my commandments.. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him." John 14:15,23. The Valentine we can give to the Savior is to more fully walk towards him by keeping his commandments.
I have seen a huge difference in the lives of those who strive to put God first in their lives and commit to living all the commandments as opposed to those who are 75% dedicated to the Lord. It is so much harder to straddle the between the straight and narrow path and wherever the world wants to take us, then to just commit and fully live the gospel. I know peace and happiness come from putting the Lord first in our lives; otherwise things just don't work out as well.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Stir Crazy in Woodward: 7 Feb 2011
Stir Crazy in Woodward!
Dear Friends and Family,
Well this week was a little different then most. Tuesday and Wednesday we were snowed in. Well there actually wasn't that much snow, maybe about 3 inches but was between -12 and 20 degrees most of the week. Our Mission President told us that we had to say inside all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday we could drive and go out, but only to set appointment, i.e. no tracting!
So what do two Sister Missionaries do when we can't do missionary work.... well we studied a lot! Tuesday I spent about 2.5hrs mending clothes that I had been putting off doing. Lots of buttons to sew back on and hems and lining to fix. Yikes! What did people do before sewing machines? Oh, I know! Spend several hours mending, like I did! :) I also made visuals for several of the missionary lessons that I have been wanting to make for several weeks. Wednesday we planned for the week, and studied and played games like Jenga and Bannanagrams that we had in our apartment. Later in the evening we also studied the Book of Mormon together. And by studied I mean we drew stick figure drawings of the ENTIRE plot of the Book of Mormon. It took about 60 sheets of paper, but we did it and it is lining the top of our apartment living room. During our isolation we also cooked, a lot. We made pot stickers, egg rolls and a Chinese-inspired coleslaw to celebrate Chinese New Year. YUM!!!
I love teaching people. This Sunday church services were cancelled but we got to go around and teach lots of the members. I love teaching the gospel. Even though we couldn't go to church, it still was an awesome day because we got to teach about the Doctrine of Christ to 7 different member families. I love the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is how we "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us" (John 17:21). We are able to do that as we connect to Heavenly Father's purpose: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). And the way Heavenly Father accomplishes His purposes is through the doctrine of Christ. In 3 Nephi 11 the very first thing Christ does when He speaks to people in the Americas is baptism! He then goes on to testify that His doctrine is faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. He repeats himself several times throughout the chapter and it is obviously a very important thing to Him and Heavenly Father. And because it is so important it is taught throughout The Book of Mormon (and of course the Bible as well). Another place it is taught is in 2 Nephi 31. This is one of the few instances in scripture where both the voice of the Father and the Son are heard. 2 Nephi 31:2 Nephi says he must talk about the doctrine of Christ. Verses 11-12 Heavenly Father and Jesus testify of the importance of baptism and the Holy Ghost. Verses 14-15 Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father again testify of its importance and the importance of enduring to the end. "And I heard a voice from the Father, saying; Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." I know this doctrine is for all the world, including those who have already been baptized, those of other Christian faiths, and those all over the world. We must be converted to this before we can help others come closer to Christ.
I have been thinking a lot about faith recently; how I should develop it, why I need it and how it can actually become a force in my life. As I was studying and a little confused about it all, and the thought and feeling that came to me was: I have made covenants with Heavenly Father, I have promised to be obedient and faithful. I don't need to ever make the decision about whether to believe or doubt again, I have already made it and I just keep following in that path. I will continue to grow in understanding and knowledge and of course always ask Heavenly Father for more insight, but my choice is behind me. That was very comforting to me. I know Heavenly Father knows what I need to hear and what will help me the most, and I'm so grateful to know how to draw closer to Him so that I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when he speaks to me.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
Dear Friends and Family,
Well this week was a little different then most. Tuesday and Wednesday we were snowed in. Well there actually wasn't that much snow, maybe about 3 inches but was between -12 and 20 degrees most of the week. Our Mission President told us that we had to say inside all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday we could drive and go out, but only to set appointment, i.e. no tracting!
So what do two Sister Missionaries do when we can't do missionary work.... well we studied a lot! Tuesday I spent about 2.5hrs mending clothes that I had been putting off doing. Lots of buttons to sew back on and hems and lining to fix. Yikes! What did people do before sewing machines? Oh, I know! Spend several hours mending, like I did! :) I also made visuals for several of the missionary lessons that I have been wanting to make for several weeks. Wednesday we planned for the week, and studied and played games like Jenga and Bannanagrams that we had in our apartment. Later in the evening we also studied the Book of Mormon together. And by studied I mean we drew stick figure drawings of the ENTIRE plot of the Book of Mormon. It took about 60 sheets of paper, but we did it and it is lining the top of our apartment living room. During our isolation we also cooked, a lot. We made pot stickers, egg rolls and a Chinese-inspired coleslaw to celebrate Chinese New Year. YUM!!!
I love teaching people. This Sunday church services were cancelled but we got to go around and teach lots of the members. I love teaching the gospel. Even though we couldn't go to church, it still was an awesome day because we got to teach about the Doctrine of Christ to 7 different member families. I love the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is how we "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us" (John 17:21). We are able to do that as we connect to Heavenly Father's purpose: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). And the way Heavenly Father accomplishes His purposes is through the doctrine of Christ. In 3 Nephi 11 the very first thing Christ does when He speaks to people in the Americas is baptism! He then goes on to testify that His doctrine is faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. He repeats himself several times throughout the chapter and it is obviously a very important thing to Him and Heavenly Father. And because it is so important it is taught throughout The Book of Mormon (and of course the Bible as well). Another place it is taught is in 2 Nephi 31. This is one of the few instances in scripture where both the voice of the Father and the Son are heard. 2 Nephi 31:2 Nephi says he must talk about the doctrine of Christ. Verses 11-12 Heavenly Father and Jesus testify of the importance of baptism and the Holy Ghost. Verses 14-15 Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father again testify of its importance and the importance of enduring to the end. "And I heard a voice from the Father, saying; Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." I know this doctrine is for all the world, including those who have already been baptized, those of other Christian faiths, and those all over the world. We must be converted to this before we can help others come closer to Christ.
I have been thinking a lot about faith recently; how I should develop it, why I need it and how it can actually become a force in my life. As I was studying and a little confused about it all, and the thought and feeling that came to me was: I have made covenants with Heavenly Father, I have promised to be obedient and faithful. I don't need to ever make the decision about whether to believe or doubt again, I have already made it and I just keep following in that path. I will continue to grow in understanding and knowledge and of course always ask Heavenly Father for more insight, but my choice is behind me. That was very comforting to me. I know Heavenly Father knows what I need to hear and what will help me the most, and I'm so grateful to know how to draw closer to Him so that I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when he speaks to me.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
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