My Birthday

Monday, 19th November 2012
From: adj1991@myldsmail.net

Hello Everyone

So this past week...

This past week went pretty well. My companion and I were able to get all of our goals done, except for marking three people for baptism. We only were able to mark two people, so yeah we have two people marked for the 25th. Abrãao and Etianne. Abrãao is 19 and Etianne is 13. they are pretty cool people and prepared to be baptized with the blessings of the Lord. These two people really are elect; we are working a lot with them so they will be baptized on the 25th. We have other investigators, but none of them were at church, so we will either work with them more and see why they were not at church, and then go back to the drawing board. I hope that our other investigators will progress. As long as I just keep working hard and doing what I am supposed to be doing, everything will work out. 

On Saturday, my 21st birthday....I went to a member’s house and his name is Heider, who is 29 years old and not married yet. I made curry at his house, it turned out very good but just needed more salt lol. He bought me a cake and he sang to me happy birthday in English. It was pretty cool. For the rest of the day, I worked like normal, and my companion and I were able to get 7 lessons in and find 3 new men two works with all on Saturday. I actually forgot about watching the video. I will watch it today. What about the cruise?

The rest of the week, was kind of boring. I made a division (splits) with one of the Zone leaders I live with and it went pretty well. We marked one of his investigators for baptism and ate açai. which was delicious! Hmm, nothing else really happened.

Today we are going to eat in a members house, who said she has a present for me...I can’t wait. but yeah and Sister Hall is coming to look at all the houses, so she can talk to a guy here who works for the church, so he can fix all the houses. and hmm, I think I will go out to the street market and buy some things. Maybe a hammock, new flip flops and whatever that really catches my eye. Later tonight we have family home evening with all the youth at the Bishops house, so that should be good. I hope more youth come this time. last time not that many people came - disappointing, but it was still pretty fun and enlightening.

Brazil is easy to cope with, because just knowing what I get to come home too. I just deal with it now and for two years and when you go home, it’s like presents ha-ha. But yeah it’s all good. I have now plans for Thanksgiving except for work. Oh, and that’s cool about the Christmas Santa sacks, and yes, I would like to be with the family when I get home. The second Christmas, you don’t need to do, it will all be alright.

Dad had already told me about Frazier’s mission call. It is Manaus, the hottest place you can be in Brazil. It is where my companion goes on splits with a different companion and I go with a different companion as well. Hey that’s good for Derrick, I am happy to hear it.

Oh and want to do me a favor? get Kallie's home address for me. I want to write her a letter about her mission if she is going on one. I hope Curtis finishes soon so I can know where he is going too!

Hey I love you and yeah next Monday I will email again. I hope you a have a great week, and stay healthy.

with love,

elder adam Jensen

p.s. I think Sister Hall is bring packages or mail with her, so maybe I have something. lol

Miracles!

Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:20:12 -0300
Subject: Re: Hello
From: adj1991@myldsmail.net


Hello Everyone

So this past week...

My companion and I have been teaching a few people and two of the miracles that we have seen is from a young guy named Abrãao (abraham) and a young woman named Suyanne. with Abrãao, he was very shy and actually acted really weird with us the first three times we taught him, like something else was in the room. Also he didn't want to pray and told us that he is interested but not enough to read. After the third time of teaching him, he read and prayed. he change dramatically. He is very open and now makes jokes and is already pretty good friends with others from church. He is going to be baptized on the 25th, or sooner. Suyanne, the first time I ever met her, she just glared at me and Elder Collins, and didn't want anything from us. Actually it seemed like at that moment that she hated us. We went back to her house when Elder Claudio arrived and in a teenager way and not a missionary way, just like making friends. She opened up a lot and laughed and is really enjoying our visits. Suyanne went to church yesterday and I think tonight or Wednesday we are going to plan to mark her baptismal date. It should be very good. We have two other families right now, but we have to get them married first. Marriage is actually very easy here in Mossoró because it's free and only takes 25 days to get all the paper work ready for the wedding! Hmm we also have others, but they are not quite progressing yet. I hope that changes soon!

About letters, I have only received birthday cards. The last time the Zone Leaders went to João Pessoa, they didn't have or grab any other packages for me, but I was very grateful for all the cards I received! Oh and I opened the other package - thank you for the cool video camera, it's pretty cool but I think I will wait to watch the video on Saturday. On Saturday, I will be going to a members house for lunch. I told him I would teach him how to make curry, and yes I remember how to cook curry silly. I'll show you some pictures that I have already taken. I checked everything out on the video camera before i took pictures. I think I have only taken one video so far, which was of all four of us trying to kill a rat lol. Anyway, so that's what were going to do. On Saturday night, a couple of recent converts want to bring my companion and I to pizza it should be really good, if its the right type of pizza.

Hey that's really cool about Michaan and Aaron Kramer getting married (not together) It's about time lol. It's fine about money right now. Oh I have been thinking about vacations, so many missionaries keep talking to me about cruises for a week. They keep saying how cheap it is compared to other vacations and they´re totally worth it. I was told that on Royal Carribean they have these metal cups that you buy in the beginning of the trip and they are refill cups for soda. Soda is the only thing that you would be spending money on if you didn't buy the cup because the food and snacks and other drinks other than soda (and acohol) are free. If you dont book any adventure things, than its obviously cheaper. It sounds to be pretty cool. If it's way out of our reach, then i understand, but it would be cool, if we planned a week. Maybe the week before the Spring semester started in April, to go on a cruise as a family. Obviously, if Gavin and Lindsey wanted to go then they would pay for themselves lol. but yeah I have been thinking about a cruise a lot lately. I have actually thought about working on one during the seven week break during August when I dont have school either.
Yeah thats about my week, except that my new companion is actually helping more than I thought. I keep getting the feeling that he is training me to become a trainer, we will see soon in December or January. I love you all and I have to go now. Talk to you guys next Monday.

love,

elder adam jensen

A New Companion

From: Adam Jensen <adj1991@myldsmail.net>
 Sent: Mon, Nov 5, 2012 13:27:45 GMT+00:00
Subject: Re:
Hello Dad
Thank you for the answer from last week's question -lol. it did help. I forgot about how it will as numurous as the stars. but yeah it did help. Well anyway, yeah Elder Collins was made Zone Leader and my new companion is Elder Claudio from Las Vegas and he has 1 year and 7 months on the mission. I think he will finish his mission in Mossoró. but he is such a hard worker and with him we are trying a lot of new ways to work than the normal boring way lol, but still just having fun while doing it.
We will be emailing back to the normal time, I will be an hour earlier as we were in the begininning. In the house, everyone wanted to email at ten a.m. before, but Elder Collins wanted to wait til 11:00am, so we did.
I emailed everyone last week that emailed me. I don't really need anything except taco bell hot sauce, just the small packets from the fast food, it would make my food taste so much better here.
Not too much to write this week, as Mom is not on here to instant email either. Have a great week, I have to go now.

love,
elder adam jensen

More Baptisms and Reaching our Zone Goals!!

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:29:33 -0300

From: adj1991@myldsmail.net

Hello Everyone,

So this is what happened this past week...

On Sunday, yesterday, we had three baptisms! They were all 15 or 16 years old. 2 of the teenagers, we have been teaching for two weeks, and they were set on date for yesterday. They understood very quickly what they needed to do in their lives to make it back to Heavenly Father, but the other 15 year old we baptized, was a reference that we received yesterday morning. We met this kid, Italu, in the afternoon, taught him the restoration and the commandments, and then asked him to be baptized. He already had desire to be baptized and he already went to church like 3 times before we ever met him. He agreed to be baptized and so that’s what we did. We baptized him. It was definitely kind of a "just do it" baptism, but whatever works. These kids are pretty cool, and I am happy they decided to start their path in the path of God. But next week we have one person that will be baptized. He is already planned to be baptized and he is pretty excited. But, they are two others that could be baptized as well. one of them, we know wants to be baptized, but he is too afraid to stand up to his mother about what he wants to do in his life, and the other said he came close to being baptized once, but it wasn’t the right time he said. But he went to church, and he is a big possibility as well. So next week me and Elder Collins have a good chance of getting 3 more baptisms! I am super excited for this! It would be 6 baptisms for the month of October. But the names of people who were baptized were, Etienne, Allison, and Italu. Next week’s so far is Noé. Its Noah in Portuguese or Spanish.

Today I am going to print off pictures of my baptisms so far, and eat açai, one kilo of it. And hmm, or and were going to eat with some other missionaries today for lunch. It’s a good day today I think. Oh and also last week, I guess, I learned some more gospel doctrine, but I do have a question I am trying to get answered. You know how they are 3 levels within the celestial kingdom? My question is, is there 3 levels in each of the kingdoms? I understand what the millennium is for, but the promise from Nephi is that it’s better to have never known the gospel if all you were was baptized. So it’s something I am trying to figure out.

I did try the cool towel already. I have about ten minutes or so. And I am doing pretty good. So far from what I know, nothing is planned for thanksgiving, and for Christmas, it is just Skyping home. But 4 or 5 days before Christmas, we have another zone conference and we will go to Natal for that. It’s a five hour drive. Which sucks in a van. It’s a nice van, but still sucks for five hours.

But yeah I will reach my monthly goal and I think we will reach our zone goal as well. We have 11 baptisms in the zone at the moment. But I have been eating well and not going hungry. And no, I still have plenty of money to last me. At the moment. and the next time I get mail will be the first week of November and the next time after that will be December 1st. but after that will be like the 20th or 21st of December as well, so if anyone wants to send me anything - you’d better get it in the mail soon…my greatest wish is for Taco Bell Hot/Fire sauce as everything is so bland here and a Dr. Pepper J

My address is:
Elder Adam D. Jensen
Missao Joao Pessoa, LDS
Rua Deputardo Jose Mariz #515
Tambauzinho
Joao Pessoa
P.B 58042-020
BRAZIL

I hope that you like the picture and the Petries called me. They don’t have Halloween here in the northeast. But oh well. I love you and I got to go now. Love you and I will talk next week on Wednesday! Don’t forget!

With love,
elder adam jensen

p..s. dad- I would rather be in horrible weather than this heat lol. the sun is just not on our side. It has been in the 90’s – 100 degrees. I did print off the authority line, but I am excited to receive your package maybe in December lol. I am actually excited to receive everything. thank you both so much!
 

Being Spoilt

Thursday 1st November, 2012

Hello Everyone,

Well this past week...

So we got almost all of our baptisms confirmed. Just waiting on one person. He had to work or something on Sunday and there just was no possible way he could have been confirmed. Oh and I forgot that we did baptize the other youth Noé. He is pretty cool and he is already playing soccer with the other youth at the church. So far with baptisms, everything is going great and I love knowing how much potential there is in this area and in this mission. Bringing people to real salvation is a really good mood changer lol. It just lets you know that people really have enough faith for after this life. 

Oh and my companion was transferred. To Sousa actually. A place that is just as hot but without the wind so in the end it is hotter than here in Mossoro. He became a zone leader there. My new companions name is Elder Claudio. He is an American from Las Vegas. So far he seems pretty cool. An Elder who likes to work, but in a smarter way. Not the way that will just get you super tired throughout the day. But yeah that’s what happened. oh someone brought me almost all the birthday cards already, but next week I will receive whatever packages are there and plus if there is more birthday cards. I love all of you guys and I love being spoiled!  Oh, and I still LOVE Dr. Pepper!!

With love,

elder adam jensen