We doubled our lessons - almost!!

Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:36:17 -0200
Subject: weekly email
From: adj1991@myldsmail.net


Hello Everyone,

So this past week....

Our zone had a goal for this week that we would double our lessons. The Mission asks of us to do at least 25 in total, so doublling would be at least 50 lessons. Our zone leaders promised it would help to have baptisms and new investigators and they would all be at church. WELL., I was like ok –sure I will do it!! I need all the help I can get anyways. Well, we now have two baptisms set for next week, and two really good and nice people that truly seem like people that will stay in the church for a life time, but the sad news we only finished the week with 49 lessons!! WHAT A BUMMER! But hey at least we tried.

I realized that it’s actually hard to double the lesson count when you only plan to have 25 lessons it’s as though your whole planning goes crazy. Usually you pass in each house for about 45 minutes and get to know the person, understand their needs and give a lesson. Yeah, it was more like 20 minutes for each person instead of having 5 people per day, you ended up having 10 appointments each day – CRAZINESS!!  Oh we didn’t baptize anybody either, but the other missionaries that live with us did. I was happy for them and their baptisms. They had two people a brother and sister that are very reverend and willing and trying to do their best in everything. I like them a lot!!
 
My companion points out young women lately and I can’t say or something is blocking me from caring about other women, it’s actually kind of a nice feeling!! But my companion has been out for only 4 months. and he is more trunky than I am! I am working hard and trying – it’s though he just hasn’t found his purpose yet…but he is great and will on his Mission!   Also, here in the northeast it is so hot out, so it gives girls a reason to wear clothing a little tighter and a little smaller that’s kind of how I see it. I can see them, but it’s like I only see what’s wrong with them - like, hmmm - not for me – more modesty please! But yeah, that’s funny about Jacob needing his bedroom so hot, but yeah the room can be 85 degrees, but we all sleep with a fan on, so like 75 degrees in the room is perfect…hahaha!

I bought a couple things with my birthday money, but I have most of it stored in my wallet at the moment, no stores here accept debit/credit cards so I took all the money out and if I have something that I really want to buy, and then I will, but for now I am saving it until those moments. Also, a suit would be nice, but it’s not something I will need. like it’s not a necessity at this moment, So it can wait.  

So when I get back....I haven’t thought about this in a long time like what would I like to eat after the airport? To be honest I was thinking that we could either.....go to a small place, like Red Robin/Applebee’s or somewhere like that or we can go to the Temple together as a family and whoever else goes to the airport that is a worthy member can join us, but then maybe we will have to wait until the following week, I need to get released first. It would be nice to have a few things back home when I get there, but there is no need to go and buy stuff just for me when I get back. Obviously, I love Dr.Pepper and Mt.Dew, but really there is no need to go head over heels for when I get back, if you want, really, we can just relax :D I know that you said that you thought this day would never come or you wouldn’t make it the two years, but hey here it is and really I never thought I would make it either!!!

I know that Thanksgiving is Thursday but we’re not planning on doing anything together at the house, it doesn’t exist here so it’s just another day like always. 

The cereal package still hasn’t arrived or the last time I checked it hadn’t. I know that you sent another one too for Christmas, I hope it arrived now because the Assistants will be here tonight, and I think they will bring packages and letters!! If you mail anymore packages, and whatever things are in it don’t say what’s in the package. The mail people can steal it, I know that it is not quite being honest, but really it is ridiculous that way! 

Well that’s all that really happened this past week, but hey I have to go now. I love you so much Mom.

love,


elder adam jensen

I miss you a lot!!


 
 

 

My birthday...was good ...until

 

From:	Adam Jensen (adj1991@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 11/18/13 9:30 AM

Hello Everyone,

So this past week...

 

This past week was alright, not much happened. We had some people that said would go to church, but as always nobody went. There was a huge holiday on Friday, but when you have a holiday on Friday; it doesn’t end until Sunday night. Even the people that want to be baptized gave us excuses to not to go to church. Ridiculous!

 

My birthday was Sunday and Sunday night we went to a member’s house to have cake and joke around a little bit, it was really nice and I love this family, but it got ruined when another member showed up and at this time we were just passing a soccer ball back and forth like you do with a football you know. Well, he yelled at us and said that were huge slackers and that we weren’t keeping the Sabbath day holy and tried calling our President. Yeah - don’t like that member anymore!  We were there to help that family feel more needed and fortified within the church, and we were passing the ball around with her sons so that they can have the desire to be missionaries one day. But NO this member just had to come around and ruin everything! I left without saying anything because I didn’t want to get myself into trouble.  I do not like members that think that because they don’t do something on Sunday means that nobody can do it on Sunday! It’s the same stupid thing about caffeinated soda. WE CAN DRINK IT!  If you want to pass a ball around to make the time go by faster and to be more united as a family, then do it! Ugh things that just can ruin your day!  Also, I’ve noticed that when members say something we should try and ignore them, other members of the only true church should do the same. There is a reason we keep our opinions to ourselves sometimes!  Yeah the week was different but alright!  Oh and I will get online at 2 p.m. my time every time. I say this every week!

Yeah Jacob wrote. He told me that I have to bring back a type of juice for you guys, but I don’t even like this type of juice, the drinks he brought home are not that good. Something you really have to get used to, but nobody drinks it where I am at.  In the northeast, it’s not a common drink. I will bring back some good stuff for you. Things that you will actually use and enjoy. Hard to find but I’ve already got a small list going. So Jacob brought back chimarrão and guanará. Chimarrão is a lot better cold because you mix it with other fruity drinks. I will bring a drink back for you. Maybe you will like it. It’s a lot better with milk. Guanará is good, but it’s not the best. It’s a lot better freezing. Like just taken out of a below zero freezer… And hmmm… looks like I will work with Jacob and Ammon at the shop if it doesn’t work out at the high school.

Lunch was good today and the conversation was good. My companion is great…we support each other.

I am very happy for Kallie; I have no idea who her fiancé is. But I’m happy for her -about time!  Ha yeah - Ammon is excited for everyone to be back home.  

Thank you for all the help, especially with furniture and what not. I know I will need it later.

I will answer all the questions you want. I have to go now and I am sorry that I can’t write more until later. If I stayed another missionary will get upset, as there are not enough computers today, so I will wait and get back on in about in an hour or so. I love you and I will talk soon. So I will get back on in about an hour and 15 minutes.

These years are the best two years for my life. I have learned a lot that I will be able to apply in my life afterwards. I know that I wouldn’t have understood living simply and loving everything around you even when there is nothing like here in Brazil. Living up the moments. How to truly treat a person for who they are. Be blunt and how the gospel really blesses our lives. How we can stay on the path. How the lord helps us in mysterious ways. Everything that the life needs and more. I know what my priorities are.  But I am very happy that I had a childhood where it was mostly outside. Playing. Having fun. Getting scrapped up. Not wasting time with video games and sitting inside. I was blessed to be born when I was.

That said, when we go back to Disneyland, you can come too. It would be nice to have the whole family. You know something I never realized when we went to Disneyland. Is a picture in front of the castle? I have never realized it’s there. Never really seen it. And I was talking about the castle at Disneyland and yeah I was talking about Cinderella’s castle.

Sure I would like the big red tent. The top tarp doesn’t really work, but it’s a good thing that during college I bought a huge tarp, and yeah Dad put money in the account – thank you!

I can teach you some Portuguese until I come home. Oh I can tell you during the phone call at Christmas. Have you already put the lights up?

Today, my plans are basically nothing except for visiting a family that has a birthday today.

I need to go now. Love you and talk with you next week. I miss you a lot and I can’t wait to speak again

Well that’s all that happened,

Love,

elder adam jensen

Two baptisms coming...

From: "Adam Jensen" <adj1991@myldsmail.net>
Sent: November 11, 2013 9:34 AM
Subject: Re: Hello Sunshine

Hello Everyone,

So this past week...

It was a bust!!  We invited a bunch of people to go to church and to be baptized and what happened? Nobody went to church. Maybe we are just talking to the wrong people then. But luckily we actually were very blessed with at least 2 people at church that really needed to go. A woman that was planning on getting married, but her husband is a lazy bum. Cool, but a lazy bum. The other was a total shock, she always said that she would go but has never gone. Every week is the same. But she finally went, and we have to go to her house tonight or tomorrow to see how she felt and if she liked church. I hope so because I want to baptize!!!!

The girl that went, which was a surprise, shocked me again when I asked how old she was. She looks at least 18 and acts 18 as well. Well she looked me straight in the eye and said 13. I couldn’t believe her, but everyone told me that it was the truth. Ridiculous!

The other women that went almost didn’t go because every day she has to get water out of the huge well they have. It’s about 20 meters deep and the water they need is a lot. We went there after lunch to fill up her water tank. We got about 40 buckets full, but it still wasn’t enough to fill the tank. I am still a little tired from pulling the water out of the well. She is very nice though and really wants to be baptized, but her husband is lacking a lot, like helping in the house, going to church and supporting her. I’m tired of lazy men here. They need to actually be a man and fulfill their responsibilities. But last night he called us and said he wanted to cancel the wedding - Yeah we got to go back there to change his mind. They need to get married!!!

We played soccer in the morning. And nothing is planned after this. We have a family home evening planned tonight. I hope there is going to be pizza. It would be amazing!!!! But so far that is it. Maybe I will try and get new investigators at a break dancing tournament. I want to learn. Actually I am learning little by little how to break dance. Or at least hip-hop. Have to do what you got to do to get new investigators and baptisms lol.  My companion is good!  Hey I actually know how to dance. Thanks! lol. But for break dancing, I think about 80% is from the US. The rest is from here, and depending on where you are in Brasil you will hear different music.  Other parts are just music from the US, and other parts are just samba and other parts are like a country music mixed with an accordion music. (It’s bad!)  but I like it!

Hey I have to go now though. I love you and everyone else. Thank you for everything!  Well that’s all for this week.

love,

elder adam jensen

The following is excerpts from a letter that we recently received which took three months to get from Brazil!

“Well, by the time you get this, I don’t know if I will still be in Itapororoca, I actually hope I stay, I have less than three months left and I know by the time this letter comes you will have already received my flight plan! I am so excited to come home and be free!!! LOL  I love being a missionary but man I would not be able to do more than two years. I feel bad for the missionaries that stayed for more than two years back in the day!

In Itapororoca we received 220 Reals each month and 172 Reals is spent just on traveling to a city 15 minutes away each month. I did ask the President if we could receive more money to baptize each week because that’s our training, it is to baptize each week with no exception. But the President looked at me and said that I now have to baptize once a month instead. It is kind of hard and ridiculous because he and all the other leaders really get down on you if you don’t baptize each week. This is very frustrating! But we will endure!

Time flies by so fast and on the 23^rd only 12 more weeks and then I am back home!!

Love

Adam”

Another Baptism and Final Travel Itinerary - Elder Adam Dane-Philip Jensen!!!!!

November 4th, 2013


Hello Everyone


So this past week....


This past week was annoying but rewarding in the end. We are working very hard and walking forever, but the Lord is so grateful that he blessed us again with another baptism. Her name is Eduardo she is 9 years old and is a grand-daughter to someone that was baptized 3 weeks prior to her baptism. She is awesome and understands everything, she is very smart and I know that she really was baptized through conversion. It's amazing how the Lord works, even with children as young as she is.


Next week, I don't know who will be baptised because out of the 13 new people we were able contact and teach, none of them went to church. Having church in the morning in Brazil is so much harder for people to go to church. Every single job here is Monday til Saturday. The only day people have time to do things, like, clean the house, the clothes and buy food, run errands is on Sunday. I think that is why we teach on the Sabbath day a lot more than anything else, except for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am enjoying my area a lot and I am walking a ton!! We walk a little bit further here in this area because we have to walk about 45-50 minutes until we see houses in our area, but either way the people are very blessed and I am happy to serve them here in Rio Tinto.


I miss you all and now I know that I will see you all on the 17th at noon! don't be late!!


love,


elder adam jensen