Elder Sam Jensen

Wow, this is the last email I am going to send from Honduras. I feel very strange, as if I were leaving home all over again. 2 years ago, I received my mission call to come to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. A city that I didn't know existed at that time. A place where I couldn't speak the language, where I would eat food that I had never tried before. A country where I knew absolutely no one, a city where people who google it, get scared of going there. Yet, I couldn't have chosen a more amazing place to have gone if I could have. 2 years later, I realize that I love this place. I have come to love these people as if they were my family. They have welcomed me here as if I were their family. I have been with them, teaching them about Christ, about the plan that God has for each one of us. I have talked with them about the Atonement, and that through it we can receive forgiveness, strength, and comfort, because the Lord loves us. He gave his life so that we could be happy. I h...

Heyooo! This past week was a great week, we were busy in the office and in our area. We had a few airport runs, I could probably drive there with my eyes closed now. We are focusing on finding new people to teach and we have found a few that are excited to learn more about the gospel. We also continued to teach Ashley, and she is really progressing well. We had Zone Conference this past week (sadly, it was my last one here in Honduras😢). President Bush taught us about the blessings of being humble, and about trusting in the Lord to help us spread the gospel, not ourselves. I really liked it, and I learned a lot from it. I was praying to learn a lot from this Zone conference, and the Lord blessed me with that. All of us that are leaving this change were also asked to give our last testimonies, so I did that. It was sad, I wish I still had more of those left. Anyway, I hope you all have a great week! Elder Jensen

Favorite color: Blue Favorite food: Baleadas Favorite number: 7 Favorite Candy: Reeses  Favorite movie: What are movies? (Kidding, I like Avengers: Civil War still) Favorite TV show: SportsCenter Favorite moment on my mission: When the Melendez kids got baptized  Least favorite moment on my mission: I dont remember one. Favorite area on your mission: They have all been great, for different reasons. If I had to pick one to go to tomorrow it would probably be Santa Barbara Favorite thing to do with dad: Talk about Sports, and anything else Favorite thing to do with mom: Talk about anything Favorite thing to do with Zach: Watch his weirdness  Favorite thing to do with Maggie: I don't know what any of these people do anymore haha. Favorite thing to do with Casey: " " Favorite thing to do with Jill: " " Favorite thing to do with Anna: " " Favorite thing to do with Emma: " " Favorite sport to watch: College Footba...

HEY GUYS!! This week was awesome! We continued to prepare the Melendez kids to get baptized, and they are going to get baptized at 7 today! It's great! This week we also were told that Elder Lozano is leaving this transfer, so Elder Hernandez got here on Tuesday. We've been working with him until Elder Lozano leaves next Tuesday. This next week is when the new missionaries get here, so that will be cool to see all the new guys come in. But, that also means that we have to take all of the departing missionaries home as well, which means lots of airport trips. We are also still teaching Cristian, and he is doing well. I hope you all have a good week!! Elder Jensen

Hey!! This week was really good. We continued to teach the Melendez family and they should be getting baptized this next week. It will be great, they are an awesome family. We started teaching the mom's sister, and that will be great as well.  This next week is the last week of the transfer, so we are going to be busy getting ready to welcome the new missionaries coming into the mission.  Have a good week! Elder Jensen​

HEY! This past week went by super fast! I feel like it was just Pday. We continued to teach Cristian, and he is doing well. We also continued to teach the Melendez family, they are great. Their kids are super funny, and love learning more. We also found several new investigators to teach through this family. We had Zone Conference this past week, and it is always great learning from President Bush. We talked a lot about how to minister in the way that Christ did. We need to take the time to see the people around us, and look at them the way our Heavenly Father sees them. When we do that, we will see someone who needs us, someone that we can help and be a friend to. I hope everyone has a good week!!! Elder Jensen

Hey!! This week was a great week. We continued to teach Cristian, and he is doing well. We also continued to work with the family that we found last week, the Melendez family. They are great and came to church with us on Sunday. We are excited to continue working with them, they have 6 kids, and they are all great. They have helped us find a lot more people to be able to teach and it is going well. Everything is good in the office. This past week, we were helping out with a few changes. Last week I was reading in 3 Nephi and I saw a verse that I liked, "Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved." The Lord invites us to come unto him as a little child, to be humble, and to make changes in our lives. We can make little changes in our daily lives that align ou...

HEY!!! This week was a good week! We were able to contact a little bit more in our area, and it went really well. We found a lot of new investigators and also found a less active family that we are going to work with to be able to bring them back to church. They are great and have a few kids that are all awesome. We actually found that family while we were working with President Bush. I always learn a lot when we are out with President Bush. We also continued to teach Cristian, so that is going well. We got a reference from a member this past week that said they had a friend they wanted us to teach. When we went to teach her, it was great. She accepted to be baptized, so we are going to continue to teach and help her prepare for that. It is also really HOT!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. But, despite the heat, it was a great day. Have a great week!!!! Ekder Jensen

HEYOO! This week was a good week. It was transfers week, so we were very busy. We tried out a new way of doing the transfers, so we were running around making sure everything was good for that, and it turned out great. It was amazing to see all of the new missionaries and the desire they have to serve the Savior. This week on our way to the airport in one of the early mornings, I was listening to one of the general conference talks, and there was a part that I really liked. It was from the talk named "Until Seventy times Seven." The quote I really liked was "Hopefully, each mistake we make becomes a lesson in wisdom, turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones." I really like that thought, that every time we have a mistake we can either learn from it, move on, and be better, or we can allow it to trip us. We can be better everyday thanks to the Atonement. I hope everyone has a good week! Elder Jensen

Heyooo This week was a good week. We were busy closing a bunch of houses, but we had a good week. We were able to keep teaching Cristian and he is doing great and really wants to learn about Christ. It is starting to get warmer here in San Pedro, and this week is the week they call "Semana Santa." Basically it is the week leading up to Easter. Everyone has work off, and it is kind of funny because all of the streets will be super quiet and empty. It is really different from the rest of the year. Anyway, with Easter coming up, it is an opportunity to remember everything that Jesus Christ has done for us, and to apply that to our lives. We are here because of Him, so that is why this time of year is so special. We need to remember that Christ has risen, and that He lives. Happy Easter everyone! Elder Jensen

Sam's week in pictures... and a few Q&A's. What did you do for P-day? We went to Santa Cruz to deliver a fridge, to the zoo, and to Lake Yojoa. On your mission, when have you seen the Lord's hand in the work you are doing? An experience that I have seen the Lord's hand in my life is whenever an appointment falls through. Something I have learned, is that when that happens, there is someone nearby that needs us to talk to them. So, instead of getting sad about a fallen appointment, I try to look for the person that the Lord is trying to tell me is there waiting for us to talk to them. What would you tell a prospective missionary is the most important thing he/she can do? The most important thing they can do is find themselves on their knees to receive, confirm, reinforce etc. their testimony of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, and living prophets. That is what I would say. How do you feel the Holy Ghost? I know the Holy Ghost is speaking to me when I fee...

HEYO! This week was a good week! Cristian came to church and it was great. We also had a chance to continue to teach him. He has a lot of desire to learn more about the Savior, he just wants to take it piece by piece. So, we have been answering his questions, and he is doing great. Also, we had divisions with the Zone Leaders of San Pedro Sula last Thursday. That was pretty cool because the last time I had been in that area was about a year ago. Kind of interesting remembering everything. We learned a lot, and it was a great experience to see how other people teach. I am really loving the mission right now! Honduras is amazing, I don't care what you see on the news. Today for Pday we played ping pong and soccer with the office of the other Mission. It was cool. I am doing well, and I hope everyone has a great week!!! Elder Jensen

HEY!!! This week was a good week. Very busy and crazy, with the transfers being this week and all. We didn't have that much time in our area this past week, but we were able to teach Cristian again. He is very interested in learning more, and we are excited to keep teaching him about the gospel. I don't have much time today, but this week we will be getting at it again, so everyone have a good week! Elder Jensen

Heyooooooo! This transfer ends next week? Where has the time gone? So weird. Anyway, we had a good week here in San Pedro. We had stake conference this past week, and it was great. One thing that really stuck with me was about the Atonement. We need to gain, and maintain a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Once we start to understand the Atonement, and the forgiveness and power that it gives to us, everything else in our lives will start clicking. I know that Christ lives and He knows each one of us, He knows our pains, our sorrows, and our weaknesses. He knows what we need to become more like Him. Most of the time that involves changing something in our lives. One thing that was said in this conference was, "If we are unhappy, we need to look at our lives and find something that we are coming up short on, and change that one thing." I really liked that. Something I have noticed here, is that when we are unhappy, it is because we are thinking about our problem...

Hey!! This week was a good week here in Jardines del Valle. We worked a lot on trying to find new people to be able to teach. We found someone named Luis, he is super cool, and has a lot of questions about the church. He has had a rough go of it in life and is trying to find some peace in his life that has been missing. We were able to teach him that families can be forever and that we will be together with our families after we move on from this life. We also worked with President Bush yesterday, so that was a cool experience. This past week we went to Valle de Sula to look at some houses for some missionaries. That was interesting because that area of the mission is the equivalent to the South Side of Detroit. This past week in church I also translated the meeting into English for a family from the US that is living here. It was a good experience that I am probably going to be doing every week in this area. Anyway, we had a good week and I hope everyone has a good one this w...

Hey!! This week was a good week. We were able to visit and teach members this past week and we are working find some more people to teach. We taught Dora, she is the mother of someone who got baptized recently, and it was great. We talked with her about the Book of Mormon and how it can help us put Christ at the center of our lives. She said that she had seen that change with her daughter, and she wanted to see that change as well. But, we have to wait for her to move down here permanently because she lives in La Ceiba and is in the process of moving down here to San Pedro Sula. This week there was a lot of uncertainty about the whole political situation here, but so far in the area that I am in right now, there hasn't been any problem. We finished moving into the new offices here so that has been good. I haven't crashed the truck yet, even with the crazy driving here. Let's just say that turning left from the far right lane at an intersection, or not even doing a rol...

HEY!!! It has been a while since I have written a big letter, we have had a busy time during transfer week, and we also just moved offices. The week was crazy, it made it even more crazy because we were able to go to Copan Ruins yesterday!!!!!! That was super cool, I will send pictures. So basically, my schedule right now is that I do office things until 3pm and then we go out and do missionary work. It has been great, we have found several new people. We have an investigator named Cristal, and she has been listening to the missionaries for 5ish years. She is great, she has a ton of faith even though her situation has been tough at times. We also have another investigator named Jorge. He is super receptive and a great musician. We also found another investigator whose parents are both gone, and she is really searching for something in her life. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and building her faith in Christ. The Savior can be the center of our lives in every moment...

Heyoo! Hey, it has been a crazy past few weeks. I was in Santa Barbara, and got a call on Tuesday that I was going to the Mission office.  So, I had all of Wednesday to pack my bags and say goodbye to the amazing people there in Santa Barbara. Then, on Thursday, I went to San Pedro Sula to start my training here in the office. I am in charge of all of the money in the mission, so I have been learning a lot of new things these past few days. But, my new area is called Jardines del Valle, and it is back in San Pedro Sula again. It is a good area and kind of big so it has been interesting. It is one of the parts of the city with more money. In this area, we have been teaching someone named Johnson. We had an interesting lesson with him yesterday, he told us that he was going to keep asking the Lord about the Church until he receives an answer. He has a lot of faith, and he is continuing to grow as he learns more about the gospel. Anyway, have a good week everyone!!!!! ​​ *Sam also...