Dear
Family,
We got transfer calls
on Saturday, and to our shock, both Sister Shurtleff and I are leaving Nampa!
It is pretty unusual, since they just put both of us in together. I originally
was going to stay and get to have my new companion, Sister Eckery, come here,
but some missionaries who were coming here to wait for their visas got them
early, so they are going to their actual mission. That means we are getting
less missionaries than expected, so they had to condense some areas. They are
giving our two wards to our district leader and his companion. We are pretty devastated
to leave all of our wonderful people. I will update you all on my week before
telling you how crazy and weird these past couple of days have been.
We taught J. about the
pre-mortal life at a member's house this past week. I love and appreciate the
members so much who have us in their home to teach, having them bear their
testimonies just brings the Spirit so strongly. Hopefully J. will get to do
some family history soon and can get to the temple to do baptisms. I know that
she is going to keep on going strong and will make huge contributions to the
church with her talent of loving and serving people. I am so grateful for the
blessing I had to teach her and see her get baptized.
 |
| Catching a ride with some kind members. |
We had several days
where we couldn't drive this week, so while a lot of time was spent inside, we
did do a fair amount of work in our area and I am so thankful for that as it
was unknowingly my last week here. I have been working hard to trust Heavenly
Father, that His hand is behind all of this and that I am meant to go to
Meridian now. Most of Meridian is a walking area, but because one of the wards
that we cover is the YSA, which I think covers all of Meridian, we get a car! I’m
so happy about that, just because the weather is so bad.
We got the news around
11 on Saturday, and so from then on was a whirlwind. I started packing
immediately. We got a text that we couldn't drive after 1pm because
of the storm coming in. Sister Shurtleff tried to do laundry that morning, but
the pipes to the washer and drier were frozen because they are downstairs where
there is no heat. Our room is the only room in the house that has good heat.
Our shower has also been clogged for the past couple of days and we have had to
drain it ourselves, so when we heard about this huge storm, we decided we were
not staying there. The other sisters that we live with have members in their
ward that have a big house they offered to us, so we decided to stay there for
the next couple of days before transfers on Monday. So I had to pack all of my
stuff and get ready to stay somewhere else, plus meet with our ward mission
leaders and say goodbye to as many people as we could. It was so
stressful. But we were able to have dinner with an awesome family in 12th
ward that night, so that was a tender mercy. But I sure was happy when we got
to the home that we were staying in. The family is so great; I am so thankful
and happy to be here these last couple of days in Nampa. Sister G. was telling
us about her son getting his mission call to Las Vegas, and she showed us the
video of him opening it. On the video he read that he reported to the MTC on September
28th, and I was like, "That is when I went too!" They even had the
same drop off time, 12:45, and went to the Provo Temple grounds to say
goodbye, along with us and a million other families. So we looked through their
pictures at the temple to see if Mom and I happened to be in the background,
but we were disappointed in our hopes. Their daughter also went to the same
mission as my MTC teacher, and though they were there at the same time for
quite a bit of time, they never met. I just love making these connections with
people here in my mission. Church was cancelled on Sunday, so we just hung out
here all day. It was really strange to do that as a missionary. We watched
Legacy and the Testaments, and just talked. We also got the news that transfers
are postponed to Wednesday because of the weather, which was a huge tender
mercy because we get to say good bye to more people! But we still can't drive,
and aren't allowed to until they give us permission. Fortunately, we have great
members who can take us where we need to be.
While I am heartbroken
to leave my first area, I am getting pretty excited to go to Meridian to find
and teach the people that Heavenly Father has waiting for me there. I met my
companion briefly at J.'s baptism, because her companion had taught her. She is
super sweet and will be going home in a transfer and a half. Heavenly Father
has blessed me so much, and I know that He will continue to bless me if I do
the things I am supposed to. I love and miss you all, but am happy to be out
here making you proud.
Love,
Sister Jensen
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