SISTER JENSEN: McCall-Dec 12

Dear Family,

I am currently sitting in the family history center in McCall, Idaho! It is almost 5 and we are just now getting to emailing because of how crazy this day has been. When I heard the transfer call on Saturday evening I was seriously so shocked. I was sure that I was going to spend these last few transfers somewhere in Nampa or Meridian and that I wouldn't be lucky enough to go out to the La Grande zone again, but here I am! And on top of all of that, I get to be companions with Sister Smith, one of my favorite sisters in the mission, she is so hilarious and I love her! But I didn't think we would ever be companions because I wanted it really bad. It is a huge change, but a good one :) I have been hearing about this little resort town since the beginning of my mission, since my trainer served her for 6 months before she trained me. I didn't think I would ever get to serve here because they put in elders instead of sisters right after I was trained. But here I am! And it is beautiful, it was like driving into a winter wonderland. First, I will backtrack and right about my last week in Middleton :(

The highlight from this last week was, of course, one of our investigators getting baptized! She was so nervous the entire time, but she got all the way under the first time and everything went great! There was good support from the ward and she said that everyone made her feel at home, which is the main goal so that was a relief. It was fun to sit next to Sister Blocker. She has taught people online and helped them get baptized but she has never been to one of her baptisms in the live. She was grinning ear to ear. The Spirit was as special and sweet as it always is. Sister Blocker and I were asked to give the talks. We decided that I would give the Holy Ghost talk, since I have already given a baptism talk before. Well, I totally spaced that and for some reason I thought that I was giving the baptism talk, so I prepared the whole thing and didn't realize my mistake until the night before the baptism. That was a little stressful, but I got it all together and everyone seemed to like our talks. She was confirmed the next day, and we had our last lesson with her last night. We taught the Restoration, and it was just cool to see how hungry she is for the gospel and how ready she is to fully immerse herself in the church. She is a wonderful lady and I am so grateful I have gotten to know and love her!

The last few days in Middleton were so hectic, trying to see everyone and get the area ready to be shotgunned, yet again. Sister Blocker is going back to Temple Square tomorrow, so she won't be in the area either. My curse continues because we are being shotgunned by elders. Literally every single area this has happened and I don't know why. But I have become very good at leaving notes and what not. It was pretty heartbreaking to leave everybody that I have become so close to in the last 6 months. I am so grateful that I got to serve there for 4 transfer and really get to know the people.

Today, I woke up at 5:30 to get everything ready to go. We ended up running around everywhere before leaving for the transfer spots in Caldwell. We drove to Ontario on the transfer van to get our car and drive to McCall, but the elders were actually not showing up until a couple of hours later, so we ended up driving on the van to the farthest away spot and then coming back when they were there. And that farthest away spot just so happens to be Baker City! I didn't get to see anyone, but if was fun to be there. We came back to Ontario, went shopping, got lunch, bought some winter gear, then went on the two hour drive back to McCall, a drive we have to make once a week for district meeting in Weiser. Like I said before, it was cool to drive out of the foggy, brown valley into the mountains and snow. It is so gorgeous here, just a picturesque little town. And we cover a big area that will be so fun to discover.