Medford 4

Hey there everyone!

This week was pretty grand. It was one of those weeks where it doesn't feel like a whole ton of things happened, but looking back there was. It also just fllllleeewwwww on by. The days are getting shorter and shorter and it's reminding me that I've only got so much time left. I'm really grateful to make the most of every day I have!

Some of the highlights of this week:

We did a lot of service for different people, both members and non-members. I'm always grateful for the opportunity to do service, even if it's just moving some boxes around or helping an older sister work her computer.

We were able to nab a new couch during one of the moves which was a huge blessing!

We did a lot of finding for people, but I guess that's not what was in store for us this week. We did teach a lot of lessons though. I can now say that I've met pretty much everyone that we've been working with regularly, so I'm all up to speed now.

We met with two really great investigators this week, Drake and Chris. Drake is an older father who's looking for a new church and really has enjoyed our message. He even came to church this week! 🎉 Unfortunately it was the most non-investigator friendly church service EVER.  It was Ward Conference, we sang "Oh my Father", had the most off the wall discussions in Gospel Principles, and had a member pray to Jesus.  Poor Drake!

Chris is also super sweet! He's a younger guy who knows SO much. He's one of the most interesting people that I've ever met in my life. He's super humble and really seeking for truth, and thinks he's on to something with the church. The guy has already read the entire Book of Mormon. He's super solid. We were able to give him a blessing due to some health problems he's been having, and he really appreciated it. I'm excited to keep working with him!


Other fun things included biking to diner in sub 40 degree temperatures, dealing with the crazy Oregon weather, nursing Elder Lambson back to health, and making outrageous amounts of pasta for six Elders. It was a blast!

That's it for this week. Thank you for all the prayers and support! Talk to you next time.

Something inspirational,

Elder Jensen

Squad

Medford 3

Hello Everyone!

Things are going well over here in the Medford Phoenix Metropolitan area. We've been working to increase our teaching pool and hopefully start working with a lot of our investigators. We're making a really big push as a Zone, and Mission wide, to help investigators move toward baptism so we're hoping to see results.

This week was super fun. We went on a two day exchange with the Zone Leaders and it was a blast! I love those guys so much and we were able to get a lot of work done whilst enjoying ourselves. We spent a lot of time trying to track the investigators to set up appointments. That wasn't really successful, so we're going to be focusing on that again this week.

We also had interviews with our Mission President on Thursday. They were so great, President Russell is a fantastic man. He really helped me through some of the concerns and thoughts I was having as my mission is starting to wrap up. I really felt the love and confirmation that what I'm doing is right and that everything is going to be ok! We also had some super sweet training on the Plan of Salvation and the tree of life, which was very insightful.

We had some great meetings with people this week. Our investigator Susie is pretty interested in what we have to say after we smoothed out some of the issues from past missionaries. The spirit was totally there and we feel she got a lot out of our meeting as we reestablished expectations.

We also had another lesson with Deva our less active friend. She's such a great lady, I love her! She was having a lot questions about her personal testimony and why she hasn't felt a huge "burning in the bosom" type experience. We talked and testified of the small and the simple things we can do to continue to build our testimonies. It was fantastic!

Other fun things from this week; I taught Elder Davis how to ride a bike, we had some Indian Food, and we accidentally walked all the way to the city south of us called Talent. It was adventurous. 

Thank you all for the support and the prayers! It really means so much I can't begin to tell you!

Have a great week!

Keep it real,

Elder Jensen

Medford 1st Ward Gang

Elder Davis: Balance Master

Rain biking builds character (I hope)

Medford 2

Hey there everyone!!

Things are going just great down here in the Phoenix Medford area. There are a lot of things happening over in these parts and I'm loving being here and serving the Lord in this area.

We had a Zone Training on Friday, and it was really swell. Our Zone Leaders are great Elders and we learned a lot about how we can better set expectations with people we teach. The assistants also showed up, which was a nice surprise. They're good guys.

We did a lot of finding and going to meet with people this week. It wasn't the most successful thing in the entire world, but we were able to get out there and give it a go. We did meet some great people though.

We were tracting out in the eastern part of our area on Sunday, and it was the most pleasant tracting experience of my entire life let me tell you. Nobody was interested in the slightest, but they were all SO kind. It was the most happy I've ever been without being "successful" I guess!

I was also able to meet with a few more of the investigators. There's a man named Patrick who could very well be baptized here soon, and another is a woman named Susie who's really sweet. She's had some bad run ins with the missionaries before, but she's down to keep meeting with us.

The funniest part of the week was a lesson we had with a less active member named Deva who just started returning to church. She was absolutely hilarious in some of the things she was saying and also really sweet in her spirit! Plus, she lives in a storage facility/flea market thing, so that was interesting. Her house was really nice though.

I also had the chance to speak to the ward on Sunday. The topic was the Plan of Salvation, and in preparing my address I was able to do a lot of study and pondering. We're so blessed with the knowledge that we have as members of Christ's church and I'm so grateful to be sharing it with others!

Until next time! Much love!

Don't forget to floss.

Elder Jensen

Not Arizona

Mighty Morphin Medford

A good view ft Elder Davis

Medford 1: A Barbershop Quartet

Howdy folks. It's your friendly neighborhood Elder Jensen reporting live from the city of Phoenix, Oregon.

The first week of the transfer in the new area was really swell! There are a lot of really good things going on over here that I'm so grateful to be a part of. It's going to be a great place to start the final countdown of the rest of my mission.

So nitty gritty. Medford is so much different from Eugene. The people down here are significantly less...Oregonian? Everything has a bit of a California vibe to it. The city itself is really nice! Medford reminds me a lot of Bountiful in most aspects and has a lot of shops and restaurants. It's a good place to be.

Last Monday I got shipped down here to be with Elder Davis, my new companion. He's a great guy. He's from Arizona and has been out about a year and we get along great. We work together really well and are on equal footing ability wise. We've been doing a lot of really good work together.

We spent the majority of our week going around and visiting investigators that the previous Elders had been working with. There's a lot of promise! I still haven't met everyone, but we do have some really top of the line people who want to learn about the gospel.

We were also able to find some new people to teach. We street contacted into these two guys walking home from school who had some questions for us. We gave them copies of the Book of Mormon and are hopefully going to meet up with them again. We had a lady knock on our door selling chocolates, so we had an exchange - we gave her a dollar and a Book of Mormon for some chocolate. It was like reverse tracting; people are knocking in to us!

Other fun highlights from the week included doing service for an older couple in the ward named the Greenwoods. They're such friendly people and make a killer elk stew. We moved firewood for them, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

We also did service as a Zone at the Phoenix cemetery cleaning leaves and debris. I learned how to use a riding lawnmower which is SO much nicer than a push oh my goodness dad what were we thinking?! Night and day difference everyone. Technology is amazing.

Anyhow, we also had an exchange with the 6th Ward Elders (where Elder Peterson from Kaysville is!) we got paired together again and went out to contact people for a while. Exchanges are awesome due to the fact that they're like a giant sleepover.

We also worked this week with the ZLs to perfect our barbershop quartet version of Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy. It's going to be spectacular when it's finished. We'll be the next Osmond's, or other famous Mormons.

A cool thought I had this week came during fast and testimony meeting. As members went up to bear their testimonies, I thought of the all the other members around the world sharing their testimonies across the pulpit. It's very special that the gospel is just as important to us as it is to everyone else. I imagined the air being filled with the sound of the testimonies from around the world. The gospel is so fantastic.

Crazy Oregonian Spotlight of the Week. This week's shoutout goes to Donna, the purple lady. She's a member of the ward here and just a hoot. She has a compulsive lying problem, so she tells some out-there stories. (She lost 98% of her skull apparently at one point.) She also only wears purple, even her hair. Bright Purple. She's a great lady nonetheless.

That's it for me! Tune in next week to see if we can figure out our rendition of choral hymns. Until then, let your light so shine!

Thank you all for all that you do for me and all other missionaries too. We're very grateful for everything!

Play that funky music white boy,

Elder Jensen

Springfield Episode 18: Finale

Hey there everyone. It's Elder Jensen here in Oregon reporting live!

It's the last week of the seven-weeker transfer here in the mission. Things have been going really well in Springfield over the past few days. We've been working to get new people to teach and to keep our solid people solid.

Ken is still raring to go to get baptized, but his date is moving back a little. Everyone else is doing pretty great!

The last week was a blur. It feels like things are just getting faster and faster as time starts to wind down! Crazy stuff. I finally burned some pants to celebrate18 months, so that was swell.

The biggest news this week is transfers. We got a call while riding the bus that Elder Moser and Elder Gneiting are sticking together in Springfield and I'm heading down to Medford First Ward! (which is technically the city of Phoenix, Oregon but whatever) My new comapanero is named Elder Davis. I'm super excited for the next few weeks down here and all the fun to be had!

I'll have a better and more detailed email this next week I promise! Until then, be good y'all. Much love!

Tell your mom you love her,

Elder Jensen

P.S. My new mailing address is:

Elder Chase Jensen
186 South Church Street Apartment A
P.O. Box 141
Phoenix, Oregon 97535

Dont' freak out mom!
(mom kinda freaked out)

Three guys on a log

Typical Oregonian man on a bus 

Checking the water for dem gators

Mission Family Tree - Elder Jensen's Posterity
Jensen who begat Searcy and also begat Carter who begat Willits
Grandson Elder Willits, Son Elder Carter, Grandpa Elder Jensen, Son Elder Searcy