August 13th 2018~Have Such A Fun Rest Of Your Summer!!!Happy Year Mark Elder Jensen!!!
Hello to me dear, awesome, amazing, loved ones!!! I'm so happy and excited to email you today because I have so much to tell you! We had another really aweosme week and we have been finding like the wind! We have been so blessed to be able to serve in this ward and it is such a blessing to serve as a missionary and meet so many people! What amazing week it has been for both me and you all! I loved reading about your fun week and all of the amazing things going on back at home! I'm so happy that you had another fun week and got to do so much! We have had just an amazing week and Adrianna and Vanessa came to Church yesterday and we had a Mom and a Daughter show up to Church after researching some Churches close by! It was an exciting week for sure and I can't wait to share all of my spiritual experiences because it has been so great!
Last P-day was a ton of fun! We had a very awesome day and the highlight was being able to talk to you! I always feel so recharged when I get to talk to you! I feel right at home and feel so close to you! The weather was just so pretty and we got everything done really quick! I always love having the time to relax and get some things done and also have some fun too! We emailed for a while and then headed over to check out the fair! We weren't sure what stuff there was for us to do but we knew that it would be lots of fun! It ended up being mostly rides for the kids and so we didn't pay to get in but we could see that it was mostly an amusement park. It was out in a huge field and we saw some cars pulling in for a demolition derby that was going on tonight! It was pretty late and our P-day would have been over before it started but we really enjoyed seeing the cool sights! Then we were driving and we noticed an antique store and I bought 2 rolls of wheat pennies and they had tons of really cool old signs and antique furniture for sale! Then we got back to the apartment just in time for dinner and I had a blast emailing you! I sure thinking about Brandon as he hurt his arm but I'm so happy that he is doing ok! I was thinking about you a lot and I had so much fun talking back and forth! Thanks a bunch for all of the fun emails! We had a great evening and as we were driving down the street, we noticed a guy mowing his lawn and so we pulled over, got out and offered to help but he had just gotten done. We tried to share a message but he started up his weed whacker and so then we tracted his whole street. We decided to have a theme of service and most people were a little weirded out by the fact that we were "soliciting service". Hehe! A lot of people were out on the lake and so not very many people were home and we can't swim so we couldn't get to all of the people! We knocked on many, many doors and walked close to 3 or 4 miles! It was a very great day and I was wishing each of you a great night! Love ya tons!
Tuesday was a very great day as well! Man, these days seem to fly by! We had another great day and Sister Campbell called us in the morning and invited us over for dinner! Everybody calls her "Grandma" and has been feeding the missionaries ever since they knocked on her door 30 years ago! We are always excited to have a dinner appointment with the members! The weather was so pretty and I checked your weather and it was so nice as well! I noticed that at 6:30 your time, it got down to 51 degrees! I bet it felt so nice to have cooler weather! I love those crisp, cool mornings! We had a district meeting and it was a very great meeting! Elder Broberg hasn't been out for very long but he sure knows what he is doing as a District Leader! The drive is always so pretty and it weaves in and out of thick forests and the road splits through it all. We had a senior couple come to our Distirct meeting and they sure are fun to have around! They are from Baton Rouge Louisiana and they are very nice people! We talked about some of the unique challenges that the missionaries in our district face with being so spread out and so we talked about making each visit and contact count and how we can use the scriptures more to be the teacher. Then we stopped by to check in Roland and he was home! He said that he has been reading a chapter per day in the Book of Mormon which made us so happy! He said that whenever he has had a rough day, he will read the Book of Mormon and feel peace! We set up an appointment with him for the following day since he was doing some yard work. He didn't let us help because we were in white shirts and ties but we still offered to help! Then we got into one of the craziest lightning storms I have ever seen! I am not kidding when I say this that the thunder was SO LOUD! The lightning was hitting really close and so we had to stay in the car. As we were sitting there calling people, we heard one of the loudest explosion-like sounds ever! It hit about 200 yards behind the car and cracked and banged and was so loud! The rain stopped within about a half an hour and then we got out and had something so cool happen! We were tracting and we were just about to get in the car and drive to our dinner appointment down the street and the last door that we knocked on was a really nice man in his 40s and he is so awesome! He says that he works very long hours and that we caught him at home for the 30 minutes he has been home that day. We were able to give him a free copy of the Book of Mormon and he even knew where our Church was! He said that he had to drive back to work and so we didn't have a ton of time to talk to him but we were so excited that we found him because the Gospel will bless him and his Family so much! Then we had a huge feast with Sister Campbell and I remembered to get a picture with her! We each shared our favorite Book of Mormon scriptures and had a pot roast, potatoes, salad, and noodles and gravy and it tasted really good! She is just a nice lady that loves missionaries and says that we are "her kids!" She says that she is a Mom/Grandma away from home! She then asked us to plug in her brand new hybrid Toyota Prius and it was really neat to charge a car! She sent us off with the leftovers and we went back to the apartment with a smile on our faces after a great day! I sure was thinking about you a lot today and prayed for your happiness! You truly bring me the most joy and happiness and I'm so grateful to be your son and brother! Love each one of you tons!!!!
Wednesday was such a great and busy day of hard work! As we were exercising in the living room, we heard screeching tires and a loud crash and we looked outside and a big Ford SUV ran into the back of a car and totally smashed the front end of his car. It didn't seem to do much to the smaller car that he hit but luckily everyone was ok! It was really crazy but they all got out and were just fine but it was too bad that it had to happen. We watched from our front window for a while and they got it cleaned up pretty fast. I was hoping that you were having a great and fun day! It's so crazy to think that today is already August 8th! We had 2 great lessons planned that we were really excited for and we were looking forward to finding more people to teach too! Sorry that I have forgot to mention what I studied the last few days. Oops! I have been reading the Book of Mormon like the wind and I read some great chapters in 2 Nephi. The Isiah chapters have always been pretty hard for me to understand but I still enjoy reading them! I read a talk from President Monson and it sure was good! It is a famous one among missionaries called "Finding Joy In The Journey!" I have always loved that talk and I am always so grateful for each one of you! I read in Preach My Gospel about learning more and gaining knowledge about Jesus Christ and I loved how it says that when we study Christ, we become like Christ! We started the day after doing our studies and went to visit a lady named Jaime and her husband Lou. She told us to stop by around 1:00-2:00 on Wednesdays or Thursdays because she is usually home with her 4 year old daughter McKenna. They weren't home but we were able to do some tracting in the area and it went super well! I forgot to bring my water bottle and it was close to 95 degrees with over 80% humidity and so I was so thirsty. We were pretty far away from any place to get water and so I said a prayer in my mind to find some water and guess what!?!?! The very next house we knocked on, not the 3rd or 2nd house but the VERY NEXT door that we knocked on, we asked a lady if she was interested in learning about the Book of Mormon and how it clarifies teachings in the Bible and she said "No Thanks, have a great day" and as she was closing the door, she says "Oh by the way, can I get you a big glass of ice water?" Can you believe that?!?! Prayers are so powerful and I know that Heavenly Father knows us each of us and knows our thoughts and needs. It was such a cool, immediate answer to a prayer! I was parched and was so thankful for such a quick answer to a prayer! It reminded me of the scripture from Matthew:
"35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
It was a very neat experience! We talked to a lady that told us that she wasn't interested and so we asked her if she knew anybody in the area that could use an uplifting message or if she knew somebody that lost a loved one and her eyes got big. She said "Yes, the young Family next door just lost their Dad to a heart attack." We knocked on their door and unfortunately, they didn't answer but we are going to go back another time. Then we had some dinner and I was so excited to see an email from you! I get so excited to hear from you! I was very glad that Brandon was doing ok and that his injury was healing! I have been saying lots of prayers for him and I'm so happy that he is going so great! We then drove to Montague which is the far west corner of our area for a lesson that we had with Brianne, who is the daughter of the member who past away a year ago. She didn't even know that her Mom was a member of our Church and so she was curious what we believed and what the missionaries taught her Mom! Her Dad was home but he said that Brianne was at a friend's house and so we weren't able to meet with her but we found someone who has a lot of potential!!! I'm so excited to say that we found a guy named Roy and he was so excited to hear about the Book of Mormon and how it doesn't replace the Bible but is a 2nd witness! It was so exciting to find him! He is either from India or Tinidad and Tobago. He was so nice but his wife didn't really want to talk to us. We also found a couple in their 60s and they told us that they were Jehovas Witnesses and that they had just had a Bible study with them. We were just so excited about Roy and we even set up an appointment with him for Friday! I'm really looking forward to talking to President Hess tomorrow and talking to him about all of the great work! I'm doing so great here and I love the area and the people! It truly is such a blessing to be a missionary and you are my greatest blessing in life! Love you tons and thanks again for the update on Brandon! LOVE YA!!!
Thursday was a really great day! We had interviews with President Hess and I was really looking forward to mine! It takes about an hour to drive to the Morristown Chapel and that is where all of the missionaries in our zone met for interviews. It was a fun drive and I have been getting lots of practice on the freeway! We got to do our studies and then we drove to Morristown and the weather was so nice and pretty! I was hoping that each one of you was having a great day and having lots of fun! I read a cool story this morning about trusting in God and his plan and timing! I thought it was really cool! Enjoy!
"A man was working at the bottom of a deep well when his young son arrived with lunch for him. The boy peered down into the well, but in the darkness of the deep hole he could not see his Father. Finally, the son called down to him. When the Father answered, his son prepared to drop the lunch sack down into the well, where his Father could catch it. To The boy's suprise, his Father called out "Jump down into the well and share my lunch with me." "Oh, Father," the boy replied, "the well is deep and I can't see you in the darkness." "It's ok," the Father answered, "I can see you. Just jump and I'll catch you." With some hesitation, but with great trust in his Father, the boy jumped and was caught in his Father's loving arms. This is the kind of childlike innocence and trust we should have in our Heavenly Father."
I really love that story and thought it was really cool! My interview went really well and President and Sister Hess were really pleased with how the work is going! Sister Hess invited me to tell you something! She said to tell you thanks for raising us in a gospel centered home and raising us with love and how to be positive! I do have some news about my interview with President Hess! I didn't even have to bring up my release date but he said "Now when do you go home again?" Then I told him that I was planning on talking to him about my release date and so it worked out perfectly! I asked him what his thoughts are and he basically told me that I need to go home on a transfer day and it has to be after my 2 year mark. He said that there will be a transfer right before Christmas and then a 7 week transfer that will be on February 5th. He said that a few Sister Missionaries that go home in January from the New York mission also were wondering if they could come home in the middle of the transfer. President Hess looked up my release date that Church headquarters put in and they said that it wasn't entered in yet and so he asked the mission office secretary to check and so we will see! I'm still not sure exactly what day I'll be coming home but it will either be January 21st 2019 or February 6th 2019. I feel like February is so far away but I know that everything will work out! I'm just so glad to be a missionary and I love and miss you very much! After our interviews, we got to do weekly planning and then we had a lesson with a referral that we got named Marcia! We were so happy that she was willing to meet with us! For some reason, she wasn't home and the security person at the front desk tried to call her but she didn't answer and so we aren't sure where she went. So then we tracted in the area and the 1st door we knocked on, a lady wasn't interested in learning about Jesus Christ but once we mentioned, Family history, she seemed to be really happy and excited! She had some little kids with her and it was fun to see the smiles on their faces and wave to them! I have been just so blessed with all of these amazing experiences to share the Gospel with others. I can honestly say without a doubt that this Church is true and is God's restored Church on the Earth! I know that Joseph Smith really did in reality translate the Book of Mormon with the power given to him to complete his big task of Restoring the Church. I strive to be the best example I can be to you all back at home and I'm so blessed to have you right by my side as I share the message I love and has brought so much peace and happiness to our lives. I know that each one of us is loved by a loving Heavenly Father and that he is so proud of each one of you! I know that prayers are answered in His timing, but they are answered. I have so much love for you and I have grown so much in my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it blesses lives! I'm so proud each day to be your son, brother, cousin, nephew, and Grandson! I am the happiest missionary in the world and I'm so thankful for each of you! This is the greatest work and I'm so happy to be a part of It! It may be difficult to be away from each other but the time is so short and we will be together again soon! You mean the world to be and are my greatest joy in life! I love you so very much!!!! Our evening was so great and we tracted in a really pretty area that reminded me of the Sacred Grove. It was so peaceful and the sun was bright orange! It was cool to think that you could have had the same thing happen and that the same sun is shining on you all the way over there in Utah! We met a few Roman Catholic Families and the daughter of a Baptist pastor and she was headed off to work but she was one of the friendliest teenagers I've met in a while. We gave her a Bible pass along card to give to her Dad and said that she would pass it on! It was a great and productive day of hard work! Love you tons my dear Family!!!
Friday was another very great day! The weather has been so nice and cooler in the mornings! I was sending lots of hugs and well wishes to you all! I hope that you had a really great day and that everything is going great! We started out by going to the food pantry and we had a great time helping out! It has become one of my favorite parts of the week. The sister missionaries are there to help as well and we usually have 2 other people who are members of different Churches help out and another lady that runs the computer and gets everyone signed in. It's a really nice program and reminds me of the Bishop's storehouse. It wasn't too busy and everything went smoothly. We had such a great rest of our day and got lots done! People here are so nice and we haven't gotten very many negative responses but the hardest part is working around their schedules and meeting with them on a consistent basis. Because when we are meeting with and teaching someone, we are invited them to change many aspects of their lives. We are asking them to start reading their scriptures, coming to Church, stop smoking or drinking, pay tithing, and a lot more that will bring them so many blessings but it can be hard for people to make these changes. But I'm so blessed to see people the way Heavenly Father sees them because he knows how much potential they have! We went to visit Roy and his wife ended up being home and she had a cross necklace on and so we talked to her about what she believes. She says that they live so far away from any Church and she feels so disconnected from everyone in town. She and her Family live in Montague which is really far away up near the Pennsylvania border! So she says that going to Church means reading her Bible in her home. We were able to testify to her that Heavenly Father is mindful of her struggles but will reward her for making the effort to come to Church! Then we went tracting in a beautiful area near where they live and we talked to a really nice Catholic man who was happy to talk to us but said that he was comfortable with going to Catholic Church. It was so nice just to be outside and asking anyone mowing their lawn if they needed help. So far, everyone has said "No, we've got it!" when we offer to help but we have been trying to ask them if we can mow their lawn or do something very specific. Then we went to an area with brand new houses in a town called Oak Ridge and we visited a few Families that we talked to about a week ago! When we knock on a door, we always ask for their names so we can match the address to their name and so we can come back and ask for someone specific when we go back and knock on their door later. We had a few Families to visit and we stopped by a guy named Chris' house and his wife was and 3 kids were just about to head out and go on a bike ride. So then we knocked on every one of the doors in the neighborhood and it took us a few hours and I think since it was Friday and the weather was beautiful, people weren't at home. We did give out our phone number to those who answered their door and even had a guy tell us to come back another day! It has been such a blessing to be a missionary and I love every second of it! I sure am thinking about you a lot and sending lots of love your way! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!
Saturday was so great too! We woke up to some heavy rain and it was very dark but we were happy to head out and work! We have been giving it everything we've got and it has been lots of fun to work with Elder Caccioppoli! It's very weird to think that he is on his last 8 weeks of his mission and he goes home on October 3rd! So crazy! It's wierd to think that I will have a totally different companion once General Conference rolls around! We had such a packed and busy day and I hope that I can remember everything that happened! First of all, I just wanted to say thank you for the really fun email that you sent! I was so happy and excited to hear that Parker won his games! Go Ridgeline! I loved the pictures and he looks so much older in Football gear! Thanks so much for letting me know! After our studies and lunch, we bought Elder Caccioppoli an umbrella and then we finally were able to contact the Marvin Family! It has been so hard to get a hold of them by any means and they haven't answered their door, phone, or texts in over a week and a half and so we were excited to finally be able to talk to them! Sister Marvin said that the girls might not be able to make it to Church because of the weird summer schedule that they are on with having the girls go over to their Dad's house since they are separated and so it is hard for us to coordinate rides for them because the girls really want to come. So then we did lots of tracting out in the rain in some beautiful parts of Sussex and we walked up one of the longest driveways I've EVER seen! This driveway must have been at least a half mile to 3/4ths of a mile long! So crazy! Hehe! Then after doing some tracting for a few hours, our last door we knocked on was a really nice Catholic man and we noticed that he had a USPS package sitting on the bottom step and so we decided to bring it up to him because it was getting soaked. He was surprised that someone would do that for him and so we used it to start a conversation with him and we asked him a few questions about his beliefs. Then during dinner, we were able to go over to the Murray Family's house to celebrate their daughter's husband 30th Birthday and it was a really fun time and there were lots of non members there that we were able to introduce to the Church! I had lots of fun talking to the daughter's husband because he served in this mission 6 years ago! He was born in Orem and went to Timpanogas High school and then met his wife while serving in this mission and now he lives here in our ward with his wife and her parents! We also got to talk to Brother Murray's parents who are in their 70s and they aren't members but had fun hearing from us about the Church! We got talking to Brother Murray's Mom and she used to work as an EMS in Jersey City. She wasn't supposed to work on the morning of September 11th but when they watched the 2nd plane hit the tower, she got in her truck, turned on the lights, and raced towards the tower to help because she knew that tons of medical personnel were needed. She was on the New Jersey side of the island and watched the towers come down and said how hard it was to watch, especially that close. It is just amazing that I have had such an interest in 9/11 and here I am hearing from the actual people that were there on that day and it is just amazing! Allan was the husband who was turning 30 and he said that he got to go to 2 Giants games when he was serving here since MetLife stadium was in his area! They had lots of good food and we were able to go back out and work for the rest of the night and we did some more tracting! The rain stopped and so it was so pleasant to be outside! It was such a great day and I'm doing so great here in New Jersey! Thanks so much for all of your continued, dedicated support! Love you and miss you tons and tons!!!!!
Sunday was such an awesome Sabbath! I was so, so, SO very excited and looking forward to your email and pictures! Today was just so amazing to say the least! We were so blessed with so many miracles and it was just such a great day at Church! For starters, I'm pleased to announce that both Vanessa and Adrianna Marvin, the 8 and 11 year old girls, came to Church today and stayed for all 3 meetings! They walked in the back with their Grandparents who are members and we both just had a huge smile on our faces! It always is so great to see the fruits of our labors and have people come to Church! We had some great talks and they were all on the Book of Mormon and then Elder Caccioppoli and I got to teach the Gospel Principles class and it was on Baptism! It was kind of last minute because Brother Stevenson wasn't feeling very well and so he went home after sacrament meeting. We got to have breakfast that morning and we had some yummy pecan waffles and had a great correlation meeting. We have been praying for those we have invited to do something and have been praying for more people to teach and guess what happened? So we had a combined Relief Society and Priesthood class on Ministering and after the class was over, Bishop Jensen said "I need you here now!" because he was so excited for what he had to tell us. He said that a Hispanic Mom and her daughter were online and searched for Churches near where they live and they picked ours to come to! It was so perfect and we felt so blessed to have 2 really awesome people come to Church and they loved it! They only stayed for the last hour but they want to learn more and said they were very interested in coming back! It's just amazing how Heavenly Father blesses us with experiences that build our Faith! They were really nice and said that they grew up Catholic but were searching for a better Church to come to! It was so awesome!!! Then they had another baby blessing and lunch after the 3 hours of Church and they had sandwiches, cookies, cake, chips, and different sodas! We had lots of fun talking with all of the members and they had us take lots of leftovers back to the apartment! We were just so happy to have had Janelly and Emily come to Church and also the Marvin girls! It is so great to see the hard work pay off and it lets us know we are doing our best! I was thinking about each of you and how your Church was going! I was getting more and more excited as the day rolled along to hear from you! It is always the highlight of my whole week! The members here love the missionaries and we have felt a lot of love from the members! This would be such an awesome and amazing place to conclude my mission! We talked with lots of the members and we found out that a member named Sister Prochaska, hasn't been to Church or wanted anything to do with the Church for over 25 years, suddenly showed up today and so we are seeing so many cool and amazing things happen! We also got dinner to take home from Bishop Jensen's wife to take back to the apartment and have later! Right as we were eating, I got to read your fun and exciting email! Wow! You sure had an amazing and fun week! I want to talk to you about everything that you got to do because it sure was fun! Thanks a ton for the fun details and fun pictures that I love so much! It's almost like I was with you the whole time! I was so thrilled to read about your week and everything that you got to do! I sure do appreciate the time you take to write me the best emails ever! I do have something funny to tell you! Hehe!!! So for the 1st TIME EVER on my mission, I introduced myself as "Tanner!" We were talking to a 7 year old kid that has been on vacation with his Family and so I hadn't met him yet but I had heard that his older Brother who is 12 and passed the sacrament, his name is Tanner and so it had been on my mind all day and so I introduced myself as Tanner! Hehehe! We tracted for the whole evening and it was an area That we had tracted near before and we knocked on the door to this huge mansion and a very friendly guy from Europe came out and started talking to us and told us about how New York City is so different and can't believe that I lived there for 6 months. He sounded like he was from Russia or Ukraine and was so interesting to talk to. His wife came to the door and told us to get away but then her husband yelled something in Russian and she smiled, said "hello gentlemen!" and then slowly closed the door! Hehehe! It was an entertaining way to end a wonderful day full of cool experiences! Thanks a bunch for your fun and exciting email! I absolutely loved reading it! You are so loving and so supportive and it's just such a blessing to have you right by my side, every step of the way! I couldn't do it without you! I'm so excited to talk to you tomorrow! Love and miss you so, so, so, so, so, so, SO very much!!!!
I know this Church is true! I know that this Church is the only true Church with the Priesthood authority on Earth today and I know that we can find the most peace, joy, love, happiness within the Family! Families are the most important thing on Earth and I'm so grateful to have the best Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins ever!!!! I'm so proud and grateful to call myself a Latter Day Saint! What a special time in my life to serve as a missionary and how grateful I am! Love you!!
Well my dear Family, what a fun time it was to type this up and let you know all of the happenings around here in New Jersey! I cant sau it enough but I love each one of you so much and I'm grateful for the blessings of the Gospel! I'm only away for a short time so that others can be together with their Family for eternity and have the same happiness! Thanks again for the awesome emails, pictures, and continued love and support! I am doing so great here and I'm happy and having fun while working hard! Mission life has really strengthened me but I always feel such a boost each morning as I wake up and know that you are all praying for me! It is such a blessing to have an Army of Family right by my side! These last 5 months will go by faster than we can imagine so let's all buckle up, and hang on because I have a feeling like 5 months are going to go so fast! I'm really looking forward to talking to you today! We aren't sure exactly what we are going to do today but we found a cool little mini golf place down the street and also a mine that you can take a tour of! I also found a neat little coin store in downtown Sussex and it looks like an old town out of a western movie. I love to just look and see what neat things they have to see! It should be a really fun day! I can't believe that I'm saying this but transfer calls are coming up this coming Sunday at 9:30 and then transfers are on Tuesday. We are almost positive that we are both staying put especially because Elder Caccioppoli has 6 weeks left and so we should stay together but hey, you never know, things "might get interesting! " We will see what happens! I hope that each of you has an amazing and really fun week! Good luck with all of your fun activites and I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers! LOVE YOU SO, SO, SO VERY MUCH!!!!
Have Such A Fun Rest Of Your Summer!!!
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