Elder Tanner Jenson's 730 Day Journey: MIRACLES ARE JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

November 5, 2012

Hey Everyone!

After I finish writing home and to President Essig, Elder King and I are going to the driving range!!!

Dream come true for Elder Jenson!

I'll take a bunch of pictures and send them to you next week!

Logros (Achievements for the week!)

bautismos 0

confirmaciones 0

investigadores con fecha 2 (Kevin, Jose Luis)

investigadores que asisten a la reunion sac 4 (Kevin, Jose Luis, Beatriz, Genesis)

lecciones con miembro 5

otras lecciones 7

investigadores que estan progresando 2 (Kevin, Jose Luis)

referencias recibidas 3

ref contactadas 11

nuevos investigadores 5

lecciones a CR MA 3

contactos 105

Streets of Renca Chile walked by Elder Jenson and Elder King

This week has been the toughest week in the mission for me by far, work wise. From Monday to Friday Elder King and I worked all day in the really hot weather with the sun beating down on us. To top that off, no one was letting us into their houses. I don't know how many miles we walked in those five days, but it was a TON! After 5 long days this week we had only 7 lessons taught. This was getting to me a little. Elder King and I would show up at our appointments and one after the next would say they were busy and that they didn't have time for us. Elder King and I had 3 people with baptismal dates going into this week and it seemed like not one of them wanted much from us anymore. All of our investigators were losing interest even though we were doing our daily contact with them every single day whether it was a phone call, having a member visit them or just dropping by and talking with them in their doorway. This was very frustrating. I've definitely learned the importance of patience this week. Elder King and I literally went into Saturday having no one with a baptismal date, 7 lessons and a few references contacted and we'd been out in the sun and on the streets the whole week working night and day. Nothing was happening in the sector and my excitement level was low. I remember thinking on Friday night how I'd been in Chile for 3 months and not a single baptism nor was I close to a baptism!

Cerro Colorado

Elder King and I had an intercambio for a few hours Saturday night with Cerro Colorado missionaries so Elder King could do a baptismal interview with Javiera who's in the Cerro Colorado sector. Elder Catalan, who's from Guatamala and arrived in Chile the same day I did, worked with me.

Elder Catalan

Elder Catalan and I were going to appointments and the same things were happening to us...either people weren't home, weren't answering the door or they would come out and say that they were busy. This continued until 830pm when we had a scheduled appointment with Marixa (I've taught her one time before). Marixa let Elder Catalan and I into her home and we were REALLY grateful. We gave a lesson on the Restoration.

Spanish Restoration Video

Marixa was asking us all kind of questions and showed alot of interest. It was a really, really productive lesson. Elder King and I are excited for tonight when we have another scheduled lesson with her. After meeting with Marixa, Elder King came back to our sector and we made a couple of contacts on the way to our house.

Streets of Renca Chile

At 950pm on Saturday night, we were about 200 feet from our house, when we passed a boy and mom in the street and said,"Hi" to them and kept walking. After walking about 50 more feet, the boy yelled at Elder King and I and said,"How can we get visits from you?" Elder King and I looked at each other in shock and said,"Whenever you want!" The Mom told us that their house was just up the street and asked Elder King and I if we wanted to follow them to know where it was. We said, "of course" and went to their house where they let us in and got to know them for about 10-15 minutes. It turns out that Kevin (14 yr old son) is the grandson of the Stake Patriarch in Renca! The Mom told us that her relatives had a really good experience with the missionaries and that it had made a change in the lives of her relatives and that she wanted that change in her family as well. Elder King and I invited them to church the next day, yesterday. They said that they all wanted to come. Elder King and I showed up at their house at 920am the next morning and Kevin opened the door in his suit!!! It was so awesome! Such a powerful feeling I had. We waited for the dad to finish getting ready, put on his shirt and tie and then all went to church together Jose Luis (dad), Kevin (son) and the daughter Katherine (6 yrs old...she doesn't count towards investigators in church because she's not 8 yrs old). The Mom said she had a lot to do so she ended up not coming to church with us. Jose Luis, Kevin and Katherine stayed all 3 hours of church and loved it! During sarament meeting there was a confirmation and also an announcement that two people were getting baptized today. Kevin leaned over and said,"When can I get baptized??" Wow, that was so awesome! Elder King and I visited with their family later in the day and taught them the Restoration and gave them both a baptismal date (Kevin for the 2nd of December and Jose Luis for the 23rd of December because he and his wife have to get married before he can be baptized). After we extended the baptismal date for Kevin, the first thing that came out of his mouth was,"That's really far away. Can we do it sooner?" We explained to Kevin that it takes a little bit of time to prepare for baptism because it's a sacred covenant you make with God. Elder King and I moved up Kevin's baptismal date to the 25th of Nov and told him he'd have to come to church every Sunday until then (for kids, they have to come to church 4 times before baptism). The spirit was strong. After such a long week of grinding through the days and trying my hardest, I was blessed with this miracle. I learned that even through hard times, you have to keep having the best attitude and continue to work hard because that person who's prepared to hear the gospel is coming around the corner in just a little while!

Elder Jenson on the streets of Renca-Miracles are just around the corner!

Maria: At the beginning of the week Maria told Elder King and I that she didn't know if she could talk to her boyfriend about baptism. We spent some time talking to her and she said she would try to talk to her pareja (boyfriend) and set a return appointment for Thursday only to find out from her sister in law that she went to the beach with her family for the weekend. Maria didn't even tell us! That was a little frustrating. Elder King and I have another appointment to meet with her tomorrow, Tuesday.

Lucia: Elder King and I have been doing daily contact with Lucia ever since we met her and still it seems like she's losing interest in lessons and being baptized. This is really sad. Lucia told us that she wasn't able to come to church this week and that she was going to the cemetary instead. I guess it's just not the right time for Lucia.

Amauri and Claudia: Elder King and I taught Amauri and Claudia a lesson together this week. Amauri said he didn't want Claudia moving away. Looks like Claudia is going to give in and stay with Amauri until they get married in a few months which isn't good. Elder King and I really committed Claudia to come to church yesterday and she still didn't come. This surprised me because Claudia was crying in the door when we committed her to come to church this week. The spirit was so strong. Elder King and I called her Sunday morning and Claudia answered and said she'd get ready and come to church....she never did!

Beatriz and Genesis: They came to church!!!!!! We had a great lesson with Beatriz and Genesis this week about baptism. Beatriz told Elder King and I that the reason she is doubtful to be baptized is because she has an ear problem. She says that if she gets her ears fully wet that causes serious problems and a trip to the hospital. We talked to Beatriz and the Stake President about what we could do and told her that we could put a seat in the font, get her some ear plugs and have her get baptized that way. She was like, "Oh, ya, that would be a great idea." Beatriz and Juan Carlos have really been talking a lot lately about Beatriz wanting to get baptized NOW. We are planning to talk more about Beatriz's baptism this coming week.

Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Bednar's Visit to Chile: Elder Bednar's visit was awesome! I can't believe I forgot to tell you about it these past two weeks. I don't have a lot of time to explain everything but Elder Bednar asked all 400 missionaries to read two talks and after we talked about the importance of ACTING instead of being acted upon. We should ask by faith and seek learning by faith. Learn through the spirit and have faith in the plan Heavenly Father has for us. Take a leap of faith and know Heavenly Father is there to help us and lift us. Elder Bednar talked to us from 8-11am. He didn't have time to shake our hands individually which I was looking forward to. Elder Bednar closed the meeting with an Apostolic blessing.

*Chilean food that kept me energized this week!