TONS OF PICS THIS WEEK

this is my compa and i with Yeseñas baby girl!! she is fulllll of sass!!!! haha



CROSSING THE RIVER(STREET)

Side note, they are wearing each others clothes. 

my cute companion and roommates decorated my desk and wrote me cards and got me treats for my cumple mes!!2 i love them!! every day is filled with laughs and is a party! 

these are the guaguas we can fit soooo many people in them they are a basic transportation here. they are 20 pesos. this is one we took today to a non members house for lunch! :)

RACHEL IS IN THE VERY BACK OF THIS VAN ON BOTH PICS

OUR DISTRICT

this is just like a part of our area from the opposite side of the street, if you can see there are like 3 houses on top of each other! haha i love it! :)

this is our little cute street! the pink building is our house and we live on the 3rd floor!!

and this is our kitchen...sort of messy woops! haha and yes there are ants and bugs everywhere no matter how clean we keep it! :) yummmm protein



this is where we do our laundry!! its sure makes our clothes super clean! bahahah!! :))

and this is where we study!! haha cute little room!! :))

this is the view from our roof!! the BEAUTIFUL DR!!! 



 view of our chapel!!! WE ARE SO BLESSED TO LIFE ACROSS THE STREET!!!

this is ANOTHER view from our roof!!  

STREETS OR RIVERS?

HOLA familia!!!!!!! 
Hoy es mu cumple mes!!! dos meses!!! wahhhooo!!!! aye aye aye pasando muy rapido!!! 

SHOUT OUT TO MY DADDIO HIS BDAY WAS ON SATURDAY! AND SHOUT OUT TO MY NEPHEW CAEL WHOSE BDAY IS THIS WEEK!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS WITH ALL MY HEART! EVERYONE TELL THEM HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND DO A LITTLE DANCE FOR ME ! :))

Gahhhh it has been another wonderful week of being a missionary in La Yuca!! :) The Lord is preparing so many people for us, we had a ton of appointments fall through on Wednesday, actually all of them, and so we decided to go to an old contacts house that we were by that never really went anywhere and she happened to be there along with her friend, they let us in and we started talking and then we taught the 1st vision and about prophets... they both took it all in and they were so ready and prepared by The Lord, they asked all the right questions! wow its little miracles like these that make the mission so amazing!! 

This week we were at Espeghettis at a members house and oh my lanta he just gives us so much food and so we are all sitting on the roof eating and talking and all of a sudden Matos (the member) gets up to go in the kitchen and everyone starts trying to scrape their food onto someone else's plate... hahah and then elder Cisnero grabs hermana Echards giant platano and all of us were like wow that's really nice of you to eat that then he just chucks it off the roof!! bahahah!! we were dying laughing and right after Matos walks back out!! aye my madre!! so funny!!! 

So this Saturday i came down with a fever of 102 and was not feeling to great but when we were on our way home our investigator Yeseña called and wanted us to come by but we couldn't,,, and she said she had a problem and couldn't come to church the next day.. so we were all worried and stuff and then we decided to stop by after church to make sure everything was fine and she just sat down and explained to us how she had had a really rough and scary day with a ton of family problems going on in her life and she wanted us to come over and sing hymns and read The Book of Mormon with her because we make her feel peace! Wow, what another testimony builder of the spirit with sweet Yeseña! i love her so much!! so we sang a couple of hymns and read and talked and laughed for a while and she was great!! :) the spirit really is the great comfortor! :))))) also one of our investigators came to church for the first time and we have been teaching him for months,.. hermana Echard and i just started dancing in the hallway of the church when we saw cute little Reinoso and his cane walking into the chapel!! ahh!! it was like christmas!!! 

Also on Sunday night we were in a sita, and all of a sudden it starts pouring rain and lighting oh my it was nuts, and so the couples whose house we were at gave us plastic bags to put over our hair(because everyone here is crazy about their hair, every other store is a salon) and so we start running and we were at the opposite side of the area than our house and we are just soaked haha then we get to one place and people are all lined up on the steps of all the stores and like climbing up the houses,,,, the whole street had flooded almost to the tops of the cars!! AND WE HAD TO CROSS IT TO GET HOME!! bahaha my comp and i just start laughing!!! and start on our journey!! we were dying the streets were  full of poop water and garbage just all over and we are just the only ones trecking through it cause we had to be home on time!! it was seriously crazy!! but we made it safe and sound!! :) 

so many adventures!! I love being a missionary!!! 

love you guys!! I have the best family and friends ever!!! :))) 

hermana jenson

We got to go to the dedication plaque of the mission today! Super cool! We got to pray as a zone! really awesome experience

WE HAD 20 PEOPLE IN THIS THING

SO MUCH ICE CREAM :)

DINNER ON THE ROOF MY FAVORITE THING

THEIR PASTA

Week 8 CHICKENS (pollo)

hola familia and loved ones!!!

Ha Ha Ha okay so you guys can probably assume but there are chickens everywhere in this place. and i have a few funny stories to tell you guys about them so the first is we were in a lesson on Mercede's porch and we are teaching about the 1st vision and all of a sudden her husband comes out and throws a dead baby chicken on the ground and the dog starts to eat it... oh my gosh i almost started crying. Then right after my companion and i were talking about it and this guy is in his front yard holding a chicken by its feet and just wacks it with a machetti (idk how to spell that) and we just start screaming, then another one of our investigators Jessica has a chicken that runs around her house, and Jessica likes to smoke (don't worry we are teaching her now and she wants to stop, really cool) but she had the chicken tied up with a little cord that is connected to her radio and one time her cigarette bud fell out of her mouth and the chicken was running around with it in its mouth!! haha gosh chickens are craaaaazy! haha

Okay besides crying and laughing because of chickens i have had as always some really awesome moments that have touched my heart and made my testimony grow. So my companion and i have been striving to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost always with us. So we decided to write down everything that maybe or might keep us away from the spirit. We prayed and fasted and have promised The Lord that we would not do any of those things for 40 days, we call it our 40 day sin fast and every morning and night we go through our list with The Lord. Wow, i can tell you guys that The Lord has been by our side and The Holy Ghost has been touching our hearts, but especially our investigators hearts. One thing that my companion told me that i loved is.. that "being on a mission isn't hard, but being a missionary is" its when we work hard, talk to that one extra person, say something in Spanish even though you know they don't understand you, or skip something so you can pray and go to bed on time. It's the little things and the discipline that make you a good missionary and The Holy Ghost present! i testify that if you guys strive and truly try to have the Holy Ghost in your life and reevaluate, that the The Lord will bless you and your life! it starts with the small and simple things! i am grateful for the direction and knowledge and purpose this gospel has given me! Thank you all for the support! :)

Sorry i forgot this, but in the process of this one chapter i love in the BOOK OF MORMON is Alma 5, its like a personal interview and it was also mentioned a lot in general conference, "if you have sung the song of redeeming love, can you do so now" that is one thing i love that i have been able to sing that song and i am able to sing it for everyone here that i talk to!!

quick story¨: so Sunday was a really discouraging day, things just weren't working out and we hardly had anyone at church, so we were super down and so when we went out for the day we had good lessions and talked to a bunch of people but nothing really was happening. Then we had one more appointment and my comp and i talked about just visiting them the next day because we were close to the time we had to be in. They most likely wouldn't be there.. (stuff Satan tells you), and then we both were just like NO we have to go, so we went and knocked, and no one came for like 5 minutes but we just stayed there for some reason and then TONY came to the door!!! we sat down and started talking about the BOOK OF MORMON! the spirit was so strong and we were just lifted up by the spirit, he is super passionate and knows that this Gospel is true. He told us that since he has started reading the Book of Mormon his life has changed and he has felt peace and love and happiness in his life more than ever before! WOW! i am so grateful that we were able to listen to the spirit and that i'm able to see how this gospel changes peoples lives! i love this gospel!!

con amor de La Yuca

Hermana Jenson

NEW TRAINER HERMANA ECHARD FROM HONEYVILLE, UTAH

TEACHING KIDS ENGLISH

OTHER ROOMIES HERMANAS PISCONTE, MIJANGOS

PLAYED SOCCER W/ ZONE THEN WATER FIGHT

THE FIELD IS WHITE AND READY TO HARVEST

SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED THIS WEEK SO IM GONNA TRY MY BEST!

La Yuca!!! has already stolen my heart!! :)) so i am in the capital and i love it!! i still have running water!! haha its not hot anymore but its hot enough outside that it really is a blessing! i have to turn my shower on with plyers and use broken glass as a mirror! BUT ITS SO AWESOME! i love it here!!

my area is pretty small but fulllllll of the most amazing people! and my house is right next to the chapel!! SO BLESSED!! all the people here are my family, gosh i cant even describe how much i already love them! its easy to love someone when they are so loving, and thats how the people are here!! AMAZING!!

my companion is Hermana Echard from UT!! haha she is truly amazing she has a really good understanding of this gospel and an awesome testimony! i am truly blessed to have her! and she loves popcorn so we eat it alot! :)) we live with two other sisters one who was in the ccm with me Hermana Pisconte from peru and her trainer Hermana Mijangos from mexico!! so i get to practice spanish ALOT!! which is good cause i need it! but my trainer said that she was impressed with my spanish so thats good! she is a really good teacher!!

so i have a story

we were in a lesson and my companion leans over to me and tells me i am going to teach the 1st vision to a brand new investigator! ahhh, my first time actually teaching on my 1st full day out! i was like... okay i got this! and i said 1978534908 prayers in my heart to just have the spirit with me and that Yeseña would feel it! i started to recite the vision and WOW the spirit was so strong!!! i dont think i used any correct grammar but she was listening and then we invited her to be baptised and she said yes! later we were talking about the feelings of the spirit and how it works and she told me that she could feel it when i was talking and telling her about Joseph Smith!! i have never been more grateful for the spirit or my Father in Heaven!! this is the true church!! sharing my testimony and the restoration of this Gospel makes my testimony grow every time!! 

I LOVED CONFERENCE!! I WISH I COULD JUST SEND HOME ALL MY NOTES!! but one thing i have focused on this week (cause i cannot speak very well) is letting my light shine like our Prophet has counciled, those things in our religion that make us different make us shine in this dark world! so i just walk around holding my EL LIBRO DE MORMON and a smile on my face!! :)) hahaha

 

i love the Dominican Republic and all of its nasty smell and most wonderful people! and most of all i love preaching this perfect gospel! :)

until next week!!

HERMANA JENSON

Awkward missionary pics

One sister sleeping another writing

Matching Croc shoes

Everyone wearing my clothes

New Latino sisters

Found a mutual friend (she doesn't say who though)
more awkward missionary pic

WEEK 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUTS TO MY SISSY DEENA AND MY FAVORITE MOMMY AND THE BEST MOMMY EVER!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!! EVERYONE EMAIL THEM 1897989 EMAILS AND TELL THEM HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND YOU LOVE THEM AS WELL!!! 

so siestas... haha my companion Hermana Juchau loves naps.. and one day we wouldn't let her take one after lunch because we had stuff to do, so she was upset! haha but then in class that night our meastro was asking us how our day was, and my companion told him the story and he said that she needs to get us to believe in naps and she says "yo se que siestas son verdaderas!" haha bearing her testimony about naps to us!! bahaha!! :)))

i guess this is my farewell from the CCM!! i leave this coming Tuesday and i won’t have a p-day until the next Monday! I really enjoyed my time here... tons of food, all the people THE SPIRIT!!, AC!, hot showers with lots of water pressure, the temple, but especially the people!!.. and specifically my district and companions!!! I could not be more grateful for all the things I have here, and the relationships I have made, I am the only one going to the west mission in my district so I won't see any of them! :( but one day I will!! Heavenly Father has truly blessed me more than I deserve! With that being said I CANNOT wait to get out into the field, to talk to real life humans about this real life gospel THAT IS TRUE!! Gosh I get the biggest smile on my face just thinking about it!! I had the opportunity to go out into the field, specifically the west mission, this last Friday!! I was with hermana Paul, from Pennsylvania. She spoke English and very good Spanish!! My first reaction as I got to the field was to cry! Cry of happiness!!! I had this overwhelming feeling that felt like i was at home! I TRULY LOVE THIS PLACE AND THESE PEOPLE!!!! We taught 3 lessons, 1 to inactive, 1 to a new investigator, and 1 to a woman with a baptismal date!! All of them were super spiritual moments that I will never forget! I was able to get to know them, sing, pray, and bare specific testimonies to these people!! IN SPANISH!! WOW!! I feel so blessed!! Although it was an incredible day I was overwhelmed, only because I had been dreaming/imagining those moments since I was a little girl in primary and then all of a sudden I was living them! Dreams do come true! I honestly had to remind myself I was a real life missionary sitting in the DR teaching people this wonderful gospel! I am so excited to get out there again!!! They practically had to drag me back on to the guagua (wawa) it’s a van thingy, to go back to the CCM! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! I truly do love it! With how much you guys know i love being a missionary i want to say something that has been on my mind a lot!! When I left, and even still I'll have people tell me "wow you are so great and have sacrificed so much to serve a mission" NO this is THE GREATEST privilege I could ever have! This is an opportunity, and there are so many people who suffered and died for me to have this glorious opportunity. For all of us really... to be able to have this restored gospel here on earth! Those people sacrificed!! Jesus Christ sacrificed, not me, I get emotional just thinking about it, especially what our Savior and Redeemer did for us!! I just want to say to you guys that I don't see my mission as a sacrifice in the slightest, I am so grateful for it and all the people that made it possible for me to be here!! I know I'm not perfect and I know I don't know everything but I have confidence in my Father in Heaven and the power that I am set apart as a missionary!! I am so excited to get out into the field and work so hard!! (Words of Mormom 1:7) I encourage you guys to give thanks for all our Father in Heaven has given you this week, and to be a missionary!! 

It is my testimony that our Savior lives and loves us, and that the true gospel is restored!! 

I love you guys!! Enjoy conference cause I know I will!! :)) thank you for everything!!! 

con 

amor 

Hermana Jenson