He's gonna be on a bike soon after all these accidents

G’day its Elder Jenson again. How is everyone goin? Here is my week in a nutshell :)

Monday- Had an awesome P day as usual! Had a fun time playing ball with everyone like we do every week! The fun started after P day. My comp Elder Iino was driving and we found a good place to parallel park. He is really good at it he said, so on his 3rd try of trying to get in the spot, the front of the car hit the back of the bumper of a parked car and knocked it half way off. It was so funny but also the worst feeling hahaha. I was backing him up and when he hit the car I was just like shoot! haha but we called the office elder who is in charge of the cars and got it all taken care of. The church’s insurance covers it all so I don’t owe anymore money thank goodness! haha then we went to Bishops house for FHE and it was a great time!

Tuesday- Went to Mortdale to get everything all figured out from the accident. We went and got a quote at a repair shop and talked more to the senior elder who is in charge of the cars, luckily he was way cool about it haha and Elder Iino is still driving hahaha! Then after that we got some lunch, and then we got changed to go and do service. We scrubbed some walls and painted a ceiling for the Cashmans which took up a lot of the day, then we had dinner with them and it was good!

Wednesday- This day was full of finding! We stayed on the trains because it was so fetching hot and the trains have AC so we just talked to people on there. Then we did a little tracting around the chapel before our lesson with Rolf. After we taught Rolf we went to the Liehrs house for dinner! They made us delicious homemade pizzas! They bought a pizza oven so it made it that much better! That night Angus threw his football over into the neighbors backyard and so we went with him to get it and the backyard was so gross! Then when we got back to his house we realised that we had fleas on us! The neighbors backyard was invested with fleas! So we had to shake them all off and when we got home we hurry and threw all our clothes into the dryer to kill those suckers! Luckily we haven’t seen any again since that night haha.

Thursday- Started the day off with service for an elderly couple that we usually do service for and on the way there Elder Iino got pulled over for flipping a U turn hahaha and he didn’t have his license! Luckily the cop just gave us a warning and let us go on our way. Funny part was that before we left the flat he was like, “I don’t have my wallet.” but we didn’t want to walk all the way back upstairs so he was like do you want to drive, and I was like I doubt you will get pulled over you will be fine hahaha and as he was flipping the U turn we saw the cops at the intersection and he was like is this legal? and I was like I don’t know… it wasn’t. hahaha so that was a funny way to start the day. Then after service we did some finding in Cronulla, then did some tracting. While we were tracting it started to rain but we didn’t care we just kept going anyways hoping people would have sympathy and want to hear our message haha but it didn’t work. Then it started to down pour hard core! So we took shelter and waited a little until we finally just said screw it lets run back to the train station. We got soaked!!! It was so much fun hahaha then we just went and got some dinner in our soaking wet clothes :)

Friday- We had a worldwide video training for missionaries by some of the apostles and other general authorities about Teaching repentance and baptising converts. It was a really good training and I enjoyed hearing from the Apostles! Then we went and did some finding until we went and taught a less active member. After that we went to the Lee’s house and had dinner! They invited Rolf this week and he came too! It was so much fun! it was great for Rolf to receive some fellowship like that! The ward has been so great about fellowshipping him and making him feel like apart of the ward. Well that night was just full of laughs and fun times with all of us together!

Saturday- Super fast day, had service for a lady in the ward, then we went to a baptism for a little girl in our ward. After that we went and did some finding until we had MCM with our ward mission leader and the sister missionaries. That was our day! haha 

Sunday- Had church that was really good this week! This Tuesday is Australia day and so we sang the Australian national anthem in sacrament today hahaha it was pretty cool to do that! Then after church we had lunch and went out and visited some less active families. None of them actually let us in to teach them but we got to meet them which was good! We also visited a 104 year old lady in the ward! She looks so good for her age it is unreal! She was way nice too haha I love old people! Then after all of that we came home and had some din din! I made some delicious Alfredo :) 

So my spiritual thought for the week is from Alma 11:42, “Now there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.”

How awesome is it that we will ALL live again? Because Christ died and rose on the third day, we too may rise again from death and become perfect resurrected beings! We need not worry if we lose a loved one or a close friend. Yes the loss still hurts, but the grave has no victory and we know that they, and we will live again! I am grateful for a savior who made it possible for us to over come this temporal death and for a loving Heavenly Father who was willing to sacrifice His only begotten son. I know that Christ and Heavenly Father live! They are mindful of us and they know us perfectly! I know this all to be true with all the a surety of my heart. Because of Him, which is Christ the Lord, we may live again and not only live again but live again with our Father in Heaven! How sweet the sentence is, “I know that my redeemer lives!” I love this Gospel and I know it is true!

Love you all! Have a good week! :)

-Elder Jenson

Right before they hit a car... idiots.

The damage

Package from mom and grandma

Service? 

they are good neighbors... real quiet and considerate haha

Ran to catch the train in the rain.. alllll wet!

if you feed birds chocolate they wont die..... RIGHT?

Konnichiwa family and friends! Having a Japanese companion is fun because I get to learn a few words lol! This week was pretty slow for us but it was still fun! Me and my companion get along great and we have a lot of fun everyday and have heaps of funny moments! But anyways here is the week run down for yous!

Monday- Had normal P day activities, then we went to the Kendricks home to celebrate my mini me’s birthday! We had my favorite meal which was mama K’s bomb chicken burritos! The Liehr’s came to the party too and so it was just a fun filled night with fun people! 

Tuesday- Started our day off by visiting a less active member in the ward and sharing a message about forgiveness. Then we went to the Westfield (mall) for lunch and we ran into some members from another ward and they shouted us lunch so that was an awesome blessing! Then we went and watched the John Tanner Story with Rolf at the Chapel! It is a really good like 25 minute video about a really faithful and giving man from the time when the church began! I recommend you all watch it! :) Then we went to the Cashman’s home for dinner and she made us sushi! It was pretty good! We had some fun with the wasabi haha so that made things interesting! 

Wednesday- Had service in the morning helping to move furniture around for an elderly couple in the ward. Then they fed us a delicious lunch and we shared with them a delicious message haha! Then we went and did some door knocking.. not too successful hahaha but tracting is always a good time because you never know what you’re gonna get! Then we went and gave two blessings for some people the sisters are working with! then we went to the Baker’s home for dinner and a message!

Thursday- This day had some bizarre weather! It was hot as heck all day! It got up to 40 degree celsius! And we were doing service in it for most of the morning! The first elderly couple we were helping sent us home after a little because they said it was too hot for us to be out there! Then we went to help a lady in the ward move some stuff around her house for her! Then we finally had a late lunch around 3! At 3 when we go off the train, a huge rainstorm hit! It went from hot as heck to still pretty hot and heaps of rain! It started to lightening when we got off the train and the thunder was the loudest thunder I have ever heard! It would be a flash of lightning then like less than a second later it would be a huge boom of thunder! Pretty cool to be in actually! Then we had a lesson with Rolf and then we met up with a less active member later that night to see how he had been going!

Friday- Had DTM in the morning! We had a good training talking about our purpose and how to stay focused on it! Then we visited a less active member and shared another message with him. Then after that we went and did some tracting for a couple hours! It was pretty fun! We had one person tell us we could come back and then just had rude people hahaha. While tracking we met an italian guy named peter who was pretty weird but he gave us a bag of homegrown tomatoes that he grew so that was cool! Then we met his neighbor who was also named Peter and he was weirder than the first Peter! Like wow this guy was nuts! He just went on for ages about all this rubbish and he was just whack! hahaha he was a white aussie guy who picked up Buddhism so that was fun to hear about haha! After that we helped a young couple in the ward move out of their flat! Their fridge that we moved was heavy as! Then we went and had dinner at a less active member’s home and he made us salmon and steak! Really yummy actually!  Then we had a little lesson with him and went home for the night!

Saturday- We went to lunch at the young couple’s home who we had helped move the day before! It was good to get to know them more! Then we went visited a referral which was no good and then we did finding for the rest of the day until dinner! 

Sunday- Had a great time at church! Then we came home and made some lunch! After that we visited a less active member who didn’t make it to church and we shared the lesson we had in Gospel Principles that day with him so it was good! Then we went to the Lee’s for a message and they surprised us by inviting us to stay for dinner! They made a delicious fried rice with chicken, bacon, and shrimp in it! Really delicious dinner! 

My spiritual thought for the week is Alma 5:33 and it says, “Behold, he sendeth an invitation into all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.” 

Repentance is something that we should be doing everyday! We are all sinners and imperfect human beings! We see here though that The Lord’s arm of mercy is always extended towards us and we just need to repent and he will receive us! We must repent and make necessary changes in our lives so that we can live in more harmony with the Gospel and Christ’s teachings! It will make us so much happier and we will be blessed from it! I know this to be true!

Have a good week everyone! Love ya heaps!

 

mini-me's birthday

Looked out the window and what did I see?!

a bird.

feeding the birds chocolate.

man.. isn't he the cutest?

 

KFC FEASTING

G’day its Elder Jenson coming at ya live from Australia mate! Here is the recap of the week!

Monday- Typical P day activities. Shop, Email, Basketball, and FHE at the Liehr’s home! We had an awesome object lesson with them for our message and it was fun! It is always a great time going over there!

Tuesday- Started off with some wonderful service for the Cashman family. We scrubbed their walls and ceiling in their kitchen! They looked pretty good after we were done so we were proud of our work! After that they fed us some delicious as always KFC! Then we taught Rolf at the Chapel and he just talked for an hour and a half straight! hahaha it was pretty unreal! He just loves the Gospel and he has no one to talk to about it so when he gets with us he just slams in a whole week’s worth of knowledge into and hour of talking! I love him and I am glad he can talk to us about it! Then we did create your own burger at maccas!

Wednesday- Had Interviews with President and Sister Back! They went really well and I am beyond grateful to have such an awesome mission president and mission president’s wife! They take great care of us and they truly care about us! Then we did some GQing on the train for awhile until we went to the Kendricks for dinner! As usual it was awesome and really fun! It had rained all day so unfortunately, no kick ball! It was rainy like all week up until Thursday night!

Thursday- Went over to the Baker’s home for lunch and a message. Then we went and taught a less active who is coming to church quite frequently now so that message went good! Then we taught Rolf again and we actually got through a full lesson this time and it went really good and the Spirit was strong! Then we went to another less actives home for dinner and a message! The day was full of teaching and awesome people!

Friday- Had a great ZTM in the morning! We were trained on being a more dedicated missionary and that was really good actually! Then we did heaps of street contacting in Cronulla! Street contacting is pretty scary not gonna lie, especially in a rich area like Cronulla! But luckily my companion likes to talk to people like myself so it makes it easier! We just talked to heaps of random people and we had a good time doing it! We make it fun while we do it and it made time go by really quick and we actually got two potentials so that was sweet! Its fun to just laugh at rejection and to make contacting people fun so that it isn’t so serious all the time! We talked to some drunk guys at a bar and a lady who can discern people’s thoughts and all sorts of fun stuff haha! Then we visited Angus Liehr at his work (KFC) and Sister Liehr gave him money to shout us a meal! He used some of his own money as well to shout us the biggest feast on the menu! We had 19 pieces of regular chicken, 18 nuggets, 10 wings, 5 large chips, large potatoes and gravy, large cole slaw, pepsi max, and a milkshake… for just 3 people. We managed to eat it all except 5 pieces of original chicken, some of the potatoes, and all of the cole slaw and one of the large chips. Needless to say it was a stinky room that night in our flat and we both regretted eating so much hahahaha man my stomach was killing me in the middle of the night but all us well haha!

Saturday- Did more service for the Cashman family. We mowed their lawn and edged it, along with trimming some trees for them! Then we went and taught a less active member about the atonement! Then we went to the Liehr’s house to say hi and to thank them for the meal they shouted us! They surprised us with a 12 pack of Dr Pepper, and Mtn Dew! Along with heaps of bread and they gave us some dinner as well! Then we had MCM with our ward mission leader and the sisters in the ward! Good day!

Sunday- We had Church as normal and then we went to a member’s home for lunch and a message! After that we went to the chapel to get some material for our lesson we had that night! Then we went to Chris and Nichole Lee’s home for a wonderful dinner and a lesson! We had a delicious Thai dish called chicken pad thai which I loved! Really fast and good day!

My Spiritual message this week is simple! It is found in the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah 26:30-31, and it speaks of forgiveness! Heavenly Father forgives us of our sins when we repent of them and in return He commands us to forgive our fellow men and their trespasses against us, Forgiveness can be hard but it is essential for our eternal salvation! If we understand and exercise the Atonement then we know that we must forgive others and move on from what has happened in the past! It isn’t always easy to do but as we pray for the strength to be able to forgive others, Heavenly Father will provide us with the strength that we need! I know it is true, I have felt it in my own life! 

Love you all heaps! Have a great week! 

-Elder Jenson

 

His main man Elder Inno, also his comp.

Angus and Elder Inno

Angus took a picture of Cam, its very flattering. Shows off his best qualities.

This one... This one is even better at showing off his best qualities.

The zone

da boyz

bless him..

strike a pose... so GQ

well... if this doesn't look better than snow, I'm not really sure what does.

KFC "Over 100 Countries WORLDWIDE!!"

more KFC... fatties

A members car collection in his garage, this isn't even half of them

 

NEW YEARS

Hello Friends and Family, long time no talk! haha I feel like I haven’t talked to any of you since LAST YEAR!! LOL!! hahaha ahh those jokes never get old to me :) Well let me give yous the run down of the past few days.

Wednesday- We had P day, so we emailed for a little, then we went and played some basketball at a park. Not the greatest P day but it was still pretty fun! Then after P day we went and did some finding on the train and we got some dinner! 

Thursday- Started our wonderful morning off with some service for a family in our ward. I got to trim the hedges with an electric trimmer so that was pretty fun! I like doing service like this because it is training me and getting me ready to take care of my own yard when I have my own house hahaha! Then we raked some leaves and what not which wasn’t all that bad at all! Then they fed us some delicious leftovers from the night before and we shared a message with them. Then we did more finding on the train until about 6 at night because at 6 we had to be in our flats for the night because of new years eve. So when we got back to the flat we had to do our weekly planning for the up coming week so yeah it was pretty much the best new years eve ever!!!! hahaha and while we were planning we had some pizzas delivered to our flat that the amazing Bekah Anderson ordered for us all the way from the U.S.! We were really grateful for that and it made our night a lot better! After weekly planning and goal setting we just kinda hung out in the flat and ended up going to bed at like 9 because we were both really tired! 

Friday- New Years Day! We had an AMAZING District Training Meeting that morning! We had our lesson on pride! I didn’t realise how prideful I was until this lesson! We got taught that pretty much every bad decision we make or wrong thing we do, can be traced back to pride. It is so true if you think about it! We commit sin because we think that we know better or we make a wrong choice to please man or ourselves. We must always strive to make decisions that please God and not men or ourselves. It is something that is super hard to do! Pride is not an easy thing to over come but it is so worth it when you do! We talked about how we need to not murmur about new rules that come out in the mission because ultimately it isn’t president making the rule but it is coming directly from God. Likewise when a new commandment comes out from the Prophet we need to just accept it, because it is coming from God. It may be hard to understand at the time but that is why we get on our knees and pray to our Heavenly Father for understanding! I just realised during that, how I have complained about rules before and it really chastised me! I am going to strive to just accept new rules when they come out and not question them or complain! Our mission really struggles with disobedience and it has been hard to stay away from it, and I myself have messed up out here and made some wrong choices, but after this training I had a new outlook on things! It was a huge wake up call for me and a slap in the face! It was the exact lesson that I needed to hear at this point in my mission! I was able to share my story about at the beginning of my mission where I struggled really bad with home sickness and anxiety. I was able to share about how much of a humbling experience that was for me! It truly was, because it showed me that the problems I faced are real and that many others go through the same thing, and I was able to see that I wasn’t the least bit perfect! So after that training My companion and I walked out of there just so ready to focus on our obedience and to work hard! I am grateful for that training and the eye opener it was for me. So yeah that was a great meeting :) After DTM we went and did some service for an elderly lady in the ward and we shared a message with her afterwards. Then we went and taught a lesson to Rolf at the chapel and it was on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really good! After that we just did some finding on the train for the rest of the night.

Saturday- We did so much finding on this day hahaha! We started the morning off by finding on the train, then we went and taught a lesson to a Less Active member of the ward who has been coming to church more lately! Then after that we did more finding on the train up until our dinner appointment at Maccas with a member! After that we began our fast for the next 24 hours. After we began that, we went and finished the night off with 3 more hours of finding on the train! Hahaha it was a lot of fun doing all this finding because we both like riding the train! We didn’t get any potentials out of it but we did talk to heaps of people! I had struggled for a little with confidence to talk to people on the train, so I had talked to people on the train the last transfer but not as many as I should have! Elder iino is pretty fearless when we go finding so it gives me courage and pumps me up to talk to people as well! It is easier to do finding when your companion actually talks to people as well hahaha! So I have enjoyed finding a lot and I have been pretty fearless talking to people because I figure I have nothing to lose. haha my purpose while I am here is to invite others to come unto Christ and I can’t do that if I don’t open my mouth, and what do I have to lose if they say no? Yeah it sucks but I just move on to the next one haha! 

Sunday- Really good day at church! Elder iino finally got to meet all the ward and he loves them! They love him as well so it is awesome! After Church we went to the Liehr’s home so that Elder iino could meet the family! They all loved him and we had a grand ole time just talking and laughing at stories! Then we went and shared a couple messages to a member, and then to a less active couple! After that we came home and broke our fast!! We were both so hungry haha we pounded heaps of fizzy (thats what they call soda here) and then we just cooked up so much food! We would eat something then be like “still hungry” and go eat more haha so it was a nice way to end a fast! After that we went over to the Lee’s home to share a message with them and it was great! I love going over there they are so nice and easy to talk to and they just crack me up all the time when we talk! :)

So my week was really good! My companion and I have really hit it off and we are having a lot of fun together! We have had a lot of good laughs since we have been together and we have been working hard and plan to just smash it this transfer together! He is one of my favorite companions I have had! So I am grateful to be with him and I am looking forward to this transfer! :) 

My spiritual thought for the week comes from Mosiah chapter 2, verse 17… and it quotes “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” 

Serve others and look for opportunities to serve! When you feel prompted to help someone, talk to someone, or even smile at someone DO IT! You will never regret acting on those promptings and you will be happy from it! Not only will you be happy but the person you are serving will be happy, and your Father in Heaven will smile down on you!

Love you all heaps! Have a wonderful week and start this new year off with a bang aye? Talk to you next week!!

-Elder Jenson

Elder Jenson and Elder Iino

Somebody sent these guys pizza on new years eve...

New years FEAST

Elder Iino's Ankle.

Old school Sharks Jersey a less active gave Cam

a newer sharks jersey from a less active

 

Christmas week

Hello friends and family and merry Christmas! It has been crazy here having Christmas in summer! I had so much fun on Christmas and it really was so awesome here. Transfers were just yesterday and I stayed in Sutherland! My new comp is Elder iino! He is from Japan but he speaks really good english because he attended BYU Hawaii! We have hit it off great and he is the man! Looking forward to this transfer! Here is my week update!

Tuesday- Had half a P day then we went and taught Rolf at the Chapel and it went really good as usual! We shared a good Christmas video with him to get him in the mood for Christmas! After that we went and did Create your own burger at Macca’s and it was the bomb!

Wednesday- We did service in the morning for an elderly couple like we do every week! Then after that we got some lunch, deep cleaned the flat for transfers, and we did some shopping for stuff we needed! Then after all that we went to the Cashman’s house for a nice Christmas meal, and a message!

Thursday- Christmas Eve! We started the day off doing service for a old couple in the ward and then they fed us a delicious lunch! After that we went and visited a less active member and shared a message with him! It was good to be there for him during Christmas because he gets lonely! After that we got our stuff together and got ready to go sleep over at another group of elder’s flat! It was approved by President so we weren’t breaking rules! haha then after we got there we played some Settlers of Catan! I love that board game! Then we went to a massive feed at a members home and it was so good! It was a bunch of Chilean people and we just ate food and sang Feliz Navidad while we ate haha it was so fun! Then we went back to the flat and opened presents and watched Wreck it Ralph, which was also approved haha! I got heaps of gifts and letters from family, friends, and ward members from back at home and also from members here in Sutherland so thank you to all of those who sent me stuff, it meant a lot!

Friday- Christmas day!! We woke up and went to a members house for Breakfast and it was delicious! After that we went to The Kendrick’s home for lunch and for a game of Cricket and Kickball! I sucked at Cricket haha it is so hard but it is actually kinda fun to play! We spent heaps of time there just hanging with everyone, playing games, eating food, and talking! After that we went to the chapel to meet up with the other missionaries in the zone and we played some games at the chapel together before we called it a night! It was definitely weird being away from home for Christmas, it really didn’t feel like Christmas here at all! It helped having awesome families in the ward who had us over and heaps of members in the ward sent us merry Christmas texts and gave us gifts so that made us feel very loved! 

Saturday- Woke up and did the normal routine, and then I got to skype my family! It was so nice to see them and also the wonderful Bekah Anderson as well :) Seeing and talking to them definitely made Christmas so much better and it made me feel at home! Skyping was definitely the best! Then we just spent some more time with the Kendricks while we each waited for each other to Skype! After that we went and got some lunch, then we had to go and finish cleaning the flat! Then we just rode the trains for the night! 

Sunday- We had church and it was Boden’s last Sunday in the Sutherland Ward! After Church we went a members home for lunch and dessert, but it was mostly dessert! It was so good and it made me feel fat hahaha! Then after that we went home so Boden could start to pack his things! After he finished that we went to the Cashmans again for dinner and a final goodbye for Boden! 

Monday- We went to member’s homes so that Boden could say bye to everyone! We went to the Liehr’s house for lunch and it was delicious as usual! Then after that and he said bye to them we went to the Kendricks and he said bye to them! After that we went to Bishop’s house for FHE and we shared a message about being able to always find Christ through Prayer! It was a fun lesson!

Tuesday- Transfer day! I took Boden to get picked up his new Comp and I got to pick up Elder iino! Then we had to make the hour drive home and then I let Elder iino unpack his stuff! After that we went and I showed him around the area! After that we went to the Cashman’s house for dinner and a message! I am so grateful for the companion I have now! He is the man and we are going to have a good transfer together!

It has been a great week and I am so grateful for all that I have! I love my Savior, family, and friends so much! I love this Gospel so much and I am grateful to be a missionary! My spiritual thought for the week is 3 Nephi 9:14, and we see in this Scripture that the Lord always has his hand stretched out towards us! We just need to grab it! No matter how dark life gets, Christ will always be there and he will always accept us! If we take his hand and come unto Him we will be blessed and have Eternal life! What better promise can we get? Love you guys heaps!

Elder Jenson 

 

Create your own burger at Maccas, also known as McDonalds

Teaching his son to drive

Christmas day in Aussie land..

Game of Catan

Opening presents

From yours truly.. Aubrey.

From mamma bear

Sweaters from Bekah

all da goods

Christmas breakfast

Christmas lunch with everybody

Poor little dead smiling cricket