Oh how I love your Chili!

Dad
 Oh how I love your Chili!! The bar sounds like it is going to be nice. Thank you for giving me an update of Sarah, I was actually going to ask you today if you had heard anything about that. Maybe she will come up to Calgary and I will get to be her trainer??? Oh and someone in my ward gave me new food for thought on what to do when I get home. I have been thinking about it because it is one of the most common things that we get asked by members and I think I might have to go for being a music teacher... maybe with Oboe emphasis. I am not sure yet and I try not to think about it too much but Sister Bishop told be about Southern Virginia University, which is basically a Mormon school in Virginia but it is a lot smaller then BYU... I don't know just food for thought. I love you and I hope that you have a wonderful week. Sister Kelliann Jensen  

Hello Everyone!!!!
 I must admit that Calgary has some of the weirdest weather that I have ever experienced. This week it hasn't been below 7 degrees Celsius during the day all week, and it even hit 16 degrees which is like 50 degrees in Fahrenheit. It is supposed to stay up in the positives all week, but who knows we could have 4 feet of snow by next week if Calgary really felt like it.This week has been quite busy. There are a lot of things that I am getting used to in my new area, but honestly it feels more like I have been here for a month instead of a week. So much was accomplished this week that I feel like I am running around from appointment to appointment all of the time. I have officially met with all of our investigators and less-actives in our area, and there are quite a handful. I am excited to work with them and see how my testimony can help strengthen theirs. So let’s see what happened this week.... So I can't remember what I told you last week about our investigators, but we have these two amazing investigators named Jasleen and Morgan who are 14 and 13. This week we ended up meeting with Morgan twice and during the second lesson she told us that she finished the Book of Mormon!!! In less than two months!!! And she is only 13. She is such an amazing girl and she has such a desire to follow Jesus Christ. She comes to church every week, and I feel like she is an amazing example to our ward and other investigators. Jasleen came to church this week as well and we have plans for this Wednesday to talk to them both about the temple because the youth will be going that day. It is so fun to be able to meet and teach the youth in this area! Wednesday was soooo crazy. We ended up having 3 member present lessons, 1 other lesson, and received 2 new referrals for the area. Kirsten, one of our investigators is progressing quite nicely. We had a lesson on the Word of Wisdom and she has agreed to start living it. My testimony about the word of wisdom has definitely grown to new heights. Heavenly Father has so much respect for our individual agency that he doesn't even want substances to rule our lives. It harbors our ability to listen to the spirit and feel of His love within us. Although Kirsten didn't come to church, Sister Bullock and I felt the need to go over to her house and teach a lesson. Although we still have two more lessons to teach, we feel like inspired that it would be best for her to reemphasize the lessons that we have already taught by reading with her from the Book of Mormon. She will be moving at the end of February to a different part of our area, and we want to make sure that her testimony of the gospel as well as the Book of Mormon grows as we teach her in this crazy time in her life. It was a wonderful lesson, and I am excited to go back. Because tomorrow is Zone Conference, I have been studying some specific things that President wants us to read before we come. As I began my studies this morning, I only got about a bullet point in before I had a sudden and more full understanding of a topic that I felt like I understood long before. Faith. Faith as defined in the scriptures is something hoped for that is not seen. As I was reading in "True to the Faith"... "Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever you work toward a worthy goal, you exercise faith. You show your hope for something that you cannot yet see." I had a sudden understanding of how the gospel changes us, and why Faith is the first Principle of the gospel. When you have faith in Jesus Christ, you are willing to follow him and his example even though we can't see that he is there for us. However by the spirit we can understand and know that He is our personal Savior through scripture study, prayer, church attendance and many other things in our lives. With faith, we can experience miracles beyond our understanding, but without faith... or acting on our belief, the miracles in our lives cease. I am grateful to have grown up in a gospel that teaches me to have faith in my Savior. I hope that all of you have had a great week. It sounds like Arizona is in big football mode... I honestly forgot that the Superbowl was coming up... I love you all and I hope that you know how much I love each and every one of you. Remember in the hardest of times, look towards your Savior in Faith. I promise you that things will work out as they should.
Love Sister Kelliann Jensen 
P.S - Oh by the way, look up the language of Sinhala. We have an investigator from Sri Lanka and we just got a Book of Mormon for him in his language. Soooo cool... 

Hi Mommy!!!
I don't have a lot of time for emails today because I have to read the "Online Missionary Service Handbook". Tell Grandma that I have been getting her cards but that she doesn't have to send money. I know she likes to but I really am okay. Arizona sounds like a mad house. It really is weird to have two companions in a row that are going home, but I am hoping that I will be able to be a good example to her as she prepares to head out. I love you so much. Let me know how the fondue goes and tell the girls thank you for the Christmas present that they sent me. I LOVED IT. Tell grandma that if this trend of weather in Canada keeps us she could come up here for the same weather as she would get in Arizona right now. I mean 50 degrees??? Weird. I love you lots. Kelliann  

A brand new area

Hi Daddy,

I must admit that it has been quite the interesting week here in Alberta, Canada. So let’s just get down to the news :). I have been transferred to the North East of Calgary in a ward called Prairie Winds. It is funny I couldn't have gone much farther away from my last area while still being in Calgary if I wanted to. My new companions name is Sister Bullock. She is also going home at the end of the transfer (actually she will be leaving on the 24th because her Visa runs out early). There are a lot of different cultures here. From Filipino to Sikh. One of our investigators is actually from Sri Lanka! My area is a lot bigger I feel then my last and quite different, but I guess that is to be expected when you move 40 minutes north east from your last area. Calgary is huge!!! And our area is expanding if you can really believe it. I am still probably about an hour from the border of my mission, but I feel like I am at the tip. It is quite beautiful here and I will have to send you pictures. I haven't been able to find my charger, but Sister Bullock and I have very similar cameras so we will see if that works. Good luck at work this week! I can't believe that they might be splitting our ward. Let me know what goes on!! I love you!!

Sister Kelliann Jensen

P.S- Can you get me Jake Fuge's email??

Good Morning all of my lovely friends and family!!! I am now in the North East Calgary Prairie Winds ward. That is about 40 minutes north east of my old area in the South West, and yes there is still about an hour to two North more of my mission area. This week has been quite the exciting and stressful week. Sister Gardner and I had some fun closing out our area and getting it ready to hand over to the elders. It was a sad moment leaving the area and the people behind, but I know that they are in good hands. We also got to go to the Temple one last time with the Shawnessy sisters! The east looks like it is going to be full of new challenges, great excitement, and lots and lots of work!! There are probably more different types of cultures in the east then there where in my last area. The main population of my area are the Sikhs. There is even a Sikh temple right next door to the chapel! Kind of cool actually. My new companions name is Sister Bullock. She will be leaving this transfer as well... which means (I know I said this last time) that I will be in the east for quite a while. I am excited for the new challenges, the new people, and the miracle that we will see.

So this week has been quite crazy with the new transfers and getting settled in. Sister Bullock and I have four progressing investigators and lots of potential and less-active work. On my first day in the area... I actually didn't spend in the area because Sister Bullock was going to her farewell fireside (because her visa is expiring a day early she is leaving on the 24th of February before the transfer ends). So I spent the day with the Linwood Sisters in our zone. Then on Friday I actually got to start working in my area!! We have four amazing investigators who are really solid!! First is Kirsten. I met her on Friday and she is doing really well. She knows that she needs to be baptized and recognizes the spirit when we bring it into her home. She came to church on Sunday with her boy Locklan who we will be picking up soon as an investigator. She reminds me so much of someone in my last area, and she is really great and down to earth. When she has questions, she doesn't let them stumble her, but lets us explain them so that she can better understand.

We also have two amazing teenagers that we are working with, Morgan and Jasleen. It is amazing to see the amount of faith that the youth of today have. You can really tell that Heavenly Father is sending his faithful to the earth at this time. Both girls (Morgan 13, and Jasleen 14) are progressing really well and we are working and fasting so that their parents will have soften hearts to let them be baptized :). Last but not least we are working with an amazing man from Shrilanka named Indika. We just had our first lesson with him on Saturday, but he is progressing really well and actually just walked into church one day and met the bishop (who is a convert of 5 years!!). This ward is on fire, and I am very happy the Heavenly Father has sent me to an area where I can work hard and build my testimony. I hope that all of you have a wonderful week and are staying warm! We have been blessed with a nice Chinook for the past 5 days, so things have been pretty mild. (I can't believe that I just called -5 Celsius mild.) I love you all and I wanted to share with you something that my bishop from Prairie Winds said on Sunday.... "The decisions we are making today are directly shaping our Future!" - Bishop Diaz

Have a great week. I love you all!!

Sister Kelliann Jensen

Hi Mommy!!

So to get right to the point, I am in the North East of Calgary in a ward called the Prairie Winds ward. My companions name is Sister Bullock, and she will also be going home at the end of the transfer (actually she is going home 3 days early because her Visa runs out). My area is a lot bigger then my last and I must admit that I miss it. Adjusting is always so hard, but I hope that I will be able to adjust well and quickly to both my new companion and my new area. I live with a member named Sister Wilicolm and she has two pets. One little dog named Ramsie and an adorable half Siamese named Cloud. She is a cutie and I love her. It is really nice to have another kitty, however sometimes I miss O'Malley.

My new area has a lot of work going on in it and actually the main population of the area are Sikhs (which are the warrior part of the Muslims). They all seem really nice, and we even have a seek temple right next door to our Church.

We had 4 investigators at church yesterday! Four!! That is more than I ever had in Evergreen. And we have a good 6 investigators and a bunch of less-active work to do. Sounds like I am going to be keeping quit busy over the next couple of months.

Sounds like the boys had fun at the Car auction. How come Danny didn't go with you? I love your owl pillows. They are adorable and I must say that I am a bit jealous of Mandy. Which reminds me that I need to get her a card to send off. Tell Josh that I am excited for him, but that he is still not allowed to get married until I get home. :)

I did here that Canada will be closing all of the Targets, which I am kind of sad about. I liked them personally, really they didn't feel much different from the ones back home, but I guess a lot of people felt like they were over-priced and not as good (honestly they were cheaper than most placed in Canada). So are you going to get to go to Hawaii too? Maybe I will have to go to BYU Hawaii when I get back (okay maybe not) and work at that Target (again probably not). As always I miss you. All of the moving and getting into a new area has been a bit stressful and overwhelming, but I know that I can do this. I love you lots. Tell every-one at Target that I love them and miss them.

Love

Sister Kelliann Jensen 

Transfer time - it's happening

Hi Mom!!!

I absolutely love your owl pillow!!! Thank you for sharing the picture as well as the story about Mandy. That is so encouraging to hear, but I am little confused because no one told me that Mandy was moving to AZ.... I just started reading Mandy's letter and all of a sudden I read that she was moving. Exciting... but weird. So I guess I have big news too. I am being transferred!!! Actually, our area Evergreen is being combined with another ward, because we will be losing about 50 missionaries within the next few transfers, so we are being taken out of the area. I am kind of sad to be leaving Sister Peters and the people that I have grown fond to, but I am excited for the new possibilities of serving in a new area. This week has brought forth a lot of hard work and trying to prepare our area for the new missionaries. We have seen a lot of miracles, and I am excited to hear about what happens to my little Evergreen area. Thank you for the package!!! I have worn both of the Thermal bottoms already, (because I got my package on Friday), and I have given out many of the rings and silly bands!!! Today I get to go to the Calgary temple!!! I am excited to spend sometime in the house of the Lord. How is the Phoenix temple? You said that it was the second most beautiful temple that you have ever seen next to the Ogden temple (which I am excited to go through).

I love you so much and can't wait to tell you all about my new experiences. I will be giving a letter to Sister Gardner to put in the mail when she gets home (because she lives in Mesa), so hopefully you will get that soon. I must say that I have never been so calm about transfers or about doing this work. I can feel my love for the gospel growing, and I hope that that will continue in an upward motion until I get home, and then to continue to grow when I am back. Let me know how the move is going for Mandy. I will be praying for her!!! Also... I would like another skirt... but only after you have made one or two for yourself :). I love you lots!!!

Sister Kelliann Jensen 

Good Morning to all of my lovely family and friends!!!

Sorry if I forgot to mention last week that this week is transfer week and that I wouldn't be emailing until today!! I always seem to forget something when I am emailing home :). Any who... it really is crazy what a difference a week can make! (Crazy news to follow....)

So to start off I guess I will just break the news. Last Thursday we got a call... from the Assistants to President.... on a Thursday.... which would normally mean that I would be training... however that was not the case. I was sitting in our apartment filing things into a binder when Sister Gardner looked down at the phone and noticed we had a missed call from the Assistants. She looked over at me, threw me the phone excitedly, and I nervously called them back. Of course they didn't answer, but I promptly left a message and began waiting. About 5 minutes later they called back and told me news that I didn't expect.... They are going to be combining our area with another area and ward, so I am leaving this area and they are taking missionaries out of Sister Peters’ house. :(.  Although at first I was rather sad, the idea that I could be going anywhere, but that I still had a week in my first area left, drove me to really work hard this week. Now this left me trying to decide if I would be going South or staying North in the field..... and this morning I got on my email I saw that I will be staying North in Calgary!!! I still don't know where I am going or who my new companion will be, but I am excited to see the new opportunities that await.

Now, back to Evergreen!!! It is really cool to see the will of the Lord pan out. After we found out on Thursday, nearly every one of our appointments with new potentials fell through, and we really only had two lessons with Janet and Doug. Janet is still progressing, and we pray that as she is transferred over to the new missionaries that she will continue on the path that will lead her to Jesus Christ. The really cool thing about all of this is that as we have been preparing our area for the change, we have had the chance to do a lot of finding and tracting. We have found a lot of people that would be willing to have missionaries come back, as well as given away many copies of the Book of Mormon. Our area seems to be getting prepared for this change, and it has been a pretty great week seeing the hand of the Lord in the lives of those around us. Stay tuned to find out where I end up and who I will be with.

Because of the changes coming up, and Sister Gardner going home this Friday, this Sunday I gave my first talk in church since I have been out. It was a really neat experience to be able to use my new skills and the assistance of the spirit to give my talk. As ward missionaries, (four of us spoke), we decided to base all of our talks on the hymn "Because I have been given much". Originally, I wasn't going to speak this week, but would wait until I got my new companion, however when we received the news Sister Gardner asked me to speak in her place. The really cool thing about this was that I have been receiving inspiration for my talk since the day before, and then when she asked me, everything seemed to fall into place. I based my talk on the line "I cannot see another's lack and I not share, MY GLOWING FIRE". I talked a lot about being a light and a beacon, letting God work within us, and letting our trials mold us into stronger fires that bring hope and light to others. As I have been out, one of my favorite scriptures has quickly become Ether 2:24-25 which says

 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

 25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

I am excited to see what this new transfer brings and how I can bless other people with the strength that I have received from my Father in Heaven. I know that He knows each of us personally, and He wants us to align our will with His, that we may be able to grow and receive the blessing that we need in order to become the best people that we can. When the winds come, I encourage you to ask your Father in Heaven how you can see these winds as blessings, and ask for the strength that you need to overcome. I love you all so much and will let you know what is going on next week. Have a great week.

Love you for Always,

Sister Kelliann Jensen

Hi Dad,

It really does seem like I am not going to able to recognize that house when I get home, haha. However, as long as the people that I love are still there, that makes all of the difference. It sounds like things have really been going well at home. Mom told me that Mandy had a cool experience with prayer and that they are moving to AZ??? Wow... I am excited to see how that goes. I have been really blessed to not get sick since I have been out. Actually, my lactose intolerance hasn't seemed to be bothering me at all since I have been out. I bet you when I get home it will return, but until then I am glad for the relief now.  I still try my hardest to avoid things that could potentially upset my stomach, but it is so nice to not really have to worry when a member forgets. I love you so much and I excited to tell you all about the exciting things that happen in my next area. I am being transferred; however I am staying in the North somewhere, so I won't be going to Cardston or Lethbridge. I love you lots!!!

Love Sister Kelliann Jensen

And There Was A Knock At The Door!

We occasionally get pics emailed to us from members. Tonight we got a surprise.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Hello Everyone,

I dearly hope that your New Years was safe and that you are spending the first weeks of it gearing up for another great year!!! I hope that everyone has set their New Years’ resolutions!! My mission president said this in his last letter to us "A new year brings about a desire in our lives to make changes.  We all make resolutions about getting healthier, losing weight, being better in some way and unfortunately, most of the time we are only diligent with that resolution for a week or so.  While many of us may take our New Year’s resolutions seriously, some of us may not have made any because of our prior problems in keeping them.  However, we must not overlook the power that making good resolutions to conform our lives more closely to what we know about the gospel can bring in helping us make our lives happier and more successful – regardless of our past performance in keeping our resolutions." - President Nicholas. I know that I certainly fell into this trap last year, and I can say that I haven't been doing the best with my goals yet this year, but I know that Heavenly Father know each of us, and that when we work towards our goals, he will give us the means and strength to accomplish that which is within his will.

As I said last week, we got snow the day after Christmas on Boxing Day. And of course it hasn't been that much better weather wise since the week has gone on. Yesterday it was a "bitter cold" of -19 with a wind-chill of -31... I don't know how cold that is in Fahrenheit... but enough with the weather. As far as the work has gone we have had a pretty good week. Every one before the New Year was telling us that we could come back in the New Year. It being the New Year, no one really has an excuse anymore!

On Tuesday, we stopped by Marriana, our 16 year old investigator from Venezuela and had a very spiritual experience reading with her out of the Book of Mormon. She reads from a Spanish copy and we read from our English copies... I must say that sometimes I wish that I could understand Spanish. We read Alma 32 with her, and she enjoyed talking about it and even brought up her own points as we read along. She told us that she was going to come to church with us this week (EVEN AFTER SHE KNEW THAT IT STARTED AT 9AM), and we told her that we would pray for her as she went off to her job interview. She did try to come to church. We offered to get her a ride, but her and her friend said that they would take the train and when they tried their phones wouldn't work when they tried to find the bus station they needed to go to. It was sad not to have her at church, but the good part is that she tried and that is half the battle.

We also did quite a bit of less active work on Tuesday, and we hope to be able to strengthen those in our ward even more that they will desire to come back to church.

Wednesday we had quite the experience downtown. At about the end of our time downtown time (we go from 1:30-4), we were talking to this older couple when an older Muslim gentleman came by and wanted to talk religion with us. We told him sure but that it would be a nice conversation and that we wouldn't bash with him. Because it was cold outside, we went into one of the buildings around the park we were at (Where they actually freeze it over and ice skate on) and there was a Muslim Mosk in it. We went inside and talked to him about beliefs and he said that he lived in the NE and had been to the Calgary temple and was given a Book of Mormon…Kind of a cool experience. Actually everyone we met downtown this week was from a different country. We met two from the Czech Republic, two from Croatia, one from the Congo, two Russian, an Irish, two from Hungary, and two from India. Come to think of it, I don't think that I actually met anyone downtown that day that was from Canada. Hmm.

Thursday and Saturday where really good days for our investigator Janet. We decided on Thursday (Thursday is weekly planning day) that we needed to help her to see the big picture. She has been taught all of the lesson at least once since she started learning in June, be we thought that going over the Plan of Salvation with her would be a great way to help her keep the "end in mind" as our mission President likes to say. We shared the first half with her on Thursday at our Ward Mission Leader's house, and when we asked her if she remembered what the Plan of Salvation was, she said no! Sister Gardner always says that she loves it when people have questions because that means that we get to start teaching. The first half went pretty well. Sister Gardner has a cute but simple cut out for the Plan of Salvation, so it was nice to be able to use. On Saturday we gave the second half of the lesson over at Sister Palmer and Sister Unique's house. This part of the lesson went really well. Before we went in I prayed that we would be able to teach simply and to Janet's needs and by the end she was asking questions and participating in the lesson. She seemed really excited about the Plan of Salvation and said that it made a lot of sense to her. At the end she prayed (which she only does if it is a good lesson), and she said that she appreciated that we taught "simply"!!! She came to church on Sunday, even though it was 9 am. Also on Saturday we had 3 new investigators that we picked up!! The work is moving forward.

This being my mission year, my focus has been trying to understand and come closer to my savior Jesus Christ. Sister Gardner yesterday said something that I didn't understand, so I tried to apply it in my studies this morning. She said "without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we could not do anything". As I studied about the Atonement this morning, I came across a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that said the He is the light by which all things are govern. This statement made a lot of sense to me as I pondered over it and learned that it is by Christ that we have all things in this world. It is by Him that we know how to be happy and what will bring us happiness. It is by Him that we can find the strength that we need to become more like Him, where we can accomplish the goals that we have set for this New Year. I am learning more and more every day of the need for my Savior, and as I am learning, my desire to share that with others has grown. I love all of you very much and hope again that the first week of 2015 has treated you kindly. Thank you for all of your love and support.

Love Always,

Sister Kelliann Jensen

Hi Mommy!!

I did get pretty cold around here yesterday and the day before. It was about -19 with a wind chill of -31, which I am not sure how that converts in Fahrenheit. Thank you for the packages that will be wonderful to have some extra layers to put on underneath. I must say that I am a little afraid for when I have to pack to leave Evergreen. I might not be able to fit my clothing in my suitcases again.... Our New Years was pretty good :) We didn't really do much because we have to be in by 6 pm but Sister Gardner did wax my eyebrows and we had a facial, other than that nothing really all that exciting. We went to bed at 10:30 like usual, and the next day went on as planned.

Sister Peters took down most of her decorations this week too, so I can understand that feeling that the New Year brings. It is hard to stop listening to the Christmas music and to take down the tree, but it is also nice to get the New Year rolling. Poor O'Malley...there must be a way that we can get him to eat slower…ha-ha. However I don't think that we will never get him to lick himself less. Willow, the Peter's dog has been having problems this week as well with a bladder infection. That is the second one since I have been here. Poor dog! Things have been going pretty well here. Saturday we had 3 new investigators picked up, but I will tell you more in the family letter. I love you lots mom and hope that the beginning of your new year has been full of fun and relaxation.

Love you lots,

Kelliann (Sister Jensen)

Dad,

Happy 2015! New Years was pretty relaxed here in Calgary. We had to be inside by 6 o'clock, so after downtown, Sister Gardner and I went to a Vietnamese place for dinner and then went home. The Peters went to a movie and Britney went to a couple of parties, so we basically enjoyed some time at home getting our eyebrows waxed and doing facials. We went to bed at the normal 10:30, and then got up at the normal 6:30. So nothing all too exciting, but hey it was nice to relax and enjoy the time that we had. Do you have a New Years’ resolutions this year? I must say that I haven't been doing the best on the ones that I set for myself ha-ha... maybe I should work on them. Yesterday was "bitterly cold" in the words of Sister Gardner. We were out from 7 at night to 9 and it was -19 with a wind chill of -31. That is about cold in Fahrenheit. Luckily we have our car. We had a pretty great week as far as the work went, but I will expound more on that when I send my family letter. I love you!! I am sure that your organ playing was wonderful and that you are just being hard on yourself like usual. Have a great week!!

Kelliann