Good Morning and Happy Pioneer Day

Hello everyone!!! Man.... I don't even want to talk about what today marks... seriously not even going to mention it.

Any who. I hope that every one has enjoyed their week!! Ours was pretty cool. A little up and down and sometimes a little difficult, but such is life, and I know that the Lord has made me stronger for it. Some fun activities happened this weekend!!! Our stake here in Medicine Hat does a "stake challenge". This month the challenge is to have a summer activity and invite a non-member over. Then have a casual gospel conversation and invite the missionaries!

We have a less-active family who we get to see about once a week and the kids from this family just turned 4 and 5 this week. We were invited to the birthday party and got to talk to some great families!! We even ran into a member of 4th ward and got to talk to him and get to know his conversion story!!! Also on Saturday our stake celebrated Pioneer day with some good ol' fun and activities!! I didn't join in on most of them but I did take pictures and I enjoyed the time. Our investigator Robert and his wife (who is a member) came and we were able to chat with them for quite some time as we enjoyed lunch!

Speaking of lunch on Saturday, it was a potluck and A-M had to bring Salad. We didn't really plan to bring anything, but we went to contact a referral on Friday and knocked the doors around them. We quite enjoyed talking to a few people and on the last door we knocked we met a really awesome lady named Rosemary. She is Baptiste, and after talking to her for a few minutes she asked us if we wanted some Lettuce from her garden..... so we said yes and went into her backyard for 2 huge heads of lettuce! Then later that day we were eating dinner with one of our members (also in an attempt to complete the stake challenge) and he gave us his left over tomatoes.... so with lettuce and tomatoes in hand, we made a salad for the potluck with some other ingredient with the dressing that was also given to us.

As a missionary, we see all the time that the Lord provides for His servants. Every time one my mission, in whatever area I have been in, I have notices that the Lord always provides for our physical needs of food. We always have enough and when we don't have enough there is always a miracle that happens, whether it be a member calls us up to see if we have dinner, or we have money given to us earlier in the week and a dinner appointment cancels later on in the week. It really is amazing to me... and this time the Lord helped us to provide for the members that take care of us on such a regular basis!

Other awesome tracting experiences this week! On Saturday after our time at the parks, Sister Allard and I decided to walk around and contact some people. We were walking to a potential investigators house and on our way we felt the need to stop at a house and talk to the lady there. Her name is Ronda. When she first answered the door, Sister Allard asked her if she had ever met missionaries before, she said yes and that she wasn't interested but then I came back and asked her if she needed any service that time...She looked at us and then said slightly confused that she wasn't quite sure what we were up to. We got to explain that we are missionaries for the church and that we go about and teach people about the Savior and that we love to do service for others too. Immediately after that you could see a visible change in her as the spirit touched her. She quickly apologized for being rude and we were able to learn that her husband had recently passed away. We gave her a Mormon.org card and she told us that she would keep us in mind! We are going to try her again next time we pass her house. I love the work and that the Lord provides evidences for it. Also on that street, we passed a lady who had a nice yard and complimented her on it. Which led to a 30 minute conversation about missionary work. She said she was Atheist and it was a testimony to me as she spoke that Jesus Christ is truly there and that the Book of Mormon is true. Every question that she had could and is answered by the Book of Mormon and the understanding of the Atonement that we have from the Restoration of the church.

Also exciting things from this week. We had the opportunity to go to lesson Monday night with President and Sister Miles. We met with Gerald we were able to talk to him about the need for baptism and about personalizing the gospel. I really loved being able to teach with our new mission President and his wife. They are amazing people. Gerald is doing okay but he is in need of doing things for himself and really having the desire to know if these things are true.

Looking back, this week was really good. I love you all and thank you for the many opportunities that I have to learn from each of you. Sister Allard and I are looking for more people to share the gospel with, or even just to uplift in any way that we can.... if you happen to know of anyone that is in need of anything that either lives in Medicine Hat, or could be reached via Facebook or email/Skype call let me know!! Also Sister Allard is looking for someone to give a French copy of the Book of Mormon to... I love you all and hope that you have a great week. Thank you for all that you do!!

Love Sister Kelliann Jensen

"Chart your course, Set your sail, position your rudder... Proceed!!" - Thomas S. Monson

Good morning everyone!!!!

Now for the news that you have all been waiting for...

​This is what my wrist looks like under the cast!!!! Don't worry the pink is still from the iodine that they used during the surgery.

And my new cast color is....

 

 So here is the scoop!!! Tuesday afternoon, Sister Allard, Sister Halladay and I went to the hospital again for my appointment with Doctor Baring. They took my lovely white cast off (don't worry they let me keep it) and xrayed my wrist again. They didn't take the gauze off at first so I didn't see what the pins looked like until later when they wanted to check how they looked. Good news!! Everything is doing what it is supposed to. The pins are doing 85% of the work, so really the cast is just to protect me from the pins. I have another appointment on the 28th for another check. I think they will keep the cast on for this one, but then 2 weeks after that, if everything looks good, they will take the cast off and the pins out and I will start my physio for my wrist.

Okay, so now for information that doesn't pertain to my wrist (however it has been fun showing everyone the pictures of the pins)

Gerald is now back in town!!! Gerald got back Monday from Chicago and we got to talk to him on Tuesday and had a lesson Wednesday. He is doing well, and still plans to be baptized, but we have to move the baptism from the 25th to a later date due to Stake Baptisms and a Stake pioneer day (who knew they celebrate pioneer day here!!!). It is really a blessing, because both Sister Allard and I really want him to be solid in his testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Savior before he gets baptized. He came to church on Sunday and also to bible study... which we had planned to teach a lesson afterwards. It was amazing because what we wanted to talk to him about is exactly what Nina taught!! We were able to get right into our lesson after and tonight we have the opportunity to teach him again with the help of President and Sister Miles!!!!!! We hope to put him back on a date tonight!

This month the mission's theme has been #don'tbeshyjuly. We have really been focusing on replacing our fear with faith and we have truly seen many miracles happen because of it. Sister Allard and I had a miracle of our own this week (along with many other miracles). Because of my wrist, we were able to pick up 2 new investigators this week!!! Their names are Abraham and his cousin who's name I can't spell or pronounce, but they are from Sudan and moved to Cuba when the war started. They both read and speak Spanish so we will be involving the Spanish Elders that our in our Stake to help them along. We are excited to start teaching them!!

Sister Allard and I went to the Temple on Saturday with our bishop and his wife!!!! The Cardston temple is beautiful, however I am still partial to the Mesa and Ogden temple myself. It is much older, but it is still quite extravagant. It is always amazing being able to be in the House of the Lord. I really have been lucky to be able to go to the Temple 5 times on my mission!

I am so grateful for my mission, as I feel like I have learned so much about how the Lord and His Atonement work in my life, and I am excited to continue to see these things. I am grateful for the gospel and for the tender mercies that the Lord gives us every day. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!!

Love,

Sister Kelliann Jensen

P.S - I FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT A CANOLA WAS!!!!! 

President, Prayers, and Potentials

Hello Family and Friends!!! 

Thank you everyone or your encouraging words this past week!!!!! I really appreciate it! Coming out on my mission, I never really expected how much I would change (and how much change I would have to come!!). I was talking to an Elder yesterday who I served with in my first area and am now serving with again and asked him if I had changed a lot and his response was "oh yes!!" And this week I have learned that the Lord has plans for me to change even more. I might still be the same person personality wise, but I feel a whole lot stronger in my purpose, faith, and confidence. Seriously, today at the mall I asked Sister Allard if we could eat with an older lady we had met in the dollar store in C-OP (A grocery store) and we had like a 20 minute conversation with her, just cheering up her day!! Never would have had the faith to do that before my mission... and (mom you really will never believe this) I called back a number that didn't leave a voicemail and that was unknown!!! Anyway, those are very temporal examples, and I feel that I have also grown exponentially spiritually as well. 

Exciting things of the week!!!! 

Monday - No more injuries!!!!! But we are once again teaching the husband of the family we just got done living with!! He is so awesome, more info as we receive more!! 

Tuesday - We had zone training meeting!!! Our zone has come up with a friendly competition on passing out mormon.orgcards. Whoever passes the most out by the end of our zone finding activity on Saturdays gets a smoothie... however Sister Allard decided to take the challenge as a way to be pushed to have more meaningful conversations with those we meet... so we might not ever win the smoothies, but we have been able to have 17 amazing conversations this week... and we picked up two new investigators... so i'd say it is worth it to make our own smoothie. 

Wednesday - Miracle Wednesday seriously!!!!! 

We drove to Lethbridge on Wednesday after going on mini-splits with the Sister Training Leaders from Taber. (Lethbridge is about a two hour drive from Medicine Hat). We got to meet our new Mission President and wife, President and Sister Miles!!! Let me tell you they are perfect for our mission!!! While we were there I felt the spirit testify to me very strongly that they would help me personally to accomplish the goals that the Lord has for me as a missionary and as a daughter of God. I know that they have been called by God and are inspired to do His work!!! 

On the way home as well we got lost... so we stopped for lunch and prayed before we went in to be able to find a way back to Medicine Hat. After we ate a youth came up to me an apologize for my broken wrist and then said "especially because you are a missionary" and I immediately knew she was an answer to our prayer. We told her that we were actually serving in Medicine Hat and asked her if she knew how to get there. She said that she didn't but her dad did, and He gave us very direction instructions to get home!!! I love the gospel. 

To add on to miracle Wednesday, we were walking to our dinner appointment and we had about 10 minutes before we needed to be there so I felt we should knock on a door or two. We walked a little further and then decided to knock on a door on the corner. To our surprise, one of the nurses that had helped me quite a bit on the Tuesday that we had to stay in the hospital for no reason answered the door. She wasn't interested but it was amazing to be able to see the hand of the Lord and know that He does plant seeds!!! 

Friday - Broken wrist is paying off. We were able to talk to someone on the street for a good 10 minutes because his wrist as broken too!!! We gave him a Book of Mormon, and get this, he can't go to work for 3 months because of his wrist, so we now have the chance to teach him!!! I love the gospel!!!! 

 We also met a family at the Tipee (World's Largest) and had the chance to talk to them for a good 20 minutes. We are studying having faith vs. Fear this month, and both Sister Allard and I were scared to bother them, however their dog then ran up to them and we went over and the guy started talking to us. The Lord will provide a way to do His will, I promise!!! 

 Sunday - Last Sunday bishop asked me to speak in church on the topic "Stay By the Tree" from this past general conference. I spoke with another Sister Jensen who was speaking on her experience from girls camp, and a returned missionary (homecoming) from Japan. Kobe mission. It was amazing to see that even though we all had different topics given to us (i.e Camp, Conference Talk, and Prayer) we all emphasized the same things and supported each other's talk. I had originally planned to read a portion of my talk, but when I got up there, after many prayers, the Lord took over and I gave my talk and ended exactly on the time I was supposed to. 

I know that this church is true. I am excited to see what these next 7 months have in store for growth. My new mission President said in his weekly letter this week  "The Savior taught us that to build faith beyond where we are today we need to take the final step and submit our whole souls to God. We need to serve and sacrifice without thought for reward. When we serve the Lord not for our own personal gratification but instead for His glory our faith will ta​ke the next important step. You will be obedient because you love the Lord not just because you’ve been asked to be." 

I love you all!!!

Sister Kelliann Jensen

P.S - Wrist update - we go in tomorrow for more xrays and hopefully a new cast. The pins do stick out of my wrist!! I will send pictures next week 

What a week.... Wait it is already Monday???

Temporary Splint in the waiting room.

Hello Family!!! Well.... what a week. As most of you well know on Monday at 4 pm I broke my wrist during a pday activity. We were playing a game called mission impossible where you are in the gym of the church and the lights are off. There are tables set up everywhere as barriers and there is a spotlight set up that tries to catch people as they move from table to table... long story short, the mission was clearly impossible for me. On the third round of the game, I got out (note I wasn't even playing the game anymore) and was walking up to the front to sit out. As I walked, another Elder sprinted forward, not seeing me in the dark, and rammed into me causing me to hit a table with my wrist. At first I thought that I was fine, but soon I started feeling me forehead and felt warm blood running down my face. I quickly told Elder Cervantes that I wasn't okay. He took one look at my forehead and took me out into the hallway to asses my injuries. After cleaning off the cut on my head (not bad at all, just bled a lot) I looked at my wrist which felt kind of off... and I noticed it was definitely out of shape. We then got Sister Allard and Nina (a member of the YSA ward) and Nina drove us to the doctors... who was closed. We then went to the ER. At first when I hit my wrist I thought that it was just dislocated... but 4 hours in the waiting room and an xray later told that it was a nasty colles fracture of my left wrist. 

They tried to do a closed reduction (where they seduce you with medicine and put it back into place), but the results were not as favorable as they wished. 

 After the closed reduction. Still looks bad and I can't open my fingers properly. 

Right after I heard the news about the break and possible surgery, I was kind of freaking out. I called our mission president's wife and our nurse on the area Sister Halladay. We then called the zone leaders to let them know and ask for a blessing. I really have a testimony of the priesthood as that night I received a blessing that was an answer to every prayer that I had uttered for the past 3 weeks. After the blessing, I knew that every thing was going to be okay. I was calm and trusted that my Heavenly Father would see me through this. 

After a day of waiting on Tuesday (many emergencies meant no O.R. rooms) we went home at around 7:30 and stayed with Sister Halladay for the night. 

Wednesday we went back into the hospital and I got my surgery around 10 am M.D.T. Everything went smoothly, and I was blessed to have an amazing ortho who will see me through everything that will happen with my wrist. 

They set it and put four pins in my wrist without having to open it... I don't get  it either. 

After surgery... big cast and my fingers are red because of the iodine. 

Sister Allard and I were able to get back to work on Friday and Saturday. We didn't have the car until Saturday evening and I am still recovering my energy so we couldn't walk very far but we tried to fill up our time still!!

However, SUNDAY WAS AWESOME!! It was fast Sunday, and although Sister Allard wouldn't let me fast fully and did as much as I could, and also fasted from thinking, talking about anything that wasn't mission related. The Lord knows us and when we are making full sacrifices. We fasted for our investigator Gerald. He will be going out of town this week and we wanted to provide him will extra strength. He came to our bible study and we had a short lesson with him after that went really well. The spirit was felt and he texted us this morning and Thanked us for the lesson and said that He really felt the Holy Ghost when He went home that night!!!! SUCH A WONDERFUL ANSWER TO OUR FAST!!! He leaves tomorrow and we are making letters that he can open each day to find a little extra strength!! I love you all and thank you for your support and prayers this week. The wrist feels better and better every day and I have more use of my fingers daily as well. Remember, the Lord knows you and what you need. Trust him!!! 

Love, 

Sister Kelliann Jensen