Chandler's Mission

Hey guys! What a busy week! As an update: Due to a problem with the electricity in our house, and the fact that the owner has dropped off the face of the earth, Elder Nolasco and I live in a new apartment! Stay tuned next week for photos (no, Connor, we still don't have a washing machine). But anyway this week was full of stuff that got me really baggy (or homesick, nostalgic, etc. We don't say trunky). For one, the weather! A cold front rolled through this last week and it was really cold! I wore a sweater all week long, it was awesome! It reminded me of the weather I'm used to in mid-November. Also a lot of stores started playing Christmas music! And the majority is music from the U.S., so I've had Jingle Bell Rock stuck in my head most of the week! Can't wait for Christmas! Also "Illumina el Mundo" (or Light the World for you gringos) is starting up again! Elder Nolasco and I set up all the stuff in our little church building and we're ...

Hey there everyone! Sorry this week's letter is going to be a bit short! Here's a powerful scripture: 2 Nephi 31:20 Always remember that in times of difficulty, in trials, when things seem hard that we need to always press forward. Always remember that if we have faith, if we rely on the scriptures and the Lord, He will always help us, even when we're about to give up. We need to press forward with steadfastness, with certainty and with determination. If we follow the advice of this scripture we are promised all the blessings of eternal life. I know I am out here, engaged in the Lord's work. He guides us day by day and even though we face opposition, even though the work is hard, He is always there to support us with His love. This week was pretty tough, but I know that if I press forward, I will not fail. Love you all! Elder Jensen Bonus for the week!  A couple from Arizona sent me a text message with pictures of Chandler!!! Chandler s...

Another week down, only about 80 or so left! This week seemed to pass by really slowly for Elder Nolasco and I, but busy nonetheless. Due to some unusual circumstances, the other elders in La Esperanza have been sent out to Jesus de Otoro "temporarily" so all of La Esperanza is my area once again! It's a blessing and a curse, really. We have all of the town, which means its easier to find areas we haven't contacted, we don't have to worry about where an investigator lies in terms of areas, and so forth. But also, La Esperanza is huuuge so it makes things a little more complicated. We have to be very efficient in our daily and weekly plans to fit everything in. But it's fun, I love it here. Here's some of this week's highlights: 1. I received a ton of birthday letters! Thanks guys! 2. Last week for P-day we went dinosaur hunting and took lots of pictures! 3. Later on in the week, while we were contacting, Elder Nolasco and I...

I bought the hat to pretend to be in Hawaii with my parents this week! What a gnarly week! We've seen a lot of changes out here in the last week and boy am I excited for this next transfer! So let's start with the transfers that happened last week: My new companion is Elder Nolasco from the Dominican Republic. He's also serving as Branch President out here, I as the Branch Clerk. He's been out on the mission for almost 8 months. He's a great guy and we've gotten along really well. We both want to work hard and we both enjoy having fun while we work, but being obedient missionaries. It's great to have companions with the same desires to work and be obedient but still like to mess around when it's appropriate. The new companionship in La Esperanza: Elder Manister is from Honduras. He's been on the mission for 20 months. He's our new district leader, to make things easier on the Branch Pres. He's a nice guy and from what I...

RIP Elder Martinez Hey everybody! What a gnarly week, there's some big changes coming up! First and foremost, this was my trainer, Elder Martinez's, last week on the mission! So to celebrate we worked harder than we have before and it was awesome! I'm really grateful for the time I've had with Elder Martinez, he was a fantastic trainer and a great guy. We got along really well so... Rest in peace, my dude. Also I've officially finished my training! Woohoo! I'm like, a big-kid missionary now! It's going to be a lot of fun because they're bringing in another companionship into my area, my new companion is going to be the branch pres, and I'm the only one of the four of us who actually knows the area! I'm really stoked because if the four of us are really diligent, I know we can see a lot of progress in good ol' Esperanza! Anyway because transfers are tomorrow, I don't actually know who my new comp is or who the new missio...