An Interesting Week-sorry for the very un-interesting subject line :P

Dear family and friends,
It's been a while! I suppose I'll just begin from the beginning... or at least last week when we emailed early. :)
So the reason we emailed on Saturday was that a member family in the ward really wanted to take us to do a couple things, but they could only do it on Saturday, so President gave us permission to switch our p-day. They took us to a nearby American military cemetery which was beautiful, and then to the drielandenpunt (three-land point) which is where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands touch. It's like 4 corners in the US, except with 3 countries. About 20 feet away is also the highest topographical point in the Netherlands. Then that night they took us to the American military base they work on for American hamburgers and bowling. Super fun! Considering that the base and cemetery are "American soil," I was in 4 countries in one day! Haha, only in Europe. :)
On Sunday there was a miracle - Dudley came to church! This is the first time he's been back since his big relapse, and he even told us he'd given up hope that he'd make it back since it's so hard between addiction, back pain and medication to get there. But then, he tried one last time and he came! And then he came this week too! His progress is slow, but he knows he wants to be baptized and he's working for it. Studly Dudley! :)
Last week was Carnaval! I still never got a really good explanation over what exactly it is, but it has something to do with Catholicism and celebrating the end of lent... or something like that. Basically, it's an excuse to party- and the Dutch know how to party! There are parades, a caranaval king, queen, prince and princess are chosen in every city and town, decorations all over the place... crazy! There's also lots of drinking, so that part wasn't so awesome. But the costumes!! It was like Halloween every day, with so many people walking around in costumes, especially animal one-sies, clowns, and royal courtier outfits. And let me tell you, we saw some really elaborate ones, with nice material, glitter and paint all over, it was crazy! Everyone had school off for the week to celebrate.
Last Wednesday we had exchanges as well as went up to Gouda for another appointment for Zr. Whittington. Gouda is supposedly the birthplace of stroop waffles, so I got my first original, fresh stroop waffle! It was delicious. :)
We've taught several cool people this week, one of them being Pepsi, a man from Cameroon. He's been investigating for almost a year, and while he is hesitant to be baptized because he wants his wife's support he knows it's all true. In our lesson this week he said the closing prayer, during he prayed that we would "be able to pull down mountains and remove barriers in preaching the word of God and bringing people to Christ." It was so cool!! I just felt the Spirit so strongly that missionaries are blessed, and that the combined faith of everyone (including investigators!) will work miracles. :)
Well, I need to get going this week but as a quick though: this week I read a talk by Elder Cook, who quoted Ella W. Wilcox: “There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” I found that to be very inspiring. As we have faith and work to make things happen, without permitting doubts and weaknesses to deter us, anything is possible. Do amazing things this week!
Love you all!

-Zuster Jensen

Carnivale craziness!

Tender Mercies

My dear family and friends,
I'm afraid this will be a short letter today, as it's been only 4 days since I last wrote and there isn't much new to report. For anyone concerned Zr. Whittington has made a quick recovery from the craziness of last week. We still don't know what the root problem is, but the doctors are working on it and for now we're just taking it easy while continuing with the good work. :)
Other than the usual teaching and finding, there have not been many great events - but it has been a week of tender mercies and small miracles! To share just a few...
Dudley has been having trouble getting to church and other activities because it is very difficult between his back pain and the cold weather. However, a member invited him to their house for dinner this week. We were hoping and praying that he would come, but he didn't give a solid commitment... and then the day of the appointment, it was unusually warm and very sunny! Such a beautiful day, he had no excuse and came and had a wonderful time at the member's house. Seriously, member involvement makes such a difference and I am so grateful for a God who can help us out a little with the weather. :)
The next day was also great weather, but an appointment fell through and we were stuck with an hour or two of knocking doors. We were all disappointed about the turn of events but then this ladybug landed on me and didn't leave for like an hour and a half! We named him Jeroen. Also, this group of like 4 neighborhood kids came and followed us for a while as we were knocking doors, pretending to be in a battle with empty water guns. They were super cute and after Sis. Manning gave them stickers they were our best friends. :)
Well, I must go but as a parting thought, please remember to find your own tender mercies! They are sprinkled all throughout our lives. This week I was reading a conference talk entitled "It is better to look up." It's about optimism and looking to heaven for answers and peace, and it was wonderful! I know that God is always waiting right there to help us, and has given us already everything we need if we will only see it.
Love you all!

-Zuster Jensen :)

Me & my friend Jeroen + artsy nametag. You`re welcome. :)

Birthdays and hospitals and quests, oh my!!

My dear family and friends,

Well, as you have probably noticed I am emailing a day late again. This week was great, but one of the craziest on my mission so far! Perhaps I'll list the events in order of craziness...
First, I have now ridden in another Dutch ambulance, which makes the second in my life- both while on my mission! Zr. Whittington has a couple of crazy health problems, and last Thursday while we were riding our bikes she suddenly felt light-headed and out of breath, so she stepped off her bike and Zr. Manning and I went over to help. Then Zr. Whitting started hyperventilating and didn't stop for 4 1/2 hours... it was a little crazy. It wasn't true hyperventilation because the oxygen and other gas levels in her blood were actually normal, but she was breathing rapidly and was conscious but not really responsive for that long. I am again impressed by the kindness of the Dutch people- when she first started bystanders stopped to help, and after the first 20 mintues when we couldn't get her to snap out of it someone called an ambulance. The medical professionals tried giving her minor sedatives, but she is extremely resistant to them so really we just had to wait in our in the emergency room. Funny parts of this story: 1) she's ok now, which is most important, 2) she was really funny when she became responsive again but was still under the influence of sedatives, and 3) Zr. Manning and I recognized one of the doctors in the ER from when we were there last transfer with Zr. Reeder. Haha, I think we've spent too much time there! :)
The next crazy part was on Sunday, when President called us after church and told us that we needed to go around and collect medical records from all the hospitals Zr. Whittington has been to in the Netherlands and then get to the mission home as soon as possible so that she could stay there for a few days and figure out all this medical stuff. So, we went home and had my birthday dinner (we tried to make spaghetti and browned butter, but we couldn't find mizithra cheese so we guessed on some Dutch cheese... turns out it was really soft and not at all similar. It was still pretty good though!) and then we packed super quick and took a 2 hour train to Breda, where we crashed for the night with some sisters there. Then we left early the next morning on our quest, although it turns out to obtain medical records here you have to fill out forms and mail them in so after visiting several hospitals we ended up all going home anyway. Whether Zr. Whittington will still be staying in the mission home for a few days in the future remains to be seen.
In other news, which will be quick since this has become a saga, we had exchanges this week which were great, our apartment sink is not draining so we did dishes in a bucket last night, and I'm now 20!! Haha I promise amidst all the craziness, I did have a wonderful birthday. Thanks for all the good wishes from everyone and thanks to my family for the packages, I will make good use of the sweaters and hot chocolate! ;) It's funny, I think at home I would be freaking out about being so old, but all I really wanted for my birthday was my investigator to come to church and the emails from my family I get every week anyway. I know that Lord helps us, even as we see our weakness and feel as though we can't overcome them, if we're doing our best He is working inside us to turn us into selfless followers of Him, including changing even our very desires. We must all truly become converted to him, and then help others along the way. In fact, something I've been thinking about the last couple of weeks as Zr. Whittington (a convert with a pretty dramatic story) and I (a life-long member) have both borne testimony to our investigators; lifelong members should share their conversion story as often as converts. When you think about it, we all have one - and each is as personal and valuable as another's. Share your testimony with somebody this week, and take a moment to recognize just how much Christ has done, can do and will do for you!
Love you all!!
-Zuster Jensen

P.S. My next preparation day is this Saterday (our time), so expect my next email then! Sorry it´s so crazy... I guess the craziness needs to continue for just a little while. :)

Comps made this-during my shower as we rise at same time, haha:)

Bday dinner and cake, haha we only had 14 candles in the flat :)

Surprise visit!

Dear family and friends,
What a week! It has been busy and a little crazy, but also super good!
On Wednesday I went to work with the Breda zusters on exchanges. Since we are a threesome in Maastricht, I ended up working as a threesome with both of them for the day. It was good, we did pretty normal missionary stuff. We were knocking doors and there was one old lady who was not interested at all, but since it was raining she let us in and gave us tea and cookies. :) As we walked in she said, "I think Jesus would be proud of me for doing this." Haha, how sweet! Seriously though, I was thankful for this woman and her Christlike heart, that she would let us in despite her lack of interest and save us from the shower of hail that happened while we were inside her house. :)
The next day was Zone Training! It was super awesome as they always are, with great inspiration and reminders about how we can be better missionaries/ people. I also played the piano for a musical number, and was once again blessed like with the ward Christmas party since it went pretty well despite about no time to practice. :)
Yesterday I got a surprise visit from Brother Beste from the home ward!! That was super crazy. It was such a weird moment when I was in church before the meeting started and all of a sudden he walks around the corner... My mind couldn't compute the mix of "home" and "mission" and the first thing I said ended up being, "What are you doing in Europe??" Haha! However, it was great to see him and have that taste of home. Don't worry, I'm not homesick now - although, you guys are pretty great so of course I miss you a little bit. Just a tiny. :)
I must wrap up, so here's a quick spiritual thought: I have been thinking this week about the story of David and Goliath. Of course we all know that through the power of God, David was able to slay the giant; but I also find it interesting that David came prepared with five smooth stones. Although for David it only took one stone, sometimes in facing our problems we must be prepared with several different ways of solving the problem so that, should the first solution not work, we have others ready to try. I believe that this is a true principle and hope to apply it in my life as well as with our investigators. I would encourage you all to do the same in your lives. Have the faith to face your problems with optimism, do your part and prepare, and then go in with courage and with the Spirit. Those "giants" don't have a chance!

Love you all!
Zuster Jensen

Kirsten & Nathan Beste--surprise! :)

Pic 1/2: Sorry they're dark and from different angles, but we thought this was super funny. It's a studio to buy stuff for kitchens, but the phrase means "Let your feeling speak," which is basically what we tell people to do about the Book of Mormon and accepting the Gospel. :D

Artsy shot of Zuster Manning and sugar waffles. Yum! :)