Pics: Oliebollen can be a bit messy... but always worth it :)

Tot Ziens, 2015! Je was een goede. :)

Mijn geliefde familie en vrienden, (My beloved family and friends)

The highlight of this week would most definitely be my beloved family, I love you guys so darn much! It made my Christmas very merry indeed. :) I hope the rest of you also had wonderful holidays!

Rewinding to the beginning of the week, we had a great p-day followed by district meeting, and then on Wednesday we went on exchanges with Leeuwarden. I was kind of afraid for my life biking through the centrum there, it was crazy busy and people seemed to be considering the traffic rules as just "guidelines." But, we survived and had a great exchange! We spent a couple hours singing carols from the hymnbook at the train station (where they sometimes have public pianos) and got to talk to some cool people, including one lady who even jumped in and sang "Stille Nacht" with us. :)

Then the holidays truly began, with Kerstavond, Eerste Kerstdag and Tweede Kerstdag(Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day) stretching from the 24th to the 26th. We had a great time visiting members, talking with some people on the street, and in general doing our best to spread some Christmas cheer and receiving some in return. :)

I can't believe the end of this week marks the end of 2015! I remember last year it was pointed out to me that 2015 would be the only year of my life I would spend completely as a young full-time missionary. I thought, wow, I had better make the most of that! A year is long though, it will take a while. :) How wrong I was! This has probably been the fastest year of my life! It has been a good one though. As I look back there are things I wish I could redo of course, but I am also so grateful for all that I have learned and experienced, and I am especially grateful that with the Atonement of Christ, we are never down to our "last chance." He will always be there to help us try again, as long as we will stay close to Him. Our eternal progression is the whole reason He came, the reason we even celebrate Christmas, the reason we can have hope in new beginnings. I invite you all, as you make your resolutions and goals this year, to ponder on His Atonement and how it can help you in your own personal progression. Then, take it to your Heavenly Father in prayer. As missionaries, we never set goals or make plans without praying about them, and I know He helps us with each of them. I know that as you "counsel with the Lord in all your doings," and have faith in the Atonement and it's power in your life, you will be able to say as Paul did, "I can do all things through Christwhich strengtheneth me!"

Happy goal setting, and a very happy New Year!

-Zuster Jensen

Pics: Christmas!! :D

 

Pics: Companions

with Zr. Twiggs

with Zr. Voss in Leeuwarden

Prettige Kerst!

Mijn geliefde familie en vrienden,

So this is Christmas! I can´t believe how fast it´s come! But first, some highlights from this week:

• Transfers went pretty smoothly, all things considered! And luckily we slipped very quickly into a comfortable companionship, it´s always nice when you already know the person you´re getting.
• It´s actually been unseasonably warm this week, merry Christmas to me!
• On Thursday we made Christmas cards with an investigator, and then she gave one of the ones we had made to us, haha.
• Last Sunday I was asked to play the piano for a musical number, and I guess they liked it because they asked me to do another one on Saturday night for the ward Christmas dinner. Yay for blessings, because they definitely shouldn´t have gone so well for how much practice time I had!
• As mentioned, the ward Christmas dinner was on Saturday and it was super fun! Heel gezellig,(very cozy?) as the Dutch would say. :)
• During church yesterday I ended up translating for all 3 hours. My brain hurt a little by the end, but I could do it which made me super happy! Except it´s so hard now to translate into English - I hear the Dutch, think about it in English, and then my mouth keeps wanting to use the Dutch words when I try to speak. Super vervalent, man.

Sorry it´s a quick one today! But I get to chat it up with you this week anyway - if you´re lucky enough to be in my family, that is. :) But in all seriousness, we really are all brothers and sisters in one giant family, with a perfect and perfectly loving Father at its head. And this week, we have the opportunity to celebrate the coming of our Older Brother, who loves us enough to give everything for us. I won´t say much, there are so many wonderful words of prophets both modern and canonized to read on the subject - but may I encourage you all to take many small moments this week and just let yourself feel the joy and peace and love of Christmas! I love the last verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem:"

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav'n.
No ear may hear his coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

Is there room in our hearts for Him this Christmas? For if there is, He will surely come.  I love you all! Merry Christmas!

-Zr Jensen

Pics: First oliebollen of the season!

Does anyone know what an oliebollen is?  Looks like a doughnut maybe?

Service, Love and Happiness

Mijn geliefde familie en vrienden,

It has been a wonderful week! On top of the magical feeling of the Christmas season, fun things have gone down in the the Netherlands- not the least of which is transfer calls! The craziness continues here in Apeldoorn - Zr Bush will be leaving after only 5 weeks ( it was a shortened transfer) to Zoetermeer, and I will be staying here in Apeldoorn! I will be getting Zr Twiggs, a great zuster who was in my MTC district. And, the mission is trying out something new- we will be co-sister training leaders! So that will be fun! It is certainly crazy though - in the space of 12 weeks, I will have had 4 different companions in one city! :P I will be sad to see Zr Bush go, we got along super well, but I'm sure this next transfer with Zr Twiggs will be just as wonderful. :)

First, last Monday we had a great p-day hanging out in Deventer with the senior couple there, Elder and Zuster Hill. They're a really sweet couple from Idaho. We also wandered around Deventer a bit and we found this shop filled with tons of old books! And I mean filled! I got so excited, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. :)

Tuesday we had dinner with a great family in the ward and stayed for Family Home Evening with them afterward, where we taught the lesson on the Plan of Salvation. They have 4 young kids so we made a game out of it, and it was way fun. I love teaching kids!

After that we travelled to Dordrecht where we slept over, because they next day was Zone Conference! Best days of the transfer, echt waar. (really) We learned a lot of great things about how to teach more personally and powerfully, as well as about the Christmas website of the church. I love how simply the website is layed out, all focused on Jesus Christ as our Savior and why He is so incredibly important, necessary to our lives. Take a look and share it with friends, it's awesome!

On Friday we had a zone service project all day at the Voedselbank (food bank) in Zwolle. It was way fun! We were sorting donations of food and other random items to be put into Christmas packages for needy families. Of course the greatest service we can do is bring the gospel to others, but just some good old fashioned work helping someone else makes for a very happy Zuster Jensen. :)

On Saturday and Sunday we pretty much lived at the church, doing final practices and then performances for the stake Christmas concert (we were singing in the choir). Familie Jones also came up from Arnhem on the Saturday and took us out to dinner with some other missionaries who had served there, it was way fun! They're a top notch family!

The Christmas concert was great! It was completely focused on Christ (of course), but included songs about His life beyond Bethlehem as well as the relationship between Joseph and Mary and what they probably went through in this most incredible of events. It caused me to ponder about just how much we need each other, and about how much help we can receive from heaven as well, in everything we are asked to do or overcome in this life. We need to trust and support each other. Don't be afraid to ask for our receive help, or to give it in return, for we all need it! I love, love, love this quote from Thomas S. Monson: "I leave with you my witness and my testimony that God our Eternal Father lives and loves us. He is indeed our Father, and He is personal and real. May we realizeand understand how close to us He is willing to come, how far He is willing to go to help us, how much He loves us, and how much He does and is willing to do for us." I know that that is true, and I become more and more aware that that promise of help is realized through other people. So let others serve you, because you never know who is the answer to your prayer. And never cease to serve others, because you just might be the answer to theirs!

Love you all!

-Zr Jensen