The Errand of Angels: Week 12 We are on FIRE!

Hello Everyone!!

Guess what?! I love being a missionary!! (Surprised, right?) Guess what else?! I hit my three month mark in a couple days!! Crazyness! Serving the Lord makes time fly by. You should try it sometime ;)

Let's see... the weather here is still a balmy 80 degrees (I think... we never really see the forecast).

The bugs here are still EVERYWHERE... yay... wahoo... I dislike bugs. But lizards are everywhere too and very fun to chase, so I guess it evens out.

Members are still pounding food down us (yay for girl scout cookie season! Yum!).

We had three otters in the pond by our house and a giant turtle (looked like a sea turtle)... like 1 square foot or more and had flippers... epic!! Poor guy must have been lost though.

These  birds also wander around our complex

And the work is still awesome!!!!

Here are some highlights:

We had a less active at church for the first time since they moved into our ward (congregation) boundaries. The members reached out to them in love and friendship. It was awesome! We met with them for the first time earlier this week.

Our recent convert passed the sacrament to us on Sunday!! Sister Foster cried. I had a HUGE smile.

In Relief Society they asked me a question about converts. I started crying. I was sitting next to two recent converts (one was baptized in July and one was Sharon, our baptism my first week in the mission). Sharon put her arm around me and said that she will never forget me... even into her 80s that she would never forget me and that she loves me. More tears. She answered tons of question in gospel principles class on Sunday. She rocks. So do all the recent converts!! I love them all. And all the members. Man, being a missionary is awesome!

We met with the investigator that attended the baptism last week. We were doing a mixture of How To Begin Teaching and the Holy Ghost Dialogue (essentially all we had said is that we aren't perfect teachers) when she stops us dead in our tracks and kind of chastises us for saying we aren't perfect teachers, but then she essentially said it didn't matter what we said because she knew that she would receive her answer from the Holy Ghost and that she would receive it as she reads and prays about The Book of Mormon. Wow. I am glad that we know she fully understands all of that :) She also calls me "the preacher" jokingly because I gave a talk at the baptism that she really liked, and feels like I talk like a preacher. Yay for the Spirit at the baptism!

This week we have been focusing on a couple things, and one of those has been flooding the mission with copies of The Book of Mormon. I think almost every dinner appointment this week contained either doing a Family Mission Plan, committing to do a Family Mission Plan, and/or writing testimonies in copies of The Book of Mormon and giving them away to others. We have heard some awesome missionary experiences from members the last couple weeks :) It is awesome to hear how the gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed people's families.

Before going on... The gospel is truly meant to bless families, which I love!! I know that as families turn their lives unto Christ and His teachings, that they will find greater joy and peace. I also know that families can be together beyond the grave. Marriages and families can last for the eternities, and that death will not eternally part them. I am so excited to be with my family for time and all eternity. These blessings are available through the gospel of Jesus Christ :)

Back to highlights... We did exchanges this week (for 24 hours you switch companions and so either you stay in your area and another missionary comes to work with you or you go to their area. I went to an area that has just opened up again and with a sister who has been out four weeks... Sister Kenagy from Washington. The exchange was awesome and Sister Kenagy is absolutely on fire as a missionary! It is difficult to not have her positive attitude rub off on you :) She had the goal to stop and talk to everyone. This is also one of my goals, which I haven't been the best at the past couple weeks. With both of us working on this we saw amazing things!! Yay for double-greenie fire!! (FYI, new missionaries are sometimes called "greenies"

No, it isn't a chipmunk at her complex.
It is Deba with a mouthfull of Skittles.
It is part of a game. (Maybe she won't trust
me with posting on her blog anymore.)

Before I go on to tell a couple stories, I just have to say that biking as a missionary is awesome. A. Exercise releases endorphins, which equals a happier Sister Jenkins, B. I LOVE working out, and C. there are so many people to always talk to! Wow! It's probably similar for the car missionaries in the sense that there are plenty of people to talk to, I guess I just noticed it more while on a bike.

We started the day with teaching a lady at a bus stop. Strange, yes. The woman would not let us go to her house for legitimate safety reasons. But she went from being nice but not really interested in our message, to praying with us and receiving a copy of The Book of Mormon. It was awesome. I know that the gospel will help her overcome her drug addiction she is fighting.The bus came at the perfect time too. What are the chances? 100%!

We contacted a referral we received earlier in the day and prayed with her. Her dog barked the entire time which was very strange for me (normally all animals immediately have their voices silenced by the Holy Ghost). The dog began barking when the prayer started and stopped when it ended. Regardless of this distraction the woman was crying during the prayer. The Spirit really touched her. She loves missionaries and know that there is something different about members of the Church. She wants to have the missionaries over for dinner and was ecstatic to give a referral!

But, another shout out to Sister Foster, my current companion, she rocks!!! I love her so much!!! She loves the work, I love the work. We have been talking to everyone the past couple days and it has been so much fun!! She will be missed as my companion if she gets transferred next week. I love this work! When the focus is right, Heavenly Father blesses you with an increase measure of joy.

Invitation: I can't forget one of these :) Think about five people who you would like to see come unto Christ more. Pray for them and opportunities to help them with this. Either reach out to them yourself or send the missionaries to them (www.mormon.org).

Have a great week!!!!

Sister Jenkins

The Errand of Angels: Week 11 Project Purification sounds like a spiritual marathon

Hello Everyone!

I love being a missionary!!!! If you need a little more happiness in your life, find someone to share your testimony with or someone to serve. Heavenly Father will bless you with an added measure of joy :)

I am so grateful to be here and I LOVE the work. I know that I am here because Heavenly Father wants me to be and I want to ensure that I am always using His time wisely and following the Spirit. I also realize though that I have much to learn and we cannot become perfect in a day (or even in the first three months of being a missionary... wow, is that anniversary coming up soon?!).

There are many miracles in the work because it is God's work. 

A highlight of the week was definitely baptism of our awesome 13-year old investigator. Not only was it exciting to see him get baptized (he was so ready!) by his grandfather, but we also had an investigator who came that absolutely loved the service. We gave her a church tour afterwards and she felt at peace, at home. It was beautiful. I am excited to work more with her. She is very humble and sweet and keeps on reading and praying about The Book of Mormon. Oh, and I gave a talk about baptism at the baptism. Our investigator come up afterwards and complemented me by saying, "You are a preacher!" She is so cute. She is from Jamaica. I totally appreciated her compliment. Yay for the Spirit!

Also, this week has been cool in regard to realizing the very wide variety of people we are teaching. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted such individuals to us. I am especially grateful because some of these individuals have a lot of barriers to overcome and it makes me feel comforted to know that Heavenly Father is on my side and that the Spirit is the one that has to convert and not me. I love seeing people slowly become closer to Christ and slowly become converting. This work is so rewarding. Wow, I love it.

My mission zone is doing something right now called "Project Purification." Essentially for the next 40 days (now 32 days) we give up everything distracting us from the work and dedicate ourselves to do everything that we can to find success in the Lord's eyes. This has been a challenge because its changing hearts and habits. You have a list of these things and it sort of develops over time as you add to it. I have learned that I have much to approve upon. I am grateful to learn these things at the start of my mission. Every morning you promise to do or not do the things on your list and every night you follow up with Heavenly Father about how it went. I have not been perfect at this over the last 8 days, but I am so grateful that I am doing this because praying about each of those things specifically has helped remind me to do or not do those things, especially when the time comes to make the choice. Wow, I love it! I have felt an extra measure of help from my Heavenly Father in the work, but also an extra measure of pressure from the adversary because I am trying so hard. Luckily, I have the gift of the Holy Ghost and I know that Heavenly Father will not let me fail if I turn to Him and allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to enable me with power every step of the way.

I love how the Atonement is described in a talk, "His Grace is Sufficient," by Brad Wilcox (http://www.lds.org/new-era/2012/08/his-grace-is-sufficient?lang=eng&query=his+grace+sufficient). My invitation to all of you this week is to read this talk and write in your journal what you can do to be more "changed by grace" and "learn Heaven."

Trusting in Christ enough to use his Atonement at all times takes faith. I am grateful to a Priesthood leader of mine who shared with me his testimony of faith this week. Here are some quotes he shared with it. I hope that he doesn't mind me sharing his testimony. It was so simple yet so beautiful and powerful:

 "To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.  The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fulness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation.   (Bible Dictionary, p. 669)

 “Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements and/or heal the sick, or influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants.  Even more important, by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God.  All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results.  Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for.  . . Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that he gives to his saints. . .” (Bible Dictionary p. 670)

I'm thankful that the first principle of the gospel is faith in Jesus Christ. What a blessing to know that Jesus Christ is always available to us and that through Him we can obtain our fondest desires. He is the source of all good things. What a blessing it is that He invites us to come unto Him.  What a blessing that He allows us to extend that invitation to others.

Here are some thoughts from my Mission President:

"A simple, eternal truth is that our true happiness is found in seeking the happiness of others. 

We know that Alma and the sons of Mosiah “were men of sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this was not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting”… Alma 17:2-3They were not content to casually prepare to be missionaries. There is a price to pay to know God-and they paid it. We can say the right words and teach correct principles, but to preach with power, we must pay the price…we must demand more of ourselves every day. Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. If you want to be as good as Ammon, you need to demand more of yourself. 

“Since time is so precious a commodity, we must not be dismayed when the time permitted to savor success seems so small on occasion.  High moments are soon followed by fresh challenges.  It could scarcely be otherwise, for none of us would for long want to be banqueting over our blessings while others stood without, waiting for the touch of our lives and talents.” Neal A. Maxwell.  

Sisters and Elders “wherefore you must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ” 2 Nephi 31:20. never being content with what was OK yesterday. I promise you that as you demand more of yourselves, your capacity to work will increase. ..and ‘angels will be round about you to bear you up.’"

I know that through the Atonement of Christ we can become better each day. He will help us. He will enable us to become our best selves and then tomorrow become even better. Do not get discouraged if improvement and perfection does not come today. Just like it mentioned in the talk by Brad Wilcox, we are learning Heaven. Learning takes time. Changing takes time. Christ will help us every step of the way.

I love you all! Thank you for your support and prayers!!

Sister Jenkins

The Errand of Angels: Week 10 PIZZA CHALLENGE WINNER

Hello Everyone!

Oh how I love the Lord! As a missionary I am supposed to "love the Lord and serve him the very best that I can." This is what I am striving to do every day of my mission.

So today I am sick at my own fault. Pride. Oh the Jenkins' pride. It runs deep. Real deep. Deep like 4 lbs of pizza deep.

There is this pizza challenge where three people eat a 28" pizza with 5 toppings in 60 minutes. Obviously I wouldn't stand for the Elders telling me I couldn't do it. So I did it. Well, I had two crusts left and a little piece of pizza. I gave up trying to pound it down as quickly when one of the Elders had to step out 3/4 of the way through his second slice. I almost finished though. See attached picture for the "before" pizza picture. Anyways, I will push through the pain to share the gospel today!

Oh and btw, all the missionaries and the pizza place owners were very impressed with me. Mission accomplished. Pretty sure I will now be extremely humbled and learn my lesson from the sickness. Already wondering if my pride was worth it... Well, at least it was fun!

It makes me sick just looking at this. Blek. Those are my little crusts. Truly not very much left. The other slice in the picture isn't mine.

Anyways, what a different week this has been since last week. Wow! Our companionship started out right this week and it helped magnify the Spirit. It was awesome to get home and know that we spent the day following the promptings of the Holy Ghost to know where to go, what to do and what to say. Wow. Our week wasn't perfect, but there were many days where that was the case. Third week in a row with 30+ lessons. This week was great though, because there were days when we had hardly any lessons but we knew we were spending the time exactly as we needed to. What a blessing!

Some highlights of the week:

We have four investigators who have now said that they are going to read The Book of Mormon and pray about it. All of them were already reading but had chosen not to pray previously. We are so excited to hear the results from their prayers!

We had an appointment fall through this week, which meant we had a little extra time for an appointment that we had before it that we knew we were going to have to start late. We were planning on teaching about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a less active family. Well, the 15-year old son had a friend who was there so we taught all of them. The Spirit was very strong and everyone was involved in the lesson. The friend was hanging on to every word of the First Vision. The friend felt like the Restoration was "heartwarming." We explained this was the Spirit. He said he would read The Book of Mormon, pray about it, and possibly invite his family to take the discussions - he wants them to. Another blessing of having a lesson fall through.

We were heading to another appointment that I was quite nervous about. This was the second visit and on the first visit the person had tried to "Bible bash" a little... essentially share scriptures they thought disproved our message. Which they didn't. We believe in the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ on earth today is the same gospel that existed in His day. Anyways, while travelling there Sister Foster felt like we should talk about eternal families and The Family: A Proclamation to the World (http://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng) instead - what an inspired change! I felt great about the change and the lesson went marvelous. The person even shared that they now better understood scriptures from the Bible about the family and did believe that family relationships could be eternal (which previously they did not believe it). The Spirit was really strong. I am so grateful for promptings of the Spirit and for Sister Foster who is willing to act on them!

Sister Foster is really awesome. I truly do love her and she is great. I am so grateful we have each other and the Spirit to help teach others.

I know that families can be together forever! Marriage can last beyond the grave. I really know that to be true. We have this available to us because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Speaking of families, my niece, Morgan Irons, is awesome: http://www.lds.org/church/news/an-incredible-young-lady-wins-national-scholarship?lang=eng (FYI, so are all my other nieces and nephews).

What will a Harry Potter wand do in the hands of a Mormon?

With Valentine's Day coming up, I want you to think what you can do to show your love for the Lord more. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/4?lang=eng

FYI, here is a video of my Mission President: http://mormon.org/bruce/

Have an excellent week!!!

Sister Jenkins

The Errand of Angels: Week 9 Their testimonies strengthened me as a missionary.

Hello Everyone!

So guess what is so cool?! Elder Neil A. Anderson will be presiding at our Stake (no not a wooden stake and no not a delicious slab of meat... a Stake consists of multiple congregations) Conference at the end of March :) It will be wonderful to have an Apostle at our church meetings. Our current Stake President is going to be a mission president soon, so we will get a new one. So cool! I feel so blessed!

I feel like Sacrament Meeting yesterday was for me and Sister Foster. We had 20 people bear their testimonies during the time and all were so powerful and perfect for missionary work (and for comforting me). During the Sacrament I was praying so hard for one of our investigators who didn't make it to church (don't worry, its not the 13-year old... he is rock solid for his upcoming baptism). Side note, I don't think I have ever prayed so much or so hard for others as I have on my mission, except when Dad was going to get his heart surgery. Wow, praying for others' eternity with such fervent effort is amazing. I feel so blessed for this opportunity. Anyways, so I was praying for this investigator and honestly quite tearful just desiring her to come unto the beauty of the gospel. Then Sacrament Meeting testimonies hit and I was blown away with how many people I have had the opportunity to touch or other missionaries to have the opportunity to touch. I may not be able to fully understand the extent of how my work will affect those I teach, but I know it will be tremendous.

We had a couple less actives bear their testimonies and one hasn't done so since she was 17 and now she is almost 50. Her testimony was beautiful and I could not be more proud of her.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the meeting:

"Grace and truth are my friends"

"I attend church alone, but I am not alone" (she is the only member in her family)

"With the Lord I can do hard things" (coming from a woman who has experienced many health issues, but is still standing firm in the faith)

"Do all you can to stand"

"How do you ever learn if you don't let go of the walls?" (question his daughter asked him while they were at a skating rink for her birthday)

"I am mortal and learning each and every day"

"If you seek the love you will feel it"

Many people shared their stories of the missionaries finding them and joining the Church. One man and his wife prayed to find the true church and the next day the missionaries knocked on his door. He said he was a tough nut to crack, but he had now been a member for many, many years.

One other great quote from the day, "Act as a honeybee and look for the sweet in the thorniest of bushes." This was mentioned as we discussed how our words can have power to affect others and so we need to choose to present our words in a loving and supportive way.

I am so grateful to be a missionary.

Also, I am so grateful for all the life experiences that prepared me for now and to relate to people. It makes me wonder if I had any life experiences to NOT help me on my mission, but for other times. I have been truly blessed to be able to relate to so many and have something to talk about with almost everyone. I am sooooo grateful that God has been preparing me my entire life up until now to serve a mission. I have no doubts this is where He wants me to be. I am so grateful that I realized this was God's will and followed the prompting to serve. I will never regret this decision. There is no place than I rather be at the front of the battle field fighting for the eternal salvation of the souls of men! My mission is already going by way too fast.

So, to add to all the other testimonies born in Sacrament Meeting. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that the Gospel blesses families. I know that God answers prayers. God has answered my prayers and because of this I know that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God as well. I know that we having a living prophet who directs the Church today. And I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is once again on earth in its fullness preparatory to the second coming of the Savior.

FYI, we beat 30 lessons this week. 31. Woo! Twas Awesome.

The biggest challenge we face is working with people that don't have an open heart when they read The Bible, The Book of Mormon or pray. They confess to know God and to want to come closer to Him, but then refuse to take the steps that can bring guidance to their lives and help them know for themselves that our message is true. When you have questions about the truth, invite the Holy Ghost into your life by prayer and study of the scriptures with an open heart, willing to act on the answer you receive. God will answer your prayers. He may not answer in the time or manner you expect, but He will answer (James 1:5 and Moroni 10:3-5).

My challenge this week: Share a truth you know to be true with someone else. Maybe that Jesus Christ is your Savior. That Heavenly Father loves everyone on earth. As you do this, especially about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost will testify that it is true. You can change someone's life, even if it is a family member or a person you are passing on the street. You can and should pray for strength and inspiration. Heavenly Father will bless you with those. Hesitant about doing this? Here are great suggestions for being a missionary yourself: http://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/02/a-word-for-the-hesitant-missionary

Enjoy the picture of the gator sign we found :)

Have a great week! 

Sister Jenkins

The Errand of Angels: Week 8--2 Months On My Mission--5 weeks in Florida

Hello Everyone!

Well, it was a great week! And super busy, but extremely awesome! I am so excited to be a part of the work of the Lord at this time when He is hastening His work!

FYI, six weeks are up and it is transfer time! No one in my district is getting transferred. I am excited to be with Sister Foster for another transfer because it means we get to work even harder! Yay!

My companion, Sister Foster is awesome! I appreciate her dedication to the work and her desire to be the best missionary possible (the missionary God wants her to be). I am also striving to fulfill the same goal/mission). I know with the two of us working with the Spirit and trying our best anything God wants to be done is possible. We are learning every day what more needs to be done and how we can improve.

For example, today we were reflecting about why we didn't achieve our goal of new investigators last week and why our finding at times seems a little off. We then realized we need to be more bold. Bold in our testimonies and knowledge that the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. Earlier this week we had another question that was solved by our studying as well. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father answers our questions and pleas about how to be the best missionaries and how to reach out to as many of His children as possible. Taking time for studying daily is so important, and I had the opportunity to regain/strengthen my testimony of that this week.

My invitation to you this week is study the scriptures daily. Even if it is just reading one verse. Prayer before and after. Write down the inspiration that comes and how you feel. Record your feelings at the end of the week as well. I know that daily scripture study can be a strength to you and help you focus your life and feel more peace and happiness.

I am so grateful for this week. This week Sister Foster and I worked so hard and truly strove to be the best, to have no regrets. Two weeks ago we had 26 lessons and we both knew that more were possible. Our goal this last week was 30. The mission Standard of Excellence is 20. Heavenly Father helped us reach this goal. Last night we were blessed with our 30th lesson right before we had to go home for the night. One of our lessons fell through and we only had a couple minutes before we went home. We prayed and then knocked on two doors in the same complex. At the second door we were able to testify of some beautiful truths and then pray with her. Sadly, she did not want to visit again with us, but she did feel the power and will be open for the future I think. I do not know if every week will be like this because a lot of work can be done with seeing little success in the numbers, but I know as we continue to follow the Holy Ghost that we will be inspired on where to go, what to do, and what to say to best contribute to the missionary work in the area.

With the goal of such high numbers we are ensuring that the focus is on the people and where we need to be. I know that God truly lengthened our time because we were able to do attend the Sister's Training Conference, do some service, and even had lots of time for finding efforts, while getting in the lessons that needed to be there. I know that this was a blessing from God and that He gave us the strength and time to do it. If you put God first in your life (study, pray, strive to obedient), then God will bless you to allow everything else to fall into its proper place.

President Ezra Taft Benson: "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our... ...on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities."

Last night I ended the week so grateful that I wanted to cry but so tired that I couldn't.

Side note, I suggest all future missionaries to memorize "Remember This" from Preach My Gospel (back page). Remember This is like a summary of Preach My Gospel and I love it! In our mission, we memorize it.

Anyways, the work is great. I had the opportunity to speak in church yesterday about faith, which was great timing for me because I needed a reminder, but also powerful for the ward. The three talks yesterday brought the Spirit really, really strong into Sacrament Meeting. Elder Woodard did an excellent job as well of listening to the Spirit. I learned by that experience that it is more important to testify than anything else and I am excited to implement that more in teaching.

Oh! And one of our investigators is getting baptized (13-year old)! His mother has given permission, his father has said its his choice to make, and he is very excited. He has lots of questions, but knows that what we have been teaching is true and that baptism is the step he needs to/wants to take. It was a beautiful end to our week last night. He is getting baptized February 16!! This boy was so excited about this decision. It was just a room full of very excited people. It was awesome.

I am humbled and grateful to be a missionary and I love the work!

I loved the message from President Summerhays this week and wanted to share part of it with you:

The Lord is very much involved in this work as he hastens it. I echo the words of Elder Holland when he testified that he did not know of a more exciting time to be a missionary. “There is an enthusiasm, an excitement, a zeal right now that is unlike anything I know of in recent years….I am fired up with heavenly and joyful anticipation”, he said.

He went on to say, “Because of the significance of the latter days, you have to be the best missionaries we’ve ever had, [you have to] because no task has ever been put before a missionary like the one were putting before you.” I add that the fact that you are here at this time is not an accident.

We continue to do better each and every week. Someone is not very happy about that fact so I desire to warn you once more of something that can destroy your motivation and effectiveness as a representative of Jesus Christ. The adversary is very crafty in his use of this very specific temptation. He makes this temptation look innocent. He can convince you that it is not evil. But, I repeat, giving in to this temptation will destroy your motivation and effectiveness as a representative of Jesus Christ. This destroyer of motivation and effectiveness is called, ‘distraction.’ A distraction is anything that diverts us from our purpose of finding, teaching, and baptizing those who the Lord has placed in our path. When you accepted your call, you made a covenant to “devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs.” You have committed to serve Him with all of your “heart, mind, might and strength.” Your consecration of all of your heart, might, mind and strength insures that you will receive the promise of “more happiness than you have ever experienced.” So I ask if you are having ‘more happiness than you have ever experienced?” Could your attention be distracted from finding, teaching, baptizing and retaining? I loved this statement from a prior General Conference, “A distraction does not have to be evil to be effective.”The adversary knows that if he can distract you from your purpose, he can cause the Spirit to withdraw and you will wonder why you are not motivated and happy when you have done nothing evil. Remember, a distraction does not have to be evil to be effective. In April 2010, President Eyring said “we are to act in all diligence, never being slothful or lazy. The pattern is simple but not easy to follow. We are so easily distracted…sitting down to rest can be more attractive than making appointments to visit those in need of our service. When I find myself drawn away from my duties by other interests and when my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: “Remember Him.” Sister and Elders I warn you to keep your thoughts, hearts and actions centered on Jesus Christ and your mission as His representative. Remember This: distraction will destroy your motivation, your effectiveness and your happiness as a missionary for your Savior Jesus Christ. Devote all your time, talents and attention to serving the Lord. I promise you as you do this: “more happiness than you have ever experienced.” Preach My Gospel First Presidency Message.    

Picture is of my District. They are awesome and a bit kooky.

Love you all!

Sister Jenkins

The Errand of Angels: Week 6 Diligence and obedience pay off in rich blessings.

Hello Everyone!!

Thank you for swarming me with letters and emails!! They have been great!!

Anyways, this week was great! Honestly, I felt like that the work was too easy, meaning we probably weren't working as hard as we could, and we were working very hard, but we have definitely been blessed with a greater capacity to work. As we work harder and are more obedient then we can work harder and be more obedient. We have had an increase in the number of lessons every week and have high expectations this week, that we know we can accomplish with God's help.

Deba with other Sister Missionaries

 Well, highlight from this week! (Major!) An appointment of ours fell through (definitely not the highlight) and so we prayed what we should do. I had been feeling like we needed to contact a referral that we had just received. We went over to the apartment complex and he wasn't home, but he setup an appointment for the next day (via his brother's cell phone). I then felt as though we needed to find someone to meet with after his appointment the next day in the same complex. So we prayed and a building number came to my mind - 9. As we were walking up to the door Sister Foster pointed out an apartment that she wanted to visit. So we knocked on the two doors downstairs and no interest, then we knocked on the door upstairs that stood out to her and we knocked. A Jamaican couple answered. They let us in. We taught them a quick lesson, gave them a Book of Mormon and setup a return appointment for the next day. I felt like I should ask for a referral (because we ask for referrals from everyone), but I also felt like we were a little rushed so I didn't. The next day we came back, had a great lesson. The lady said that she would read The Book of Mormon regardless of whether or not we would come teach her again (obviously we are going to), then she gave us a referral... her neighbor, the last door we had left to knock on. A Deaf woman. She wasn't home, but we left a pass-a-long card with our information on it saying that we were English/ASL missionaries. She contacted us later that day and we have an appointment to see her tomorrow. Wow! WOW! I am excited and nervous, but faithful that Heavenly Father will help me and Sister Foster with the lesson in ASL. Please pray that my companion and I will have the gift of tongues.

Cereal on ice cream after serviceproject

I also felt really blessed that Heavenly Father would trust me with the revelation of where to go. Sometimes Its given to Sister Foster, sometimes its given to me, and sometimes its given to both. This allows us to trust in Heavenly Father, the Spirit, and each other.

I love being a missionary. Honestly, this work is so beautiful. Its hard when people drop you and don't want to be taught anymore, but its so rewarding when you see individuals and families come unto Christ and partake of the blessings of His gospel.

I have begun practicing signing while running on the treadmill (I switch off between this and memorizing scriptures or just zoning... I try not to do the zoning too often because it makes the running go by much slooooower). Anyways, I wonder if someone will move in to our complex that will go to the gym at the same time as us. I can't help but laugh thinking of how ridiculous I might look. I love it! :)

Member's home where we did service

Thank you for all your prayers and for all your hard work in bringing others unto Christ.

My commitment for you this week: Just as I shouldn't have delayed asking for the referral, I would encourage you to not delay in following the Spirit. Pray to know what God would have you do in regard to something in your life (or even just how to come closer to Him), and then act on that answer.

The Errand of Angels: Week 5 What a funny, crazy New Year!

Hello All!

Guess what?! December was our highest baptizing month in the mission! :) We had over 60, but I'm not sure exact number... either 61 or 67. Our mission goal is 78, which is totally within reach.

Guess what else?! The first week of December we beat our new investigator goal (goal was 180, we hit 183). New goal is 257. I'm so excited! That week my companion and I found 6 new investigators. We were so amazingly blessed! So awesome! I feel so humbled to be so blessed and to be part of such a great work!

We also found two new investigators last week, which is such a blessing. We participated in a mission-wide fast for gratitude for the baptisms. This helped us find another new investigator yesterday. We did some inspired tracting (i.e. knocking on doors) and felt like we should go to a specific neighborhood. We did. There was a certain house I had in mind. We started there and knocked. Was able to do a prayer with them, but not super interested. Next door. We knocked and a man answered. He was familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He owned a copy of The Book of Mormon and had read out of it. He just didn't know how he could find out it was true. We set up a return appointment to explain that (read, ponder, pray, listen to the Holy Ghost). Such a blessing!!

And now for the funny story of the week. My companion and I just died laughing about this experience and love telling it to others who also get a kick out of it. We knocked on another door. The woman opened it and promptly invited us in (we had no chance to say who we were). Her mother came over and gave us a hug and invited us for some dessert. We still hadn't said a word and frankly were a little speechless (we could tell this was obviously a misunderstanding of some kind... unless they truly just LOVED the missionaries). Then the women looked at each other and looked at us they had a shocked look on their face (um, did we just invite two strangers into our house for dessert?). Both of them thought the other knew us. We said it we were there to leave the Savior's Peace and Blessings upon their homes (we kneel and pray for the family and their needs and invite the Holy Ghost to be in their home). They said we could still have dessert with them. So we had dessert (it was someone's birthday) and talked with them about being a missionary (they had lots of questions). We were able to leave their home with a prayer, which touched one of their hearts. Oh dear, it was too funny. And kind of awkward. But honestly a pretty good experience. Plus, loved the pie ;)

Speaking of pie... Our apt complex has a gym. The treadmill is old and EXTREMELY loud, but it does it job. My companion is loving working out with me and I am grateful for a treadmill so I can consistently push myself (she likes running and is working up to a 5k, yeah, that's from my influnce ;) but isn't super big into it like I am).

Speaking of blessings again, I have not had allergies my entire time here! Allegra has been working great and so has the blessings from Heavenly Father. This is especially saying something because almost every house we visit has a cat, dog or both. And amazingly, I have not gotten fleas yet... I am so grateful.

Speaking of bugs... I can't stand them!! We have bugs everywhere and I just want to kill them all! We are going to get some ant killer today. Everywhere. Lots of bugs. Everywhere. Everywhere. Ants, roaches, other squirmy things. Blek.

Speaking of people's homes... We had dinner at a wonderful member's home the other day... love the family! At the end of the dinner and our lesson (we were a couple minutes over the time we were supposed to be there and I was very aware of it). We heard a chomping sound from the dog... She had eaten part of my new mission shoes. Eaten. The mom was able to pull a chunk of the shoe out of the dog's mouth. I have hopefully learned my lesson about staying late at a member's house and about taking off my shoes. I am grateful the family is well enough off to buy me a new pair. We are going shoe shopping today. My companion just thinks this is so funny. I have to admit, I did laugh as well. And I'm sure I will laugh more soon.

Speaking of my companion... Sister Foster is absolutely amazing!! Wow, I love her. We have a great time together. We work hard, testify powerfully, and find many times to laugh. She also has been such a great trainer.

Speaking of... haha, I'm just kidding. This letter is in a weird format today.

One of our investigators finally had her schedule clear to come to church!! She has been meeting with the missionaries for over a month now. She is a faithful, spiritual woman and I love her dearly. She came to church and the speakers were exactly what she needed. This woman believes and tells us every visit that we are her angels, and she believes and knows what we are saying is true, but she is still progressing and the speakers truly spoke to her and beautifully. Wow, she rocks. And I am grateful for inspired church speakers. Thank you members!

Oh, had a lesson/dinner in President and Sister Summerhay's last night with a part-member family we are teaching. No pressure, right? The lesson went great and I appreciated the opportunity and their thanks. I know without a doubt in my mind that this is where I need to be. No doubt. God has a plan for me here and I am already seeing it unfold. I could not be more happy and grateful.

One last thought, we are teaching a teenage boy who's mother is a member.  we are teaching an awesome 13-year old who's mother is a less active member. He keeps all commitments and is striving to know for himself that our message is true.  Its been really cool.

Okay, well, I'm off. You all are so wonderful! Really, thank you all for everything!

Sister Jenkins

Picture is of us eating fried ice cream at a member's home.