Wenhede (Tender)

This has been a bitter-sweet week of goodbyes and accepting new realities.

Wednesday Sister Goldrup and I were selected to demonstrate teaching to all the new missionaries. It was weird to think that two months ago I was the new missionary and others were showing me how to teach. Of course since we were teaching a big group, we taught in English. I was so nervous! I kept thinking of all the things I wanted to say, except the words were all in Chinese. Then it hit me, Natali! You have are going to be teaching in English in just one week. Wow, that was something else to hit me over the head. It also made me realize that I will have to figure out a way to put in 100% effort teaching the word in English, but also 100% effort in keeping up my Chinese. I talked to some teachers and they said it is manageable, but requires a lot of diligence. I guess Diligence is the Christlike Attribute I will be working on these next couple of weeks. Sister Goldrup and I are going to email each other every week with new goals that we want to do with Chinese, that way we will be accountable to someone other than Heavenly Father.

Thursday was In-field Orientation and it was another eye-opener. We learned about the hardest parts of missionary work and then best parts of it. We also learned the importance of including members in our search for investigators. My favorite part was that we learned the only way to have a successful mission is to be obedient with a passion. Passion in our work is essential because we won't feel tired if we truly love what we are doing. Passion will help us love those around us and will help us connect with them in a special way that will help them come unto Christ.

Friday I received my temporary reassignment to Atlanta Georgia. Awesome.

Saturday was such a tender day for me. My emotions spilled out quite a lot. I had to say goodbye to Tang Laoshi (Brother Townsend) and it was harder than saying goodbye to my family (sorry y'all). But I don't know if I will ever see this man again who has done so much to help me learn Chinese and has provided multiple Spiritual settings in which my understanding and testimony of this gospel have grown. Luckily I have pictures and his e-mail, so there is a chance we will see each other again, or at least stay in contact. It is during these times of good-byes that I remember what my Mom has said multiple times, "Isn't a blessing to have loved and been loved so much it hurts?" I can testify that it is indeed a blessing to love. 

(Left to Right: Sister Goldrup, me, and Tang Laoshi!)

(We love Zhi Hui yu! aka Word of Wisdom)

Saturday night was also an emotional night. We had our final District meeting with President and Sister Dunn and we did an exercise that I believe will impact the rest of my mission and hopefully the rest of my life. With our companions we did a role play of the time when Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" As Sister Goldrup asked me that three times, I felt that I could honestly reply to both her and my Savior, "I do love you." By the time I had asked her that same question three times we were both in tears and my feelings were, at that very moment, wenhede (tender). I could see, more clearly than ever before in my life, that all the Savior really wanted from me was to love those I come in contact with. Love my companion now, and my future companions in the field. Love my family. Love my investigators. And show this love by inviting them to come unto Christ so that they can feel the great capacity of His love for all of us here on Earth, and for those from the past and for those who are getting ready to come down. Yes it was a tender moment for my companion and I, one which I will always remember.

I just want everyone to know that the rumors you hear about the MTC being terrible are not true. I LOVE this place. I have had some of the worst days of my life here, but I have learned so much from those trials. I have loved learning from my teachers and my peers. I have loved studying the scriptures and praying all the time. Saturday I finished reading the Book of Mormon, cover to cover, which I started my first day in the MTC. I have started reading it again. I encourage all to read it, and to love it. It is the keystone of my happiness in my life here on Earth. Love you all and feel free to email me!

Change is a Good Thing

 

The Lord really does love me. This week I was assigned a new companion who is the best, her name is Sister Goldrup. She was suppossed to leave last Monday, but her cornea got messed up in her eye and she had to have surgery, so she is here another three weeks. President Dunn pulled my old companionship and Sister Goldrup into another room to create our new companionships. He said, "I have a very strong feeling that Sister Jensen and Sister Goldrup should be companions." I was so excited! I had prayed the night before that whatever happened would happen, but if I had a say in it all I did not want to be companions with Sister G. because of all the struggles we had had the past week. The Lord heard my prayer and has blessed me with someone who works hard and is more advanced than me, which is humbling, but enabling me to push myself even harder to get on the same page as her.

 

Sister Goldrup is from London most recently, her family has lived all around the world. She is not uptight and we laugh a lot. We talk to each other in a lot of Chinese and I can't describe the weight that has been lifted off of my shoulders. The Lord surely knew I needed this.

 

So just a little shoutout to Sister Marissa Miller! She is in the MTC now and her class is in my building so we will be seeing each other a lot! Haleilughjia (please check my spelling)!

 

Another thing I want to share with everyone is the amazing discussion we had in class this week while searching the scriptures. We talked about the difference between righteousness and obediance. Let me just say I want to be righteous, not obediant. Being righteous means we have a sincere desire to follow in Christ's steps and to do the right thing. Obediance is being odediant with no testimony of what you are doing is going to help you in the long run. It was an amazing search of the scriptures as I became recharged to obey in righteousness.

 

The Lord shed another blessing on me Friday. Brother Townsend had an interview with me about my time at the MTC thus far. I told him I was frustrated because I felt like I should know a lot more than I do and I was worried that I was teaching lessons not people. Brother Townsend looked at me smiled and laughed quietly. He then went on to give me an analogy about how mountains. He said to look from the top of the mountains. From the top of the mountains we can see everything. He asked me how many years I studied French in which I replied, "5 years." He then asked, "And how long have you studied Chinese Jian Jie Mei?"

 

I replied, "Almost 6 weeks."

 

Brother Townsend then said I was a miracle. He said he and Brother Thatcher were amazed at how fast I was progressing. He said he could see the bigger picture because he had already reached the Mountain Top. He said my investigators could feel my love and that I was teaching their needs and not just lessons. Brother Townsend ended the conversation by saying, "Take a deep breath, take a step back and don't stress."

 

All that was said was exactly what I needed to hear. I still have a long way to go, but I should be happy with the progress I have made. Now that I thing about it I can probably speak more fluently in Chinese than I ever could in French. What a blessing that is! The Lord has certaintly performed miracles on me in the six short weeks I have been here and I am so excited to help build up his Kingdom so that others may feel the blessings of the Lord, our Heavenly Father.

 

Love,

 

Jian Jie Mei

 1st: My new companion Sister Goldrup and I!!!

2nd: My friend Elder Worley got to the MTC!!! Awkward handshakes :)

3rd: Sister Miller in the MTC hood!!!!

Tender Mercies

Title: Tender Mercies

 

This week seems like it went by faster than the last! Which is both exciting and nerve racking because I have one month left to learn Chinese in the MTC, but once I'm done I get to get the heck out of Dodge (MTC) and start being a missionary in the field! Woot woot!

 

In fourth grade I remember being in the class play as an elf. I looked out into the audience that filled the cafeteria and there sat my family. There was Dad, with a space big enough for another person, then Mom and Addie. I remember thinking that the space between my parents was not empty, rather my Grandma Sharon was there watching over me and smiling at my fourth grade acting skills...

 

This week I was lucky enough to feel my Grandma Sharon's presence again. It was Tuesday night after devotional and we were talking about times we had felt close to Heavenly Father. Sister Taylor shared an experience about her grandma, then Elder Bowcut shared an experience that was near to his heart. President Dunn, commented that there were angels watching over each and everyone of us. It then hit me that my guardian angel was Grandma Sharon. I could feel her presence in the small room where we were meeting. I hadn't really thought about her much since coming on my mission, though I have been aware of all the blessings in my life, especially this past week. It was a tender mercy of the Lord to allow me to feel my grandmother's love and watchful eye.

 

Then on Wednesday, I was blessed yet again with a tender mercy of the Lord. Brother Thatcher was to be gone for the rest of the week visiting an old companion out in Virginia, and as my family and friends can attest, I am not good with change, especially when it comes to teachers. Remember how hard it was for me when Madame Holst left to have her baby? Remember when Dr. Kendrick left to go to Spartenburg? Not an easy adjustment for me. With the knowledge that I could not afford to be stubborn with the sub and get confused at their different teaching styles, I started Wednesdaymorning with a prayer to my Heavenly Father to please help me have patience with the substitutes and to please help me learn, despite the absence of my real teacher. The Lord Heard my prayer and I was able to not only learn, but learn a great deal. Now granted they were not as good as teachers as Brother Thatcher, they were good enough to get me motivated and take my time here at the MTC more seriously. I created a new and improved study plan and prayed for help, once again, for Heavenly Father to give me the diligence to stick to my study plan.

 

My last tender mercy of the week is not related to the Gospel, other than it is definitely a tender mercy of the Lord: Volleyball. Sister Taylor and I have been playing everyday, and while it is not even comparable to playing in high school, I have been abel to find some spanish speaking Elders and Sisters who are pretty good. Together we can all get some good rallies in, and best of all I get set well enough that I can hit the ball whilst flying through the air. There are two things that make me feel alive in life. One of them is this gospel and the other is volleyball. The first time I played volleyball at the MTC it was a huge dissappointment because I was the best and everyone else could barely pass the ball. The Lord knows I need volleyball to relieve stress and to activate that other part of my soul, therefore he has blessed me with new friends who play volleyball and play it well. There is one Elder, Elder Berry, who is quite the athlete and can set, pass, and hit very well. We are quite the team when we play together.

 

Love you all and please write me

Because I Have Been Given Much

Saturday was TRC, which is when volunteers come who speak Chinese and we teach them a mini lesson, kind of like home teachers. It was cool because we had a native Chinese speaker and she talked so fast! But I could understand 45% of what she was saying luckily. After TRC, the Lord blessed me to understand the grammer concept Brother Thatcher was teaching. I was able to use it with the vocabulary I have learned from flashcards, rather than following the words it suggests in the grammer book. I was so proud of myself. We had lunch and all I could think of is how cool it was that I had conquered a grammer sequence. The Lord did not let me live long without remembering who was really helping me learn the language. After lunch we had class with Brother Townsend and so began the most frustrating class of my life. He taught us a grammer principle. As soon as the class seemed to have a pretty good handle on it, Brother Townsend gave us a challenge. He gave us eight english sentences that we had to translate into Chinese using the correct grammer. I was frustrated and confused. The Chinese language doesn't even have half of the words Brother Townsend used in his sentences, therefore you have to decide which word/s to replace with another word that does exist in English. I was knocked right off of my pedestal, and by dinner I was feeling quite discouraged. As I began my prayer over my food, I started to ask for help understanding the grammer principle we had just learned in class, when it hit me. I had yet to thank Heavenly Father for helping me conquer the gramme section earlier today. No wonder I was was struggling right now. I felt so much guilt because of my selfishness. I have never felt so undeserving of Heavenly Father's help. If I couldn't remember to thank him when I made progress then why would he help me continue? Nevertheless, I am learning this new grammer concept and I will conquer it, but you can bet I will not forget my Heavenly Father when I do conquer it. I would encourage all my friends and family to take inventory of the things they do have and have been blessed with in life before we ask heavenly Father for more. There is a reason when we teach investigators to pray that we say the first thing you do after addressing Heavenly Father is thank him for all your blessings. It is because we have been given much and we must have gratitude to the Father who has given us everything. Hopefully I will be able to get you all some pictures soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X23r4ATlUA

Roller Coaster of Emotions

What a week this has been! Can I just say how much I love this gospel and am eternally grateful for all that it has blessed me with.

 

Monday night, Brother Thatcher helped me with my pronunciation one on one and I felt so much better about being able to figure out the words! yay!

 

So on Tuesday night we had a devotional at the Marriot center with Brother Richardson of the General Sunday School Board. He said, "God has more in store for us than we can imagine." That really hit me and I know that to be true because honestly who would've ever imagined I'd be speaking Chinese in Australia?

 

Wednesday was hard. Like probably the hardest day of my mission thus far. We started the day off with teaching our investigator and it went pretty well. He committed to baptism, but he "left" for Tiawan the next day and we are hoping he will contact the missionaries there. It's weird, even though this investigator wasn't real, I felt sad when we wouldn't be able to teach him about the gospel anymore, because I could see the gradual change in his behavior and his excitement growing about the gospel. Luckily, we get a new investigator and have already "called" him to set up an appointment for this week. After that everything was downhill. By the end of the day I was wondering if I would ever be able to conquer this language and if I was even adequate to serve Heavenly Father. That night I knelt on my knees and said a "mom" length prayer, (for those of you who don't know, Mom is a very thorough person when it comes to prayer). I felt peace and was able to sleep and wake up with renewed energy and a reconfirmation that I was called to this mission for a reason and that Heavenly Father will help me, all I have to do is ask as it directs in James 1:5. I mean that's what Joseph Smith did right?

 

The 4th of July was a little weird. I realized I hadn't packed any red, so I felt a little unpatriotic; nevertheless it was America's Birthday and even at the MTC they can't ignore that! After a full day of language learning and scripture study we had dinner and then a special devotional. Our speaker talked about the men and women who fought for our country past and present. I am truly grateful for all those brave young men and women, and I'm especially proud of Bob as he faithfully serves the USA. Thanks Bob. So after the devotional, we were blessed with the opportunity to watch "17 Miracles" which is an amazing movie about the pioneers. Hun Hao! (very good) Then, this part is my favorite, they announced that we would be able to go outside and watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks and eat ice cream. My dear Companion Sister Taylor teared up and said, "that is so sweet. They didn't have to do that for us, but it makes being away from home easier." That really hit me. I then said a quick prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with Sister Taylor and I gave thanks for the evening I was able to participate in.

Later on Saturday, I was doing the online computer language study and all of a sudden I could understand everything I had been studying. Heavenly Father answered my prayers! I'm not fluent or anything but I could definitely understand  what I had been working on.

 

So yesterday was fast Sunday and let me tell you I was counting down the hours until I could fast! I have been wanting to fast all week, but we aren't supposed to skip meals as missionaries. Then fast Sunday hit and I was so grateful for the opportunity to fast and get closer to the Spirit. In the morning I had the opportunity to ready and study the Book of Mormon for a whole hour. Let me tell you, that was amazing. I learned so much and I'm even in the Isaiah parts in 2 Nephi! Then I read the Bible and Preach my Gospel for another 45 minutes. I am learning so much about my Savior and I can't wait to be with him again.

 

I am currently unable to figure out how to send pictures from the MTC computers, I guess I take after mom a little bit...but as soon as I do figure it out I will send pictures for the blog and such!

 

Love you all so very much! Please DearElder.com me. (Natali would really love some letters from dearelder.com. It is a Quick and easy way to send her emails/letters. She receives the letters on the day you write them.)  They really help me get through the day!

 

Love,

          Jian Jie Mie

MTC Week One

So these past couple of days have been non-stop orientation and class. I am happy to report that I can already pray in Chinese and that I have taught two missionary discussions in Chinese (though I'm not sure how our "invesitigator" is coming along because I can't understand him), and I have made it to a regualr schedule for the next eight weeks.

 

I can hardly remember life outside the MTC. My phantom cell phone vibrations have almost ceased completely and I don't even remember what it's like to have a decent nights rest. I do miss my pillow a lot, but I am almost able to sleep through the whole night now, which is a huge blessing from the Lord.

 

So our "investigator" is a teacher from one of the other Chinese classes and he is pretending to be an old man who loves Christ but wants to know why bad things happen to good people. We have to teach in Chinese and it usually is a jumble of words and me trying to feel the spirit so I can say something. Our first lesson went ma-ma (okay). We taught him that Heavenly Father loves us and wants to hear from us because we are his children. Then we tried to teach him how to pray. We taught that you address Heavenly Father, then thank him for your blessings, ask for help, and then close with Feng Yesu Jidu de Ming amen (in the name of Jesus Christ Amen). Then when it was time for him to pray he repeated exactly what we said. He said, "Tianfu (heavenly father), I thank thee for blessings. I ask thee for help. In the name of Jesus Christ amen." That was the end of the first lesson and I felt terrible because he didn't really understand what prayer was yet.

 

Our second lesson we revisited prayer. As we taught him the format of prayer again we gave tangban (examples) of what to thank Tainfu for and what to ask for help with. Then we asked if he understood more fully. He said yes and then said one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard. I could feel the spirit as he prayed and searched for things he wanted to communicate to Tianfu. It was beautiful and I felt so happpy that he now knew how to really pray! Then we went on with the rest of our lesson and tried to get him to confirm to work towards baptism. That's when all heck broke loose. He asked what baptism was and we didn't know the vocabulary to expalin it to him. So we tried having him read a scripture to explain it. Then he started asking a ton of questions and we simply could not understand. Then he wrote some characters on one of my companions paper (I have two companions btw) and asked us to ask Toa Loscher (Brother Thatcher our teacher) to tell us what it meant. Then we set up an appointment to come back sometime this week. It was kind of a bummer to have such a great start to a lesson and end in chaos. But that's why he isn't a real investigator and we are here learning how to correct our mistakes.

 

Other than that I don't really have a lot to say. All my days are blurring together. My only peace is when I read my english scriptures and I can understand everything. Then I try to read the Book of Mormen (Mo'rmenjing) in Chinese and I feel lost all over again, though I am happp to say I am starting to recognize a lot of the words. My district is great! My companions and I are with six other elders. Two are going to Hong Kong and the other four are going to Sydney Australia. One of my companions is also going to Hong Kong and the other one is going to Brisbane. We found out we are going to be the first American sister missionaries learning Chinese to go to Brisbane...kinda scary because I am hoping there are some Native speakers who can be my senior companion.

God Speed

Well the day is finally here friends. I am going to the MTC for 2 months, located in Provo, Utah. Then on August 28th I will be flying to Australia for the remainder of my 18 months. I am so excited to serve my Heavenly Father and teach his gospel to those Asian Australians. I would love to hear from everyone so please write me!

My address at the MTC until August 28th will be:

Sister Natali Jensen
AUG28  AST-BRI
2007 N 900 E Unit  92
Provo UT 84602

Once in Australia it will be:

Sister Natali Jensen

Australia Brisbane Mission

PO Box 348

Hamilton QLD 4007

Australia

For packages it will be:

Sister Natali Jensen

Australia Brisbane Mission

7/146 Racecourse Road

Ascot QLD 4007

Australia

And for all of you who don't have time to write snail mail you can email me at: natalij@myldsmail.net

God Speed everyone! I'll see y'all in 18 months. Stay tuned for updates on my blog from my family.