John Tanner, Mormon Pioneer

Dear Family,

Sometimes the bus rides here can get really uncomfortable but we had some very entertaining moments on the bus this past week. First, a completely crazy man was talking to his cell phone the whole hour bus ride to Retalhuleu. We noticed that the phone actually had no battery but I managed to keep up a conversation with his dead cell phone for an hour, pretty impressive huh? We also enjoyed a guitar performance on our way back from Reu and somehow almost the whole bus started singing Christian hymns together. Another interesting moment for us.

This past week I really gained a testimony of how much the gospel can change lives if we chose to live it. E. (who got to have a conversation with the seventy Elder Ochoa) has chosen to completely change his life! He had a decent job that required him to work every Sunday morning. Well, this past week he quit his job! It was a huge act of faith and the same day he got work as a tuc tuc driver and we have never seen him happier! He has also made the commitment to quit smoking, drinking, and I just feel beside myself as I watch him change and become better each day. It is amazing what happens when a person feels the Spirit of Christ and allows that Spirit to grow and influence them to make changes and repent. My companion and I haven´t done anything, the Lord is working this miracle and on Sunday E. and his wife S. came to church with their sons and they showed up in white shirts and they only needed a tie! This is why I just love love being a part of this amazing work! The C. family (that is their last name) is preparing for baptism on the 20th of June.

This past Monday we had to go to Reu in the afternoon for some for some training stuff. Well, on our way back I got off in a place called Cuyotenango to go and do a division for the day. I was still in my suit pants and I had totally forgot to bring more clothes. It turns out we got lost in a huge pit of mud and I completely got mud all over my suit pants. Later I found out that I forgot my contacts and a whole ton of other stuff. It turns out the next morning we had to go back to Reu to give some training and workshops for the new leaders in the mission. Well, I still hadn´t shaved, I had muddy pants, and my companion brought contacts but they both fell out so I gave the training pretty much blind. It was super fun! I couldn´t see any of the missionary´s faces but hopefully they were all awake and could learn something despite my appearence that day!

Muddy spots in Cuyotenango

There is a church video that I really like about John Tanner. I´ve always liked showing it the investigators because it shows that even though John Tanner had a huge obstacle to get baptized, because of his faith and desire to obey the Lord he was blessed to overcome that obstacle and be healed, and then was baptized the same night. It is super powerful to show to the people we teach. Sometimes the problem is that a lot of people don´t have dvd players and if they do, they don´t have a remote. We got creative this past week and I was walking around all day with a dvd player and remote that we borrowed from a member. Somehow I got it to fit in my backpack but I was pretty sore that night. But it was totally worth it because we were able to help I. and her 2 kids, B. and L., and they are now a lot more ready to be bapitzed this Saturday. They have had some challenges but we presented the movie ´Meet the Mormons´ in the chapel this Sunday and they loved it! We will pray and work hard so that they can overcome their challenges and be baptized this Saturday!

I love this work so much! As I watch people like E. make huge changes in their life to be able to live in harmony with God´s will, it is the best feeling in the world. I feel as though I get to give back a small small part of what Christ gave for me.

Love,

Elder Jensen

Fountain in the park

On our way to the waterfall in San Fransisco