Dear Family and Friends, Monday, April 7, 2014 at 10:41 a.m. (EDT)
Well this week has been a pretty great one. I am staying
here in Yarmouth, and I am recieving a new companion. I will be training
him.
Brother Crowley went on his mission to Yugoslavia.
While he was there, missionaries were not allowed to proselyte. They
werent even allowed to wear nametags or dress up. So for his mission he
went to a local college 3 days a week. They taught a PE class each day
of the week, and they played basketball on Saturday.
They would visit the few members that lived there, and once a month
they would take the train to a lady 4 hours away to give the sacrament
to her. I am doing really well this week. Many good things have been happening in this area. We have really been struggling to find people to teach, but I have been realizing what the Lord is doing to shape my life. A mission is really great because it has placed me right into the saviors hands and has allowed him to shape me like clay. President Taylor, the Stake President in Montrose told me that it would feel like that and it sure has.
I have been struggling this week in preparation for district meeting and it has been difficult finding what specific things I would teach about. I often asked myself why it was being so difficult. I turned to the Lord in prayer and as I kept studying I came to a realization of both why it was being difficult and what I should teach. This week I am teaching about the Atonement in District Meeting. I found Elder Hale's talk to be super helpful during General Conference. He told us, "Through the Atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws, ordinances and commandments given in the gospel."
As I was thinking how difficult it was to prepare my district meeting I came to the realization that no good thing in life is easy. The Atonement of Jesus Christ, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and his death on the cross was no easy thing, yet it gives us all the chance to return to him.
In my district meeting I am going to share my and dads experience of climbing Mt. Sneffels. We left early in the morning with a group of Boy Scouts. As we were driving there one of the boys commented that he was really hungry. We found out that he had not eaten breakfast that morning. The scoutmaster had given us a list of things to do before the hike to prepare for it. Breakfast was one of the things on the list. When we got to the trailhead we found he brought no water, and few snacks for the hike. Some of us shared our things with him, but unfortunately he got sick and could not continue hiking. He and the scoutmaster stopped and rested at the lake below the peak. They were unable to continue. The rest of us hiked with no problems almost to the top. We reached a saddle just below the peak and some of the scouts were experiencing elevation sickness. Me and dad were feeling a little sick, but we decided that it was worth it to climb to the top. We were the only ones to make it out of the group. It was tough, I was only eleven, and I was also experiencing elevation sickness towards the end, but I knew that the end goal would be worth it, and it was. The view from the top of Mt. Sneffels is spectacular at over 14,000 feet elevation. Our life is much like that. Jesus Christ makes our return to Heavenly Father possible, through his suffering and death. It is a gift to us, but we must show him that we want it. We do that by following his commandments. Just as with the hike, it becomes very difficult for us. But what fun is life if we just stay at the base of the mountain? The joy of life is in reaching the top of the mountain.
Thanks to everyone for being supportive
of my mission. It has been really tough at times, but I always seem to
get motivational mail from family and friends. I am always excited when I
find something in the mail.
Elder CWJensen