Baptism and nm Fiesta ng Bayan Pictures.

"Baptism of K. C, and her brothers and some others that I don't know."

 "Sister P and I with the N Family."

"Young Women's presentation for our investigators."   

"Fiesta ng Bayan. These little dirty fellers won the dance competition. Conveniently they were outside the house we ate at. "

Another Glimpse of the MTC

Jasmine had the chance to send more pictures of her time in the MTC! These are some of my favorites so we were excited to get them. 

"On the bus to the airport, on our way to the Philippines!"

The Great News!

Dear Family and Friends!

Wow, this week was great! I had my first companionship exchanges...That was interesting for me. It was with Sister C., the trainer of Sister H., the other American in our apartment. I realized how lucky I am to have Sister J. as my trainer. She really tries her best to help me with the language and help me. Sister J. is really good with English and Tagalog. I am really blessed to have her as a companion. She is very kind, loving, and giving. Most likely we will part in about two weeks. I really want to stay here in Masinloc, but one of us will be leaving, so we will see. I know I will miss her as my trainer. I also had to lead the area, which was really interesting. A lot of our appointments ended up not being home, so that was too bad and I had to search out more people to teach. It was tough, but I realized I knew more than I thought. I also had to talk a lot more because I was leading the area and Sister C. didn't know where she was supposed to talk and when I was supposed to. Sister J. and I have very smooth transitions because she hates pauses, so we transition through questions. Sister C. was waiting for me to pause.. eeek. It was a learning experience. 

Also this week Sister V. was baptized! It was so exciting for us to see! Her son President E. (District president here), baptized her. It was so great to see families growing in the Gospel! She was so happy. She was scared to give her testimony so she wrote it down on a piece of paper and read it. Afterwards she gave it to me because I asked her for it! It was great! 

The next day she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by her son and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost. That very evening she went out to work with us as our member present to some of her friends and family. She insisted on walking instead of taking a tricycle. All in all I think she walked several miles at the age of 63! And then we had to climb up a hill to get to an investigators house with just a flashlight and it was pretty steep. She did that as well! All the way up and all the way back! It was Astig (awesome)! She is already doing so great as a member! She is truly inspiring. I love her so much haha. She is a laugh. I never knew how strong her testimony about going to church was until she came with us. She testified of the importance of church and said that if she didn't go to church then the devil wins. She has such a strong testimony about going to church. I loved being out with her. 

Her Son also helped us this week and testified about keeping the sabbath holy. One of the biggest sales day here for his store is a Sunday, but he is closed on it anyway because he has faith. His testimony helped one of our investigator families come to church. They were worried about the father not making enough money driving his tricycle to feed them if he went to church. President E. told them to just try it once, and they did! I know the Lord will bless the Nesperos family because of it. 

I love you all! All is great here, thank you for your love and support!

Love, 

Sister Jensen

President E. and his family, and his mother, Sister V. 

Sister H., President E., Sister C., Sister V., Sister Jensen, Sister J.

Sister C.

An email from one of Jasmine's MTC teachers:

GRABE!!! Namimiss ko kayo ngayon kahit nasa Utah pa kayo. You haven't even left the state, but I know I won't see you all again for a long time!! (And you won't see this until your first P-day in the field!!!) 

Pero sobrang masaya ako para sa inyo. I know you will perform miracles for the people in the Philippines. I can sense it in your countenances, the way you teach, and the way you sing! Salamat talaga para sa card na ibinigay kayo sa akin at maraming salamat for the song. i wish i had recorded it!! it was very touching. i looked up the song online, but it's not the same as when you all sang it.

Thank you for being Christ-centered missionaries. Alam ko na mahal kayo ni Heavenly Father and that He will take care of you if you give your heart and will to Him. We read this in Sunday School and I wanted to share....

D&C 101

35 And all they who suffer ^apersecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my^bsake yet shall they partake of all this glory.

 36 Wherefore, ^afear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your ^bjoy is full.

 37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the ^asoul, and for the life of the soul.

 38 And ^aseek the face of the Lord always, that in ^bpatience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.

I know His promised blessings are true and real, and that only through Christ and His gospel can we receive a fullness of joy and return to live with our Heavenly Father.

Mahal ko po kayo. Ingat po kayo!!!

Sister C.

District 16E

Picture overload from the last emails Jasmine sent from the MTC.

Sister Jensen

TALL

The Sisters.

The Elders.

MTC week 6

Kumusta pamilya at mga kaibigan!

I've added a couple of you this week to my big e-mail to everyone. I hope you don't mind. Next week I will have wonderful things to tell you about the Philippines. This week I just have a funny fact. In the Philippines there is in F in the alphabet, but if they use F they usually mix it up with the P. So they say Pilipino not Filipino and when they mix it up apparently a common one is fart instead of part. Hey, it's the truth. Just laugh about it because you know it is funny :). Anyways, this week I got to host the new missionaries! Which means I got to welcome all the new missionaries at the MTC, and settle them into there apartments, and get them their stuff, and take them to their classes so they didn't get lost. It was great! A lot of fun, even though I only got to host one person, it was still amazing. She was from Utah and she is going to Chicago where she used to live! Crazy huh? Her parents felt at ease leaving her because they knew she would be in a place that she knew with lots of friends. She was super nice and I know she will be great! It was sad to see people say goodbye to their kids for 2 or 1 1/2 years, but it was fun to help them. One Polynesian sister had two cars filled with family hahaha. It was great! I love the Polynesian people! On Saturday we have a devotional (which is like a talk) from Jolene Alphin. She has compiled hundreds of pioneer stories! She was a historical consultant for Ephraim's rescue and 17 Miracles. She talked about the pioneer men that just got back from missions  and went back to help the struggling handcart companies. The people spoke of them as if they were angels. It was so much fun to learn about the pioneers! Their stories are inspiring and always cause me to want to be a better person. So I am so excited to be going to the Philippines this week! I am so ready to serve the people there. I am ready to feel Christ's love for them! I leave in two days!! Wahoo! Today is my last day for mail at the MTC. Well, Mahal Kita! Salamat sa panalangin! Take care! Write you soon!

Love,

Sister Jensen (Jasmine)

Emmettites Unite!

A few of the Sisters and Elders from the Emmett Idaho Stake at the Missionary Training Center.

Sister Jensen, Elder Craig, Elder Atwood. 

Sister Jensen and Sister Helms.

Jasmine and Stewart (Elder Craig) have known each other their whole lives, they were in the same nursery class, sunday school class, and now they are so excited to be serving in the mission field.

The First of Many Mission Good-byes (MTC week 5)

Hello Everyone! 

This week flew by! It seems like all the weeks here do. I got my flight plans yesterday!!!! I will be going to the SLC airport, from there I will go to San Fransisco CA, then Tokyo Japan, and lastly Manila Philippines! From there we will probably be shipped on a bus or something to my mission! I am SUPER excited, but at the same time I do not feel completely prepared. I have confidence that the Lord wouldn't send me out if He didn't think I was ready though, so I am sure I will figure it all out and be able to share the Gospel with the people of the Philippines! I hear they are really nice and try to help you out a lot if you are learning Tagalog. One of our teachers said that he only got the door slammed in his face once and that was because it was a drunken drag queen. I can't say I want a similar experience, well, besides not getting doors slammed in my face. Richard G. Hinkley was our Tuesday night Devo. He is an emeritus General Authority. Afterwards we took a big picture and he said we are the best missionaries on this earth. I thought that was pretty cool. He said some other things as well, but I don't have my notes right now. Anyways, one of our teachers said goodbye to us this week. The day before we left Sister Shrack and I had a lesson with him. We started in Tagalog, but he stopped us and we continued in English saying what we really wanted to say and teaching according to his needs. He told us that even an awesome scripture or lesson can be bad if it is in the wrong place and time. I had to agree with him. He then addressed my concern of being able to teach in Tagalog and I learned all that I have to do is try because if I am not trying to teach according to the people's needs then it is irrelevant to them. Afterwards he said a prayer. It was so powerful to me because it came from someone that I have grown to love and respect. He blessed our families and our teaching efforts and much more. He has been like my big brother here and I miss him already. It feels like just yesterday that I walked into the MTC for the first day and he was there speaking gibberish to me. After the prayer we were all kind of holding back tears. I realized this would be the first of many goodbyes on my mission. I hope that all of them are this sweet because then I know that I am doing what I need to do. I think that leaving the MTC might be like leaving home all over again. Well, I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and your thoughts. I am learning Tagalog. It's coming, but I know it will take much more effort and struggling on my part before I really get it all down. I can't wait to be fluent hahaha! I will have one more week to write you all in the USA. I leave the 29th of this month! Alam ko po totoo ang ebanhelyo! 

Love, 

Sister Jensen

Our Guro, Brother W.

Sister S. and MTC District

Sister Jensen and her companion Sister S.

Many missionaries take pictures next to this map.

June 30, 2013

Jasmine's district.

July 7, 2013

In front of the Provo Temple.

July 7, 2013

July 9, 2013 with her district.

Kumusta! (MTC week 4)

Kamusta pamilya at mga kaibigan!

It is good to hear from all of you. I would like to tell you all thank you for your prayers. I am learning a lot and I think the language is coming along. I still have a long ways to go, but I am thankful for all the support and love. This last Sunday we had Brother and Sister Hackey talk to us. Sister Dianne Hackey is a scriptorean that just retired from BYU. She met the prophet when she was young and it scared her. She said she felt like he could see right through her and from that point on she wanted the kind of person that could look the prophet in the eye, so she did her homework and became a scriptorean. She was hilarious! Brother Hackey talked about riding a horse they had named Bimbo and his mother telling him to do something and he got upset. He went inside and threw one of his spurs somewhere. After a while he decided he wanted to go ride his horse again, but he couldn't find his spur. He looked and looked. He prayed and immediately afterwards found it underneath the bed right by where he was kneeling and right where he had looked several times. This story reminded me of home.  He also told us that the Lord cannot drive a parked car. We have to be willing to take action to recieve revelation in our life. We cannot pray about something half-heartedly not expecting an answer or to not be willing to act on that answer, or no answer will come to us. We have to be ready and willing to do what the Lord asks of us. Both of them were funny people. Then on Tuesday We had another devotional By Mytris Kendrick and L. Lionel Kendrick an Emeritus General Authority. He spoke with power. I could feel that he was an appostle of the Lord. He said that in the morning we can ask one of two questions: "What am I doing today" or "How am I ever going to get it all done today." He said that these two questions will tell whether or not we are serving the Lord or just serving time. The second one is how we can determine if we are serving the Lord. Then he talked about prayer and personal revelation. He said that God reveals himself to those that are ready.  He said, " Heavenly Father never uses a flood light when a flashlight is acceptable" and that is the way it is with personal revelation. He gently prompts us and if we are not ready for it he waits for us to come seeking it. He said that "Revelation comes to the heart and mind. It comes as thoughts and feelings. If you have both you know that it is personal revelation." I never thought about personal revelation in that way, an dso I found that very interesting.  At the end of his talk he blessed all of us missionaries. I could feel the power of that blessing. He blessed us to have the spririt, help us master the languages we are learning, and to have a fond remembrand of the truth. I have already seen the power of that blessing in my life. Well, it has been great here! The MTC is a wonderful place. I have learned so much already. My companion and I had a couple of wonderful lessons this week. Just yesterday we didn't teach our investigators any of the messages we had prepared for them, but because of the Lord we were able to answer their needs and teach them accordingly. I know I could not have done it without him because, I am weak in the language, but as I put my trust more and more in the Lord and seek to learn the language as best as I can, I know he blesses me. He wants his children to feel his love and I am just the mouth piece. There are times of discouragement and doubt, and I know that I might feel overwhelmed when I get there, but I am looking forward to it and relying on the Lord. Thank you  all for your support and love!

Binasbasan po ang ebanhelyo ng mga pamilya! The Gospel blesses families!

Mahal Kita!

Sister Jensen (Jasmine)

Feeling like a flight attendant in TALL.

Temple Stroll and More

Provo, Utah Temple

The Elders of District 16E

Laundry Day!