Chorean

My first full week at the MTC went swimmingly. We started immersion this week, which means our classes are in full Korean, and no one is allowed to speak English. It really brought me back to the Chinese immersion days. It even made me remember a ton of Chinese words I had forgotten. Every time I think of something I want to say in class, I can always remember the Chinese word for it but never the Korean. And sometimes I mix up the two languages, and half of the sentence will be in Korean, and the other half Chinese, so now my brain is a melting pot of languages. Hence the E-mail title, Chorean. 

 The devotionals at the MTC are awesome. On Tuesday, we had a general authority, Amy Wright, speak to us. It was an amazing talk about missionary work and facing challenges that are uniquely difficult for each one of us. I don't have my journal with me so that's all I can really remember off the top of my head. 

Music Withdrawals - I thought it would be much harder to stop listening to music suddenly for two years, but it hasn't been too bad so far. The only weird thing is that I will randomly get weird songs stuck in my head that are so random. Like this morning, we were on the bus ride to the Timpanogos temple, and I had "silver bells" stuck in my head. Like the Christmas song. I hear that song maybe once a year. But for some reason, that one has been stuck in my head on at least three separate occasions. If you thought that one was weird, just wait until you hear the next one. The Lorax soundtrack. And I'm not even talking about the songs, like "Let it Grow" or "Thneedville". I'm talking about the random background music that plays during scenes that don't have talking. Like the music that plays when Ted and company are running away from Ohare while trying to plant the Truffula seed. That music being stuck in my head makes a little more sense though, cause I have seen The Lorax probably 200+ times. 

Cool scripture: 2 Nephi 31:20

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life

It doesn't get plainer than that! This is an awesome promise. God really does love each one of us!

Korean phrases I learned this week - 

저는 Jensen장로입니다. 저는 축구 좋아합니다. 저는 Utah 주 에서 왔습니다. 저는 서울에서 봉사하겠습니다. 저는 예수 그리스도 후기 성도 교회 선교사들입니다. 감사합니다. 안녕히계세요!

I JUST ATE DOG IN SOUTH KOREA!! 🤯 🤯 🤯 (NOT CLICKBAIT)

Congrats, you fell for my clickbait email! I haven't actually eaten any dogs yet. Actually, I haven't even left the MTC yet so yeah. This was my first week!! It went very well and is one hundred times better than the at home MTC. It is pretty hard to adjust to the new schedule though. You know how time is different in Heaven? Like how it goes by way faster or whatever? Well, time is also different at the MTC. Each day in the MTC lasts about a week. At least that's what it feels like. But it's okay because they are very productive days.

I have an awesome district who is very on top of things when it comes to gospel knowledge, and I'm grateful for their testimonies that have helped me tremendously this past week. The MTC is a very cool place with a spirit unlike anywhere I've ever been. I'm lucky enough to be able to go to the gym for an hour a day with some other people in my district, and that helps wake me up when I'm super tired. My body is used to getting like five hours of sleep at night, with an extremely necessary 2.5 hour nap during the day, so my new schedule is a little different. 

Great scripture I found this week - 2 Nephi 2:22: And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

I like this scripture because it shows that without Adam's transgression, all of us today would not be able to learn from our mistakes and improve, because we would have remained in the same state forever with no end.

I've done a lot of pondering this week and also asked and answered a lot of questions. But an elder from my district (Elder Rigby) said something that really made me think. He asked, "does water just go away when it dries after it lands on something? Or does it leave a clear stain?". I guess we will never know the answer to that question, because if there was a clear stain, we wouldn't be able to see it anyway. Sorry I was yapping there, wasn't I?

One of my favorite spiritual experiences since I've started my mission was when our district sang the Hymn: His Eye Is On The Sparrow. It is one of the new hymns that just came out. 

Why should I feel discouraged?

Why should the shadows come?

Why should my heart be lonely

And long for heav’n and home,

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant Friend is He:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy—

I sing because I’m free—

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

I really like how this song- "oh great, now I'm stuck in this font," he says to himself. 

There we go. If you can't tell, I'm not the most tech savvy. But I love this song because it really shows how Jesus watches over and cares for each one of us.

That's all for this week!

Elder Jensen

MTC Drop-Off! (Mom Post)

Rick, Josh, and I left at 7:30 to head up north. We stopped in Orem at the car rental place so that Rick could rent a car for the next few days, since he would be staying up north and I would be driving back home. Josh and I both tried to sleep in the car on the way home, but I don't think either of us were very successful! 

Rick listened to a couple of good church talks on the way. Then we pulled out the letters that everyone had written to Josh and gave them to him to read. Then Rick said he wanted to read them and so I read them out loud to Rick and Josh and that brought all the tears! I read the letters, bawling the whole time! Our kids are so so awesome! They wrote such thoughtful, heartfelt letters and gave such amazing advice! I am so glad that we started this tradition of having all of the siblings write a letter to their brother or sister when they leave on a mission. They are treasures! 

After renting the car we all met at the Golden Corral. It was so funny because we ran in to Mark Tarr (a friend from Snow College) and his family again, just like we did when dropping off Janelle three years ago! At that time he and his family were dropping off their daughter to the MTC, and this time they were dropping off their son to the MTC, same as us! And what is even more ironic is that their son is going to Korea on his mission too! Only he is in the other mission. So we introduced his son to Josh and they got to visit a bit. They will probably see each other quite a bit in the MTC!

Janika and Brandon were able to take a little time off work to come to the Golden Corral with their boys, and so that was fun! Ellen also came with Evan and Eli and they made a cute little poster for Josh. She also brought a polaroid camera in order to take some pictures with Josh that he could take with him, which I thought was such a great idea! Josh loved them! Janelle and Bryton also came. Josh's good friend, Adam Parkhurst, was also to come since he was up north for Education Week. We had a really nice lunch and took some pictures. 

After that Josh said goodbye to the rest of the family and those of us seeing him off met at the chapel right next to the MTC. Usually we always take pictures at the Provo Temple, but it is not there any more! They tore it down and so now it is just a grassy field! So Jaiden was the last of our family to get pictures in front of it. We then headed into the parking garage to drop off Josh! I was fine until that final hug and then I was crying again!! We all were! Well, I don't know if Josh was, but I am sure he was feeling all the feels too! 

I sure wish I could be a fly on the wall those first few days at the MTC to witness everything he is experiencing! After our goodbyes we all went our separate ways! Rick was staying up north since he had meetings in Salt Lake this week. I was rushing back because I was scheduled to interpret for Frozen at Tuacahn that same night! So that was stressful. I listened to the show over and over the whole way home in order to prepare. I mean I had already prepared lots of hours, but this was the final preparation.

At least it forced me to take my mind off of Josh leaving, ha ha! The play went really well tonight. It was fun, but I was glad to get it behind me! So that was our day!! 

Josh's Setting Apart (Mom Post)

Tonight Josh was set apart as a full-time missionary! There were several missionaries getting set apart tonight and so the Stake Presidency had to divide and conquer! We were with President Parker. He had everyone give some advice to Josh. This was much easier than expressing how we feel about him, which always caused the tears to flow! Josh was given an incredible blessing! It was a really special experience! They even let immediate family members zoom in, and so we had Janika and Brandon and also Jaiden involved through zoom! We are so proud of Josh! 

Josh's Missionary Farewell! (Mom Post)

I had a lot on my mind today -- Josh's farewell, Jared and Hallie's upcoming wedding, and Janelle and Bryton's engagement! Jared and Hallie had brought a couple hundred wedding invitations for me to label and send out tomorrow. I was disappointed that the address labels that I ordered from Amazon didn't come in time, but then Rick said he had a bunch at the Seminary building and so he saved us! Then we worked on the last minute food preparations and clean up for the luncheon. 

Josh did well on his talk. It was a little short -- just over six minutes, instead of the requested nine minutes, but that's okay! He received a lot of compliments on it. Hattie Allred did the musical number on the violin and did well too. Steve Larsen was the other speaker and did awesome too. He went to the same mission as Josh you can tell that his mission deeply impacted him.

I was really touched by his closing story. He said that in Korea, like in many missions, they teach English classes a couple of times a week. As part of their English classes they would teach a gospel-centered message in Korean in the middle of their class. He had been out in the field several months when they asked him to give this spiritual lesson in Korean. He was nervous, but he was also excited. He thought about it all day and really tried to prepare. However, when it came time to share in front of a room filled with people who only spoke Korean, he couldn't think of a single thing to say. He said, "My mind was blank, my tongue was tied." He had so much he wanted to share and felt the fire from within, but didn't know how to express it in Korean. 

He said that he basically said the same thing over and over in order to fill the time because he didn't know how else to say it. He said that he felt so awful and was just so embarrassed. He said he went to the bathroom and he just felt so pathetic. Then fast forward seven years. He was teaching in the MTC and a Korean sister came up to him and said that she was in the room that day when he had shared his humble testimony. She said that she was so touched by the spirit with his words and it was that experience that led her to investigate the church and eventually be baptized. He learned then that God truly works through small and simple ways! I was totally crying through this story! 

After the meeting Brother Awerkamp gave a very beautiful and touching prayer and then we came home for lunch. So many young adults came to watch Josh speak and also to the house after -- much more than I was expecting! I was grateful that we had enough food! After the block the Phillips came over and the Larsens. Summer and Logan came over too. So we were finally able to have a little adult company after the hoards of teenagers left, ha ha! 

Missionary Photoshoot