Week 101: Returning Home
Hey everyone! I got home exactly a week ago, but I still wanted to send this last email, even if it is very late.
On Tuesday we planned to go to Vista Alegre to visit Elder Bardales and Elder Allen. We were unable to have an exchange with them this transfer because of how early us returned missionaries have to go and because they've both been sick. First we visited hermano James and I was able to say goodbye to him. We then got a taxi to Vista Alegre, which normally would take about 12 minutes. This time, it took us just 30 minutes to leave our area. The traffic was crazy! The city had closed down so many main roads on the same day to prepare them for the rainstorms that'll be coming so they had to make detours. The traffic was absolutely insane and street vendors were moving in to sell to the people stuck in traffic. After about 45 minutes in the taxi we finally made it to their apartment, but we didn't have as much time as we would've liked because of the traffic. I brought some ginger ale to share with them and we talked about some things and had a companionship study with them. Going back to our area we decided to take a taxi back to the apartment of the Hermanas and then walk from there. We got there in about 10 minutes and then just walked the rest of the way. We quickly ate lunch and I grabbed my suit. The returning missionaries had their day in the temple and we had planned on meeting up with California so Elder Castillo and I could go together, but the traffic didn't permit that. We met up in the temple and had a great session. After that all 8 of us with President and Hermana Hiatt went to Chile's for dinner. (Surprisingly Chile's is better in Peru than in the US). I got a burger and we had fun reliving mission memories. After that we loaded all the Peruvians with President Hiatt in his car and us foreigners in the car of Hermana Hiatt, (4 and 4), to go to the mission home. Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn in the foreigner car right back into the traffic in Chan Chan! We were in there for about 30 minutes slowly getting through, but it was fun talking with Elder Sorensen, Elder Islas, Hermana Rosenlund, and Hermana Hiatt about Veggietales. We got to the mission home and had some carrot cake and chocolate cake while we talked about mission experiences and gave tips for when we get home. This whole excursion went waaaaaaay long. It was supposed to end at 6:30 but we didn't get to the offices to finish until 9! But I got to see Elder Larkin, Elder Keller, and Elder Agostinelli which was great. He was super happy about James' and Mirian's baptisms from last week. Elder Salas and Elder Williams arrived and we went home. They had gone through with our plan of moving hermana Mariana's baptismal date forward to the 23rd since she is beyond elect, and she accepted!
On Wednesday we woke up and got ready to go to the multizone conference with Elder Becerra! As ZLs we got to go both days so we could all be on the same page for the leadership meeting on Thursday, because we were going to have question and answer sessions during the conference. It was also an answer to my prayers because I wanted to be able to say goodbye to all my mission friends, and because I want both days I got to see all of them! The conference was great. Elder Becerra used the story of Jacob's ladder to explain our purpose as missionaries, talked about the importance of teaching the doctrine of baptism and many other topics that were sooooo good, I'm just sad I won't be able to use much of them in my last week in the mission. Lunch was surprisingly small, and we missed dessert because we went to the bathroom at the wrong moment. We were given a slice of cheesecake to share at the end, but it accidentally got knocked to the floor! I had a good laugh. After the conference I was able to say goodbye to a bunch of my mission friends, specifically Elder Larkin, Elder Perez, Elder Barrantes, Elder Rios, Elder Sanchez, and Elder Thomas. I got photos with most of them. After the conference, (which went almost an hour long), we visited hermana Isabel and her family. We listened to President Nelson's talk from the last conference with them and talked with them about their situation. They both have to get divorced so they can get married, but they are now actively pursuing that goal! They hope to be divorced in March so they can get married in April! After that hermana Isabel will be able to be baptized! It was a great lesson with a great family. After that we visited Jose and Andrea and we taught them about faith and patriarchal blessings! We finally got a new patriarch in the stake so they should be able to get theirs soon!
On Thursday we woke up early because the second conference started earlier. We got everyone into place and I got to say goodbye to Elder Huaman! He's now serving in Pueblo Libre, which is really funny. I'm going to miss him so much. He's the absolute best! The conference was great, and it's crazy how much more revelation I received from being able to go the 2 days. This time we got to sit with our zone during lunch which was better. Hermana Hiatt made us cookies too! This conference took a big detour from the first one and we started talking about vastly different topics, which was pretty cool. Afterwards we had the leadership meeting, which was great and I got to say goodbye to the rest of the ZLs. We left there really fast because we had some important lessons planned. We went straight to Walter and Elena. I could feel the spirit with us after the conference. Even though I only had 1 day to use what I learned in the conference, I made sure I did it. I could feel the power flowing through me. We taught them about families and the possibility of an eternal family. We asked them about what they decided from their discussions and praying about marriage. Elena said she wants to get married in February but Walter said November. With that we knelt in prayer and asked Walter to pray and know if February is the correct month when they should get married. We remained in silence for a minute or two after to let the spirit touch our hearts. The spirit was there, and I cannot deny it. We asked them how they felt, and Walter said he didn't really get an answer. With that spirit we were able to teach about faith and invite him to trust that in these coming weeks he will naturally realize that February is correct. He accepted! I felt the spirit so strong and I'm so happy that Elena and Walter have decided to get married! We put them on baptismal date for the 17th of February. After that we visited hermana Esther and taught her about the sabbath day. She understood it really well, and is very content with her decision to be baptized too! We then went to the chapel for the ward activity. We saw hermana Mariana there and she's excited for her baptism too! The activity started an hour late so they just started watching The Grinch instead of playing games like we had planned, so we couldn't really stay. We had fun filling up the hot chocolate and the paneton and I was able to say goodbye to Elder Johnsen and Elder Estebes and then to Hermana Garcia and Hermana Stromsdorfer.
Friday. The dreaded day. I offered the morning zone prayer to bless the zone and each missionary. They all turned off their microphones and said goodbye. After breakfast I started packing, deciding which things I was going to take home with me and which stuff I was going to leave. Literally 9 or 10 missionaries had asked me to give them a shirt or some pants, so I just told them all to come to my apartment and they can plunder my goods there. After I finished packing we left to visit hermana Mirian and hermano Angel. We taught them a little bit about perservering to the end. I gave strong invitations to hermano Angel, and I know he'll be baptized soon. After that we found hermano Jose and Valentina in the park. Andrea sadly wasn't there because she was working. But I got to say goodbye to them and give Jose a big hug. Tears started welling up in my eyes everytime I said bye to someone that day. We went back and had lunch; chicken, potatoes, and rice. A very fitting meal for my last meal in Peru. I wrote in the Membrillo's missionary farewell book and said goodbye to hermano Roger, Jovana, Merly, Andy, Gabriel, and Alizon. Merly and Jovana helped wheel my suitcases outside where a taxi took us to the office. That was hard, I was getting very teary-eyed. We got to the offices at the same time as Hermana Rosenlund. I sat in offices with Elder Salas and we talked until President and Hermana Hiatt got there. Elder Castillo and Elder Willimas also came to pick up Elder Salas so he could stay with them until Elder Castillo goes home on Monday. We weighed our bags and my big suitcase weighed just a tad too much, so I had to take out a Spanish review book. After saying goodbye to everyone there we loaded our suitcases into President Hiatt's car and they took us to the airport. It was very sad seeing all of Trujillo for the last time and not knowing when I'm going to see it again. We talked about memories while driving there. We got our baggage checked and got a few last tips and laughs with President and Hermana Hiatt before we went around the corner. Hermana Hiatt has a hard time with goodbyes and that made it harder for me to contain my tears. Hermana Rosenlund and I talked while we waited for the plane to leave. We flew to Lima first where Hermana Soto and Hermana Gamarra, two of Hermana Rosenlund's companions who I had known too, greeted us. We spent some time with them in the airport. We got to know their families and we had a very overpriced tiny sandwich for dinner with my last Inca Kola. Also in the airport I ran into Elder Evans and Elder Brough, two missionaries I had known in the MTC when I was there for three and a half months! We got in line for security with an hour and a half to spare before our flight left. Security was going waaaaay too long but we finally got through with 25 minutes before the plane left. Then we turned the corner and we had to get in line for customs, which had the biggest line I've ever seen in my life. We got really nervous because there was no way we were going to make it through there in 2 hours, let alone 25 minutes. We started asking to cut in line and luckily there were nice people there. Then we had to give up because there was no way we were going to make it. We started asking around and everyone else around us were also going to miss their flights, no matter what time they left. Our flight was supposed to leave at 11:55. Finally, at 12:05, people called out for all the people on our flight to skip the line and come forward. We raced to the front and got our little customs things done. We were then told to book it through the airport to make it to our flight. We literally sprinted to the airplane! We all got out of the customs thing at different times, so some of us had to pause for a few moments to show the others where we were running to, and then book it again. Luckily, we made it! What a crazy story and what a relief. I had trouble sleeping during the night and only got in about 1 hour of sleep during the 7 hour flight.
On Saturday we made it to Atlanta at 6 in the morning about. We went through customs and found our flight. We met up with a few other missionaries from other South American missions who were also going to Boise. Among them was Noah Swenson, an old friend of mine from third grade. Hermana Rosenlund and I were never given our boarding passes for the flight, so we went to the Delta desk and got them printed out. During the flight I wrote in my journal and covered the last 2 weeks that I hadn't written yet. I saw the Boise temple through the window as we descended. After saying goodbye to the other missionaries we went through the door one by one. I went to the bathroom first so I was the last one to go through. I was having trouble processing everything and was in a form of shock, so I walked over to the first face that I saw that I recognized, (that of my little cousin). I didn't even see my parents initially. Then my dad and mom grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the side where I embraced everyone. After getting my luggage I stepped outside and immediately had trouble breathing. The dry cold air wasn't kind on my lungs at first.
And there we are! My full-time mission has come to an end! I'm sad to leave something I loved so much, but I'm ready to make the next step in my life. If I'm going to be honest I'm pretty nervous about the future, but I'll use the same principles I learned during my mission to face it. During my mission I came to know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and is an active source of healing, progression, hope, and love. The Priesthood is real and is here in the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My mission was difficult, both spiritually and physically, but I know that I was very successful because I did what the Lord asked me to do. Imperfectly, yes, but I did it to the best of my ability. In reality, the imperfection of it was always the plan that the Lord had in store for me. Thank you to all the prayers that have been given for the people I helped teach and for me! Most of all I give thanks to the Lord for having permitted me to serve during the best 2 years for my life.
Elder Jensen
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