SHOCKED!

What a Crazy week!!

We got our transfer calls on Saturday, and found out Elder Hutchinson is being transferred!!!! He is Reopening the area in Owego. I was so Surprised.. haha I was sure we were going to be together for 2 but president had other plans haha.

So an Elder Davis is coming to take his place and be the District leader here. I was so re leaved when I heard he was going to be the district leader haha everyone said it was going to be me...WHEW! safe:)

But besides the crazy news, we had a pretty good week here!

WE KILLED A MOUSE THAT HAS BEEN TERRORIZING OUR APARTMENT! haha No worries ill post pictures;)

We also had a good meeting with the Bishop to update the Ward Roster, we went through all the names and contributed our info on all the people we have contacted and who has moved and whatnot. That was really good. I had been bugging our ward clerk and the bishopric about getting together and updating this HUGE roster as of late and they finally gave in haha. YES!;)

Then on Thursday we had our Zone Meeting. Which went really well, All the districts in our zone gave training's, it went really well. We have been pounding this new teaching method into our brains every Zone meeting and We are seeing great results from it.

We had many opportunities to go on splits a couple times this week and further the work in the area! Which i was more than happy about. We tried to contact one of our investigators with a baptismal date all week, but she wouldn't answer her phone so we drove to her house to behold a disappointing sight... All her windows and doors were covered and there were no trespassing signs all over and when we knocked on the door we saw someone peek through the blinds then slowly close them again.. Our investigator finally snapped.. we knew she was borderline crazy but, she lost it. The lord works in marvelous ways and does it all for a reason. We may not see this greater purpose, but he does.

Also we have been helping at a soup kitchen lately in a Protestant church. And it has been going so well, Everyone is always asking us questions and is curious about what we do. Granted half of them are Legitly CRAZY but eh, what do ya do. But after A Man named Ted a Bible thumper and a minister and I were talking about the times and about the bible (as well as this weird guy who always ties things back to the government). And Eventually i look up around us and there were people standing all around us just listening and nodding their heads in amazement. They couldnt believe such young men could talk about God in such a Mature, Sophisticated manor with such wise old men! hahaha IT was really interesting, Because i didnt think twice about it. It's what we do. As missionaries its our Duty to invite others unto Christ and to talk of Christ. 

It got me thinking though, About 200 years ago talking about God on a intellectual level was the social norm. But overtime people have put worldly things before god. They worship False gods. Too caught up in the Philosophies of men.

So It is all of our duties, as disciples of Christ to share that knowledge we have attained through Gods Good Grace to all men. As it says in Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hathanointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to thecaptives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. 

I Pray that we will proclaim liberty to those who are captive, and spread the Gospel abroad!

I hope you all have an amazing week!

I love you all!

Elder Jepsen

This is the Erie canal! we snuck onto! 

And the DREADED MOUSE!... its not the ROUS but its close... (WARNING- a bit disturbing. ) 

....sorry for posting the picture. Jake would kill me if I didn't....

Exchanges,Bullet holes,gay guys and Fun!

This week was so great!

We were so busy! We picked up 3 new investigators and our number of lessons doubled we tracked down many of our Less actives and some good times along the way in the Hot Humid climate of the Capitol land.

Earlier in the week i went on exchange with Elder Ledford in Downtown Albany. That was amazing! The architecture the sculptures the people it's crazy! I wanted to take pictures so bad but my camera died! uuughhh I was so bummed. But we had an awesome dinner with Janaro a member who cant speak English. That was hilarious. we couldn't understand each other but we had a good time! Then a giant storm hit and we had to walk from his house to the chapel about1.5 miles in the rain. I honestly couldnt tell if it was the rain or my own sweat, it's that humid...

Anyways after the exchange i was finally back with Elder Hutchinson and we taught lessons found new people and met a really cool guy named damain on the bus. He just couldnt stop praising the work we do. He talked super loud and openly just shared his secrets of why he doesnt go to church and his addiction to sex and whatnot. Then he begins to lift up his shirt and show all of his bullet holes ... he ad like 9 bullet hole sand a giant scar!!! I was like... geez man take a hint! stop breaking the law of CHASTITY! haha

Later in the week we were teaching a lesson with one of our new investigators on her porch, when her neighbor come out and and says... "oh yesssss.. The lord answered my prayersss" This guy had NOOOO problem showing off his sexuality as he passes back and forth saying "mmmmm" MMyou best get them off our porch before i do... as he smiles creepily... He said some other very inappropriate things i wont divulge. Satan works in some weird freakin ways... hahaha

So overall a good week:)

Anyways my computer is about to shut down... But i hope you all have a great week! and READ THE SCRIPTURES!

Love,

Elder Jepsen

This is actually where i email. an old church that is now a super SICK library with a Mastodon and terrible computers!

What the...

Okay, I'm just going to list off some of the weird Crap I have seen this last week! 

1. One eyed man sings to us and shows us his inner thigh scars.

2. Got to pet a Turkeys Stomach.

3. Drug deals left and right.

4. SO MANY BUTT CRACKS!

5. Lawn mower races.

6. Goose fights.

7. St. Lawrence Beavers.

8..Someone put me in their will!

9. Funny Pranks.

10.Prostitutes whatever, You name it we've seen it!

 hahaha SO WEIRD! weirdest week of my mission by far!

So besides all that weird stuff that's been going down in Massena, A lot of good things have been happening up here. We still have a couple of our Investigators progressing to Baptism. One of them, Debbie is getting baptized May 3rd! she is so ready. We are so excited for her! 

We were also able to help out a lot in the Community this week, with helping with the Monthly Food distribution. They love our help there! haha they freak out when we arent there. We also helped out with the community Meal at the Methodist church. Haha right before We went to help with the community dinner I found some Laxatives in a drawer and put it in Elder Neus' Peeps and gave it to him... Yeah he wasn't a very happy camper.. hahaha.

We also Pulled a really funny prank on the Other Elders But i cant Disclose the specifics on that hilarious night... I promised... ;)

On a more serious note, In the Branch we had a monthly fast on Friday for Missionary work. We didnt really see the effects immediately, Probably because we were so focused on how hungry we were, But later in the week we saw MIRACLES! A former investigator we have never seen before showed up to church on Sunday, We found new potentials, and FINALLY were able to schedule appointments with some of our investigators. IT was amazing. It will always be in the Lords time and in the Lords way!

This Easter Sunday was one i will never forget. My first Easter on my mission. We had great speakers in church, Talking about the Importance of the Resurrection. 

Then The Huffs fed us an AMAZING Easter meal. Followed by a warm afternoon in a park with our investigators. Then, We met a Super sick guy outside of a bar! We have come to find that up here, the Easiest people to talk to are the Ones smoking. hahaha 

After that we tracted in an apartment building and saw some really weird stuff.. .. bleh. 

So overall a Great Easter:)

Everyday out here is never the same. Some times you have some really good days, then you have some really terrible days. But the Love for my Savior and the love i have of these people, and the support of my family gets me through it!

I hope you all have an amazing week! and HAVE FUN! and BE HAPPY!:)
Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.  -Psalms 144:15

Love always 

Elder Jepsen

Oh By the way... that one Eyed guy is sitting right next to us as we are writing these emails....  ._.

This First picture is of one of the Cargo ships that go through the St. Lawrence, They are HUGE!  and we tried to get a picture of the Geese fighting in the backround so you get the full effect:)

Cargo ships that go through the St. Lawrence

 ST. Lawrence Beaver! IT was GIANT!  I had to take a picture of it

St. Patrick's Day, The only time you see green in the North country

Well, Happy St. Patricks day! 

This past week up  here in Massena has been a pretty EVENTFUL one!  Elder Neus and I had a pretty good week teaching wise, and VERY blessed with many many opportunities to serve. 

So on Tuesday we had our Zone meeting, which was alright. I honestly cant say i learned anything i didn't know. BUT we have a new sister in our zone from Italy that Laughs like a zebra... so that's cool..

After Zone meeting we helped a family in our Branch move out of their home. Kind of sad to see the leave. But hey, I'll see them again. ( they actually just moved next to us in Utah .. haha) 

On Wednesday We were able to go to the Reservation to eat at the Buffet in the Awkwesasne Casino! That was super good. But while we were there a storm rolled in and just DUMPED snow nonstop for 2 days! So the rest of the day we were stuck inside... Which is never fun.

Eventually Thursday rolled around, and while we were weekly planning we get a call from the Zone leaders saying "this is the only day we're free  so we are coming up to move your apartments. So pack up you have an hour and a half" 

So there we were running around with our heads cut off trying to pack up our apartment! This later turned into a 2 day task. So we eventually move all our things to the new Apartment where the other Elders live, And it turns out the landlord never turned the heat on so we have to wait until Tuesday to move them out of our apartment. So now, there are 4 missionaries living in a One bedroom apartment... It got old fast.. hahaha

Oh here's a funny story. (if you'd think this is funny) After helping out with the Massena food distribution services downtown in Massena, We got a call from a former Investigator Asking us if we could help her friend move. Ofcoarse we said Yes! we were pumped! So we get to this house she leads us to this back room, and we look in and.... TORNADO! crap everywhere!! literally.. stuff all over and POOP on the ground. She asks us if we could help her organize and move all this stuff upstairs. then eventually paint it so her parents could move in... Reluctantly we said suuuure we can do that. THEN she says "thank you" and goes and takes a nap!! haha Elder Neus was sooo mad.

But we manned up and did it. granted it took us 4 hours but we got it done. And we have to go back and paint...

Luckily to Conclude that stressful day we had the Adult session of District conference in Malone. It was so good! The spirit was definitely there. they talked about Hastening the work in all that we do.

That was the overall topic on Sunday as well in District Conference. 

This past week i was Very humbled to see the blessings that come from service. Even if they are smelly and weird and awkward... haha 

We need always strive to follow Christs example and strive to serve our fellow men!

I hope you all have a great WARM week, wherever you are!

-Elder Jepsen

F E B R U A R Y . . .

Dear Family and friends,

This past week started out great, We had a great many things planned for the week. But oh how the tables turned... haha But more on that later! 

So we began our week on exchange with the Zone Leaders in Potsdam. I went down to Potsdam with Elder Lamb (a great missionary) we contacted a lot of former investigators in the outlining areas. We came across a former in an awesome Colonial house by the river and she let us right in! buuuuut... she did not hesitate in letting us know her beliefs... This... sadly led into a Bible Bash! MY FIRST! She was definitely very knowledgeable. She had scriptures memorized left and right! BUT she based almost her whole beliefs out of Leviticus and Ephesians. So you could say she was pretty stubborn with her beliefs... We were trying not to bash with her at all, I kept my peace and bore my testimony of the Truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as much as i could. And so was elder Lamb, Until she told us our faith was foolish... then  Elder lamb lost it, and the bashing commenced. To make a long story short we ended with a testimony and she said she loved us and wanted us to come back better prepared... SO that was an experience haha

After our awesome exchange in Potsdam I woke up with a weird sore throught... But i payed no attention to it. As the day drug on it slowly became worse... But instead of resting and kicking it in the butt, I stayed out and continued to work. That was a mistake. So you might be able to guess how we spent the remainder of the week... I was told by the mission presidents wife i wasn't to leave our apartment, until i turned around. After a couple days of rest and weird dreams I STILL DIDN'T FEEL ANY BETTER! it was getting worse...
 So this Sunday, (Still very sick)  they banished me to the corner so i wouldn't shake anyone's hand, or pass the sacrament and infect the entire branch with my sickness. 

We later found out that our chorister would never show up, so i was volunteered to lead the music. This tall, lurpy deathly ill missionary, who could barely lift his arm, let alone carry a note lead the music! hahaha it was a ...Interesting experience.. I almost past out a couple times from getting up to fast and i kept forgetting where i was! Elder Mecham had to keep fighting himself to not record me conducting the music! haha 

But i woke up this morning feeling like a hundred bucks! I'm so grateful and excited! ...so that's good 

So this past week as definitely been a learning/ humbling experience for me. I'm so grateful for elder Mecham and his patience with me, as well as his constant loyalty. He is the best.

Thanks to all of you for all of your love and support!

I hope you all STAY HEALTHY and have a great week!

Love always

 -Elder Jepsen

Natives and Snow Storms

This past week in Massena has been a great one!! One i think i will always remember.

I will just go through my whole week for ya.

So to start out the week we went on Exchange with the Malone Elders (which is always awesome). Elder Bloomfield came to Massena here with me, and we went and saw this crazy Native guy who LOVES elder Bloomfeild because he's from Arizona and they have this weird "bond". So we stayed at his home for a while and he thought it was such a good night he lit up his Smudge pot (a little native American pot with a hole in the top that burns cedar cones) and he held our hands and Prayed to the creator. Saying how much he loved us and wanted us to come over in the morning for lunch. Well the next day we received a text from him saying he was in the Hospital... He had apparently left the smudge pot on as well as a pan on the stove over night. And it smoked up his entire apartment and he couldn't breath. So we saw him and ran some errands for him. Ooh man, never a dull moment with that guy that's for sure haha

We exchanged back on Wednesday, At Zone Conference. Which was amazing! the over theme was faith. Both the assistants taught us, as well as the president. One of the assistants Elder Tanner, He is hilarious and a fun guy to be around! it might be because he's from Alaska... but anyways he told us everything That happened to his father this past october. His father was with his son and his brother flying in Alaska. And something happened and the plane went down so at the last minute his father turned his side into the ground and he was killed. But his son and his brother lived. This all happened on Elder Tanners mission. And he never went home. HE knew that this is where he was needed. HE is such a great example to us all. I'm grateful for his example.

The rest of the week we saw many less- actives and taught a couple lessons. Its been going really well. we still volunteer at the Methodist church and wash dishes there! They love us! they always give us a TON of food. They are all so nice. But after that Elder mecham caught a bug and got really sick so we had to wrestle with that for a couple days, on top of his ankle! But he is pulling through. I really look up to him and his example. He hit his year mark on Thursday and Elder Peterson hit his ^ month mark on the same day! So we celebrated by going to McDonalds and Burning a shirt and a tie! (as is the missionary Tradition).

 So this last week has definitely been a better week for all of us! 

OH! besides all the terrible weather! It is So COLD! the day we went to Zone conference it was -30 Degrees!. elder Peterson got Frostbite on his ear it was that cold!... he didn't want to wear a hat... Now he does ( i think he learned his lesson) haha 

It has been snowing on and off all week! dipping below zero everyday! AH! ....its gettin old....

So it's still cold,

The people are still crazy,

I'm still learning, 

And i STILL LOVE IT HERE!

I hope you all have an amazing week! And are always striving to strengthen your faith!

 

Love always, Elder Jepsen