The Parable of the Weenie Roller

Dearest friends and family, 

EDGAR update! First of all, Edgar shaved his head, so he is no longer recognizable by his Afro. But we made some good progress with him this week! He says that he now knows that God exists, and he knows that God loves him! He has been coming to everything-- home evening group, lessons, institute, another lesson, a baptism, missionary fireside, and church-- and his sacrifice of time for the gospel has been helping to build his faith. He still has a lot of concerns, but once he knows this is true, he will be a strong member!

RICK- Rick, or the "truly amazing Rick" as he always introduces himself, is being taught by the Snake River sisters (they cover Burbank). He is waiting to be baptized (he has a shady past and is waiting for first presidency approval) and is also a professional painter, and has been helping one of the couples in the branch to paint their trailer house. So we got to go out and help paint! Rick had fun teaching us his "brush holding techniques" and how to do "the painter's beauty stroke". It was fun, and led to the creation of "The Parable of the Weenie Roller". Rick had us paint a series of posts in front of the trailer with brushes. The next day we were there for a lesson with Joe, and Rick mentioned that he had repainted all the posts with a roller. When we asked why he had us paint all the posts with brushes (and spent hours doing it) when we could have just used rollers (and been done in 10 minutes) he just smiled and said that he wanted us to learn something, not just get the job done. We then told Rick that Heavenly Father feels the same way about us, and our lives. Maybe sometimes we have to do things the hard way, the way that forces us to practice patience, because He knows that we will learn from it. Rick has been having a really hard time with waiting to be baptized (he frequently tells us to let our president know that Rick is still waiting to be baptized, and that if baptisms are down in the area, maybe they should finally let Rick be baptized), and the analogy seemed to help him understand his situation a bit better.

This week we had interviews with our mission president! He is awesome, and it was really nice to be able to talk with him. We taught Omar this week (recent convert from March) about the Word of Wisdom. He had just come from a wedding, and his friends had given him a bottle of Apple Cider because they know he doesn't drink anymore. The moment we saw him, he yelled, "Don't worry sisters, it's just apple cider, just cider!!!" with his arms raised in surrender. It was a proud moment for us missionaries, and we had a great lesson. Isacc has been too busy with his new job to meet with us, but we will continue to work with him (His baptism date will have to be pushed back though). We also found out that we will be planning a baptism soon! Johnny is a YSA but has been taught by the Elders from the family ward. He's a little bit of a punk. But he is excited to be baptized, and the branch is excited to welcome him in!

This week I studied about the enabling power of the Atonement. Through Christ, we not only overcome sin, but we can be given the strength to endure- every single day, despite adversity! I am so grateful that through Christ, I can be given strength beyond my own. 

Love,

Sister Jensen