Extremadura? More like ExtremaLARGA! He he, yeeeaah. I'm staying here.

We got the transfer call this morning, and I'm staying with Elder Van Moos in the good ol' armpit of Portugal. This will be my third transfer here, and I'm excited to see what it will have to offer.

Not too much happened this week. We had exchanges in Cáceres on Tuesday and Wednesday, so that was pretty fun. I hadn't gone out there yet. It is very similar to Badajoz in regards to people, maybe a few more college kids out and about, but the city itself is pretty different. There are more hills, the sidewalks are wider, it had a refreshing different look to it. I wouldn't mind working out there if it weren't for the utter isolation. We have one companionship there and a branch that's so small that it isn't a part of the stake, but hey! You've got to start somewhere, right? I worked with Elder Rich in the evening, and with Elder Wilson in the morning. Both were pretty much contacting. Elder Rich and I stopped by a couple members (not really sure why, they weren't citas or anything), and Elder Wilson and I were able to push through the "tengo prisa" mindset of people and get at least a card out a little more often in the streets. I slept on a very old, lumpy spring mattress and used a pillow that was essentially a sack of unevenly ripped-up foam. I didn't have the greatest sleep, but I should just be grateful I had a mattress. Exchange sleeping arrangements are always an adventure.

Elder Nye y Yo, featuring Papa Nye


On Thursday, we learned that Elder Nye was back in Badajoz with his parents. He essentially served on the outer rim of the entire mission, so he did a big loop around southern Spain, ending with Badajoz. I got to meet them at a member's home, and we were able to have a little catch-up. It honestly felt like nothing had changed. I mean, it really hadn't, beyond the phone he carried and regular clothes he wore. His parents are nice. Very parenty. His dad knows Portuguese, so he was able to follow along pretty well with what the members were saying. It was a good time. After that, we had a contacting session that went pretty well. We ran into a couple that loves American stuff and the husband spoke very good English. He was talking about how he liked older music and mentioned the band America, then said, "But that's older stuff from way before your time." 
Oh really? I sang the line, "I walked through the desert on a horse with no name, it felt good to get out of the rain" and his mind was blown. 😊 They were really nice and respectful, but they didn't give us their number; however he was really interested in the English group we offer, so I really hope something comes from that. It's the first contact I've witnessed where they actually claimed to have no hurry at all.

We met with Julian again on Saturday. I don't remember if I've mentioned him before, but long story short: Julian is a member who is a bit odd and is practically a Jehovah's Witness. We would regularly meet with him until we got him to church again and then he testified to Elder Nye and I in the name of Christ that this isn't the true church, then left after sacrament meeting. Fast-forward to now: After over a transfer of radio silence, he called us and wanted to meet with us again. He still claims to be Mormon, but he's just studying with the JWs and he won't get baptized in their church in case he finds something he doesn't like. Even though it's been about 16 years of studying with them and he's adopted essentially all of their beliefs and doctrine. All we really did was sit there and listen as he went through a thousand Bible verses and explained JW doctrine. He invited us to go to the nearby Kingdom Hall. It's conveniently located right behind our apartment building! We probably won't go, but there's a chance we will if we have time, because I'm really curious to see what their meetings are like and if our presence would change anything. I'd be much more willing to check it out if it were in English. He really likes the prophets and General Conference and I invited him to watch this most recent one.

Fátima came to English group on Wednesday, and afterward we were able to answer some of her questions about the church (who wrote Doctrine&Covenants y cosas así),  and write down the rest for the cita we had set for Sunday (Baptism: why we don't baptize infants, how old do you have to be and why). Yesterday, we had our cita with Fátima, and it went really well. She said that it's hard for her to stop reading the Book of Mormon, and I believe she is really being sincere about all of this. We discussed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we were able to answer all her questions from before and any that developed in the process. Our members present were a huge help, and are part of the reason it went so well. We asked her to sincerely pray about the truth of our message and about baptism, and she said she will. A fellowshipping member has already asked her about setting a date before (we didn't learn that part until after the lesson), and she would like to be a little more sure, but she is comfortable and liking everything she sees so far. I'm excited for her, and I hope she keeps her interest and excitement as we continue on.

I don't have much more to say beyond this:
If you have a testimony of this restored church of Jesus Christ in these latter days and in the fullness of the Gospel that can be found in The Book of Mormon, keep it. Guard it. Cherish it. Never let it go. Please. If you don't, see what you can do to gain one. And in the words of Jacob, "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Have a good week!

Elder Jensen :)

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