My visiting teachers just left and I must say how I love these sweet ladies. I don't know how I got so lucky to have them, (sometimes I feel guilty because they are so wonderful, I think they should be going to see someone who really needs to have dedicated amazing visiting teachers). hmmm, now that I think about it I need them too!
Leah and Lori come faithfully every month. I mean even when Leah fell, and was having some pretty serious health problems, she still called me to see HOW I WAS DOING and apoligized for not being able to make it that month.
They always have a great message...usually the one from the Ensign, sometimes just what they feel I need to hear. They always make the message very personal to me. I know they pray for me and have been inspired to tell me things that Heavenly Father knows I need to hear.
Today Lori gave the message and it was so beautiful. It was kind of wierd because I had just been telling them about some of the cool experiences that K.C. has had so far on his mission, and how we could see that there are people there that have been prepared and are waiting to hear the gospel. That the Lord is directing these people in some unlikely and amazing ways to find the missionaries. Lori said, that's just what our message is about today!
She was reading from a conference talk that Brent H. Nielson had given where he talked about his mission to Finland in 1974. His mission President's wife was from a town in Finland called Viipuri. During world war II, she and her family had to leave their home, and Viipuri became part of the Soviet Union and was renamed Vyborg. His mission president's wife told how they prayed for those left behind that the gospel could be taken to them. This was when President Kimball was telling everyone to lengthen their stride and enlarge their vision. That every worthy young man should prepare to serve a mission. He asked people to pray that the hearts of the leaders of nations would be softened and the doors opened to missionaries. This seemed like an impossible task to this sister and to Elder Neilsen as they would go to the border between Finland and the Soviet Union and see the gaurd towers and fences and would wonder who those brave young men and women would be that could accomplish this task.. (We were pretty much bawling by now) Anyway, Elder Neilsen goes on to say that three years ago, their son received a mission call to serve in the Russia St. Petersberg Mission. In his first letter home he wrote that his first assignment in Russia was to a city that he thought his dad may have heard of. He said it was called Vyborg, but it was previously a Finnish city named Vipuri. So he had been praying for the borders to open and the missionaries to be able to go in...for his own son.
This generation of missionaries is the answer to the prayers of thousands of faithful Saints so many years ago....the fullfilment of the prophecy that in our day "the truth of god will go forth boldly to all natiions..." "There is no greater work; there is no greater call " Wow that is powerful stuff!
Lori said she knew she needed to share this with me when she read it and I'm so glad she did. She said she was grateful for K.C and the example he has been to her boys...the fact that he was willing to give two years of his life to the Lord, that he had kept himself worthy to do so.

As we read K.C.'s last email, we were struck by the evidence of the Lord's hand and loving care in the way things are happening there.

Subject: Re: > From: kcjensen@myldsmail.net> To: pjdaisy50@hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:40:56 +0000> > Hello family,> so this week we had transfers, and I was transfered to an area called Kuhovsky. It is a lot different from my last area. My new companions name is Elder Rudd, he left the MTC 6 weeks before I did so we are really new. It was a weird change going from not worrying at all about not understanding because i was always with a Russian to not understanding a lot of stuff and trying to fugure it out together. HE is really nice though so we will get along great, he is from Boise. We get a night in each transfer to go see something cultural here and last thursday we went to see an art gallery. It was way cool, and it was interesting to see how their art was differnt from American art. Then we went to Red Square, and its even cooler at night. It was weird because it was the first time since i first got here that i really felt like i was in Moscow, because most of the time there is nothing to special to see but when you are downtown it is really neat. I kept thinking that i really wanted you guys to come see it. Maybe in 20 months? We have a lot of work to do here, some guy searched for the nubmer of the church and finally got a hold of us and really wants to meet with us. And last night a guy from Georgia, the country, talked TO US on the metro, which is really weird and we got his number to meet with him too. Awesome! We have been working with a guy who was baptised 10- years ago and then became inactive. He has had a really rough life and his family is really a sad situation but he really has a desire to change and he has been coming to meetings and he is helping us out with teaching tonight, it was just interesting to see how the gospel really gave him hope and direction in his life, and helped him make it through hard times. He has a huge testimony and is planning to get the Melchezidek preisthood and go to the temple. There is another guy here who we met with yesterday who is like 24 or so and served a mission here in Moscow but is inactive now. He really has a strong desire to come back too but this is a really hard city to be a saint in, and he doesnt have any good freinds. So he is struggling but he wanted to come hangout with us and do missionary work on friday night so he could stay out of trouble. He also speaks English as well as I do without an acent so that also helps our lessons. HOw are things going at home? Thanks for the pictures i loved them, someday i will figure out how to do it, im just a little paranoid. I have a goal to learn how to cook on my mission so could you send me some recipies in the mail? banana bread woudl be awesome, and some other things you know i lilke that are somewhtat simple. IM so sad to hear about Steve and his family. Man, that really is aweful. Dad, i hope youre staying warm, its cold here too but im not outside as much as i was last transfer so thats good. There is also another investigator who is the husband of an active woman in church and he reminds me of dad, he is a big security guard and he plays basket ball, and is just way nice and funny and cooks. So basically dad but speaks russian. Ill have to ask if he likes to fish. I am pretty sure he will be baptised soon so that is great. We also teach a guy who is a little different, but he is way smart and when you ask him about a chapter in the Book of MOrmon he knows what happend in it up to about Jacob, so that is pretty amazing. love you guys, I miss you but Im 100 percent sure that this is where I should be and that this is really the church and work of God, so its not that big of a deal to miss your family a little bit. love you> Elder JEnsen>

"We love you too!"