February 23, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,                                 Monday, February 23, 2015 My companion is:  Elder Jared Smith   Elder Smith is from West Jordan, Utah He has been out for 4 1/2 months Has he been serving in this area? He has served in Woodland 1st for one transfer Elder Smith and I are co-senior companions (there is no such thing as senior companions in my mission unless you are being trained) My companion likes: music, tennis Wards Serving in: Woodland 1st and 2nd wards How many missionaries are serving in Woodland? We are the only missionaries in woodland. Last transfer there was sister missionaries in woodland 2nd, but this transfer they combined them. How many wards are in Woodland? 2 wards What Kind of Car? 2014 Chevy Cruze How many miles per month? We don't know yet really. I am assuming it will be somewhere from 1200 to 1600. Can you drive? Yes, Elder Smith and I drive every other day. District? Don't know much about the district yet. Our District leader is Elder Carpenter (Spanish speaking missionary) What is your address?  Elder and Sister Soper live in Woodland and work in the mission office. So they take our mail up here and drop it off at the church every day. So just sent me packages or letters to the mission office address. 2223 NW 99th St. Vancouver‎ WA‎ 98665 What is your apartment like? We live with members. I miss an apartment, but I think this is the best member living situation ever. We live with the Zumsteins. We live in a room behind the garage and we have our own bathroom. The Zumsteins have a teenage son that sometimes hangs out with us at night. We do laundry at the Zumsteins every Monday. What do you think about the weather?  It has been really warm and sunny most of the time up here. There has been little rain this winter.  Does it rain often? At least once a week. Any other interesting information... The Benjamin's live in our ward. Apparently they served in the New Hampshire Manchester mission and knew Carlton. So if you remember an Elder and Sister Benjamin, they live here in Woodland.    Daily report is going to be a little short since it has been a long email. Monday - Pday and pack for transfers Tuesday - transfers. Transfer meeting was at 2:00. Drove up to Longview to meet Elder Smith. Then we drove down to Woodland. Wednesday - had lessons almost all day. Thursday - we went on splits tonight because we were double booked for appointments. Elder Smith went with Brother Benjamin and I went with Robert Ahrens. Robert is 16 and owns his own bakery! Friday - we had a few lessons today, but they all canceled. Saturday - just a normal day Sunday - six hours of church and a ward council. Today was all kinds of fun! Btw, we have a mission iPad conference on Wednesday. We are getting our own iPads then. We may not be able to use Facebook for a while though. Elder Jensen