July 17, 2017
Hello Everyone,
This was a good week. We had interviews with the new mission president. He is so awesome! After the interviews I had a division with the zone leaders. It was a good division. We were able to have a baptism interview. So, on Saturday we were able to have a baptism. Her name is Ariele and is 10 years old. She is really happy and loves the gospel. The baptism was great and the spirit was so strong. This week are transfers. I will be staying here in Viçosa for one more transfer. My companion Elder Perez and I are splitting ways after 6 months together. He is going to the other state in the mission. My new companion is Elder Medeiras from Curitiba, Brazil. He is a good missionary so it will be a fun 6 weeks. 

Ariele's baptism day.

 A family I am really close with in the branch.

I found this huge snail...

July 24th

Cam,

Andrew flew in Monday at 4.  He was here Tuesday at noon but dad and Bug were the only ones home. So, dad told him to come back at 6:00.  I guess dad just hugged him in the driveway for a way long time.  Andrew told me he was pretty emotional. I think it brought those Bubba feelings to the surface, which is an ok thing...  Andrew is awesome. He has change but in a good way.  He is still the good ol' Bott!

Well today Austin had his farewell.  Aubrianna and Macie talked prior to him about camp and the whole young men sang "Armies of Helamen".  All those set a very good tone for a great sacrament meeting and apparently I looked very funny in the harness etc. flying across the obstacle course at camp.  Austin and his family when back east on a church site trip.  He was very touched by Carthledge Jail and the spirit he felt there.  It was very nice to see Austin so humbled and emotional.  He said he is only like 6 miles away from Texas but there is a huge drug war going on between two cartels where he is at.  SCARY!  Andrew did amazing.  He talked about how the first six weeks of his mission he was miserable but he plugged through and how he was able to gain a stronger testimony. He talked about repentance and how that is about changing and everyone should be doing this everyday in their lives.  He said we have a very active religion as in we need to be doing things to daily and to not sit idol.  It was good for me to hear.  Dad came in his uniform and stood in the kitchen at Bott's church but missed Austin's because he is training a new guy and they were on something.  He had a pipe line he let the newbie take on his first day.  

We took cookies to the Hardy barn for Austin's lunch.  We took salad for Andrew's lunch.  We didn't get to eat at Austin's because we had to be to Andrew's ward.  We went to Andrew's and it was in someones yard by Horsely Park.  

OH! HA...  Last night Annie came running in at like 11:30.  She had been to the rope swing with J.R. Kalekini, Mike Davis, Seth Bott, Hallee Warr, and Malorie.  She told me they had a problem and it freaked me out.  Well, Seth was leaving and he had left his window unrolled.  The cat got in his backseat.  So, he is driving down the dirt road and a cat comes to his left side of him and puts his paw on him while he is driving.  He freaked out!  He didn't know if it was a raccoon or what.  He swerved and went in the ditch.  The kids were on our tramp and went running.  He was all shook up and said, "take me to Jason".  Annie had come and told me and we had got dad out of bed.  Then, they came and said the other boys helped him get out.  We talked to him today and he said it totally freaked him out.  Ha!  He said he hates our cat and is going to run over it.  I think I will get a picture of snicker the cat for him in a frame...

I went to the dermatologist and had some spots removed.  They called me back and told me they are bacel cell carcinoma which is slow growing skin cancer.  Unlike when I had melonoma and that is quick and gets in your blood stream.  So, moral of the story....  Protect your skin in Brazil.  Wear sunscreen and watch if spots change on your body.  The experience I have had is when they look nothing like moles.  Weird marks and red dots etc.  

Marge and Leon are in Smith More house with their friends.  Marge gets so excited for this and the Hatch Reunion.  I am glad she gets to get away and Leon will go.  They seem to always have a good time and it is nice and cool up there.  Grandpa loves this head in his long sleeve flannel shirt and Marge can't stand it.  Dad told Leon that is why he should take Marge to Arizona in the winter.  Ha!

I told you Aimee Wells is teaching 2nd grade this year, right?  I am so happy!!!  Then there is Allison Montgomery that is only about 24 single and nice.  Then, the other half of the dual is another younger girl that served a mission and has great spanish skills.  She is dating Mr. Rasmussen's (principal) son.  I will get a long great with her.  

Halle got her braces off. She looks really good.  She has been riding the horse like everyday.  She saddles it and everything on her own.  Dad got her a new horse blanket and reins for her birthday.  She also loves to drive the tractor when hauling hay.  I am not her favorite right now and I just try to let her know I love her...  

It is trek this Wednesday.  Dad has suddenly gotten all excited.  We have been to Al's Sporting Goods and Smith and Edward's a few times.  He bought the girl's these Under Armor hats that are quite cute and everyone else will be wearing straw like pioneer hats.  We all need pads to sleep on too and I convinced him and that he and I could sleep on the foams we have.  He bought the girl's these ones that you put air in and get very small.  He is so dang funny!  He even said, "I am excited, this is going to be fun"!  Last week and prior he didn't even want to go.  I am excited but a little nervous too.  We all have ugly skirts and stuff to wear.  I got shirts from Claire for dad to wear.  I didn't think he would wear them and he will!  I will try to get some pictures but we can't take phones so it will have to be disposable camera. 

I had Lexie a wedding shower Monday.  It was nice. She took the cutest picture with Gordon and said she was going to send it to you.  I love her!

I can't wait to hear from you.  I hope you had the baptisms you'd hoped for.  Tell me how things are and don't forget to write a letter for your buddies that Becky Bown  sends out. 

I love you a lot and I can't wait to hug you but until then  I am proud of you and think about and pray for you everyday!!!  BE SAFE and CTR!

love you,

mom

Cam: hahahaha dad and how he gets excited about things. I hope this experience helps e testimonies grow.  So, I am early cause we have p-day with president. I won't have as much time. We are going to play basketball. The baptisms didn't happen but we are still working with them. My new comp is good. We get along so what more can I ask for?!

Mom:  How are you?  

Cam:  I am good.  Sorry I gotta go.  Have a good week.  I love you!

Mom:  I love you too son!

July 10, 2017

Bubba,

Well, this week was Girl's Camp.  It was a great experience. I was really upset about going up over the 4th of July but it was so awesome.  Monday we left the stake center (it was a stake camp) at 6:30 a.m. The girls all had to go on the bus but the leader's drove so we could take all the girl's things.  Katie  Taylor rode with Jenny because she is 18 years old.  When we drove in their were flags lined up the road with the value's colors.  It is beautiful up there and before we left they told us it was dedicated and if you were in tune to it you could feel the spirit.  I couldn't believe the feeling I got in the car driving up there on my own.  They have couple missionaries that work there and they were lined up waving and greeting us.  

They took us to our camp to where our ward was at.  There are all these different camps and they all have cabins and pavilions.  We shared ours with the 7th ward.  There were 3 cabins.  Our ward took two cabins and the other ward only needed one and the pavilion had two sides to it so we could each had our side.  We made our meals on our own but just had one dinner with the whole stake.  We have a new young couple in our ward that live in on Parkinson.  Kelsey is a respitatory therapist and her husband is going to school and does yard spraying.  She was the camp director.  She had easy meals and clean up and they were really good too.

They had an obstacle course that had messages and learning lessons to get from them.  I taught the life line.  There was a string and it went through the trees and they were blind folded and had to find there way through. When they got to the end there was a priesthood holder that took their hands and say "welcome home".  It was to show them how we hold on to the string and that it is life and we can bump into trees or stumble on rocks and we still can get to the end.  We all do it at different times and with different things happening and it is ok if we hold onto the string and we can get to the end. I had to talk to them about this and just let the spirit guide me.  It was awesome. I think I had about 6-7 groups come through.  Well, anyway the person that does this course is the example person and first person to go on the bungee swing.  I was freaking out.  My knees were shaking out and you know how I love heights.  I had to stand in front of the whole stake and get harnessed up and then be pulled up to swing.  I guess I screamed a little bit.  HA!

We had a wonderful 4th.  We did a photo booth, painted finger nails, did dream catchers, made lanterns, and decorated tennis shoes.  Then we went to a stake dinner and celebration.  The dinner was horrible.  Yucky, hot dogs.  I just left and went to shower.  The celebration was great.  We had two wonderful veterans talk and one had a friend that was a 5 year prisoner of war and the other one had a traumatic brain injury from a road side bomb.   then we had glow sticks and learned a dance that we all did together and there were lights everywhere and the one officer brought lights that flashed everywhere.  We had a flag ceremony and bug helped with it.  It was just very nice and patriotic.

The one day we went on a hike to Legacy Lake and rode canoes and peddle boats.  Jenny, Katie Taylor, and I went on a peddle boat.  It was beautiful and very fun!

We had testimony meeting and both your sisters talked very highly of their brother and his example to them. We wrote letters to all the missionaries and I have some to you I will stick in the mail soon.

It was bugs b-day today and the grandparents and Val came out.  It was good. She got a desk, dress, swimsuit, horse blanket and reins (she rides approx 3 times a week) that are pink, and Under Armour t-shirt, a blanket, money, Chocos (kinda like Tevas but even better).  

Neves was so sad about being turned down on his visa.  I told him I would help him be able to do it again because he can't afford it. He was supposed to go this week but I told him I thought he should look into getting some proof that he is going to school so that they would believe his true intent. He had me call the coach of this school in California that said they were interested in him.  The coach was very nice and even gave me his cell phone number.  So, they said they need his grades and ACT before they can write an letter of invitation. He just barely mailed his grades but doesn't know what to do about the ACT since he has never taken or even heard of it.  I told him to ask and if he doesn't hear from him I will call again.  I hope he can get a break!

We will welcome Bott home on the 17th and on the 16th we have Caleb Jensen's farewell and Travis' Dickson's farewell.  That's kind of crazy week. 

Elder Bing and his new companion are here.  Elder Logan is from Alabama.  He is a nice guy.  Elder Heslop went to Hyrum.

I missed e-mailing you so much last week.  I hated it.

Dad's birthday was good.  We had cake and ice cream and got him new drill bits for his drill his drill we got him for Father's Day.  Then we got him a Smith and Edward's gift card.  The grandparents came out for cake and so did the Ellsworths.  We had told the kids it was his birthday and they wanted to so I text Janica to see if they wanted to come and she was welcome to also.  She asked if her parents and Mike (Eric's brother) could come with. It was good to get to know them a little better because we have the kids sooo much and they are here all the time. We love them and it is a blessing to have them in our home.

O.K., well just know I love you!  I can't wait to hear from you.

Cameron: Sounds like a fun week. Glad that girls camp was good!

mom: Do you know I love you, miss you, and I am so proud to be your mom?

Cameron:  Yes, I do.  I love you too and thank you for all you do.

mom:  I sent you a picture of the wheat, dad and Bracken hanging in sacrament, and Halle on her birthday. Grandpa John is really serious about his indexing calling.  I knew he this would be right up his alley.

Cameron:  Good for grandpa.  It has been cooler here.  It has been as low as 66 degrees at night.  I get a little chilly.

mom: We have had 100-104 degree days.  Do you feel bad for us?  Hey, I almost forgot to ask...  How is the new mission president?

Cameron: I don't feel too bad for you.  I love President Taylor and his wife.  They talked to us and both cried. He speaks Portuguese but she doesn't.  I went and talked to her a lot.  They have 5 kids and 13 grandkids. Their youngest is 25.  They are great people and I am excited to have them here.

mom:  I am so glad.  I can't wait to hear more about them.  When are transfers?

Cameron:  We will find out next Sunday and then the actual transfers are Tuesday.  I am pretty sure I am staying and I hope to serve with a missionary from Arizona that I get along great with.  

mom:  What can I do for you Cam?

Cameron:  I am doing good mom.  Have you sent my package yet?

mom: No, do you need something?  I have 3 short sleeves shirts from Holmes that say CTR on the tag, foot soles, gel, scripture stickers, and jerky.

Cameron:  Ya, can you send one more long sleeve shirt too? How long does it take to mail things?

mom:  I think it takes about three weeks.

Cameron:  Can you send it this week?

mom: of course.  I love you and I am glad you are doing good!

Cameron:  I love you!

mom:  I love you bubba!  love, mom, momma, mommy

CAMERON'S GROUP E-MAIL:

Hello everyone. So, this week we were able to meet our new mission president. It is President Taylor and his wife, from Star Valley, Wyoming. They are so great and I am so excited to work with them for the next year! So, the last couple weeks we have been knocking a lot of doors and talking with people in the street to find new investigators. It has been exhausting but great work. So, the last little bit has been getting chilly here. It is winter here right now and it hit 66 degrees last week. It was so great. I was loving life. Everyone here is dying. It is the first time in a long time that they have had a lot of rain and cold weather so they are all saying how cold it is. Transfers are coming up this week we will know about them Sunday night and Tuesday is the transfer day! 

     Spirtual thought; Alma 29  Where Alma is preaching for the people about repentance. In verse 2 it says that repentance is the plan of redemption. That is if we repent we will be able to live with God. I want to testify of this that repentance is the plan of redemption that we have this great thing in our lives that we can repent and be able to live with God one day. I love this gospel and the knowledge that it brings to me. 

I hope that you all have a good week!!

Me and my great pal Ralmir (his parents were baptized a few weeks ago)

 Antonio the chubster, his mom was baptized too and his dad was reactivated

The Zone

The roads due to rain...

July 3, 2017

Mom:  I love you Cameron.  I am excited to send your package.  So do you want insoles, scripture stickers, hair gel, jerky and what else in it?  Just let me know as  you think about it.  I love  you and I am very proud to be your mom.  I am on my way to camp.  I will try to e-mail if I can but if not you are on my mind and in my heart.  Be safe and remember to stay close to Heavenly Father in prayer. Your strength amazes me and I know your future will be full of blessings because of your love and dedication.  Let me know if I can do anything for you.  Be safe! I LOVE you!  I LOVE YOU SON!!!

Cam:  I love you mom.  Have fun at camp.  Love you.

Monday, June 26th

This week was great. So, to start the week off and we had our last mission conference with President and Sister Gomes. They will be going back home to São Paulo on Saturday. It was great to have them as my mission presidents for 1 year. I am truly grateful for all they do. They were super emotional saying bye to us. Friday our new mission president, President Taylor will be getting here. He is from Wyoming. He will be the mission president for the next 3 years here. 

       Friday was a holiday named Saint John. To tell you the truth I have no idea why they celebrate it or the meaning. The people here all have fires in front of their houses and have a lot of foods made from corn. They dance Quadrillha which is the name of the dance. You should look it up. So, a member invited us to come and celebrate with his family. It had rained all day on the wood but in the end he and I got it started. Here a big thing is to roasted corn. It is a little weird but not too bad to eat. We had Calabresa and some other good foods. 

       Saturday was a great day. We had the baptisms of Valmir and Edivania (who are a husband and wife) and also Letissia. Letissa’s husband Overlan is coming back into the church. I was able to baptized Valmir and Edivania and my companion baptized letissia. It was such a great day to bring them into the gospel and change their lives. 

Love,
Elder Cameron Jensen



Cameron and his companion wrote in to there mission news telling them about their 3 baptism miracle and their letter was chosen as one to share:  

MIRACLE OF THE WEEK

COUPLE #1

Two months ago, it was a Saturday night we were contacting on the streets looking for new people because we had recently cut most of our researchers.  We passed a house and a man (husband and father) stood up and looked.  We had the feeling to make contact with them.  We left an invitation to pray, read, and go to church the next day.  The sacrament began and they did not appear, we looked out the window and saw them coming.  We continued to visit and teach them.  We left them an invitation for baptism and marriage.  They accepted without even stopping to think about it.  They never missed any Sundays at church.  They were able to get married last week and were baptized on Saturday.

COUPLE #2

It was our first week in the area and a member took her sister-in-law to church.  We visited her and her husband who was a member that had fallen away.  He wanted to come back but had problems with alcohol and did not know how he could come back.  She started coming to church every Sunday but he wouldn’t show up.  Pretty soon he came back and the members were pretty accepting.  She wanted to be baptized but they were not married.  He said that he cut off friendships and come back to church.  They agreed to marry and she would be baptized.  They were married the same day as our other couple and she was also baptized on the same day as the other couple. 

Here are two example why it is important to work member references and to knock on doors.  Both work but sometimes it is the Lord we need to look to for references. 

Elder Perez and Elder Jensen