January 27, 2014

Hola Familia y amigos mios!

This has been another great week! To start out, I am not getting transferred tomorrow but Elder Cardwell is. :( I guess we will find out tomorrow where he is going and who will be my new companion.

Mom, I will answer your questions first. Yes we finally got our mailbox set up, and luckily the post office held our mail while we were waiting, so I got the package. Thanks for the tie Anna it is sweet! :) it's important that any mail sent to my address here has clearly labeled Apt. #1 on it. And we don't have access to a printer at the church, and we don't read any emails on non p-days. But if you send me something spiritual or something I can save it on iPad :D 

Honestly I won't have much time to listen audio recordings of talks, it's fine to know that they did well. And as far as birthday requests, a reusable water bottle would be nice, and other than that I'm ok.

That's so sweet Elder Christofferson came to Tualatin! Still haven't been able to see a general authority yet, but someday!

Well we have had some cool experiences these last couple days. Back in Stoneridge Ward A. had told us to go see his neighbors from Mexico, but we never did and we finally decided to go over there. There we found J. and M., and they let us in with our hesitation. From the beginning I just felt like this guy was prepared to hear the gospel, and naturally we began teaching the Restoration. I will say that Spanish has never rolled more easily off my tongue! It was just natural, I don't know! I still messed up a bunch I am sure, it was not fluent Spanish by any means, but I wasn't even thinking about it. I just loved these guys. As I began to recite Joseph Smith's account of the first vision, we just felt the Spirit flood the house. later when I asked him how he felt he told us that when I had started talking he just felt something peaceful and good. And I realized afterwards that I had understood every word they had said to us! The gift of tongues is amazing, and I am just barely starting to see how it works! The spirit works with our imperfections, and helps us do the work we are called to do. I love it! J. is so legit, and he is coming to church next week! One of the coolest lessons ever.

Last night we saw a referral that a born again Christian guy gave us! His name is A. (we have taught like 6 different A.!). It was a very similar lesson to J., but it was in English and A. was smoking. But when we talked about the Book of Mormon, he said "I gotta get me one of them books!" Haha he is a cool guy. When we had first contacted him and told him who we were, he said "Well at least you ain't Mormons!" He felt sorta bad after we told him that's exactly what we are! But it was cool to see the spirit work on him.

Also we were asked to give a blessing to a member family with a ton of adopted special needs children, and we ended up going over there and giving like 6 or 7 blessings. They asked me to give like 4 of them! 

Well those are the 3 new people we found and everyone else we are working with hasn't really been progressing. An inactive family we are teaching told us last week they had stopped coming to church 3 years ago because they realized we didn't believe in the virgin Guadalupe/Mary, and they still have those Catholic beliefs. It was an interesting lesson! I have met very few Spanish speaking people who aren't Catholic...haha but they are awesome, I love these people. Hermana A. cooked us chicken and rice tacos one night. We thought she asked how it was so we nodded, faces stuffed, that it was great! Then she asked us "en serio? esta crudo?" Really? It's not cooked? Again, we nodded, assuring her it was delicious. But she was very concerned. Haha we gotta stop saying yes to everything when we don't understand.

Well, that's about all the news I have. So great to hear everyone is doing well! I recognize and feel your prayers, thanks everyone! The work is moving forward. Let's all take a step forward and be "Doers of the word" and of the work of The Lord! The time is now! Thanks everyone for you constant support and examples!

Elder Christensen

January 20, 2014

Hola Familia y amigos mios!

We had a great week! Lots of good things are happening in the Glassford Hill Ward.
One night we were deciding who we should go visit, and I felt a specific feeling to go visit a referral that a member had given us about a month ago. She is an older lady named J. We hadn't met her yet, so we went, and her son, who had referred her to us, was there!  She let us right in and we taught her about the Restoration and Book of Mormon with her son. It amazes me the Spirit that comes each time we testify of the Book of Mormon and invite people to read it for themselves. The more I learn and study from it, the more it just makes sense! 

I just finished 3 Nephi, and after reading Christ's words about His gospel, and about its restoration, I have a renewed desire to follow Him more fully. As a mission, we were challenged a few weeks ago to read the whole Book of Mormon in the next 3 months and mark all the references to the Gospel of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end). I love reading with a purpose. I would invite you guys to try it out! It doesn't have to be in 3 months, but set a goal! Also, how is everyone doing with their VGPTA mission plans? And how has sharing the Gospel online/Facebook been going?

Well we found M. J. this week again! She was the Spanish investigator who was on date to be baptized mid-December but then dropped off the map when we had to postpone her baptism for 2 weeks because of her Word of Wisdom issues. We assumed she had been offended and ignoring us this whole time, but we finally felt like we should go back and try to find her, and she was there! She told us she had been reading her Book of Mormon every day and also the conference talks in the Liahona. So we were able to teach her and invite her back to church! She may be coming with us to the Gilbert Temple Open House in February too! We got permission to go if we bring an investigator/Less active.

So M. came to church, and so did C. P. again! He is loving it, and even though he only makes it for the last couple hours, we know that he is starting to see how much the gospel is blessing his family. His two little kids love it. We got him to commit to read the Book of Mormon and start praying about it to know if it is true! it is hard to explain how unlikely that seemed to us just 6 weeks ago! 

This week we did a lot better at getting members to our lessons! I think the ward is starting to trust us more and we are working pretty hard to keep them involved. It has been tough since our ward mission leader works in Flagstaff 5 days a week and is hardly ever home. 

We had zone interviews with President and Sister Taylor this last week. I really love that couple. They are some of the best people! I will miss them so much when they leave this Summer! President Taylor helped me straighten out some goals I had set for myself and my companionship. 

Also, I had some awesome BBQ chicken last week that was marinated in Sprite and soy sauce and some other spices...you should try that one out dad!  Mom, I appreciate all the encouragement and prayers. :) I really don"t know why I had felt bummed out last week, but sometimes those days just happen. I have felt the power of your, and everyone's, prayers this past week and it has strengthened me for sure! I am learning so much and love doing this work! You are each in my prayers and I hope you know that you are loved!

Hasta proxima semana!

Elder Collin Christensen

January 13, 2014

¡Hola Familia!
So great to hear about the performing arts center mom! I bet that is super exciting! I haven't gotten the packs and stuff yet but I'm sure I will soon! I am glad you are enjoying teaching your Sunday school class too. :) thanks for the encouragement.

This week has been pretty challenging, but I will tell you it has been one of the most rewarding weeks as well, in spite of how hard it may have been. There were a couple days where I just felt so down and I had no idea why. I realized Satan was working on me extra hard because there were things that I need to learn!
 
I went on a couple exchanges this last week, and had some cool
experiences with opening my mouth and facing my fears! For the longest time it seemed so weird to just walk up and talk to people on the street. Well, truthfully it's still weird. But it's so fun! The worst that can happen is they tell you no, or something a lot more mean. Or they tell you "NO SOLICITING in this county!" And then we tell them we aren't selling anything, what we offer is for free! We don't mention the 10% part. ;) But I think I got so stuck in the habit of assuming people just don't want to talk to us, and I realized that if we do that, people who are ready and searching for the good news of the gospel will be deprived! “It is not needful for … mine elders to be moving swiftly … whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief” (D&C 61:3). So I am really trying to work on talking with everyone, and then doing it some more even when it seems everyone is telling you they don't want to talk to you.

Well we found a new investigator named O. We were looking for his mom actually and when he answered the door and told us she was working, we almost left. Instead we started talking to him. He came out on the porch and we taught the first lesson right there! Find when you teach, teach when you find. Later we found two more new investigators, both family members of members! We didn't have as many people show up to church this week as last week. It's interesting to see how well church attendance measures someone's progression. C. P. and his kids came again, he is progressing well and finding lots of new friends in the Ward! We met with a previous investigator from Peru named D., and she had been having the English elders teach her previously. When she found out we spoke Spanish she got so excited! Her husband and his family are strictly catholic and really doesn't like us. She told us she knows the church is true and she would be baptized tomorrow, but her husband forbids it. So we are going keep teaching her on Facebook so he doesn't get mad at us for coming over. But she is the happiest most prepared lady! J. M. is the girl who lives in Brazil that we have been teaching on Facebook. It's been cool to help her prepare for her baptism and help her solve her concerns. She was baptized and confirmed this last week! She already has a calling in primary, she is solid! 

So, we were supposed to see Elder Holland this last weekend in a
tri-mission conference with the Tempe and Tucson missions. He ended up not being able to make it, so we got to see Elder Wright from the 70 and it was still awesome. We were all pretty stoked to see Elder
Holland though. After that the whole mission went to the Phoenix Temple for a Photo.

So we taught 19 lessons this last week! We are improving each week! We are really starting to see the benefits of creating a vision. Our mission is using this

• Vision
• Goals
• Plans
• Tasks
• Accountability

As we narrow down exactly what we are working towards and how we will do it, we become much more effective as both missionaries and progressing human beings. It works so well that Elder Cardwell and I
are bringing it into the homes of members and challenging them to create their own Family Mission Plan using VGPTA. I encourage you all to do the same and I will be I charge of the accountability part... ;) see how easy I made that? You are all already 1/5 of the way done with your plan!

Today we went hiking with our district in Paulden, AZ! We went down in to this canyon and climbed up to some sweet Indian ruins. I'll get some pictures for you guys soon, but it was pretty nostalgic for me. :)

I love you guys! The church is absolutely true, and that means it is absolutely necessary for everyone to hear about it!


Elder Collin Christensen

January 6, 2014

¡Hola Familia!
What a week! We were blessed with a lot of success, mostly among the less active members of the Ward. It has been cool to see how we can fulfill our purpose in strengthening the Ward through the less active
members. We had a few come to sacrament meeting for the first time in years, and we also had a less active's nonmember husband come to church for the first time with their kids!  They had started by teaching his 6 year old son, Wyatt, about Book of Mormon Stories, because that is what the parents wanted.
Well, after avoiding being an investigator for some a time, the dad began participating in the lessons, and he said we could start teaching him as well. He said the prayer at our last lesson and came
to church!

Then we had another less active / part member couple come to church for the Family History class they started! Also, the previous Elders found a guy named M.who is 30 and pretty much hadn't been to church in 10 years. His records weren't even in the Ward, so it's a miracle they even found him! Well, we have been
teaching him because he forgot mostly everything, and has a bunch of doubts and wants to know if it's really true. But he is coming back to church, reading his scriptures and praying and everything again! It is so cool to see all these changes happen in peoples lives.

And two less active/inactive Spanish members came to the Glassford Hill Ward for the first Sunday together too! It was sweet! A lot of members got up to bear their testimonies in Spanish for new Spanish
members.  It was so busy on Sunday, we didn't know how we were going to introduce everyone to everyone and tell them where to go after sacrament meeting! It was a great kind of busy though. After church we had a Ward Break the Fast.

On Wednesday we contacted this guy named J., a construction worker on his break, and we told him about the Restoration of the Gospel and eternal families. He gave us his address and told us to come back Sunday. So when we went by yesterday, we heard echoing down the neighborhood some blasting Mariachi and some totally drunk voices singing along. We pulled up to the Address and found J. and his neighbor drinking some Corona and singing at the top of their lungs. Haha we talked to him briefly and denied the Cerveza he offered us, and walked away laughing. Haha

Something I learned from Elder Cardwell this week is that while I have a tendency to notice a lot of things we need to improve, I also tend to forget to notice a lot of the positive. After a lesson with a member.  I immediately started talking about how bad it went and how unprepared we were. Elder Cardwell just straight up told me I was never going to be a perfect missionary, while recognizing that we should always strive for that. I think he was kind of annoyed that I always seem to notice the negative. He taught me that there is no way the Spirit can guide someone who is thinking negatively. I was grateful for that advice.

Last week I talked about how in the book of Alma, Moroni had the people build up walls of earth and timber to strengthen their cities and protect them from the armies of the Lamanites. I related that to gaining personal strength as we fortify ourselves in our weak parts, so that the adversary can't gain power
over us. For me, I have to work everyday to fortify my weaknesses. Some days I don't, and that is when I find myself being negative, having little motivation, thinking about home, or being annoyed or angry.  I really learning that we have to rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ each day. I would like to cite, as well as refer this talk by Elder Richard G. Scott :

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/personal-strength-through-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

So New Years was cool. It was the same deal as Christmas and Christmas Eve, so we got to hang out with the Amero's and play some Ping Pong. I realized that was probably what I'd be doing if I was at home too, so it was awesome! Haha then we just did weekly planning on New Years as well and got a bunch of our stuff moved into our apartment. Then the next day we moved in! It is a sweet place, we don't need all the
space. So we have a study room and an exercise room and a sleep room. And a huge kitchen and living room! Hah The Address is still

7750 E Spouse Dr. Apt. #1
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314

And they don't have mailboxes yet but they should have them put in by the end of this week. I love you guys!

Elder Collin Christensen

Happy New Year

Feliz ano nuevo!

So great to see you all last week! Easily the best Christmas present (not counting all the other ones ;)) We spent the rest of the day playing basketball with 4 other elders, bro Amero and his son Tom. We ate with some members, and then came back to play some more basketball. Haha we really wanted to take advantage of our free day. It was fun, I am still sore though! We didnt end up moving, they just came today to furnish our brand new duplex! The address is 

 

7750 E Spouse Dr. Apt. 1 Prescott Valley 86314-5221 

 

and we have no idea if it has a mailbox yet! We have a lot to do today so we will probably spend New Years day getting rid of all the bed bugs and moving in, if we are given permission. :P So we have no idea what we are doing for new years eve/day, it may be similar to Christmas but we haven't been told yet.

Well this week we had 14 lessons, despite having basically 2 days of proselyting off! Most of those were member/Less active lessons, but honestly I am loving it. It is rough not having many investigators, but we set a new goal to visit and teach in every Less Active/Part member families home in the ward by the end of January! I am realizing that we don't have to be teaching a nonmember in order to fulfill our purpose of "inviting others to come unto Christ". And it is sweet to go into members homes and feel the Spirit with them, and help them get excited  about missionary work. Most people won't know/want to do something unless they are invited to. Invite, Invite! Morning, noon, and night! Elder Cardwell hates it when I sing that song. Haha :))

 

One of the LA members we are teaching hasn't been to church in years and wasn't even on the ward directory, so it was a miracle the previous elders even found him. His name is M. He is about 30 and has a super active family. He grew up going to seminary and everything, and just told us straight up he doesn't believe any of it because it cant be proven by science. So that has been interesting. We talked about the Holy Ghost, and he said it is just your own conscience, not a Spirit. So we invited him to listen to his "conscience" as he reads the Book of Mormon and prays. Haha he is a cool dude though, bought us Little Caesars and everything!

 

Another cool lesson we had was Christmas Eve. We went to a members house for dinner...and there were like 30 other people there, all non-members! Probably a third of them were special needs children. It was one of the loudest craziest houses, I swear the kids just kept coming out! E Cardwell and I were about to bust it out of there after eating, but something kept us. We talked to Sister B. who's home we were at, and she told everyone to gather around in the living room. We put on a little Christmas video on one of our tiny little iPads, and by the end of it the house was just dead silent. We then bore our testimonies about Jesus Christ, and the Spirit was so strong! I shudder thinking what would have happened had we just left, ignoring the Spirit and the great opportunity to teach. Some of the people there that night came to church yesterday too! We will be praying that we will be able to teach some of those people. :)

Well, I will send a picture of the last day in the Estrella Spanish Branch. It was pretty sad for some of the people, and some pretty much told us they flat out dont want to come to Glassford Hill Ward. So we are working and praying that the split will not cost us the activity of any members. 

Something I have been studying lately is the latter chapters in Alma, in the Book of Mormon, where Captain Moroni raises the title of Liberty, and begins strengthening the Nephite cities. Because of growing contentions with the opposing force, the Lamanites, 2000 young men step up to defend their country at a critical time. 

"Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them...

[and] there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power"

(Alma 57:21, 25-26)

I know that if we steadfastly exercise our faith unto Obedience to the commandments of the Lord, he will preserve us through our daily battles. He has promised it! He has given us the course, He has led the path for us to return to Him, and His words will bring us back! It is interesting to note that every single warrior returned with some sort of injury. No one ever said the path would be easy, but we always knew it would be worth it. I also know that if we strive to "fortify" and strengthen ourselves in our weakest parts, just as wise Captain Moroni did to the weakest Nephite cities, we will be protected from the threatening influences of the adversary. Our obedience and diligence will bring us the Happiness that the Lord wants more than anything for his children.

I love you all and wish you a Happy New Year! 

Love,

Elder Collin Arave Christensen

Merry Chistmas

 December 23, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So I am very sorry to say that I have not yet sent the family
Christmas package, still waiting on some stuff. But you will get it
one day! I guess I won't be able to do my special gift for Richard
when we Skype, but it will get there eventually. Mom, I got the big
package and it's sitting under the Christmas tree! :) oh, we found out
we may be moving a couple days after Christmas.

Sounds like you guys are going to have blast together this Christmas!
It still doesn't really feel like Christmas for me, but I am learning
that in the Spirit of Giving I can enjoy Christmas as a missionary.
One of my favorite scriptures this Christmas has been in Matthew
25:31-40. When we are judged after this life we will be remembered by
our service to The Lord. We may not have physical gifts to bring to
Jesus Christ, as did the wise men, but we will have a lifetime of
actions, either dedicated to serving God, or ourselves. "And the King
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). As I have thought of Christ and what he
came to do for me, I wonder to myself what I can do for Him. And He
gives me so many opportunities! Let's all "choose this day whom [we]
will serve" as the Prophet Joshua directed, and enjoy the blessings of
the Love of God that come as we serve him.

Well, it has been an interesting transition from the Stoneridge Ward
to the Glassford Hill Ward. I tried to shake everyone's hand at church
yesterday, which I think I just about did. It's a lot easier to
introduce yourself when you are both newbies.
 We went from having almost 15 lessons a week to having 4 this week.
One of those 4 lessons was with an older couple named S. and A.
They were brand new investigators in the Glassford Ward, and as we
taught them the Restoration they had a TON of questions. It was sweet
to have someone to teach, even though we could hardly answer some of
their questions, and they were kind antagonistic about the idea if the
Book of Mormon. They kept asking for biblical evidence of the Book of
Mormon, which we gave, but didn't seem to satisfy them. Finally we
realized that the only proof, or evidence,  that will convert anyone
is the Holy Ghost itself. I interrupted the debate finally and told
them not to believe our words, but to learn the truth for themselves
by going to the source of all truth, Heavenly Father. As I bore my
testimony of the Book of Mormon, I remember the atmosphere just
calming down as the Spirit came and testified of truth. It was pretty
amazing, thinking back on it. They accepted a Book of Mormon, and we
left.

It has been pretty hard for me to leave behind the teaching pool we
built up and come to a tiny area with significantly less work. We were
told that we would be going through the Ward list and finding out who
all still lives here and who has moved out, so at least we get
something to work with! I think it is cool to see the recent emphasis
placed on teaching members. Each week we have indicators, or numbers,
that we set goals for at the beginning of the week. These numbers used
to just be for lessons we had with investigators. Now the Brethren
have added member lessons into the mix (less/inactive, new member,
prospective Elder/missionaries, active members, etc). They set a
standard for us to shoot for 20 lessons a week. I think we are all
slowly realizing how important it is to teach and retain those
members, especially when we see the statistic of those who are
baptized and shortly afterwards go inactive.

Well our last day in Stoneridge was pretty sweet! We went to visit a
referral given to us from Bishop Yamamoto, and inactive lady named
J. C. and her non-member Boyfriend, R.. So we started
talking with them a little about our purpose as missionaries, and
literally before we even got 2 minutes into it R. started crying,
and telling us how he knew he needed to do what we were there to
invite him to do, and knew it would bless his family. We hadn't
taught this guy a single thing yet! He straight up told us he wanted
to be baptized. He felt the spirit so strongly when we came over, and
so we just set a baptismal date right there for January 15th! We
taught him about the Restoration after that. The next day came
the new Elders, and although it is sad that we won't be able to teach
him and prepare him for his baptism, I will never forget that
experience. The Lord leads us to the prepared! I know I need to
develop that attitude now in this area we are am in.

I love you all, I appreciate your prayers in my behalf! I definitely need them.
 I will be calling around 11am if that works for you guys. I'm pumped
to see everyone!


Love,

Elder Collin Christensen


'Totally forgot, yesterday I gave a 20 minute talk in the Spanish
Branch! I talked about Christmas time and covenants, and how we tend
to think of Christmas time as the time to remember Christ and his
Birth. But really, when we think about our baptismal covenant to
"always remember him" and to take his name upon us, we realize that
Christmas time can and should happen year round! I am thankful for the
covenants I have made that allow me to follow the path the Savior set
for us. Also I am thankful and a bit surprised that I was able to give
a talk in Spanish! Whaaaaaat? Hahah I think people were falling asleep
but it's all good.
Also mom, yes I played the piano at the Branch Christmas Party, and in
Sacrament mtg yesterday, both of which I was given no notice for. I
think the Mexican people here think I can play anything, so they just
don't tell me. Hahah but it's whatever, I am grateful for the
sight-reading skills you gave me momma! :D also I played most of the
songs out of the Jon Schmidt book I brought as prelude to a funeral a
Couple weeks ago

Ok, I think that's it! I love ya momma! Talk to you Wednesday at 11!

Transfers coming

Dec. 17, 2013

 

Hola Familia!

Well I was right! Elder Cardwell and I are both getting transferred. We don't know where exactly yet, but we are pretty sure we are just trading places with the Glassford ward Elders because they told us we don't need to pack...So I will let you know tomorrow for sure! We have to drive all the way down to Phoenix tomorrow anyways though, just to go to the meeting and come back up. :p 

The following is from Sis Taylor:

Please tell your parents about our MISSION BLOG. IF they go to azphxmission.blogspot.com they can enter their email address int he little box on the right side of the blog for automatic emails when I post. They will then receive an email from "FEEDBURNER" that they will need to open and click on a link to VERIFY their subscription to the blog. This is the easiest way for them to know when I post. All the photos that I take of any event are either in a post or attached through Picasa Web albums so they can see all photos. Your photo with Santa and with us outside the temple are all on these web albums, and they can send them to you as they see you in photos. 

So for Christmas I will email that Monday we are pretty sure, and then we will be able to skype call for Christmas. If you don't want to have to get a skype, we can just do a regular call, or we also have FaceTime. I will check to make sure that is ok. The last package I received was the Grandma's Cookie Crew one! ;) Thanks to all!

Well, speaking of Skype, I mentioned a couple weeks ago that we have been teaching a girl who lives in Brazil over Facebook. She has also been being taught by the missionaries there, and yesterday she messaged me and told me she finally decided to be baptized on January 11, 2014! We had been trying to address her concerns for a while, and she was really searching  for a testimony. Finally we just asked her if she was reading her Book of Mormon. She said she wasn't, and so we committed her to read a page everyday, and continue praying, and see if her answer didn't come! Well, who knows if that was why she made the decision to be baptized, but we were pumped. SO, yesterday we SKYPED her and practiced part of the Baptismal interview with her! I still cant believe the how much work is progressing and how many things are now possible!

Well, the only other really progressing investigator from this past week is K. W.. She has been on fire, I can't believe how Spiritual she is. We have met with her 3 times since last week, and everytime we teach her she ends up crying. I will admit I did once too (Shhh). She keeps telling us she doesn't know yet if the Book of Mormon is true or not because she isn't receiving any answers when she prays. We want her to see that The Lord IS answering her prayers, every time we meet! With her rough background and situation, she tells us every time that after we leave, she just feels peace and comfort, and only sees the positive in her life. Does she recognize it as the Holy Ghost testifying of truth? I dont know, but I do know that she is a seeker of truth. I can say that through teaching K., I have honestly come to realize the truth of what my mission call said, that as a missionary "More happiness awaits you than you have ever before known" (or something like that...). I can't explain the happiness that comes from seeing someones testimony grow from the beginning. 

Yesterday we taught S. (the older German lady who nearly destroyed me at ping-pong) and we taught how prayer can help her overcome her addiction to cigarettes. She explained that because of her background she never has been one to ask for help, and she feels bad if she is the reason for anyone to give service. She even has issues with asking God for help. :/ Basically we told her straight up that she cant do anything without God and his mercy and his help. After reading Ether 12:27 and explaining that weaknesses teach us to trust the Lord, I think she began to understand.

We had a very odd lesson with M., the lady we said a prayer with last week on her doorstep, who also gave us hugs...:p Well we went back to teach the restoration, and when we got there she was a mess. She recently relapsed on Alcohol after being sober 10 years. She had been beating her self up all day about it, and we showed her a Mormon Message Mountains to Climb, and talked about the Atonement. Well, up until then the Spirit was strong. She was crying, but we soon realized she might have been partially under the influence still, although she was understanding all we were saying. she wanted to pray with us before we left, and she clasped my hand so hard during the prayer I honestly thought she was going to break my finger! We tried to get out of there, and then she hugged us again. Hahah Well, needless to say, we decided for our safety not to go back until some Sister missionaries come into this area, as much as we would like to help her right now. It was a bit freaky, but we laughed about it later and said a prayer to bring the Spirit back. 

We are still working with A.A. as he is trying to get out of his alcoholism. He is so humble and kind!

M.J. didn't end up getting baptized this week. :/ She drinks coffee and so we decided to wait another two weeks so she can quit before her baptism.

The Stoneridge ward has been finding us people to teach right and left! I am so amazed at the missionary focus here. Bishop Yamamoto is the bomb! I will truly miss this ward and the people here. I have sent some pictures of a few of them

Ward mission leaders Bro. Amero and Bro. Trever

So we went to the Mesa Temple on Tuesday! We had a program all morning and then we all did an Endowment session in the Afternoon! We all did work for the Jaeger family in the Stoneridge ward because they had like 2000+ names ready for temple work! It was the biggest session I have ever been in. I love the Temple! There is so much peace, and being there with all these missionaries I have grown to love so much was amazing! We then saw the Christmas lights, which I think I sent a picture of as well, and we didn't get home till like 10:30pm.

How is the missionary work coming in the Sherwood Ward? Who are the Elders there? Whats the family's plan for Christmas, or I guess, what I am gonna miss out on? ;) Has it snowed yet? how are the Benitez family doing? That is so cool to hear about the kid who was baptized last week!  

Sorry this is jumbled! I love you all so much and appreciate your letters/emails! Merry Christmas! Remember, Christmas = Christ - m`as!

-Elder Christensen

Lessons, exchanges, and following the spirit

December 9, 2013

 

Hola Familia!

Thank you for the "Christmas Tree"! It made me pretty happy,the Ameros haven't put up a Christmas tree since they're moving soon, so I'm still looking for a place to put it! Its great to hear Christmas Tree Farm has been doing so well this last week. We ate dinner with a family last night who had a real tree! But we will definitely be moving out next week at the transfer because they found a brand new duplex for us. That is, assuming we don't get transferred anyway. I only have another week till I'm done being trained! And we both think we might be getting transferred, because they announced last week that the stake is "dissolving" the Estrella branch for members who live in Prescott Valley and Chino Valley/Paulden starting January 1, 2014. So all those Spanish members will be going to English wards in those areas instead of making the long drive to Prescott every week for church. So we are thinking they will bring some real English missionaries to Stoneridge, and transfer one or both of us to the Glassford Hill ward in Prescott Valley, where the Spanish members will be going. I hope that all made sense! So I guess we will see if we are right next week. Also since transfers are next week, I will be emailing on Tuesday! And I have no idea what my address will be, so I would say to just send the package to the Mission Office. I only got the Christmas tree one. And we have zone meeting once a month, not once a week, which we had last week. As far as requests, I really would like some warm wool socks, maybe my warm gloves, a warm cup of hot cocoa and a warm tie! I don't know Mom, get creative with it. :) Its pretty chilly here, we went running in 15 degrees this morning. And yesterday it snowed like an inch. I think I am going to buy a wind/waterproof coat this week though, so don't worry about that one. I will eventually need some more journal pages, I just started the second pack you sent me with. I dont know when we will be able to do Skype, they haven't really told us anything more. 

Well this week has been very successful! Last Monday night we had a lesson with J.S. and T. I. at a members home. We taught about Jesus Christ and how he set the example for us to be baptized (2 Nephi 31:4-12, Matthew 3:13-17) and they both committed to be baptized! They originally committed to December 21, but later that week texted us and said they didn't feel ready that soon. But they are solid, and we are teaching them tonight again! T. I. is 14 and couldn't stop smiling when I asked her if she wanted to be baptized. It is amazing how The Lord prepares people.

On Tuesday we found this lady named K. who is a single mom with 3 young kids and has a pretty rough past. Her ex-boyfriend was a member of the church, but recently got into some crazy stuff and she kicked him out. She is struggling both mentally, physically and spiritually right now, and just the fact that we wanted to talk with her seemed to brighten her day. She told us she had been to many churches in her life, and always felt like she was led to each one at that point in her life for a reason. Well, we testified to her that she was led to this church at this point in her life for a reason too. She has literally hit rock bottom, and there is no greater message to hear than that the Savior Jesus Christ knows each of us and our individual struggles, and can help pull us through them. She began reading the Book of Mormon, and was our first new investigator last week! Again, the Lord prepares people!
I went on 2 exchanges this last week, the first was with Elder Lundquist from the Glassford Hill Ward Wednesday because Elder Cardwell had a leadership meeting. It snowed that morning and, yes, of course we were on bikes! Luckily it didn't stick, but I definitely now have a greater appreciation for having a car, even if it is a mini-van. :) And we had to cover both of our wards for the day. It was freezing, but I loved that exchange! So many miracles happened that day! I will share one, we were biking around in the afternoon in my area, and I had prayed that the Spirit would guide us in our work that day, especially since I am still getting familiar with the area. Well, the Spirit definitely guided us, and we found several people home who, if we had arrived just a few seconds before or after, we would have missed them. One was a man named D. E. L. doesn't speak any Spanish at all, so just right outside D.E. L.'s trailer I taught him about Joseph Smith, the Restoration, and the Book of Mormon, and set up a time to come back and teach his family - and then I realized I had done it all in Spanish! I hadn't even been scared, even though it was one of the first times I couldn't rely on my companion to help me! I think I kept giggling to myself for the rest of the night because I conversed with a Mexican in real Spanish. Well, Elder Cardwell had set another baptismal date for one of our Spanish investigators named M.J. during the exchange, and his companion for the day didn't speak a lick of spanish either! It was such a great day of growth for all of us.

The second exchange was with a Zone Leader, Elder O'Neal on Saturday. I took over the area again, and had some odd flashbacks from Sophmore year while driving the mini-van (Karen). One of the coolest experiences we had was when we were trying to find an inactive members house. The address was totally wrong, so I went to get back in the car, but Elder O'Neal said we should just try the closest address to what we had. Well, we did, and it definitely wasn't the member we were looking for. But a lady came to the door, and had clearly been crying, and told us she wasn't interested because she wasn't feeling good at all. (In a missionaries mind that translates to "teach me! I have been prepared by the Lord and need something new in my life!"). So I asked if we could just say a quick prayer with her, and she agreed, annoyed. I prayed for her well-being and that the Lord would comfort her. It was a simple prayer and I didn't think much of it. But when I finished she came out onto the porch and gave me huge hug...yea, possibly the most awkward experience of my mission so far. I realized I couldn't freak out and tell this woman I couldn't hug her after she had just been touched by the Spirit, and obviously comforted. We are teaching her tonight as well!

 I can't reiterate enough how important the Spirit is in this work! It guides us, it comforts us, it strengthens our testimonies, and most importantly, it teaches us truth and is the power through which conversion to Jesus Christ's true church takes place. I love it! I rely on it, and the scripture is true that says "And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach" (D&C 42:14).

 I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true Church again restored to the earth. I know it blesses lives more than anything else, and because of that, the Lord guides and directs His servants to those who are in need and are prepared to accept the love Christ offers them. I hope each of you who read this know that I know this without a doubt! And I hope you can each learn to feel the joy of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as I surely have. You are in my prayers! 

-Elder Christensen

Thankful for hats, sweaters, Thanksgiving dinners 4 days in a row...

December 2, 2013

 

Hello Family and Friends!

It is great to hear the Christmas trees have been selling so well! I got pretty stoked when I heard we sold 80 trees in November. When I tell people sometimes I have a Christmas tree farm back at home, they seem to all wonder why anyone would get a real Christmas tree, let alone plant hundreds of them in hopes people will buy them. Clearly they are Arizonians and don't know the color green, not to mention lacking some Christmas Spirit, so I forgive them. And tell Lacey I am lovin her new kicks! Hahah She is adorable. Anna, I heard you hefted a tree up our deck..I also saw a picture of you falling trying to carry it. :D haha Dad, I hope you write a story about the community of crazy animals living under your vet hospital. Mom, I am praying for you and the concert this year! I hope all is going well!

Well, Thanksgiving came and went! Pretty much felt like another day, except that we had to be inside all day. I realized that I am grateful for leaving the house...also for members who compete to feed us on Thanksgiving, and pretty much any day, for hats and sweaters, for members who invite investigators to their homes for dinner without us asking them to, for Thanksgiving dinners 4 days in a row. I am grateful for a dedicated Bishop, and for the Holy Ghost which continually strengthens and guides us. I have a few pretty remarkable stories that happened this past week.

We had a Thanksgiving Lunch with the Ameros, who we live with, Friday and they invited an investigator named S. H. to join us. S. is at least 70 and comes from Nazi Germany, and comes to church every week. She asked us if we could talk about the Word of Wisdom, and so we had a good lesson. After the closing prayer, she excused herself, went outside and lit up a cigarette. Haha! I looked at Elder Cardwell, both of us giving the "Are you serious?" look, or maybe it was the "Didn't we just teach the Word of Wisdom and she committed to try and live it?" look...regardless, we had a good laugh. S. has good intentions really wants to join the church, but is pretty addicted and wants to know for herself that quitting is the right thing to do. I guess in D&C 89 where it promises us "treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures" can mean that the Holy Ghost will help us gain a testimony that the Church is true, when we live the law of health that the Lord gave us. 

I don't remember if I already told this story, but I will tell it again because another miracle happened this week. So a few weeks ago, we were trying to find this potential investigators home. When we pulled up, we saw that right outside the the house there was a raving party going on...well I looked at Elder Cardwell and said "I am not walking up to that house." I was scared out of my mind. So we said a prayer, asking what we should do, and for courage to get out of the car. I was still scared, I honestly felt like a little kid, but for some reason we felt like we just needed to go and talk to the people at the house. So we did, and this completely wasted drunk guy, who was definitely not who we were looking for, runs up to us, hopping up and down and doing all sorts of weird things, and cussed us out for a solid 5-6 minutes. He then made it very clear we were to leave his property immediately. Well, I thought it was pretty funny afterwards. This week on Wednesday, we had a dinner appointment with some members. Well, we walk in, and there sitting on the couch is the very same man from the party house 2 weeks earlier! He had been invited to join us for dinner by the family. He totally remembered us, and was clearly embarrassed. The interesting thing was that neither my companion nor myself felt the slightest bit of grudge toward the guy. In fact, we had one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had after a dinner appointment! We gave him our number and he said he would call us if he ever needed anything. Now, why did we meet this unlikely man twice in a row, in the most unlikely of circumstances? Honestly, I have no idea why. But if we hadn't gotten out of the car that day, we may never have been able to know and love and help this man feel the Spirit in that members home. He still hasn't called us, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Lord placed him in our pathway for a reason, perhaps a reason we will never know. 

Another quick story, this week we had quite a few lessons cancel. I learned I am grateful when lessons cancel, because then we belong to the Spirit and where He needs us to go. On one such occasion, last Tuesday night, we didn't know where to go for the hour, but Elder Cardwell just said, "Hey lets go see Sister R." who is a recent convert/less active Spanish member. So we went. Well, we found her there in severe pain after having fallen earlier that day at work. We offered to give her a Priesthood blessing which she clearly wanted. I still don't have much experience with giving blessings, but I truly felt the Lord's love for this Sister as I did so. Afterwards she bore her testimony to us about the Power of Priesthood blessings, and said "Dios me los envio a mi." God sent you to me. Moral of the story - never doubt the thoughts and impressions that come into your mind, even if you think they are just your thoughts. The Holy Ghost works through our thoughts, and if we act in faith that the Holy Ghost is guiding us, we will truly become instruments in the Lord's hands, and become the means by which he "succors" his people. Everyday I am still learning to trust in the Spirit, and I can't say it is easy. But I am grateful to be learning, and to have Elder Cardwell as my trainer. 

Well, I am sure I have bored you all half to death or sleep or a death-sleep. Either way, I love you all and feel your prayers on my behalf every day! I love the work I have been called to. I am so happy to hear of so many who are preparing and leaving on their missions! I can tell you all it has been the best choice I have ever made. Keep on moving on!

Love, 

Elder Christensen

P.S. So...apparently we get to Skype on Christmas...

 

Oh, I forgot! We taught a lesson on Facebook this week to a girl in Brazil! It was pretty sweet.

Also mom, I studied your studies on Psalms 23. It was so cool, as I was reading through your notes and analyzations, I was reminded of a scripture I recently read and then decided to do something similar with it. And it was so closely tied to Psalms 23! I have some great studies lately, i would send you my notes but I think I will let you read them yourself. :) 

The scripture was in Alma 37:37-47. I love it! Also I have been studying Moroni 7 with a similar breakdown on faith. It sounds like I'm super organized but its not really yet. Haha

 

Pre-Thanksgiving Post

Hola Familia!

Pues, hace frio aqui en Prescott Valley! Ahorita mis manos estan blancos! It snowed yesterday, but didn't stick. It has really been reminding me of home lately. And I got your package mom! Thank you for the sweaters! They are much appreciated, in fact I am currently wearing one of them. I don't think I will be going out of the house without one on for the next few months. I also appreciated your healthy foods you included in the package. :)) Marissa, your pumpkin cookies were the bees knees! Thank you! I EVEN shared them with my companion. So apparently we are inside all day on Thanksgiving unless we have appointments, Elder Cardwell wants to set up three: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. We will see how that goes. Haha 

Well this week we had a Specialized Training for Spanish speaking missionaries. We were trained on some ways we can more efficiently work with the Spanish people. The biggest thing I learned is that we simply need to change our attitudes and be over-achievers. On a similar note to my email last week, if we go about the work with a laid back attitude nothing is going to change. To be honest, I haven't even taught a Spanish lesson here yet, which is super tough. We have been in a couple members homes, but they speak English to us mostly. I am convinced that nothing has been happening with the Spanish work precisely because of our attitudes.

Well, we found some new English investigators this week! J. S. and T I. She is the daughter of an inactive member named B., who is dating J.S. We had a member of our Bishopric, Brother Howe, come and participate in the first lesson with us. It was one of the first times I have been able to teach about the Restoration and have more than 5 minutes to do it. I started out trying to teach just with my own knowledge, and thinking back on it, I didn't even give them time to absorb what I was saying because I was so worried about finishing my point and getting to the next point in the lesson! It didn't take long before I remembered the mission scripture I chose 2 Nephi 4:34 "Oh Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of the flesh..." And that was exactly what I was doing, trusting my own strength. Well, I guess I started thinking less about me and it turned out to be a great lesson. The Spirit was very strong, and they all wanted to read and pray to find out if the Book of Mormon was true! They got sick and couldn't come to church, but we are meeting again with them tomorrow!

S & J are just about the same as last week, but they have been listening to the Book of Mormon and said they are getting a testimony that it is true. They said it just calms their whole house down! We have really been trying to focus on the Book of Mormon in our visits with people because it really is so key and central to our purpose. And so, rather than just telling people they need to be married, or they need to stop drinking alcohol, or whatever it is, the focus is on whether or not the Book of Mormon is the word of God and Joseph Smith is a Prophet. And either the Book of Mormon is the true word of God, or it is a very big lie. And when you come to know it is true, the faith to obey the word becomes much more natural. It comes from a love of God and from a desire to feel His presence in our lives. I share my personal witness that the Book of Mormon IS in fact the Word of God. It is not a lie, and there is no way it could be a lie. I know that anyone anywhere can know this for themselves as well if they just read it! Read the book! Read it, and then pray, and it will bless your life more than you can imagine, as it has mine. 

I love you all! Always in my prayers! Have a grand Thanksgiving!

-Elder Christensen