September 29, 2014

Hola familia y amigos míos!
We had an awesome week! The people we found were ALL referrals given by members, and each of them are so sincere about learning the gospel.
We had Shania and one new investigator, Francisco, at church yesterday and they both loved it! Francisco is the man. He is a recovering
addict and just called us one day and asked to meet with us. He had been reading the Book of Mormon all night before and was loving it. We marked a baptismal date for him for November 1st! Later we found out that is Stake Conference weekend so we will probably move the date tonight. At church yesterday he was taking notes the whole time and
kept talking about how good he felt. I think Shania fell asleep during
sacrament meeting, but she is pretty cool too! She got kicked out of
her last church and her parents home, and had no where to stay. We
started teaching her in Bishop's home and she was pretty stubborn, but
she is opening up and the Holy Ghost is softening her heart. I think
she knows God has something in store here for her here!
 
After church we started talking to some Spanish speaking guys sitting
on the couch in the foyer...turns out they were interested and we gave
them both Libros de Mormón! We will teach them later his week. We had
interviews with President Griffin last week and I asked him to send us
another set of English missionaries in our ward so we could focus more
on growing the new Spanish Group. It would benefit both the Cedar Hill
ward and the Spanish group. So we will see next week what happens!
We also had an awesome Mission Tour with Elder Corbridge (he spoke in
last April's General Conference).
 
Oh yea! So there is a lady we found a few weeks ago who we started
teaching. She said she was very familiar with the church and had a lot
of doubts in her life. We started teaching her, and then last Saturday
she confessed to us that she is a member, but just didn't want us to
judge her because she's inactive. She is actually a super cool lady, I
personally thought it was hilarious that she lied to us at first and
we thought she was an investigator the whole time. We are going to
keep teaching her though.
Well, I think that's the majority of my news this week! I love you all!
Elder Collin Christensen

Scenery--

September 22, 2014

Hello Family and Friends!

Well I'm stoked there is a Cabellas in Tualatin now! I hope dad isn't getting too carried away over there. :D The weather here is pretty mild. It's usually sunny and about 70's, with an occasional storm. I agree, I have lucked out so far with weather in Arizona! I haven't been taking many pictures, sorry. I will do my best this week!

So we found 6 new people to teach this week and they are all solid! We have been inviting everyone we see to the Phoenix Temple Open House and it's turned into lessons, new investigators, and people at church! 

A couple transfers ago Elder Blake felt inspired to visit a less active lady on our records who we did not recognize. We found out she didn't live there anymore, but the family who had moved in had recently gone to an LDS service in Cedar City and loved it, but didn't know where to find the church here! We contacted them for a few months before we actually got to teach them. This last week they came to church! They have been very prepared. Another ladies dogs attacked Elder Fife as he was backing me up in the truck, so I parked and we went to go talk to the lady (Elder Fife survived because the dog just want to lick his face). We ended up teaching her and her two roommates the Restoration on their porch with our member and they as well have been prepared! The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I'm seeing more and more blessings from just opening my mouth. That's only a couple examples from this past week!

Tomorrow we will be in Phoenix all day for a conference with Elder Corbridge from the Quorum of the 70! It will be awesome. 

Hats about it this week! I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Collin Christensen

September 15, 2014

Hello Family and friends!
Well, we had a pretty average week with plenty of ups and downs.
Something we have been working on is talking with everyone we see. It
seemed to just come natural with my other companions, but Elder Fife
is kind of quiet so we have had to make it more of a focus. We have
seen some cool things happen from it! I've accepted the fact get
sometimes we are just planting seeds when we talk to people, and that
not everyone will want to accept the true gospel in a heartbeat. 

One night we actually walked up to like 10 guys drinking beer on a porch
in a trailer park and they told us to get lost. We laughed and called
them out for being rude and told them who we were, and they were all
surprised and one said "Dos gringos que hablan español?!?" Haha it was
a glorious moment. They offered us tacos and beer (we accepted the
tacos, not the beer) and we just sat there and talked with them. We
ended up teaching them about the Restoration of the gospel and showing
a video. They were all super chill with us by the time we left. I know
it will affect at least one of them in their future! They invited us
back for next time they are having a party (Saturday). 

Haha another guy yesterday was sitting on the street, and also told us to get lost
after we asked him how his day was. I think he calmed down after we
told him we just wanted to give him a picture (of the Phoenix Temple).
We ended up talking for another 30 minutes and teaching him! His view
of missionaries totally changed once he realized we were real people
and that what we had would help him. 

Another time, Elder Kwock had asked this lady walking into her apartment
 if she was Asian...I guess he can do that since he is Asian. Hahah :D 
she said she was from the Philippines and we came back and taught her last week! 
She has read from the Book of Mormon before and is now searching for a purpose in
life.  Anyways, those are a few stories from this last week.
 
We had a Spanish Specialized Training meeting in Glendale last week.
It was great to be around my Spanish speaking buds! We picked up the
elders in Cottonwood on the way down, and one of them is from Mexico
and speaks very little English. He taught us some cool Mexican songs.
His name is Elder Manzano, he is 26 years old, he was working in
Phoenix and the Sister missionaries in our mission found him about a
year and a half ago. He was baptized and got called serve a mission in
the Arizona Phoenix mission! He is such a solid example and friend of
mine, and his dedication to serving The Lord is incredible. His
diligence in learning English has inspired me to strive to learn my
mission Language better.
 
Well, we have been struggling with getting investigators to church,
but many of the less actives we have been working with are starting to
come more and more! Also, I got to play the piano with the kids at
church in Primary! I was pretty rusty but it was fun. :)
 
I love each of you! The Gospel is true! Have a great week!

Elder Collin Christensen

[Quoted text hidden]

Pictures!

 We drive trucks. We take pictures of flowers.

 He wasn't very receptive..

 Mt Elden (We live right at the bottom of it)

Our humble abode!

after 4 hours of studies!!!

 Get your fix on Rte 66! Ash Fork, AZ

 

 

Sept 8, 2014

Hello family and friends!

I am loving this transfer. Elder Fife and I are learning a lot, and we
are just trying to keep up with all the work! We had a huge focus on
Less Active members last week, and there were a lot of LA families who
came to church! One of the less active sisters, Sister Long, got up to
bear her testimony. She talked about how grateful she was for the
Gospel in her life, and now in the lives of her grand kids (Junior and
Tracy just got baptized with Elder Muñoz and I in May), and for the
missionaries always coming by as she brings the Spirit back into her
life. I honestly was questioning if our visits twice a week were
really benefiting her. It was an answer to my prayers to know that
our efforts haven't been wasted.
 
 Also we had an investigator named Josh come for the first time with a
member! He liked it but he left after sacrament meeting because he was
hungry... but at least he didn't smoke for that whole hour! He wants
to be baptized but we will see how soon that can happen.
 
We met some great people last week who are very sincere about learning
the Gospel. We gave a guy named Earlwyn a church tour and he wants be
baptized next month! We also finally got a family we have been
contacting for months to meet us at the church for a tour. David and
Amanda just got married and together they have 6 kids in total now!
They want a good foundation for their kids and they know they will
find it here. They have been really prepared themselves as well, and
also want to be baptized! This family will bless our ward so much.
David is a roofer and can only get Sundays off it is raining, so we
will pray for lots of rain!
 
I'd like to say my Spanish is getting better now, it's definitely
easier to learn and practice with someone else. We get distracted
pretty easy sometimes when we are studying and learn really strange
words. But a member met us at Poliberto's last week (which is dang
good) and she left after we ordered. We went and sat with this man
from Zacatecas, Mexico and talked to him for the whole dinner hour! It
was amazing, he taught us some good words and jokes. He's going to
come to an English class once we get it started.
 
We ate with Bishop Brown last week, and there we met a lady named
Shania. She was kicked out of her church 2 months ago because she got
pregnant, and she was also kicked out of her home. She had no place to
stay and said she had been praying, and one of our members who works
where Shania just got a job gave her Bishops number. At the time in
her life when she is probably questioning her faith most, I can't
imagine a better place for God to guide her to. We are teaching her
again tonight! Prayers are definitely heard, and answered.
So I sent a bunch of pictures from the last 2 months. I hope they all
made it.  I love you all and wish you a happy week!

Elder Collin Christensen

"that is a fridge at a members home in Williams that is just for missionaries...yeah, i know i am getting chubby!"

Happy Labor Day. Sept. 1, 2014

Dear Family and Friends!

My new companion is Elder Joseph Fife! He is from Blackfoot Idaho. But
don't worry, it gets better, he speaks Spanish! We are pumped to be
serving together. He has been out a little less than a year, turned 19
the day he got to Flagstaff, and was actually companions with Elder
Muñoz last transfer in Peoria. We speak Spanish as much as we can, and
he had a hard time switching from Spanish to English. He also spoke
with me both at Kevin's baptism and in Sacrament meeting yesterday. He
also ate some moldy bread in our house his fourth day here and then up
chucked his whole breakfast. Needless to say, we are off to a great
start!

So Bishop Brown asked us both to speak in Sacrament Meeting yesterday
on how to make member missionary work practical. It went really well,
and I got a lot of ideas for my talk from Elder Ballard's talk
"Creating a Gospel-Sharing Home." He said "Creating a gospel-sharing
home is the easiest and most effective way that we can share the
gospel with others" (Creating a Gospel-Sharing Home -
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/creating-a-gospel-sharing-home?lang=eng).
I invite you to read/watch this talk and learn more about SIMPLE
things we can do to create a gospel sharing home. My thesis statement
was "As we consistently live the gospel of Christ, sharing it with
others will become a natural part of who we are." I really believe that


to be true. It's not about how big of a deal we make of sharing the
gospel, it's about the consistent, little efforts we make each day.
 
Elder Fife has taught me a bit about lumberjacks recently, which is
pretty appropriate up here because of NAU. Anyways, cutting a tree
down with an axe will take you quite a while if you only take a few
crazy nutso random swings at a time. The most effective way is to take
consistent, angled swings until the tree falls. I thought that was
sweet! Because sometimes we participate in these huge initiatives the
church does to share the gospel, or in other words we make a couple
big ol' swings, and then we get burned out and discouraged when we
don't see immediate results. Elder Ballard talks about the consistent,
methodical swings we can take, figuratively, in order to be the best
gospel sharing members and missionaries. "Wherefore, be not weary in
well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out
of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33 -
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/64?lang=eng).

Kevin  is pure evidence of this. Kevin was consistently invited
and worked on by members for 10 years before he decided to be baptized
and join the church this last Saturday. 10 years ago he was first
invited to a church function! I am grateful for the consistent efforts
of those members, and for the opportunity I have had to watch and be a
part of his growth. At his baptism this last weekend, he bore a
powerful testimony of the love and truth he has felt. He also made
some delicious cookies for everyone who came, so overall it was a
rewarding experience. Anyways, I hate to ramble, but I know that
members play a powerful role in the Work of Salvation, because I've
seen it firsthand.

Also, Steve received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and will
be blessing the Sacrament next week! It's been amazing to watch the
Atonement of Jesus Christ play take effect in the lives of these two
men. This gospel really is life-changing.

Well I hope you're all well! Sounds like you're having a great Labor
Day weekend! 

 I love you all!

Elder Collin Christensen

August 26, 2014

Lonely mailbox, 
needs letters...

Hello!
So Elder Kwock is getting transferred tomorrow. We are bummed but we
were also expecting it. We finally convinced President Griffin that
having one Spanish Speaking missionary in the Flagstaff, AZ stake is
not the best thing for a brand new Spanish Group. I don't want to jinx
myself like last time, but I'm pretty sure I will get a Spanish companion finally.
It's been a great 6 weeks with Elder Kwock though!
We have had a ton of fun and done a ton of work at the same time. I'm
gonna miss him and his Asian ways a lot. He made me some shark last
week! Haha Anyways, tomorrow the entire mission is meeting for
transfers in the valley for a special training, so we will see how
that goes!


Well, we had some miracles happen last week. Steve ended up getting
baptized on Saturday as planned! He had a bunch of family issues come
up the week before and he was real stressed and worried when he
canceled his baptism. Bishop Brown felt inspired and talked with Steve
last week on Tuesday and assured him he was worthy and ready. So
everything went very smoothly after that and he was able to be
interviewed the day before. At his baptismal service he bore a
powerful testimony of the Savior's love and the restored church, and
everyone there felt the spirit very strong! Our Ward Mission Leader,
Brother Crane, gave him a Preach My Gospel manual and challenged HIM
to teach US his new member lessons! Ha ha!  He is so excited to get the
Priesthood next week and start home teaching etc. He will also be
getting married soon to a sister in another Ward. I'll try to send
some pictures this week or next.

Kevin was able to come to Steve's baptism and he had a great
experience. He is going through some tough opposition from his family
as well this week before his baptism. Yesterday he was pretty
frustrated when we met with him. We pretty much bagged our whole
lesson we had planned and just let him talk. He is such a strong guy,
but the adversary is doing everything it can to stop him from making
his important decision. I have seen this happen time and time again,
for every single person who I've seen prepare for baptism. I guess
Satan knows when we get close to the truth, and it's that trial of our
faith. He probably also knows the potential that people like Steve and
Kevin have, and the lives they will influence as members in the church
for the rest of their lives. They have strong testimonies, and Kevin
will get through the week alright. So please keep them in your
prayers!

To answer your questions mom, it has been a cold August for me up here in Flagstaff, and I will have missed all the summer heat this year.  I'm actually stoked about that. And yes, I teach alone when we visit Spanish people. Sometimes Elder Kwock can follow the conversation, and he will bear his testimony at the end and I will translate for him, or just let them practice their English! I've also been bringing out Spanish speaking members to join me for the Spanish lessons so they can help me out a bit, and Elder Kwock will go do some English lessons with another member.

I know that this church is true. It's undeniable when you watch it change and shape lives each day. I know as we share what the Gospel means to us with others, it comes to mean even more to us.

Have a great week everyone! I love you all!

Elder Collin Christensen