April 6, 2015

Dear Family and Friends!

Well General Conference was fantastic, and it's kinda sad it was my
last one as a missionary! I spent a while before conference praying
about questions and concerns I had for some Investigators and for
myself. Almost every talk addressed one of my questions directly and
gave me a lot to think about! I've mostly been worried about people
who choose to doubt their faith and testimony, and I learned that for
one thing I need to be patient and have more faith that God is in
control, since it's HIS work. I learned we can help others latch onto
the truth they do know while helping them find answers to their honest
questions one at a time. I also learned that sometimes people just
aren't ready, and their testimonies will be rediscovered at the
perfect time in the future. Overall I felt like gained a brighter
understanding of what Jesus Christ did for each of us, how and why.
I've been asking myself lately why it's so easy for us to forget him,
besides two holidays a year when we celebrate his life and mission.
I'm learning that when we can successfully keep our promise to "always
remember him" each day, we feel the Holy Ghost in greater abundance
and enjoy our lives more completely. I'm setting a plan for myself so
that I can "seek the Lord" and remember him each and everyday, even
when I am not a missionary anymore. Anyways, I hope you all got the
chance to watch General Conference, and whether or not you did that
you go to LDS.org to watch and study these talks regularly. If you
watch or read 1-2 talks each week starting this week you will be able
to study all the talks again before General Conference in October!

We had a great week, with significantly less hiccups than the previous
three weeks. We saw an awesome example of member missionary work. A
member was praying for missionary opportunities and an ability to
invite several of his friends he was thinking about. Instead of those
friends, a random acquaintance from work approached him and asked to
"learn about Mormons" and so we taught his friend for the first time
last week! This was a prime example of how to exercise faith and
desire in the Lord's work, and how the Lord rewards us in ways we
wouldn't expect. We will be teaching him again tonight! Another tender
mercy this week was when we were out in the boonies of our ward making
visits, and as we were on our way back into town we got a call from a
family who had hit a bear on their drive to Missouri and the daughter
was in bad shape. They were right by the Flagstaff airport and they
just so happened to call us right before we passed the exit to the
airport. We got there within a minute of him calling us and were able
to give his daughter a Priesthood blessing. It was pretty amazing how
the timing worked out!
Well I love each of you and hope to hear what your favorite parts of
conference were! Have an awesome week!

Elder Collin Christensen

March 30, 2015

Buenas tardes!

I'm pretty wiped so I'm sorry this will be short. This week we had a
lot of success as far as finding and teaching this week! We are
finally starting to see some balance between our work in the family
Ward and the work in the YSA ward. We began teaching a guy named
Arnaud who is solid! He has been going to institute classes for the
last couple semester. He previously investigated but his parents made
him stop. Now he is at college and realizes this is something he wants
in his life. It's crazy yet so obvious that we are naturally drawn to
the gospel in our lives.  We also began teaching a Chinese Scholar
here at NAU. He has broken English but understands pretty good, and he
is super interested in Mormonism. He enrolled in every institute class
we offer and is now taking missionary lessons! A member is bringing
him and a group of 15+ other Chinese students to the Easter Pageant at
the Mesa Temple, and also to the Payson, Utah temple open house! They
are awesome and will be going back to China soon, but the amazing
thing is that the Church's representative in China has a son living in
our stake who is helping us! Since no one can be baptized yet in China
unless they are family, this is a super neat opportunity to help them
accept the gospel now that they are here so their families will have
it in the future. He told us that to him the family was the most
important social unit in his perspective. He pointed at the Family
Proclamation to the World on our wall and said "that is Chinese
Culture." Once again, it's evidence that the gospel just has a
familiar "ring" to it when you begin to discover it with an open
heart.
In addition to these awesome successes cam some pretty huge setbacks
and trials last week. We went from having 6 on date to be baptized to
3, and 2 of them completely stopped meeting with us due to anti Mormon
material and just pressure in general. It's been tough to live with an
understand why it's all happening at once. This is the most busy, fun,
fruitful, and rewarding area I've ever served in, and yet it's also
proven to have the most stress, frustration and disappointment. Mostly
because we've had to watch people we love gain testimonies from the
Holy Ghost and then not act upon it, and even completely ignore it.
That's been the hardest thing for me to deal with. When someone sees
the fruits of the gospel, lives it, loves it, knows it's true, commits
to follow the commandments, and then totally lets go. That kills me
more than anything. And yet I know God has a plan for me, and a
purpose for me at this time to experience these setbacks. It's good,
it's teaching me patience and humility that's for sure!
Well I love you all and hope you have a lovely Easter weekend watching
General Conference! Remember to share the new video on
helives.mormon.org, or watch it if you haven't yet!

Elder Collin Christensen

March 16, 2015

Hey family and friends!

So this last week wasn't too noteworthy, other than the 3 new Investigators we got from other missionary companionships. They are pretty awesome. One of them has been having a lot of hesitation about joining the church. We had a pretty powerful first lesson with her where we found out the real reason she is hesitant is because her family is not supportive at all. That seems to be the biggest issue with all our Investigators. But we committed her to be baptized April 25 and she accepted! 

We had another Investigator this week, Sophie, who was almost the exact same! She wants to read the Book of Mormon all the way through before she gets baptized. She has definitely felt and recognized the Spirit in our lessons, and kept saying how "good" she felt. We shared this scripture with her to help her realize she doesn't need to know everything before she takes a step of faith. In fact if she did, it wouldn't really be a step of faith.

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.
For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.
For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."
Moroni 7:13-16
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng

Good things come from God! Looking back on how I have gained a testimony, it has been through following the simple and "good" things that bring happiness, and realizing that they do in fact come from God, and that he does give us the ability to judge that we need in order to make the right choices. Anyways, right after we shared that scripture she committed to be baptized April 11 immediately! It was one of those power-house type lessons that really reminded me of my testimony as I bore it.

The funny part was right after our lesson when she locked her keys in her car. Our Ward mission leader happens to be a former patrol officer/tracker/prepper/gunslinger/double black belt in every martial art/self defense instructor/etc....... Pretty much he can do almost anything. So we called him up and he picked her lock for her. Haha She said "wow, being in the church really pays off!"

I also went on exchanges back in my old Spanish area again, that was a blast. There's definitely things I miss (like the food and the awesome people and the hilarious drunk men chillin' on their porch) and things I don't miss (like dogs trying to eat us in trailer parks and lessons falling through). 

Well anyways, have a fabulous week!

Elder Collin Christensen

March 9, 2015

Hi Family And Friends!

We have had a busy but great week! Tuesday we had a mission-wide
conference for Technology with Brother Randall from the missionary
department and Elder Malm from the 70. We received new iPads and
training, and won't be using Facebook for a while because the church
is resetting technology for missionaries. Luckily the snow stopped so
we were able to make it down to the conference in Phoenix!

We have been struggling to find new people to teach for the last few
weeks. So far we have found at least 1 each week, but we decided to
set a goal for two this week. We knew that there were two people we
could find and start teaching, so we made some more specific plans to
visit people on our records who hadn't been visited in a long time.
Well, none of them went through! A couple said we could come back
another time, but until Sunday night we hadn't started teaching anyone
new. Out of the blue Bishop Larson in our family ward texted us and
asked if we could come home teaching with him at 8:00pm. So we visited
a less active lady, and she had 2 roommates who sat in on the lesson
and said they wanted to learn more! Not only did we reach the goal we
had set, but I realized that the Lord doesn't always work how we think
he does, or how we think he will. He has a plan, and he supports us in
our righteous goals and efforts. It's a humbling experience when you
realize that you still accomplished something great, but not in any
way that you had planned for, and not necessarily directly through our
efforts. I love the fact that God is 100% our biggest fan. He is on
our team and will back us up. His plan for us is actually in our
favor, because we know that if we are on his team we will win no
matter what! But if we think we can do it ourselves we will be limited
to only what we can make of ourselves.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths"
(Proverbs 3:5-6; http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/prov/3?lang=eng).


I know this scripture is true! It can apply to each and every one of us!

I had the chance to do an exchange with an Elder that was struggling
last week. He is going home in a few week and is feeling less and less
motivation each day. It was easy to see he hasn't been enjoying his
mission. One of my favorite things is being able to just be someone's
friend, rather than just telling them to buck up and trying to give
them all the solutions to their problems. Throughout the day we taught
some awesome people and had some great conversations. By the end of
the day I realized I had learned a ton from this Elder and I told him
so! It was cool to see how he responded. He was more open, and honest
with himself and others. He was happier and more obedient. It just
shows me how valuable it is to be someone's friend and to be
completely open and honest. It goes such a long way!

I love being a missionary in Arizona. As the First Presidency has
said, we are "Disciples of the Lord in the Digital Age." What an
awesome time to be a part of the hastening if the work of salvation!
The work will hasten, either with or without us. So we should do our
part!
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew
24:14; http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/24?lang=eng).
I love you all!

Elder Collin Christensen

A Few Pictures

This is our temple trip with Rachel and Crystal, two of our recent converts from January. They did baptisms for the dead for some of the family names Elder Madsen and I found. 

I Found Home!''

The Sherwood Forest place is just a random place on the side of the main road in flagstaff. Haha 

March 2, 2015

Hey Friends and Family!

We got hit by another snow storm this last weekend and today. The
whole zone has to stay in because the roads are so slick, and
yesterday church was cancelled. It's kind of fun yet it kind of stinks
because we have to cancel all our lessons.
We had interviews this week with President Griffin. He gave us some
tips on how we could help some struggling missionaries. Tomorrow we
are getting new iPads and a whole new training on how to use them. It
should be interesting, that is if we even get there because of the
snow.
Well Ashley has to push her baptism back to April unfortunately. She
is having a lot of doubts, family struggles and we spent most of this
week just trying to help her recognize the testimony she does have.
The same with Sophie, a newer Investigator. She is realizing she feels
the Spirit as she reads the Book of Mormon, but still doubts it.
 I love what Alma says in chapter 32. Now it means more than ever. We
have to plant the seed of the word of God. We have to exercise our
faith and believe that in planting it and nurturing it, it will grow
and bring us happiness! So we plant it and nurture it, and it grows!
It then Alma says that our "knowledge is perfect" that the seed is
good. Somehow, somewhere in the process, doubt often slips in though.
Sometimes it's because the seed is neglected, not nourished properly,
or planted in bad ground. But the most important thing is to keep
nourishing a growing testimony. A small testimony is still a
testimony! Don't let yourself doubt all the good experiences and
knowledge you have gained just because it may be small right now! What
I love most is that our spiritual testimony "seeds" will never stop
growing. Anyways, I know that what I have learned and come to know is
absolutely true. I know that conversion is a process of a lifetime,
but each step brings us closer to our Heavenly Father. The main
questions really is, are we willing to take those steps? We would
appreciate your prayers for Ashley and Sophie specifically this week.
I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Collin Christensen

February 23, 2015 Snow...

Dear Family and Friends,

We got hit by another snow storm last night, it's a pretty wet one too! But it's definitely needed, it's been a super dry winter. 

Saturday was definitely a highlight for the week! Isabel got baptized, and her parents flew in from California just to come to the service. They are from Mexico City and I had a blast speaking in Spanish with them. They accepted a Book of Mormon and some pamphlets afterwards and maybe even some missionary visits eventually! So that was exciting. Isabel has such a solid testimony of the Gospel. Remember when I shared that scripture in Mosiah 2:41 about how living the gospel will inevitably bring us happiness? Well Isabel's life is evidence of that. She knows who she is now, she lives her life based on that knowledge, and in her own words it's the "happiest [she's] ever been." She bore her testimony after the baptism and most everyone was in tears, it was pretty awesome. :) 

It seemed like everyone got sick this week and canceled our appointments. There's a nasty bug going around. I was lucky enough to catch it on my birthday, but other than that I had a great day! Thanks for the packages mom and dad! 

All the Elders in Flagstaff were asked to sing a musical number in our Stake Priesthood meeting yesterday and it was pretty bad. Haha We didn't have a director or anything to go off really, so we just picked Ye Elders of Israel in the hymn book and I played the piano. There are a few tone deaf elders that love to sing loud, I kinda slaughtered the intro, and everyone sang super quiet to begin with, so overall it was a bit of a train wreck. It's good to know they just wanted us there so people could see who the Elders were and not for our musical talent, or lack thereof. 

Besides loads of meetings, we had a relatively mellow week. We began teaching a couple who are probably 70+ and they are awesome people. We found them by asking some members who we could serve, and they sent us to a member who struggles with health, Brother Watkins. We went over and he told us he had given a Book of Mormon to his neighbors and that we could visit them. So we did! Silvia and Red is what they called themselves, and as soon as we sat down they just unloaded their questions. It was way cool to see how excited and interested they were since they had done a lot of searching and never felt like they belonged in any church, but we just had a hard time explaining to them that we couldn't teach them everything at once. Haha it's a good problem to have though. It neat to see how the Lord prepares his children and guides us to them in ways we wouldn't imagine. 

I know the original Church and Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth today. I can't deny the testimony I have received of that as I have studied, learned and taught it these last 18 months. I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves each of us, every one! 

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 8:38-39; http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/8?lang=eng)

I would love to hear how each of you are doing, how you gained your testimonies, and/or hear any questions you may have about the church! 

I love you all and wish you a safe and happy week!

Elder Collin Christensen