11/2/15 - Truly, sweet is the work!

Hello friends and family! Another week has come and gone. I can't
believe week 5 of this transfer has begun! That means transfer emails
are next Tuesday. Crazy! We will see what happens. Our zone leader,
Elder Tovar, just became the new assistant to the president so we will
see who our new one is! Which makes me super bummed, because he was my
last zone leader as well in east zone. Ever since I met him I hoped I
would be able to go on an exchange with him. I had my chance to when I
went on exchanges with the zone leaders but his companion went with me
instead. Hopefully I will have another chance to before he goes home.
Love that guy. He is a hard worker!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Isn't it crazy how fast the
holidays come and go? Everyone was so excited for it, but now it's
gone just like that. The good holidays are coming up now. I'm going to
miss y'all and grandma's incredible cooking. Rolls, 7 layer jello,
turkey.... Mmmmm. If I'm in this area again we will eat dinner with
the Cramer's. I like them so it will be fun.

Speaking of Halloween, it went well for us. We don't have any specific
rules from our mission president for Halloween but he gave us
suggestions for things we could do inside. We had dinner with the
Hansen family. She made some delicious chili and rice and then we
talked to the people she invited over to join them. It was about 6:15
when we left and we rode through one neighborhood and got plenty of
unkind, weird looks which was uncomfortable so we decided it would be
safest to go home. On our way home a middle aged couple called out to
us and we went over and had a conversation about religion on their
front porch for an hour which was awesome. They were devout Catholics
but they love Mormons because we are also devout. It was nice, they
were nice people. During the day we just proselyted like normal.
Weirdly enough no one was home. I'm pretty sure out of the 30 people
we tried only 10 answered.

So yes, it has rained like crazy here as of late. It has been way fun!
Some tornados touched down all around Austin. And downtown Austin was
completely flooded. Was kind of cool to see on the news. But anyways,
the trail we ride is the brushy creek trail and right next to that
trail is, oddly enough, brushy creek! When it rains that creek becomes
a gushing river and that trail gets destroyed. It becomes one giant
muddy mess! We were a little worried on Halloween that we wouldn't be
able to get to dinner because brushy creek trail is the only way to
get there. Thanks heavens the Lord is aware of all of us and some
members offered us a ride to get over there. There's is little bridge
that leads to a neighborhood that goes over brushy creek and water was
rushing over it. See the photo at the end of the email. It's been an
adventure. Lots of beautiful sunsets as of late too.

We had district meeting this past Froday. I love my district. I
thought my other districts were good, but this one is awesome! A bunch
of great missionaries and great people. Love them lots! Sister Storms
is going home next week and we will miss her. I'm very impressed by
her not showing it at all. She doesn't seem homesick or ready to be
done, she is finishing strong! After district meeting we have district
lunch. I think our favorite place to go is Torchies tacos. It is
delicious. I am always impressed whenever I eat there. They have a big
menu of different tacos they make and I order two tacos and a drink,
sometimes queso which is delicious chip dip. Yummy stuff!

I always enjoy testimony meeting, but these two Wards really struggle
with it. I consider myself kind of patient with others, but man, it
truly is a test of my patience with others when fast and testimony
meeting happens and everyone tells a story. I think the only time
Christ was mentioned was at the end, in the name of.... It was awful.
Two people gave their testimonies and there was five minutes left.
That's my rant for the week. Moral of the story, please keep your
testimony centered on Christ and the basic doctrines of the gospel.
Let's really give sacrament meeting back to Christ.

We have continued to bike around and stop by less actives and
prospective elders. We are making progress! We started to work smarter
this last week and it payed off. We met some families who said they
would like us to come back or stop by when we are in the area. Last
night for example, we went by a single guy on the records and he has a
wife and 3 kids who aren't baptized but said we could come back next
weekend because that's when its best to catch them. We talked for a
little while and they opened up. We also met a single lady who was
raised LDS but has fallen away. She was also totally open to us coming
back. She has a husband that isn't a member. There is so much work to
do, it's all about looking in the right places. 5 weeks later, we
finally have some direction in the work! We are going to start meeting
with a recent converts nephew who now lives with him. Lots to look
forward to! I struggle a little bit in this area with my lack of
helping others. It feels as if we don't help as many people in this
area. Not as many people wanting helping or seeing the need for it.
But I was reminded this week that I really do have lots and lots of
opportunities to help. It's up to me to see them and see opportunities
to serve as just that, service. No matter how big or small. As we were
going by less actives and PE's we stopped by a family we didn't know.
We knock and it turns out it's an active single mom in the Ward.
Sister Duncan! It turns out her brother in law is Weylan Duncan, who
used to be in Columbia Ward when we were there. Funny huh? But she
asks us if we have dinner and our dinner fell through so we said no.
She invited us to come back during dinner time and we gladly accepted.
A homemade meal is a beautiful thing to missionaries. We go back and
she chats our ears off, but at the end she says thank you so much for
coming back, I adding get to have adult conversation very often. She
is a single mom with an autistic younger son who requires lots of
attention, and a 10 year old. I'm sure it was a wonderful break for
her to talk for a little bit and relax. Apparently Heavenly Father
needed us to go and listen that day. Not as many big things we can do,
but lots of little acts of service. But isn't that the truth for life?
We all have tons of opportunities for little acts of service
throughout our days. As we serve daily, we love those we serve. We all
want to express our love for others anyways, and small chances to do
so are given to us everyday!

I had the privilege of going on exchanges with Elder Hunt on Friday.
He has only been out for 3 months but he is awesome! I learned so much
from him. He doesn't take anything personally and works so well with
others. He tries to have fun and shares the gospel at the same time.
Great thing to learn! They have been incredibly, incredibly blessed as
of late with prepared people to work with. They have been working with
a lady named Diana who knows the gospel is true. When we she found out
she couldn't be baptized unless she was married to the person she
lives with she almost instantly filed for divorce. Now she is just
waiting for the divorce to be finalized so she can be baptized. How
cool is that? So excited for her to experience the blessings of the
Holy Ghost. It truly is an incredible gift. We also met with a family
that a 16 year old referred the missionaries to. It was one of the
most powerful lessons I have ever been in. The 18 year old daughter
said she wants the truth and is willing to do anything to find out
what it is. By the end, she understood that reading the BoM and
praying about it was how she was going to find out if it was true. She
said if she finds out this is the truth and it's what is good she will
do it, be baptized. How cool is that? The spirit was so strong the
whole time. The dad also sat in the lesson and the younger brother as
well. Everyone wants to be baptized except the dad. Hopefully he comes
around, and he will. It might take some time though. He said that he
didn't understand why God would use prophets back then and not now. So
obviously he will come around. It was a very, very cool day. In
conclusion, elder hunt is awesome and it was a great day. Exchanges
are way fun and I get to learn a lot. Win win.

I was studying guidance from the spirit this morning and President
Eyring gave two talks on this topic this last general conference. One
of them was in the priesthood session. But in that talk he says we
find out what we need to do, and then the Lord will magnify it. If we
find out our role is to be friends with others and share with them the
light of the gospel, the Lord will do the rest to help them come to
Him and His gospel. He magnifies every good thing we do. Nothing good
we do goes to waste! Very cool talk, I'd recommend it.

Share the gospel my friends, life will be sweet as can be! Love you
all. You are all awesome and God loves you very much. Everything we go
through is intended to help us become stronger. The stronger the wind,
the stronger the trees! Have a blessed week!

Love,
Elder Christensen
Do Good Stuff!

9/28/15 - God Bless America!

Instead of 100's all week it has been in the low 90's. Definitely a
difference! I first noticed on p-day. Normally after playing
basketball and I step outside I feel like I might melt, but last p-day
I stepped outside and it was bearable. Some more leaves are starting
to fall off the trees, a little more windy, and more clouds. We had a
little thunder and lightning storm the other day with a little rain.
Anywho, that's the weather update. I'm not sure what the weather man
is predicting this coming week.

First off, an observation!

Texas is different. The people are different. The church is different,
but still true. In Washington the missionaries were just there. They
did their job, the Ward was there to help when needed, and life was
good. Something I have noticed lately is that in Texas everyone looks
up to the missionaries. The missionaries are everything and they are
another set of leaders in the Ward. It seems like the leadership role
of a missionary in the wards is bigger here than in other places. It's
not just in this Ward I think. From talking to other missionaries it
sounds the same way. I'm not sure why that is, but it is. Of course
all missionaries have a huge role in the Ward they serve in, but in
Texas it's different. People really look up to you and notice
everything you do, and then they will do the same. I don't know, it's
different.

About the week, it was busy with baptisms! We had Jessica's baptism on
Saturday and Michael's baptism on Sunday. We have been working with
Jessica since I first got here, 7 months ago. Originally we were
helping her husband be baptized which happened the first month I was
here. Then, we asked Jessica if she would like to take the lessons and
she said sure. She said she liked the change that she saw in her
husband. So we taught her every Wednesday and Sunday. We invited her
to be baptized and she said no. We continued to teach her for a couple
months and then invited her to be baptized again, she said no. We
continued to teach her and then asked her if she would like to be
baptized, she said no. We then taught her a lesson but before hand we
talked to her about her feel is towards the church and what not. She
told us her observations and feelings and then we asked her if she
would like to be a part of this church. She said yes! We set her with
a date and then worked towards it. A month later she was baptized! All
the effort payed off. It was very cool to see the change that the
gospel brought into her life and the change that will continue to
occur as she stays faithful to the gospel.

Her baptism was awesome. There was about 15 people that came. Her
husband was able to baptize her and when she came back out she looked
like the happiest person in the world. The light that was illuminating
from her was very impressive. It was so sweet. The people that didn't
come missed out for sure. Then we had her confirmation the next day.
That was good too! The gift of the Holy Ghost is a wonderful thing. It
truly cleanses us and prepares us to live with God.

Sunday was also fast Sunday. Fast Sunday's are fun because we get to
bear testimony. It's a great opportunity to do so. I always feel for
the bishop when someone gets up there and rambles on and tells
stories. The bishop in this Ward always tries to keep things on task
and about the savior but alas, that is very tricky to do.

We also aren't teaching gospel principles class anymore which is so
nice. The people that come to that class are investigators and they
probably want someone else to teach them. It's fun, but it got old so
I am grateful.

Michael's baptism was good too! He has been trying to get baptized for
the past 2 years but because of some issues he has had to wait until
now. But he's baptized now, so all is well! Rachelle, his wife, really
wants an eternal family. He does too but not as much. He will come
around though. He's a good guy.

We've been having to make all the baptismal programs as of late which
isn't bad at all. I've gotten pretty good at it. The rough part is
finding a way to print them out.in our apartment complex we have a
little office area in the main office that has two computers. So we
make the programs there. They have a nice printer, but they have been
out of ink for the past month. How they print out anything they need I
don't know! So making them is easy, getting them printed is the pain.

The apartment office is a funny place. They have been trying to hire
some new people for a while now and they finally did. His name is Roy,
rather funny. But everyone in the office is really mean to him which
is so weird. He takes it though, he's a good guy. We listen to their
conversations a lot when we make programs. Poor guy. Everyone is
really nice to us though. Speaking of the apartment, we are teaching a
guy that lives right next to us. His name is Conald. He watches us
back our cars out when we leave for the day and he's often out on the
steps on the phone. We talked to him one day and he said we could come
and share our message with him. He's had a rough life and he was
really interested in the BoM. We talked about the plan of salvation
and we shared some scriptures out of the BoM we though might help him.
He has had a hard life and he has been looking for relief from some
mistakes he has made. He said the BoM helped him feel better. It's
always very cool to go into someone's house and teach the gospel and
feel the spirit, and then the whole feeling in the room is different
when we leave. It's like the whole room is elevated to a higher plane.
Even if we don't do a very good job teaching, the spirit is always
consistent and pulls through. It happened a couple times this past
week.

We also had a week full of dinners! Every day this past week someone
fed us. It was wonderful. We had dinner with the Vaughns which was
probably my favorite. She's so horribly independent it's awesome! They
are a very funny couple, very fun. We talked about art, family
history, and their grandkids! We also had dinner with the Wernetts who
bought us pizza. We got lost trying to find their house though. It
should of taken like 40 minutes to get there but it took about an hour
and a half. Even with the gps it was a struggle. But their daughter
that they adopted is interested in being baptized so we will start to
teach her. They are fun to go over to because they have 3 fun boys.
One of them really likes to draw so I always try to teach him stuff I
know. I showed him the color wheel and he thought it was the coolest
thing. It was nice to have someone appreciate my art knowledge, even
if he is only 10. Then on Saturday the bishop had us over and we had a
fun dinner. They have such a cool house out in the country on a bunch
of land. It was fun.

We had to get the flu shot is week. Apparently everyone in the mission
is required to get it. Funny, elder West hates shots so he was a
little nervous. But all was well.

They switched transfer calls to transfer emails and they come on
Tuesday. I will know tomorrow if I stay or leave. My guess is leave,
but who knows.

All in all, good week! If you would like a good chapter to read, John
4 in the New Testament is a rest one. Lots to learn from the woman at
the well. It's very, very cool! Jesus the Christ will help.

Have a great week.

Love,
Elder Christensen
Do Good Stuff!

5/24/15 - A tender mercy from Texas ...

Wendy (Kade's mom here) -

I love the kindness of strangers ... I was touched by this photo of Elder Christensen and the little text that came with it:

Dear Sister Christensen, today we were visiting our son in Texas where we ran into your missionary son, serving. I am attaching a sweet photo of him with our precious grandson, named ... Kade Christensen same as your young man! Same spelling and your Elder even pinned his name plate on the perspective Elder. Thought you would enjoy the photo.
Hugs from another Sister C.

THANK YOU!

Elder Christensen ...

On Sunday, February 15th at 9:00 AM at our house, Kade was set apart as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

President Pulsipher, our Stake President, set him apart.

It was a wonderful experience! We were all touched by the Spirit of love and peace that was present.