8/24/15 - Woof!

Hello again my friends and my family.

This week was a swell week.

Monday: soccer for p-day, fun! Then we went and played basketball. Me
and elder west balled it up. I can't seem to beat him. He gets me in
game 3 every time. One of these days I'll get him. We then had a
lesson with the Domino family. They are all members except the husband
and he is coming along quite nicely. They came to church yesterday!

Tuesday: For whatever reason they decided to do transfer emails
instead of transfer calls. So we got our transfer email on Tuesday. I
will be staying in the first ward with elder west. Transfer 5! Almost
half my mission will be here. Crazy!

Wednesday: I think we had a thunder and lightning storm on Wednesday
which was so random. It was fun though. We had an appointment with a
lady in our ward but her power went out. She called us and said its
raining too hard don't come over! But it wasn't raining where we live.
She loves way out in the boonies and it seems to rain there then come
our way. Our area is so much fun. We have the city part but then about
75% of the area is all country. It's fun. We went and visited another
family in our ward to help them with their missionary work. We drove
50 minutes to get to their house and they are still in the ward
boundaries. They drive 50 minutes every Sunday with 5 young girls.
Talk about dedicated!

Thursday: The mission had a lot of cars taken away lately so we were
asked to go to transfer meeting to help transport people. It was nice,
I always enjoy hearing our president give us wise words of counsel. So
we helped some elders get to their apartment them we went out and
worked for the day. We have a new elder in our apartment, elder Cruz.
He's a nice guy, very social. He cooks us food which is always
appreciated. We then took another elder back over to stone oak which
is about 30 minutes away so he could get his new companion who came
from Austin. Lots of driving that day!

Friday: I cannot remember. Something happened, but what? I'm not sure...

Saturday: Our teaching pool is running low again so we tried to find
new people on Saturday for most of the day. We did have an appointment
with Glenda though to break up the day. We then had dinner with the
bishop and his family and they invited the Lomas family over for
dinner as well. Super fun to have dinner with them. Always a good
conversation and good food. We then went to the church to work more on
transferring data from the paper area book to the iPad.

Glenda isn't very interested in the gospel but she really enjoys
having us come over. So we go over and share a message/lesson with her
from time to time. It will take time but she might come around. We
will see! Only God knows.

We also started visiting with a sweet older less active lady. She's
like a grandma! Now we have two. Sister Heckenlievely and Sister
Sullivan. Fun, sweet ladies.

I think it was Tuesday but we almost got eaten by a pack of dogs. We
went to go knock on a ladies house and we almost step on her porch and
all of a sudden we hear ferocious dogs start barking and running at us
from the back yard at full speed. So scary. I tell elder west to start
running but he's paralyzed with fear. I start running but they are way
too fast so I just stop and wait for death. But thank heavens they are
well trained and the lady just yells at them to stop so they do. She
then yells at us to never come back. I really thought we might get
bitten a few times. So that was exciting.

We also saw some gorgeous sunsets these past few days. Always a bonus!

I am continuing to enjoys the mission life. Studying the scriptures
each morning is a wonderful blessing and is a huge boost and prepares
me for the day. All the growing pains and heat and dogs are worth it!

It was a good week. I enjoyed it lots. Lots of growth! Elder west is
doing well. We continue to grow together each day.

Jesus Christ lives and He is our Savior. It is the truth!

I love you all! But so does God and because He loves you, you can trust Him.
Do Good Stuff
Elder Christensen

8/17/15 - Fastest week yet; fastest transfer yet‏

Monday - 8/17/15

Not sure where the time goes. Out the window I think.

Our zone was challenged today by south zone to a game of soccer. So we
had studies until 10 then headed over to the designated spot for the
ultimate game of soccer. We destroyed. It wasn't even a competition.
We have Elder Tovar in our zone so it was easy. He's a soccer prodigy.
He doesn't even have to try and he can get to the goal with ease. Way
fun, I wish we played more soccer around here.

The transfer ends on Thursday and it has been a great opportunity to
learn with Elder West. He has awesome leadership skills and has helped
me grow. We might be together this next transfer or we might not be.
Normally I would know transfer information by now but they are sending
out a mass email tomorrow. You shall find out next p-day what's
happened.

Highlights:

District meeting: elder Forbush is a great guy and a great leader.
I've enjoyed being in his district. He's always smiling and helping
others feel good. This next transfer we should have at least 4
baptisms so it was mostly focused on setting up baptisms and making
sure they are a spiritual event for everyone involved. There was some
good stuff mentioned. We then had our weekly Panda Express run. That's
always fun. If I stay yay, if I leave yay. I don't care which at this
point. I've been here for 6 months, another month and a half won't be
a problem.

Dinner with the Morins: I love them so much. They are such good
people. They invited us over for dinner and we had a very relaxing
dinner and conversation. Always fun to get to know the members better.
They then bought us tons of food, so I'm pretty sure we won't be going
shopping today. Our ward is good to us.

Dinner with the Heifeners: Always eventful. We had dinner with them
and then had a lesson with one of our investigators who came to dinner
with us. He's an 11 year old kid with lots of spunk.

Scripture class: To get the members involved in the work we have
started a scripture study night. We made flyers for it and hopefully
we will be able to get some people to come. I think with time we will
be able to get people involved.

Michael: A while back we knocked into a guy named Michael. We picked
his house, knocked, and he let us in! He told us that he had just
prayed to God to know how he could give his life to Him. It was an
instant answer to his prayers. He recognizes us as servants of the
Lord, it's cool. We talked about the BoM and how it helps us. It went
to the back of my mind for whatever reason but recently we felt like
we needed to go back. We did and we had an awesome restoration lesson
and set him with a baptism date. He just wants his kids to be happy
and have God in their life because he didn't have that growing up.
Everyone loves their families and wants what's best for them. If you
can help others see how the gospel will bless their family, you've got
them hooked! That would be my advice for member missionaries. Address
the importance of the family because everyone loves their families.
Preach my gospel has some great stuff on this topic that you can check
out if you'd like.

I think one of my favorite things about working with others is seeing
how God has prepared them throughout their life to receive the gospel.
If people aren't born into the gospel then the preparation needed for
them to receive it starts before they come to earth.

I would just like to say that God hears every prayer. If you don't
know what to turn to, turn to God!

Sorry family, not the most exciting letter but I really cannot
remember what happened this week. I will do better this next week of
writing stuff down.

I love you all and I am so glad we will be together forever.
Do Good Stuff!
Elder Christensen

How many days until Christmas?

As a missionary we actually do listen to quite a bit of music. It's
all gospel and Christ centered of course but we do listen to music.
All the good stuff always ends up being Christmas stuff and it always
makes me want Christmas to be here sooner. Actually the most popular
music on the mission is The Lower Lights, so props to you Cherie Call.
I have become quite familiar with their music.

Every morning before companionship study our apartment gets together
and sings some hymns and has a prayer. The most fun ones to sing are
the Christmas ones which only adds to the longing for Christmas. Far,
far away on Judea's plane is one of my new favorites. Glory to God in
the highest!

On Monday we had p-day, of course, and we decided to go to the Alamo.
It's only like 10 minutes away from where our apartment is. It was
very neat. I can now say I have been to the Alamo. We then had a
lesson with Michael and his fiancé. They are getting married soon and
Michael wants to be baptized. Kinda cool how we got in contact with
them. So we send a scripture text every morning and we accidentally
sent the scripture to the wrong group. Well the lady who contacted us
was in this group and she ended up calling us and setting up an
appointment. Pretty cool! Then we went and met with Derek. He's an 11
year old that wants to be baptized too.

Tuesday, I can't remember what happened so probably not much. I think
we met with Glenda and Christella. Not much progress, but they are
trying.

Wednesday we had district meeting. In our district at the moment we
have us, 1st ward, the other elders on our apartment, mission creak,
and the woodlake sisters. Only 6 missionaries, which is normal.
Anyways, we thought it would be a good idea to have a musical number
thrown in there. We sang a round, a shepherds carol. It was awful. But
fun nonetheless. We then went to a great burger place and had yummy
burgers. Then we had a breakthrough! Every Wednesday and Sunday we
meet with the Lomas family. Aaron has recently gotten a calling as Cub
Scout leader dude so he's gone on Wednesdays now so it was just us and
sis lomas. Well let me back up. Last Sunday when we met with them sis
Lomas said she felt like she was ready to be baptized. Hallelujah! We
have been meeting with her for two days a week since I first started
my mission, in March. Hear baptism is planned for Sep. 26th and it is
so exciting. But when it was just us and her she really opened up and
told us her feelings about church, what she's been praying for, how's
she gotten an answer, what she wants to do, how excited she is to go
to the temple, etc. it was awesome! Now whenever we go over and teach
she is so much more open and relaxed. It's also been so cool to see
her progress. When I first started teaching her she was very shy and
didn't participate much. Everything seemed to be a burden to her. Now
she smiles, laughs, plays with her kids, talks to us openly and to
people at church. She says she hasn't felt this positive about life
ever. She has seen a total change in perspective about life. And when
we used to go over and teach there was always a good feeling in the
home, but last not when we went in it was incredible warmth and just
filled with the spirit. They seem so much closer as a family, so much
more united and happier. So in a year they can go through the temple
and receive the wonderful blessings of the temple. So exciting! Glad I
had the privilege to be apart of their journey. D&C 18:15 talks about
bringing souls unto Christ. It says if you bring once soul into Christ
how great shall be your joy with them in the kingdoms of my father.
The people we help come unto Christ we better like, because we will be
with them for eternity in the kingdom of God. Great verse!

Thursday was weekly planning but me and Elder West have become good friends.

Friday was a slower day. We proselyted and looked for people who would
listen to the message of the restoration. I finally like to proselyte.
It's fun and it feels good to share the gospel. The better you become
at sharing the gospel effectively the happier you are and that comes
from knowledge of how to do it. Preach my gospel is such a good tool
to use and to study, love that book. We then had a lesson with a less
active guy and called it a day.

Saturday was a similar day. Not much to report on.

Sunday was great, like all Sunday's. We had the privilege of going to
ward council this week which is always so fun. Our bishop has really
seen the importance lately of helping the people we bring into the
church stay into the church. It's awesome! We now have his full
support and trust. Things are on the uphill climb for the 1st ward. We
have a great bishop. Good stuff was discussed there. I really think I
came to this area not only to help investigators or non members but
also members too. I have definitely been called to the San Antonio
mission by inspiration! Sister lomas even stayed for all 3 hours and
loved relief society. Great day! We then went over and taught Jalissa
and destiny. They are in a tough spot and I hope they will act on the
message we share. Jesus Christ is there for everyone and to help with
all things. We then went over to the lomas house and had a good lesson
on following Christ and doing what's right. I then had the privilege
to give bro. Lomas sr a blessing. I take the priesthood for granted.
They don't! They see what a blessing it is to have the Melchizedek
priesthood, and they are starting to help me see it too.

Something that I run into a lot here in Texas is people are very
content with what they have. Most people don't have a desire to
change. I read Alma 36 this morning because it talks about what a
belief in Christ can do for us. In Alma 36:3 it says Christ will
support us in our troubles, and our trials, and our afflictions, and
we shall be lifted up at the last day. That is what a belief in Christ
can do for us. It leads to eternal life and complete support in this
life. We also learn in v. 20 that as we turn to Christ our souls are
filled wi joy and light. That is the only way to have that light
within us! It's His light, how do we have His light? Follow Him. It's
a good message. Glad I have the privilege to share it.

I also love in Alma 36:2 how it talks about bondage. I love when the
scriptures talk about bondage. Such good symbolism, only Christ can
free us from the bondage of death and sin and all trials both temporal
and spiritual. His yoke truly is easy and His burden is light.

D&C 76:22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of
him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he
lives!

Amen!

I love you all, thanks for taking the time to write and send emails.
It's always uplifting!
Have a great week

Sincerely,
Elder Christensen
Do Good Stuff

8-3-15 / Another week has come and gone‏

It was a good week. We had a zone training meeting on Friday. It is
always so nice to have something like that to break up the days.

On Monday we had p-day. Having iPads has made our email time go up
quite a bit, so we emailed for like 2 hours, bought groceries, cleaned
the car, got a haircut, and ended up playing basketball for a little
while. I think we might go to the Alamo today and see whats up. I like
playing basketball though, it's a good stress reliever.

Tuesday we had exchanges again. This time I went with our district
leader Elder Forbush. He's a great guy, has good enthusiasm for life.
We didn't get too much done that day but it was fun none the less.

Wednesday we had quite a few lessons. Ward council asked us to go by a
less active lady in the ward. We went by and had a nice lesson with
her. She just has some stuff going on that isn't allowing her to come
to church. Hopefully it will pass and she can be active again. She
wants to be. We have also started sending a scripture text in the
morning to a group of people and she always loves it. Scriptures are
great! Elder Bednar in one of his talks said to read the BoM through
and look for one thing in particular. When you reach your old age you
will have a collection of BoMs that you have read and marked for a
specific topic. I've always thought that that would be cool to do but
never really had the dedication. Well I'm giving it a go and it's a
fun way to study. I'm liking it thus far, would recommend. Anyways, we
then had a lesson with a kid named Derek that wants to be baptized.
He's 11 and we should be able to make that happen fairly soon. We then
met with Jessica that night and went over 3rd Nephi 11 hoping that it
would motivate her to be baptized. It didn't work, or so we thought...

Thursday was weekly planning. Boo, next day.

Friday was zone meeting!! For whatever reason our mission has gotten a
lot of cars taken away. Thankfully not ours, but I think there's only
like 4 in this zone that have cars now. We were asked by our leaders
to go and pick up some elders and take them to e meeting. Every other
transfer we get the privilege to have an interview with president
Slaughter. I'm going to miss that man when we leaves. But that was a
good experience, so knowledgable. That meeting went from 9-3 and then
we headed home. We then had dinner with some members in our ward and
that was fun. Had a good talk about missionary work and how to share
the gospel. We then headed over to meet with Glenda and Christella.
They are interested but not interested. Not sure how to help them
progress to the next step. We set Christella, the mom, with a date but
we will see if she's sincere. Once we get them a CD player and the BoM
on cd they can then choose to use their agency and listen to it or not
listen. Hopefully they choose to listen.

Saturday we actually had the opportunity to proselyte all day! We got
a new app called the area book planner which is the area book and the
planner combined. So we never use paper planners anymore, ever again.
It's been an adjustment for sure. But it's given us every referral
since the dawn of time so we have been trying to go by them and make
sure someone that was genuinely interested didn't fall through the
cracks. Most of them are out in our brown area which is the country.
Lots of driving is required when we go out to the boonies. It was fun.
We ended up driving past a house me and elder Acor drives by like the
very first week I was on my mission. I wanted to go by this house but
I couldn't find their address in the area book. It just so happens
that we drove past it! We went in and had a nice little lesson and
they said we could come back and continue to teach them. Pretty cool
miracle! We then had dinner with out bishop and his family and some
other members in our ward. Fun dinner, good food, good company. We
then went and stopped by a few more people then headed home.

Sunday was fast Sunday. I love fast Sunday's. Such a clearness of mind
that comes with fasting. Love it. We had a great fast and testimony
meeting. It was a very spiritual Sunday. Normally it's not that good,
but I have felt the growth in the ward. I'm not sure what it is, but
it's awesome. We then had a linger longer potluck after church and had
some good food. Then we had a lesson with Jessica late that night and
she finally feels ready for baptism. So awesome! So we set her for a
date and I am going to be bummed if I'm not here for it. We started
working with her when I arrived, for 5 months! She is so excited to
have an eternal family and go through the temple. Such a good Sunday.

Keeping the commandments is the way to grow in the gospel. It is the
way to be taught by the Holy Ghost and receive knowledge. Keep the
commandments, read the scriptures, and pray frequently and the
mysteries of God will be revealed unto you.
Love you all so much. Thank you for the support, it is truly
appreciated! Love the emails and letters 
Have a swell week!

Elder Christensen

7-27-15 / Thankful mission cars have spare tires!

Hello family!

I wish I could send you my voice telling you what happened this past
week. I think I'm going to look for a way to do that, but until then
emails will be the vehicle for communication.

Lots of good stuff happened this past week.
Monday we had p-day. The Alamo is part of the missions here in SA so
we went to one of the missions. There is like a chain of them along
the SA river. We went to the one closest to us, it was about a 15
minute drive. I believe the name of the one we went to is the San Juan
or San Jose mission. Pretty neat, there was a big square wall and in
the back center was an old church with some cool little side rooms
that we could walk around and look at. Then we ended up playing
basketball. It was a good p-day. It's so nice to have Sunday and then
p-day. I love going to church. Always gives me the energy and boost I
need to get through the week.

Tuesday we had exchanges. Exchanges are always fun, it's nice to
switch things up for a day. O went with good ol' elder MacKay. We went
out for the day and the first house we stop at we somehow run into the
curb. It was a weird curb, not sure how it happened, but it did. We
were driving so we didn't hurt ourselves or anything. So we go and
visit the person we were stopping by and then take off. The car starts
driving very funny so we pull over to see if it's ok and we had popped
the tire. Oops! Thankfully all the mission cars have spares in the
back. After some struggling we get the spare on and drive to a place
to have them fix the tire. We wait there for about 2 hours then we are
back on the road. We had dinner later that night with some members in
elder MacKay's ward who made super good tostadas. I ate way too much
and then we went out for the rest of the evening. Was a fun day.

Normally Wednesday is our district meeting day and so we were getting
ready for that when we got a call from our zone leaders. They asked us
to go and help at plum creek ward, in Kyle, with their missionary
camp. So we drive up there with mission creek, it's about an hour and
15 minutes away, fun drive. We have no idea what we're doing until we
get there. It's a cool camp called camp Helaman where full time
missionaries take 2 of the campers and go have a lesson and then knock
some doors. I was assigned a younger guy and an 18 year old. It was a
fun day. Our mission president also came and talked at the camp and I
always enjoy hearing his comments and wisdom. We did that and then we
drove home around 9:30-ish and hit the hay when we got home. Another
solid day.

Thursday we ended up having district meeting which is always good. We
have a good district. And normally it's tradition to have district
lunch at Panda Express, but we went out the day before so we didn't do
it. And then we had a lesson with Glenda and Christella. Christella is
Glenda's mom, can't remember if I told y'all that or not. But we read
a little more out of the BoM and went on our way. They are doing
better. The light of Christ is shining through, they are coming
around! Since they are both blind we have been trying to get them the
BoM on cd. We decided to go and drive up to the distribution center to
see if we could buy one. We get there and it turns out they aren't
making them anymore, but the sweet lady that works there says she has
one and would be willing to give it to us. She has her daughter go and
grab it and drop it off for us. Everything always works out when you
are trying to do what's right. That is truth! Since we rarely get to
go near the temple we walk around it and take some pictures. It is an
incredibly gorgeous temple and I love the feeling of incredible peace
which comes from that sacred ground. The scripture that says peace
which passeth all understanding is spot on. That was also a good day.

Friday we ended up doing weekly planning which was fine. We have an
awesome older couple that invite us over for dinner every once in a
while. We had dinner with them which I always enjoy.

Saturday was Julius' baptism! We put Effort into putting this one
together and it paid off. The spirit was wonderful and sis. Cato
invited a lot of her family to come. Hopefully they felt the spirit
and have the desire to have that with them even more. Kevin, julius'
dad, loved it so hopefuly we can get him baptized next. We had to do
almost everything to set this one up and we could not have done it
without the Lord's help. It all came together very nicely. After the
baptism we went home changed and hen went to our ward Pioneer Day
activity at bro. Felker's gun range. Super fun and relaxing. I love
this ward so much, I'd be totally fine if I stayed here for the rest
of my mission. They did a BBQ pig which was delicious. Texas BBQ is
the best. Some of the best food I have ever had.

Then Sunday we had church which I always love. Then we had a surprise
dinner with the Gonzalez family which was nice of them. Then we went
to the stake center to have our stake priesthood meeting thingy. It
was awesome! People here in this stake know how to get things done.
They had 3 return missionaries bear testimony of the atonement, they
had the patriarch talk about being receptive to revelation, stake
president guy talked about going from good to great, other stake
presidency guy talked about the oath and covenant of the priesthood,
and the stake president talked about the Aaronic priesthood and the
duties they have. It was solid.

We had a pretty darn cool experience the other day with Christella. I
promised her that as she grows closer to God and puts Him first in her
life God will provide for her and her family. Well we go back on
Saturday and have a lesson with her and she says I thought of you guys
the other day. She then goes on to tell us that a lady walked up and
they ended up chatting for a little bit and somehow it comes up that
Christella needs groceries. This lady tells her that they she has
groceries she would like to give Christella. She goes and gets them
and brings them to her. The promise that we made to her happened! If
that doesn't show her that God loves her and is aware of her I don't
know what does. The Lord really does work through us to bring to pass
the immortality and eternal life of man. I thought about that a little
bit afterward and I realized that he spirit has directed me every day
since my mission has began. We have been in the right place at the
right time every single time. There really is a golden thread that
weaves our lives with others and it's very cool to see that thread.

I was talking to a guy named bro. Mendez on Wednesday. He is a convert
to the church, was baptized a year ago, and looks about mid 60's.
Missionaries knocked on his door and he let them in and was soon
baptized. He said he prayed that he would find the truth and it came.
He had a good insight from Nephi. He talked a little about Nephi's
journey to find truth. For some reason that really stuck with me. I
have learned this past week that a sincere desire to learn,
obedience,prayer, study, and sanctification lead to us knowing the
mysteries of God. D&C 76:114-116, 1 Nephi 2:16, 1 Nephi 10:19, D&C
52:14-17 and lots of others! Check it out.

Have an awesome week my lovelies. Thanks for the letters this past
week, y'all are so sweet!
Love you lots!
Elder Christensen

7-20-15 / What a weird week!

Hello people of planet earth!

Some solid stuff happened this week. We have two people set with a
baptismal date. Julius, the 9 year old, will be baptized this
Saturday. Claudia will be baptized on August 15th. Jessica has been
talking to her husband about church and temples and if he could
baptize her. She will be very soon as well. All the patience has paid
off! The church and the gospel is true!

This was my first official week with Elder West, I think, I can't
remember. If not it was week 2. We had some weird stuff happen this
week. It was like 7:30 in the morning on Tuesday I believe and some
old man with a walker opens our door, steps through the door way and
asks where is my son and do you have a bed for him? Elder Forbush
walks over and tells him uh your son isn't here bye and pretty much
gets him out. Very bizarre, so now we make sure to keep the door
locked. Don't worry, our apartments are very safe. Just something
weird that happened.

We also had the new trainee meeting this past week. It was a good hour
away from where we live. It's always fun to go to a new place and have
some new scenery. It was a good drive, the meeting was fun too.
President slaughter has such an incredible understanding of the
doctrine of the gospel and he always shares his knowledge with us when
he is there. He went over being saved. Anyone that has been baptized
and is trying to make it to heaven will be saved in the celestial
kingdom. So if you are trying to do what's right and stay on the path,
celestial kingdom is yours. Of course the longer you stay on that path
the narrower and narrower it gets. But that is very reassuring.

This week, teaching wise, was mainly getting Julius set up and ready
for baptism. We also worked with Glenda this past week. Her mom,
Christella, has started to join us as well. They both love the BoM and
always enjoy when we read it to them. Glenda wants her grandkids to
get involved and I think we will be able to help them get involved, it
will just take some time. Hopefully we can get them to go to mutual.
They are 16 and 12 years old. Youths. Glenda has a son in prison and
she wanted us to send him a BoM and some pamphlets. We said sure and
do it for her. We told her it was done and she started to cry. Such
little acts of kindness can make such a huge impact on the lives of
others. Hopefully her son reads it and finds the joy that it has to
offer.

We have totally gone digital. We don't use paper planners anymore, all
iPad. So we have been slowly moving data from our paper area book to
the are book app. It's been hard to adjust too. Planning is so
different now, concept is the same but making it work for you will
take some adjustment. It will be nice to have though, right at your
fingertips all the time. I like having all the general conferences
with me too. Love reading them. Lots of knowledge.

It has been 5 months now. Isn't that crazy? It has been a very quick 5 months.

Something I learned the other day during studies is found in Moses 5.
I'm sure y'all have found it but Adam is commanded to offer a
sacrifice. An angel the comes down "after many days" and asks Adam why
he's doing this. Adam doesn't know why, but he was commanded to do it.
In v. 9 Adam has the Holy Ghost testify to him that Jesus is the
Christ. So obedience to God brings further light and knowledge and
helps our testimony and faith develop. Something else rather cool in
that chapter is v. 7. The angel tells Adam that the sacrifice is in
similitude of the sacrifice of Christ. So Adam and Eve fell but
Heavenly Father, the first thing He does with His infinite wisdom is
turn them to Jesus Christ and gives them the gospel. This proves,
along with the rest of all the scriptures, that His purpose truly is
to help us return to His presence. Everything He does is for our good.
Learn to trust Him, it will take time and patience. But as we learn to
trust Him we will find joy in every situation because we will know it
is for our good.

I love you all, have a great week. Thanks for the letters and love
that you all send to me.
Elder Christensen

7-6-15 - We're staying here!

Me and my friends ... :)

We're staying here!! -Hopper

Yes, I am staying, Elder Rowland is leaving. I will be training a new
missionary this transfer, we will see how that goes.

Lots of work to do here in the 1st ward. We have been blessed with
lots of people to teach and work with. One of them is Glenda.

The other week we were knocking doors and we knocked into an older,
blind lady. Very nice and she allowed us to teach the restoration. We
set up a return appointment and she kept it. But when we taught the
restoration she had a very hard time understanding anything and
remembering. I think she might of gotten into an accident and bonked
her head. She lives with her granddaughters and her mom. They have so
many trials and struggles they have to face each day. Glenda can't
even make her own food, she relies on others to help her. They don't
have an income, they can barely feed their grandkids. It is probably
the biggest Ray of sunshine when we go over there and she has the
opportunity to talk and be around people that are kind. She says it
feels like such a long time in between our visits, even though it had
only been 3 days. She has a long road ahead of her, but Heavenly
Father will be with her every step of the way, and I will try my best
to help. She is a child of God and she deserves the best I can give. I
am grateful that Heavenly Father has given me another transfer to work
with Glenda. Also grateful for the Atonement which will make all
things fair in the end.

Speaking of the Atonement, isn't the sacrament wonderful? What a
sacred time of the week. Grateful for the blessing to ponder the
Savior's sacrifice in a sacred place. You can feel God's love very
deeply as you partake of the sacrament with purpose.

We also were able to start working with a lady named Claudia. She is
going through some trials as well at the moment and needs some friends
and a positive place to be. She has already told us she wants to be
baptized and she came to church yesterday. She is so ready to be apart
of the church. Claudia is from El Salvador, has lived in the U.S. For
about a year I believe and can't get employment because her social
security won't allow it. She is a sweet lady though and like all of us
the gospel can help her in every area of her life.

Julius came to church as well yesterday, along with his brothers and
sisters and mom. We will have to move his date back but it will be
sometime this transfer. It's funny how one choice one person makes can
have such an impact on every around us.

I enjoyed reading Alma 36 the other day. In that chapter Alma is
telling his son his conversion story. He talks about how great was his
joy when he decided to turn towards Christ. That joy that he felt came
from the Atonement. That joy is something we are all intended to feel,
and just like Alma, it comes from repentance. It comes from turning
towards God and understanding the Atonement. Scripture study is key to
understanding the Atonement, especially the BoM. Just like the cover
says, it testifies of Jesus Christ. He lives and He is the Savior of
the world. From it we learn what our true relationship to The Father
and the Son is, and exactly what we need to do to live with God again.
Thank heavens for the restoration.

For the 4th we went to Bro. M's home for a BBQ. He makes good food and
it was a fun time. The n we went out and did some proselyting and
stopped by some members, it was a good day.

All in all great week. I will miss Elder Rowland, he has been a good companion.

Love you all
Do Good Stuff
Elder Christensen