December 14, 2015

Christmas Party Hermanas!!! 

Me and my amazing companion Hna Carmack!

Christmas lights in La Zanja!!! Oh how I'm going to miss this place!!! 

ok story: so we we're just parking in a normal every day shopping center parking lot and there was this HUGE chicken!! So mind you, I was pretty sick this day (hence why I look super ridiculous ly horrible because I had been sneezing and coughing and my contact caused my tear ducts to explode hahaha) and my brain wasn't really functioning completely normally (actually not the reason because I think this is something I'd do on any normal day hahah) and I decided to get as close to it as possible!!! So I get this close (photo creds: hna Carmack) and....IT TURNS ON MY AND PUFFS OUT ITS CHEST AND RUNS AT ME AND WAS MAKING SCARY NOISES!!! All I could do was run and wave my arms and scream!! (Hna Carmack is awesome and was on her way to fight of the attacking chicken and didn't get a shot of the assault) So basically I was attacked by an angry chicken in the middle of a parking lot in Southern CA! hahha 

I love my mission so much and I'm so happy that I get to have so many fun adventures like these!!! So I found out I'm being transferred and I'm really sad to leave San Juan and Hna Carmack but I know that Heavenly Father has an individual and perfect plan for each and every one of us!! President Orgill (the president of my mission) explained to us the other day that every experience we have in this life is specially and lovingly designed by our Heavenly Father for us to be happy! So its best we just try to enjoy the journey and find the ways that we can be happy and grow in every moment of our lives! 

I love you all sooooo much!!! I'm so thankful that I have an amazing family and amazing friends who support me and love me!!! I hope you all have an amazing week and remember that during this time of year we celebrate the fact that a Savior was born so that we may live happily in this life and happily in the life after!! :) 

Hermana Christensen

December 7, 2015

There was a baptism in the other ward and I got to see Yasmin and the rest of the Jiminez family!!!! They were soooo happy to see me and I was so happy to see them!! It was really cute because Emilia gave me some lotion and wrote me a really cute note!! It was sooo great to see them again!!! 

I GOT THE QUEEN PICTURE/LETTER FROM ENGLAND!!!!!! Thank you soooo much!!! I absolutely loved it and it's already up on my wall!! I also got the cute Turkey and I LOVED that too!!! Also on my wall!!! Thank you all sooo much!!!!!! That was sooo amazing to get!!!

Also, beautiful San Juan Capistrano, CA! <3 I love this place!!

November 30, 2015

his is the cute little living room we ate in with our ward mission leaders family! 

THE FOOD!!!!!! AND YES THOSE ARE TURKEY TAMALES!!! I pretty much died of happiness. The plate had ham, turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn,mashed potatoes, and TAMALES!! we also had delitious apple and pumpkin pie and home-made cheesecake!!! 

The Rosales family!!! <3 Hno Rosales is the ward mission leader and he's on the far right and he's soooo awesome! 

So now I have lots of pictures of the leftovers that Aunt Penni brought to the office!!! My companion and I have been LOVING them!!! We're also planning on taking some of them to Hna Green(one of my old companions) because she was sick on Thanksgiving. I had lots of fun taking these pictures for like an hour because my companion Hna Carmack was pretty sick so we came in early so she could sleep (as seen in some of these pictures if you look closely on the couch hahaha) I also don't have Penni's email but we're sooooo thankful for her and that was super nice of her. She wrote a hilarious note to go with it and I enjoyed it a lot!!!

Thank you, thank you!!! I'll be here all week! I hope you all enjoyed them and I hope that you all know that you are the thing I am most thankful for. I couldn't do anything without our family and I know that Heavenly Father has blessed sooo much us to be a family together and to love eachother and to help eachother, and I am so grateful for everything each has done, is doing, and will continue to do for me! You all are amazing and I love you sooooooo much!!!!

November 23, 2015

This is the craziest and most adorable old lady in the world!!! Her name is Lolita and she's a member and we go visit her every other week and let her tell us about her life for about 1-2 hours and sometimes sing with her and neither of us can sing and she can't either! hahaha She's hilarious and basically we have to keep from dying laughing when we go see her because she goes into lots of detail about her life and it's amazing! hahahah

 I think I'm out of time! They're really cracking down on keeping emailing time an hour long D: 

But I had a really great week!! Everything is going well and I'm excited to have Thanksgiving in the home of our ward mission leader and hopefully get an awesome mix of American and Mexican food! *crossing my fingers for tamales:D*  

But I hope everyone has an amazing week! I'm grateful for lots of things and this week I think gives me a chance to really focus on what I'm thankful for and express that thanks to those who we are thankful for and also to our Heavenly Father! I know that when we do that, or rather "count our many blessings", that we are really able to see how much our Heavenly Father and our brother Jesus Christ really do love us perfectly and know how to give us perfect gifts (Matt. 7: 11-13) ! 

I'm so grateful for my family and for all the countless blessings they have given me!!!! I'm thankful that I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that I have this amazing opportunity to be a representative of Our Savior Jesus Christ. I am eternally grateful for Him and the Atonement and for this life that we have to use it and to be happy!!! I love all of you so much!!! 

Have a wonderful week!

Nos vemos! 

Hermana Christensen

November 16, 2015

I hope everyone is doing really really well and had an amazing week!!! 

This week was great! I'm super happy that I get to stay here in San Juan with Hermana Carmack!!! It's been super fun and amazing and I feel like it's going to continue that way!!! :D 

 Two of the highlights were member present lessons that we had! One was with a recent convert named Getsi who's 19ish and is soooo amazing! We took her to our lesson with our investigator Blanca who's a senior in highschool and talked to her about the Book of Mormon. We all testified to her of how amazing it is and the blessings we've received from reading it and applying the principals! It was so amazing to hear Getsi's testimony because she decided to read the Book of Mormon on her own and she read it every where she went. She talked about how her life has changed because of the decision she made to be baptized and the Spirit was so strong there. I know that my testimony grew during that lesson and it was an amazing experience. Blanca hasn't really been progressing a whole lot so we're hoping that gave her a bigger push to continue to meet with us and grow closer to Heavenly Father.
The other one was with another young women named Cindy and we went to our investigators' Patty and Mariana's house! They're a mother and daughter and Patty has been investigating for a little while too! We had Cindy share her favorite scripture and we all testified of the power of the scriptures. That lesson was also a testimony builder and we're hoping that with the new relationship that Patty has with Cindy will help get Patty to church. 

Yesterday, we went to a less actives house to teach them. They have a young son who is disabled and has trouble functioning physically and mentally. He's probably one of the cutest and kindest kids I've ever met. I immediately could feel the Savior's love for him while talking to him and giving him a sticker and letting him use a notebook of mine to write his name on. While all of that was going on however, his mom and his grandma proceeded to sternly tell him to stop talking and to leave me alone and to not mess with my stuff and to sit down because he was being a bother and said other negative and not so kind things about him. In that moment I really felt like telling them off about it and I was so frustrated but I knew that it was not my place and that the best thing that I could do was to continue to share a message and show them as much love as possible. And I also realize and know that his mom and grandma love him very much and are probably amazing to him and that I have no right to judge them or criticize them because I'm sure that it's very hard for them too, just in that instance I felt sad for him at that moment. I know that I'll never be able to feel even in the slightest what the Savior felt when He suffered all our pains, but I think that experience put into perspective something I hadn't thought about before. The pain He felt was even more stinging because He loves us. I felt a sharper pain for this boy because I could feel a large love for him, and I can't even imagine the immense pain that Jesus Christ felt going through everything we do but at the same time, feeling a perfect and individual love for us. So through that I've gained an even greater appreciation for what He did for us, and also gave me more motivation to serve Him by having charity, or rather, by showing His great love, to those around me. 

One last cool super awesome thing that happened was while I was on an exchange with an English Sister who just got here a couple days ago names...SISTER CHRISTENSEN!!! yes she has the same last name and it was hilarious. So because she doesn't speak Spanish I knew that it was all up to me to talk to people that day. So we were on the streets of La Zanja and a woman and a man walked by and I felt prompted to talk to them (which is still kinda scary sometimes) but I did it and I just made small talk with them! Eventually I asked them if they've talked to missionaries before and they said they remembered talking to Hna Roos (my old companion) and some others before. So then I explained to them what we do and then gave them a card with our number and they looked at it and saw the picture of the Book of Mormon on the back. They asked me about it and I testified to them that it has changed my life because it, along with the Bible, have helped me come closer to Christ and know what He wants me to do. And then I reached in my bag and gave the woman a copy and they both were like 'Uhhh wait don't you need that? Arent you going to use it?" and I told them no that I had more and that they should keep that one and read it! They treated it like it was a great gift and told me thank you and also gave me their address without me even asking and told us a good time to pass by and told me that we should come over! I was SOOOO happy!!! We've been wanting to find new people to teach and basically they just found us! hahaha So I'm very excited to see how that goes! Her name is Patricia and I love her already! 

We also got to eat dinner with Agrepino this week at a little tiny Mexican restaurant and it was amazing and I want to eat there every day of my life!!!!!!!! :D 

I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to serve and show charity to others as a missionary! And that's something that I will strive to do the rest of my life because I feel so much more happiness and so much more love from my Savior when I do! 

Well I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing week!!!!!!

Love, 

Hermana Christensen

November 9, 2015

hey everyone!!! Sorry I haven't been very good about the group emails!!!! I hope everyone is doing great!!! 

First off:Good news!!! Hna Carmack and I are staying!!! I'm sooooo happy we get to stay because she so awesome and so is this area!!! yayayayay!!!!

This week was good!!! In the area I'm in now we mostly focus on investigators in this area but we visit a couple less actives. But for the most part we're just teaching investigators and trying to find new ones! Which is super fun! We've been struggling to get our investigators to progress but this week we got one to progress by sending him a couple scriptures to read so that he could be following through with commitments. So hilarious story about that, so we had a lesson with him (by the way he's like this old guy who's super hilarious and funny, basically like teaching a really cool grandpa) and we asked him if he read. He said yes and proceeds to pull out his phone with the scripture app and show us the scriptures so we could talk about them. So we send him two scriptures, Alma 37:6-7, and Mosiah 2:41. So he goes "ok well I went to Alma and then just clicked the number one and then just read a little bit from there." And he began to relate what it was saying to every day life. Which was so funny because it was Alma 1:1 which is where Nehor, the anti-Christ preacher, introduces priest craft into the people and is executed for what he does. Hna Carmack and I were DYING!!! It was absolutely hilarious. But also really cool because though it was the wrong scripture he still really tried to apply it to life and he did a good job and really enjoyed it!! He did the same thing with Mosiah 1:1 which basically just talks about lineage and how the kind has nobody to confer the kingdom too. Oh man it was so funny!!!! Agrepino is soooo awesome! He came to church yesterday too and told us that he wasn't going to sit with us because he wanted to meet some new people!!! Way to fellow-ship yourself Agrepino! hahaha He's great! 

We were crazy people the other night and bought soft serve ice cream from a truck at night in the main neighborhood.  We were crazy because it was already supppperrrr cold and we got ice cream! But it was really good and the people were super nice! We've always wanted to buy something from there because it's super popular and now mission accomplished! 

Speaking of crazy, everyone should look up on the internet the weird meteor, comet, rocket thing that happened in the sky the other night over here because we were walking at night and saw the whole thing shoot across the sky!!! It was soooo weird!! We've heard it was a comet or something! It was really really crazy to watch because it just exploded blue light in the sky!! 

Well now that I sound like a crazy person!! hahahaha Everything is going great over here and I'm super happy!!! This Gospel is such a blessing and to be able to bring it to the lives of others is even more so. 

I invite you all to read the story of Lehi's vision again but try to apply it to where you are in your lives now! I know that by reading the scriptures and applying them (just like Agrepino) we can receive more clarity about what Heavenly Father's plan for us personally is! 

Well I love you all sooooo much!! I hope you have an amazing week!!!

Hermana Christensen

November 2, 2015

So the church building we went to for P-Day last week was THIS ONE!!!! I FREAKED OUT!!! We pulled up without any idea of where is was and I saw the mural and was soooo excited!!!!!!! Sadly Hna Carmack didn't get to carve our pumpkin because we were on a time crunch to make a game for a FHE that night so I don't have pictures of it :( Sorry!!! BUT I MADE SURE TO GET PICTURES OF THE BUILDING!!!!! ANDDDD we were so close to Balboa it was killing me but maybe one day we'll actually get to go!!!

Pictures after the temple!!!!!! Please zoom in to the Elder Wilson (our old district leader in our old area) photobombs!!!! They're probably the funniest ever. Also! This old lady walked up to me after we got out of the temple and she was walking in and looked at my tag and said " You arreeeeeeeeeee!" (she said it kinda creeplily and I was kind of confused hahaha) But she ended up being Grandpa Christensen's sister! So I met my great aunt at the temple! She was super sweet and it was pretty funny running into her!

I got to be a temple tour sister on Halloween! I was on exchanges because Hna Carmack is a sister training leader and needed to go on an exchange with the lead STL so I went with her companion and we had to do temple tours! :D I also was dressed like Waldo for Halloween! :D Sadly we didn't get to give anyone a tour but it was fun to wave at a bunch of people!

October 26, 2015

Hey Fam!!! So I decided to send you all an email first with some awesome pieces of news collectively so I have time to respond to each individual email of yours(which I love and am so appreciative for :D)!!! 

So first of all...drumroll please...... I GOT PERMISSION TO GO TO KENDYL'S WEDDING!!!!! Hermana Carmack and I had interviews with President (all missionaries have periodic interv. with him) and as we were finishing I asked him "So President I know I've mentioned this before to you in my weekly emails and I know you might want to talk about it later but I was just wondering about if I could have permission to go to my sister's wedding?" and he said "I have already prayed about it and after I did I just got the warmest feeling that the Spirit you will feel there will be an amazing experience and that there's nothing better than that so yes you can go." I had to try very very hard to control myself and not freak out but I just got super excited and told him thank you so much like a thousand times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! So we'll get to talk in Christmas and then shortly followed that I'll SEEE YOUUU GUYYSS!!!!! I don't know any of the details yet about how long I'll be able to be there or if I can go to the reception too or stuff like that but I CAN GO TO THE TEMPLE SO I'M SO EXCITED!!! I know that will be soooo amazing to all be there together and have that experience there and I'm just soooooo excited I can't even handle it!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! 

So now for lesser news but still pretty big...another drumroll....I'M NOW IN SAN JUAN!!! Yes it is random and yes the transfer wasn't supposed to end for another two weeks!!! I shall explain. So the San Clemente hermanas covered San Clemente, Dana Point, and San Juan, however they were drowning in all the work they had and came up with the idea to have us leave Mission Viejo north and take over San Juan! In the middle of the transfer! They told us on Friday about the idea and we were excited at first because work in the north was a little bit slow but then we both woke up the next day and felt like it shouldn't happen. So we kind of forgot about it. THEN, Tuesday rolls around and during District Meeting, the Zone Leaders come up to us and just say, "So we talked to the AP's (Assistants to the President) and you're good to go to San Juan effective immediately." We both were pretty much dumb-struck and were like uhhhh no that was not supposed to happen. And they could tell that that was our reaction so they told us, "Ok well let us know in like 3 hours what you want to do." So then we went to the chapel after everyone left and we prayed about it together. It was probably one of the most incredible spiritual experiences of my life. We both heard the same words right after the prayer, "Do it." So here we are! I'm currently serving in the San Juan part of the San Juan ward! I love it so much!!! It was super stressful to move apartments in 2 days but Hermana Carmack and I are happy and so ready to take on this challenge. We love our new apartment, we don't  have roommates which surprisingly we love, no view of the ocean though so that's sad. But I'm so happy to be here! We went to church to the other ward yesterday and everyone is so cool! It's about as old as the Lake Austin ward so that's fun! The other ward is definitely more established and high strung so it's nice to be in a super chill ward! Also there's a lot more poverty in this ward so the missionaries don't get fed as much, which is totally fine with me because it would make me super sad to have people stretch beyond their abilities. So i'll just be more thrifty with food :D and don't be surprised if I use some of the card that's not from the mission :( Sorry!! :( We mainly work in an area called La Zanja which is a really poor neighborhood right off of Camino Capistrano by the mission!!!! It's so amazing! Kids just run up to us and ask for stickers and they all recognize Hna Carmack cause she served in this ward before! I love it! It was sad to leave Mission Viejo but I think Heavenly Father prepared me to do so and its been great! 

Well those are the biggest news pieces so far!!! I'm so so so so so so so so so excited!!!! I nearly cried tears of joy when I found out I could go and I'm seriously soooooo excited!!!! Welp now I'm going to reply to your individual emails!! Love you all so much!!!!!

P.S. I think I'm counting this as the group email today, sorry! :D Love you all so much!!!

October 19, 2015

Buenas tardes a todos!!!! 

This week was relatively uneventful but it still was super great!!! 

Wednesday we took a young women out with us who started the process for her mission papers and that was super fun! That ended up being one of those days where we tried to see probably 5-6 people within a 2ish hour time span and nobody ended up being able to have a lesson with us. But it was a good learning opportunity for the young women and also for us as well that helped remind us how we define success as a missionary! She's super adorable and she's going to be such an amazing missionary!!!
We had a great lesson with one of our investigators this week and it ended up being more of a conversation! She asked us to share the biggest thing that motivates us to do what we do. It was interesting to be asked an inspired question by our investigator but it really sparked a discussion that she really needed to hear. Hermana Carmack and I both shared things that allowed for the Spirit to touch her heart in the way that she needed in that moment! Then she came to institute on Friday and church yesterday!!! So that was awesome!!!
We're continuing to focus on commitments and lessons that will help our investigators progress more! I've discovered that by focusing on discerning the needs of the investigators I've been able to be more receptive to the Spirit in other aspects of my life as a missionary. I'm positive that the reason for that is because when we feel the desire to serve those around us and help them come closer to Christ and be more receptive to the Spirit, we get closer to Christ and are more receptive as well. I feel like helping others to come unto Christ and helping ourselves come closer to Christ are directly related and supportive of each other. So that's really helped me because sometimes I struggle to discern between my own thoughts and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost! 

Welp not too much to talk about this week but I have a couple pictures!! This is me with one of our investigators(Soledad) and her husband (Enrique) who is a member! They're the funniest people in the world and I love them sooooo much!!!! 

The other picture is a letter from Emilia that I got on Sunday(yesterday)!!! I GOT TO SEE HER AND AMALIA YESTERDAY!!! It was soooooooo amazing to see them again!!! I love them so much!! I'm going to keep this letter forever and ever!!!! :D 

The last one is an elf that we found in our closet and that we've been putting in random places with our roommates!! hahaha I love being a missionary!!! :D 

Well I hope you all have an amazing week!!! Love you sooooooo much!!!! Dios les ama y les quiero tambien!!! :D 

Hermana Christensen

October 13, 2015

So these are a bunch of pictures from our hike last p-Day!! I'm running out of time so I might just be able to send pictures for the group email!!! But I'm doing really really really good and I love my area and my companion and I'm SOOOOOO happy!!!!!! 

I love everybody so much!!!!! 

Hermana Christensen

October 5, 2015

We went on a hike this morning and it was sooooooo pretty!!! Here are some pictures!!!

Hey everyone!! So I apologize in advance but this is going to be one of those weeks where this email is gonna be kinda short! Please forgive me!! But I hope all of you had a wonderful week and I hope and pray that those of you who watched conference were able to receive the answers and comfort and knowledge that you needed! 

So the results of transfers where...drumroll please.... 

I'm still in the same ward but just the north area instead of the south!!! My companion is Hna Carmack and she is SOOOOO AMAZING!!!! Seriously I'm so happy and excited!!! It was funny because we had always thought we'd never be companions because we're only one transfer apart (she got here right before me) and we started in opposite wards so we figured the timing would be too weird but NOW WE'RE COMPANIONS!! She's seriously the best! We've been having such a fun time and we're constantly laughing and we're super super motivated to work really hard and get some baptisms!! We really want to find a family to teach really bad. She's super amazing and very nice and we get a long really really well!!! YAYAYYAYAY!!!! 

Conference was absolutely amazing!!! I just love the fact that we have the amazing opportunity to hear the words of modern day prophets, seers and revelators that are inspired by God to lead and guide the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I have gained a testimony in that and I know that it is true! And what a blessing that is! I invite all of you to sincerely pray and ask our Heavenly Father to find or strengthen your testimony in that. I promise you all that as you do so and as you read/listen to the words of our beloved Prophet and His Apostles that you will receive answers to your prayers and you will receive comfort and you will receive the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows that you need. I loved Elder Holland's talk about mothers and I definitely cried the whole time because I am so incredibly grateful for my amazing mom and the endless amount of things she has done for me! I love her very very very much!!!  I absolutely loved President Eyring's talk about his father and I have now made it a goal to reach that kind of Spirituality in my life. To be completely in tune with the Spirit is to is basically be led on the path that Heavenly Father knows we need to be on to obtain the most happiness. So I want to be able to be in tune enough with the Spirit that every step I take is on that path. And so that in times of trial I will be able to receive the comfort that the Holy Ghost gives to all those who will have the ears to hear and the eyes to see and also the willingness to act. 

Well I'm running out of time but I love you all!!!! I hope everyone has an amazing week and will strive to be guided by the Spirit! You all are amazing!!!! 

Love Hermana Tay

Sept 28, 2015

Sorry this one is going to be kinda short and copy and pasted from assorted emails to my family and to President! But I hope you all had a great week! 

This week was a really great one for Yasmin. We had an FHE at a members house on Monday with her and another family in the ward. The father of the other family told her his conversion story and testified of the happiness this Gospel brings. He said things that she really needed to hear, as did everyone else that was there. Everyone shared very strong testimonies that I really think helped Yasmin feel the influence of the Spirit. She also went to watch Women's Conference at a members home as well with the same mom and daughter and member who were at FHE and it was amazing. At one point she leaned over to me and said "You know when you're feeling super sad and then you just feel that...ahhh? Like that relief?" I explained to her that I had and asked her if she knew why she was feeling that. After she said she did't know I explained that it was because she was here listening to people say things that are the words that God wants her to know right now to help her. It was amazing also because we gave her a notebook to write things down on and she wrote down some quotes from the speakers and even some things that weren't quotes but were things that she got from what they were saying. It was very special to see her feel of the Spirit and to mature in that way. I'm very thankful that I was able to watch her do that because it helped me grow my testimony in the power of Conference. There was also a church photographer at the home we were watching at so we could maybe be in an upcoming Ensign! :O hahahah

Dina is back from Peru!! She was very very happy to see us and we were also sooooo happy to see her! She came to church and then we went to see her in the afternoon one day and she was very appreciative that we came to visit. She calls us her "little angles"! I love her so much!!! She even went to Women's Conference at the Stake Center with her granddaughter who is a member. It was a little disheartening because after women's conference we went to go see her and after chatting for a moment and asking her how conference was, we asked if it would be ok if we shared a scripture with her, she said "No, we just got back from church!" But really I couldn't help but laugh at it because she's so feisty and hilarious!!!! 

So I'm being transferred!! But I have no idea where to yet!!! How it works is they just tell you if you're leaving or staying in your area but not where you go, we find that out tomorrow. and they just told me I was leaving. So Hna Green (who is in the same ward as I am right now but in the north area that I don't cover bc I'm in the south) is the only other Hermana who is leaving. So it would seem that the only possibility is that we just would switch, which is a possibility but not the ONLY one. So Hna Duncan is currently in and English ward (bc President said he was going to start rotating Hermanas and Elderes out into English) but she's leaving her area. So she could go to a different English area or she could come back to Spanish. so basically long story short, there are 3 possibilities to where I'm going to be in order of most likely to least likely, 1. North area of this same ward 2. Go down to San Clemente in a trio with Hna Garcia and Williams 3. they could put me into English work. So basically I have no idea what's going to happen! hahahah Which is kinda fun for me! But also I just want to know where I'm going! But I know wherever I go I'll be where Heavenly Father wants me to be! 

Im really sad that I have to leave some of my favorite people I've ever met in my whole life and the people that I've come to love sooooo much!!!! But I know that they'll be taken care of and that I'll get to meet even more of my brothers and sisters!!! 

Sorry that was all kind of random but thank you all for your prayers and support! I really can feel them! And I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love all of you so much!!! I know He has a plan for each of us that is individual and that has more happiness in store than any plan that we could come up with ourselves!!! So I encourage you all to pray to find out what plans Heavenly Father has for you and what He needs you to do to follow it!!! I love you all so much!!!!! Have an amazing week!!!! 

Love,

Hermana Christensen

Sept, 21, 2015

Hello everyone!!! I hope all of you are fantastic!!! 

This week was a crazy one with lots of blitzes and meetings and planning and windows (aka things that are set) but amongst all of that I found lots of great things that helped me become a better missionary and that helped hasten the work. 

Monday night we went to see one of our focus members assigned by the ward(the granddaughter of our investigator Dina) and it was so awesome!!! I seriously love that family!! the girl, her name is Demi, is super adorable and always so happy to see us! It was funny because she just turned 12 and so when Hermana Warner and I were planning a lesson with her we both thought of Personal Progress (a book of spiritually enriching activities for young women) but decided to focus on something else so as to not overwhelm her (which now in the scheme of things was not very smart) so we found another thing we felt good about and shared it with her. But then at the end of the lesson she said she wanted to ask us a question and then left to get something from her room. And what does she pull out? Her personal progress book! hahaha It was very awesome to see her already interested and I know that will be something that will help her grow her faith. 

On Friday we had a Zone Conference with a member of the Quorum of the 70 of the Church! It was absolutely amazing. The whole time my heart was just pounding so hard because of the Spirit I felt. I really felt like the questions I had thought of before and even questions I didn't realize I needed answered, were answered. It definitely helped me to gain confidence in the work I'm doing but also to really find out ways in which I can approve. We all got to shake his hand and tell him our name, where we're from and how long we've been out. I kind of felt like the kid from a Christmas story and was like "Hi I'm Sister Christensen...Hermana Christensen... either one!" hahaha I felt awkward but I don't think it was that bad because I was just being myself!! I think everyone was a little frazzled. My newer roommate was a head of me and she turned about and asked me how long she'd been on her mission! hahaha But he was very nice to let us all do that. He said that if he could he would want to interview every one of us and get to know us which was really cool.

It really was an honor to hear from Elder Cardon and I'm so thankful for that experience.

Right after it ended I felt the strongest desire to go see Yasmin and to talk to her again about the Book of Mormon. I was practically running up to her house because I was so anxious to do what I was prompted to do. I really felt like what he said about the Book of Mormon and also about Peter's experience in the bible were what I needed to hear to help Yasmin. he talked about his change and took us though a bunch of scriptures that showed us that when he was near to Christ and doing the things he was asked to he could have the light of Christ and how after he denied him he re-gained that light and received the Holy Ghost after testifying of him. Then an Elder pointed out that it was after he didn't keep the commitment Christ has extended to Him to pray and stay up while He went to suffer in the Garden that Peter denied Him. Which I thought was super super super cool. 

So we told her about the power of the Book of Mormon and read the story of the Liahona with her and she was really receptive. She asked us if the Book of Mormon was kind of like how the Liahona was for the family. So we told her yes and also testified that this will help her in her family just like it helped Nephi with his. So I think she got more excited about it.
I also really was motivated to apply those things in my life as well. I'm going to commit myself more to reading the Book of Mormon with sincerity and with a true desire to receive answers and with faith that I will be able to do so. I've already noticed a change and I hope that I will continue to grow from it. I also really appreciated Sister Orgill's words because that was something I really needed to hear. I think like most missionaries I often don't believe I'm good enough but I know that through Christ I am and I know that if I continue to strive to be better I'm doing enough. 

We also played volleyball after English class one night which was SUPER SUPER fun!!!! I missed it a lot!!! 

We also went to an amazing cultural activity with lots of dances and displays from different central American and south American countries and it was so fun!!!!! A lady in the ward braided ribbons into my hair like the traditional way and it was so fun!!!! It made me miss the home Spanish ward!!! extrano a mis amigos del barrio de Lake Austin!! Ustedes son los mejores!!! <3
I'm very anxious to see what happens for transfers and what path Heavenly Father has in store for me!!! I'm ready and willing to go wherever I am needed! I will be sad if I leave but I know that will pass quickly because I love change and new challenges and opportunities to be in different situations in which I can grow and learn more. 

We'll see what happens though!!! For now, back to the MV life!!!! We went to a trampoline park this morning, then to a Japanese store, then to Café Rio, did some laundry, now were off to go bowling with the hermanas and some people from the other area!!! I LOVE EVENTFUL P-DAYS!!!! 

Love all of you so much!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!! Que les vayan bien!!! Les quiero!!! 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Christensen

Sept. 14, 2015

Hi everyone!!! I hope everyone had an amazing and fun filled week!!!! 

Some things that happened!: 

We had a lesson with Yasmin that was pretty hard. It's kind of frustrating right now because she has told us that she's pretty sure she knows what we're sharing is true, but she just doesn't know if it's worth it to try to go choose a better path when she's already so far back. We tried to explain the Atonement and how baptism will take that away but she was very persistent with her thought of that she will still remember everything she's done and been through so why is it worth it. We tried to explain but it wasn't really getting through to her. We just did what we could and committed her to keep praying to know what path she needs to take. So we'll just continue to fast and pray for her. We still love her and it's always a blast to be with her and talk to her!!!! 

Dina(the old women who was our investigator who took a super long trip to Peru) is coming back this week!!!! We could not be more excited!!!!! We had dinner with her daughter and her granddaughters the other day!!! We ate the most amazing Peruvian food and I love that family so much!!! Their last name is Mosquiera and they pronounce it in a way that is very hard to say and it's awesome!! They're soooo amazing and hilarious!!!! it was a really, really cool experience. We shared 3 Nephi 11:15 and I shared some of my personal testimony with them and it was something they really needed to hear. The coolest parts for me where 1. that one of Dina's granddaughters who isn't a member was there and was super engaged and very responsive and 2. after I shared my testimony they told me that that is why Dina has let us in. They told us that before she didn't like to talk to missionaries at all, but they told me because of the experiences that I've had and the things I've learned that I can understand her and that that's part of the reason why she let us in. I love them a lot!!! Hna Mosquiera's other daughter who's a member is soooo fun!!! We've gotten really close to her which is good because her mom is a little worried about her and wants us to help her out. She just turned 12 and is soooooo hilarious!! The whole family is soooo funny!!! One time Hna Mosquiera was talking about how it's important to dress modestly and talk to Heavenly Father in a meaningful way and also about having manners and respect for other and she related it to walking into someones house and rudely making yourself comfortable and being all crazy and she totally got up and acted it all out for us. She even went out the door, let herself in, kicked off her shoes, hopped over the couch(in a dress) and slumped down. hahahah IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I love them a lot!! They're super fun and really nice!!! I'm sooooo excited for Dina to come back this week!!!! 

Some things coming up: 

Tonight I'm going on an exchange in San Clemente with Hna Williams!!! I love going down there!!! It's so cool!!! 

Then Saturday theres a cultural activity! There's going to be food and cultural thingys on tables from different Hispanic countries and there'll be dances from each country and it's going to be soooooo fun!!!!!!! 

On Thursday the ward is playing volleyball so hopefully we can go to that if Emilia or someone goes! I WANT TO PLAY SOOOO BADDDD!!!!!!

A member of the Quorum of the 70 is coming for a mission conference and he's going to pick random people to give a talk on the spirit and will be going on exchanges and will be checking apartments and cars and EVERYTHING!!! They also called some people to tell them they're going to have an interview with him, one of which was Hna Williams and another my roommate since my mission birth, Sister Weston!!! So that's crazy!!! I'm nervous but excited. I may or may not have deep cleaned the bathrooms this morning like a crazy person. I woke up 30 minutes early and scrubbed EVERYTHING. Even the ceiling. It was insane and super gross. Sometimes missionaries forget to clean apartments and then you go to deep clean and realize that nobody has tried to clean that in a long time. and there's mold. and gross stuff. BUT NOT ANYMORE BECAUSE HERMANA CHRISTENSEN THE CLEANING MACHINE GOT RID OF IT ALLLLL!!! MUAHAHA! I also killed a giant horrifying, orange spider that has been there for about a month now that was keeping me from the mop that's been drying on our porch. So I killed it with Kaboom, cleaning spray...  My roommates told me I was the "real MVP" and my companion said "thank you Mom! Love you!" hahaha 

So  this morning was an adventure!!!

But I'm really really excited for the member of the 70 to come!! What a privilege it will be to hear from him!!! I've been studying a lot in preparation about the Holy Ghost and what an amazing gift it is to have a member of the Godhead with us to help us to know the will of God. I've also been thinking a lot about what a blessing it is to have the holy scriptures of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I would like to invite all of you to study your scriptures everyday. If you don't have one, ask the missionaries in the area for one. If you do, but know someone who doesn't, give one to a friend, family member,ect. Please, please, please read it. If you've never really heard a whole lot about it, start by reading the first, and last two paragraphs of the Introduction page. I testify to you that the promises contained in those paragraphs are true. I testify that you can come closer to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ by reading that book. It has brought me much comfort and many answers to the questions I've had. 

With that I'll just end by saying that I love you all so much!!!! I'm so so thankful for all of you and I know that Heavenly Father loves you so much!!! You are all amazing children of God and don't forget it! hahah I love you all! Have a wonderful week!!!! 

Hermana Christensen

Sept. 8, 2015

This email is definitely going to be a short one and I'm super sorry!!! But I had an amazing week!!!! 

I just want to thank my family sooooooooooooooo sooooooooooooooooooo sooooooooooooooooo much for all the fun stuff for my birthday!!!! it was one of the best ones yet!!!! Thank you for all the birthday wishes too!!!! It was amazing!!!!

We went to lunch at Peruvian restaurant with Hna Williams and Carmack and it was amazing!! Then we went to dinner with Emilia and the crew and they had two cakes for me and we hit the amazing piñata that my mom glammed up and it was sooooooooooooooo fun!!!!! 

I loved every minute of it!!!! I'm so thankful for all of you and for all the love I can feel from you!!! I hope that you all have a wonderful week and can feel the IMMENSE and INDIVIDUAL and PERFECT love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ both have for each of you!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Please forgive me for how short this is but there's literally a clock counting down from a minute waiting to kick me off of the computer!!! I feel like I am the weakest link! GOODBYE!!!

LOVE AND BLESSING!!! 

Hermana Tay!!

We went and ate at a Peruvian restaurant that one of the members works at and he gives us food for free!!!! It's called Inca Mamas and its sooooo good!!!