From: Matthew Eric Christensen
Well it was great to hear from you this week..... So I will just tell you about my week. On Monday we were able to play rugby with the other missionaries it was just touch but that game is so cool I now know why Chris was so excited to play at Utah State. Then we also just had a field day with all the other missionaries which was tons of fun! On Tuesday we had like eight appointments set up but like half of them fell through that was disappointing but the day was still good with the lessons that we did teach. We stopped by a less active’s house on Wednesday. Her name is Sis Spears, and she asked for a blessing and we gave her one, then like everyone in her house wanted one so we gave like 7 blessings it was awesome the spirit was so strong. Then Thursday we went on splits with the second ward as we always do. I swear when we are on splits its always the times when I have the most spiritual experiences this time we stopped a member’s, his name is Joe miller and the bishop has been trying to have him get the Melchizedek priesthood for a long time. So I went and just shared a scripture with him about the atonement and from there the conversation just snowballed and we talked about everything and the spirit was super strong and me and the other member helped Joe with some of his questions and things. And after we got back to the ward mission leaders house he said I was glowing cause I felt so good about the lesson that I just had it was unexplainable and so cool. Then Friday nothing cool happened except I have started writing in my journal now and I have realized how much I have already missed cause I haven't written in it for the last 3 months haha. Now I try and write something every night. On Saturday we got two new investigators their names are Tony and Lecia turner. they are a referral from the walnut creek stake and they are awesome! They already know that Joseph smith is a prophet and that the BOM is true and want to start taking the lessons out here in Antioch!! its so exciting!! the only problem is they work a lot so its hard to set up appointments with them but we are going to keep working with them. Sadly no one came to church this week but hopefully someone will next week.
well I love you tons hope to hear from you next week.
Love Elder Christensen
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ben 7-29-10
Hey all,
So this week has been pretty good we did a lot this week. Last Monday we went to the Ronald Reagan library which was pretty awesome. They had a lot of sweet vintage motorcycles and some from Hollywood and such it was way cool to learn a little more about president Reagan’s life. So my favorite part about the museum was the "miniature" white house even though it is not so mini. it is like 15 feet long and weighs 2 tons it is massive and really cool you can see in every room in the white house and it is all decorated and has all of the updated changes from president to president so you could look in and see a mini picture of Obama and his wife I it was pretty cool. Then we saw an awesome fighter jet that is outside in the court yard and you can get like fifteen feet away from it they are freaking huge and it has replica missiles and bombs and stuff they are crazy big it is impressive! So that is where I spent most of my p-day last week.
The work here has been really tough this week because everyone is out of town! I guess you are too because their was no e-mail from you this morning... but this last week we spent most of our time tracting like probably two hours every day. But the good thing is that we set a bunch of appointments to come back this week. On Saturday I was tracting with elder Hunt because we were on exchanges and when we were tracting someone was cooking with charcoal and it was Pioneer day so we were both dying for some pioneer activity so we went and asked a member if we could borrow their dutch oven because we were both craving it and ended up making Chris’s famous cobbler in the dutch oven, but we did it in the oven. It turned out alright not the best but I think it is because we used canned peaches in stead of pie filling peaches and didn’t use enough sprite so it was kind of dry on top. I didn’t care I pretty much ate the whole thing by myself it was so good!!! Things with me and elder Golden are going alright but I swear the kid never stops talking, which is ok because I am kind of prone to things like that by now and know how to deal with them haha It actually is going well we are working hard and the area is coming along it has been kind of hard to get people to church the last couple of weeks because of vacation and families and such.
So today for our zone activity we are going to a multi million dollar house in Westlake the guy who owns he house is named Dirk Gates and invented wireless internet. He is a member and loves the missionaries so we are all going over there to hang out for a couple hours I'm pretty excited I'm not going to lie!
Oh and mom guess what they have tennis courts in our complex and we have been playing every morning it is pretty fun elder hunt is really good he played in high school in Monroe.
Well love you all and hope to hear from you next week
Love elder Christensen
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ben 7-19-10
Hey all,
I'm glad to hear that things are going great for all of you! Mom it sounds like things are going great and I'm glad that you have found time to do your hobbies and play tennis and such. Sounds like you have had fun at the cabin and boating this week. As for dad going fishing I hope he catches a few for me. haha that is probably the thing I Miss the most is spending time in the outdoors by myself.
Man it is crazy that everyone is leaving on their missions first Chase last week now Hayden I'm so excited for them and I would love his address so I could write him in the MTC that would be way cool.
I'm so excited for you to be a ward missionary I know that you will do awesome and it is great that you are already starting with Tasha and Amber( that's Cameron iversons sister right?) Keep up the great fellowshiping work with them and working with the missionaries. Our ward has so much potential to grow and have good converts so put those missionaries to work!!!! Who is the ward mission leader now?
That is way wicked sweet that Danny got into the information systems program I don't really understand what that means but still that is so coool so what will he be studying exactly?
ADan I'm glad that things are going great for you and that school is going well. as for your questions I eat cereal everyday for breakfast but they don't have malto meal so I have to buy the expensive stuff it is kind of a bummer. but we do most of our finding through tracting it is rough sometimes because it is a pretty rich area. The people are usually pretty nice or we get referrals from the ward or from the mtc and visit them and sometimes that works out. What did you eat on your mission? I need ideas for cheap easy good food that requires no effort haha. and I have actually been to Moab a bunch of times with the scouts we did high adventure there one year but I am totally down for doing a trip down there when I get home.
This week things have been a little rough we didn't really have that great of a week but I definitely learned alot this week. One of the things that i learned was patience and how you cant force people to do what you want if they have no desire of changing and sometimes it is you that has to change. I also learned alot from zone conf. This week we had brother Heaton and brother Jarman come from the mtc and teach us a whole new way to go about doing missionary work. We focused more on teaching people not lessons and worked alot on how to begin teaching and setting up our expectations and finding out what the expectations of the investigators are. It was a really great zone conference and I am excited to test out the new method of preach my gospel they are giving us. It is a little more relaxed and follows more of the spirit, which I like because now i get to use more of my own knowledge instead of following the pattern set up by preach my gospel.
So over all it was a pretty good week. Starting on Saturday me and elder Golden are taking care of the Wood- Thomas's dog Afra she is a German Shepard and is amazing! So that has been fun it is nice to play with a dog again. I miss Zeek give him a belly rub and an ear scratch for me and if he wants he can still sleep on my bed... I mean i never let him do that... ya...
Love you all and I'm glad that things are going well. Thanks for all of your support and I love the e-mails and letters :)
peace
Elder Christensen
I'm glad to hear that things are going great for all of you! Mom it sounds like things are going great and I'm glad that you have found time to do your hobbies and play tennis and such. Sounds like you have had fun at the cabin and boating this week. As for dad going fishing I hope he catches a few for me. haha that is probably the thing I Miss the most is spending time in the outdoors by myself.
Man it is crazy that everyone is leaving on their missions first Chase last week now Hayden I'm so excited for them and I would love his address so I could write him in the MTC that would be way cool.
I'm so excited for you to be a ward missionary I know that you will do awesome and it is great that you are already starting with Tasha and Amber( that's Cameron iversons sister right?) Keep up the great fellowshiping work with them and working with the missionaries. Our ward has so much potential to grow and have good converts so put those missionaries to work!!!! Who is the ward mission leader now?
That is way wicked sweet that Danny got into the information systems program I don't really understand what that means but still that is so coool so what will he be studying exactly?
ADan I'm glad that things are going great for you and that school is going well. as for your questions I eat cereal everyday for breakfast but they don't have malto meal so I have to buy the expensive stuff it is kind of a bummer. but we do most of our finding through tracting it is rough sometimes because it is a pretty rich area. The people are usually pretty nice or we get referrals from the ward or from the mtc and visit them and sometimes that works out. What did you eat on your mission? I need ideas for cheap easy good food that requires no effort haha. and I have actually been to Moab a bunch of times with the scouts we did high adventure there one year but I am totally down for doing a trip down there when I get home.
This week things have been a little rough we didn't really have that great of a week but I definitely learned alot this week. One of the things that i learned was patience and how you cant force people to do what you want if they have no desire of changing and sometimes it is you that has to change. I also learned alot from zone conf. This week we had brother Heaton and brother Jarman come from the mtc and teach us a whole new way to go about doing missionary work. We focused more on teaching people not lessons and worked alot on how to begin teaching and setting up our expectations and finding out what the expectations of the investigators are. It was a really great zone conference and I am excited to test out the new method of preach my gospel they are giving us. It is a little more relaxed and follows more of the spirit, which I like because now i get to use more of my own knowledge instead of following the pattern set up by preach my gospel.
So over all it was a pretty good week. Starting on Saturday me and elder Golden are taking care of the Wood- Thomas's dog Afra she is a German Shepard and is amazing! So that has been fun it is nice to play with a dog again. I miss Zeek give him a belly rub and an ear scratch for me and if he wants he can still sleep on my bed... I mean i never let him do that... ya...
Love you all and I'm glad that things are going well. Thanks for all of your support and I love the e-mails and letters :)
peace
Elder Christensen
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Matt 7-19-10
Well this week has just been awesome!! We were able to teach like 15 lessons and are working with a ton of people. So we met on Tuesday with our investigator named Orlando and gave him a baptismal date for August 7th but he didn't come to church yesterday so we are going to have to move it, but we are super excited!! We were also able to go out on splits twice this week and that was awesome because we met a new investigator as a referral from someone in the ward. His name is Justin and he is about 30 we are teaching him and his mom I don't know her name though haha. Then we also got a couple of referrals from the ward and from the church. On Friday we did some service for a widow in the first ward and we cut down some trees and tore out a stump. I’m glad that I have had experience using a bow saw. And many other tools. With the stump it was super rotten so we dug around it and just pushed it over. It was awesome!! I wish I had my camera but I left it at the apartment.
Well it sounds like you had a very fun week end and that going to the cabin was a hit. Do you remember when we had neighborhood day up there it was so fun!! The cabin is always a fun spot to be in in the summer and especially if you have a campfire and sing our favorite song haha :) Wow! boating and fishing for dad this week he is really suffering haha. Did everyone try to slalom again?
Hayden bill is in the mtc!! That’s crazy I will definitely write him in the mtc he is going to love it. It is so nice to be surrounded by the gospel all the time. And the spirit is so strong there nothing can compare to it.
Wow you are going to make a great ward missionary and I hope that you get to work a lot with the full time elders. I know it’s always great to work with the members of the wards here. Well this week has been just awesome!
oh I almost forgot to tell you we were tracing (knocking doors) and we met this guy who was super grumpy and he said that we were lucky that we weren’t Jehovah witness cause he would have shot us... then he showed us his gun... in my head I thought what caliber is that hahaha :) It wasn't scary just kind of crazy :) we also found out how to make cake in the microwave! You just put mix in a bowl then add milk just a little (you want it to look like pancake mix) then put it in the microwave for 30 sec to 1min and its awesome!! Dave would love this!!
Well hope you have a wonderful week love you tons!!
Love Elder Matt Christensen
Well it sounds like you had a very fun week end and that going to the cabin was a hit. Do you remember when we had neighborhood day up there it was so fun!! The cabin is always a fun spot to be in in the summer and especially if you have a campfire and sing our favorite song haha :) Wow! boating and fishing for dad this week he is really suffering haha. Did everyone try to slalom again?
Hayden bill is in the mtc!! That’s crazy I will definitely write him in the mtc he is going to love it. It is so nice to be surrounded by the gospel all the time. And the spirit is so strong there nothing can compare to it.
Wow you are going to make a great ward missionary and I hope that you get to work a lot with the full time elders. I know it’s always great to work with the members of the wards here. Well this week has been just awesome!
oh I almost forgot to tell you we were tracing (knocking doors) and we met this guy who was super grumpy and he said that we were lucky that we weren’t Jehovah witness cause he would have shot us... then he showed us his gun... in my head I thought what caliber is that hahaha :) It wasn't scary just kind of crazy :) we also found out how to make cake in the microwave! You just put mix in a bowl then add milk just a little (you want it to look like pancake mix) then put it in the microwave for 30 sec to 1min and its awesome!! Dave would love this!!
Well hope you have a wonderful week love you tons!!
Love Elder Matt Christensen
Monday, July 12, 2010
Matt 7-12-10
Hello!
Wow! Sounds like there were a ton of changes in the ward lately. That is so funny I can totally see Bonnie as a wonderful RS president. haha yes I got the letter from the cabin as well. and I loved the pictures from up there. Wow! I can't believe how green it is up there still its crazy!!
Wow! It is so cool that Paul got up on the slalom ski its one of the best feelings ever! It sounds like you are taking full advantage of the summer time at the cabin and that Zeek is loving it as much as you. Give him tons of loves for me.
It is so cool that Chase is almost to the mtc! He is going to love it! I’m sure his talk was just amazing and I know that he is going to make a wonderful missionary!!
So this week it’s been really awesome! It feels like time has gone super fast but also super slow at the same time. We have done tons of service this week. To start, on Wednesday we helped an older couple clean their carpets and I realized how slow that really is. haha But it was good, they couldn't move the furniture so we helped with that and now the carpet looks really nice. Then on Friday we got to help a member set up for a fair thing called "cornfest" its in Brentwood but we got to drive golf carts and it was tons of fun!! We worked all day and I got super sunburned on my legs haha. yesterday we went to a fireside called "why I believe" It's usually for recent converts but we had one of our investigators talk.
her name is Deyala she is 16 and totally awesome and active in the church but isn't baptized yet cause her mom won't let her. but we are working with her. We also have a couple of other investigators their names are Liz & Raul and Steven. The work is going awesome!! Hopefully we can get them all to church next week!!
Well that sums up the week for me. Hope you have a wonderful week! Love you tons
elder Christensen
Wow! Sounds like there were a ton of changes in the ward lately. That is so funny I can totally see Bonnie as a wonderful RS president. haha yes I got the letter from the cabin as well. and I loved the pictures from up there. Wow! I can't believe how green it is up there still its crazy!!
Wow! It is so cool that Paul got up on the slalom ski its one of the best feelings ever! It sounds like you are taking full advantage of the summer time at the cabin and that Zeek is loving it as much as you. Give him tons of loves for me.
It is so cool that Chase is almost to the mtc! He is going to love it! I’m sure his talk was just amazing and I know that he is going to make a wonderful missionary!!
So this week it’s been really awesome! It feels like time has gone super fast but also super slow at the same time. We have done tons of service this week. To start, on Wednesday we helped an older couple clean their carpets and I realized how slow that really is. haha But it was good, they couldn't move the furniture so we helped with that and now the carpet looks really nice. Then on Friday we got to help a member set up for a fair thing called "cornfest" its in Brentwood but we got to drive golf carts and it was tons of fun!! We worked all day and I got super sunburned on my legs haha. yesterday we went to a fireside called "why I believe" It's usually for recent converts but we had one of our investigators talk.
her name is Deyala she is 16 and totally awesome and active in the church but isn't baptized yet cause her mom won't let her. but we are working with her. We also have a couple of other investigators their names are Liz & Raul and Steven. The work is going awesome!! Hopefully we can get them all to church next week!!
Well that sums up the week for me. Hope you have a wonderful week! Love you tons
elder Christensen
Ben 7-12-10
hey hey,
I did love the pictures of the cabin it is so freaking green for July! I couldn’t believe it! The new door looks great it is kinda weird to have a clean white door though haha you should have gotten like a brown one. Just kidding it looks great and sounds like you are doing a lot up there and having lots of fun parties I don’t remember going as much as you talk about it but that is probably because all the visits mesh into one after a while ya know?
That is way cool that Bonnie is relief Society Pres. she would do an amazing job at that. Tell her congrats from me and to keep up the good work.
I'm glad that Paul got up on the water ski it is about time he tried! But I’m glad that you had a great time up at Pine View and thanks for saying the pelican poem in memory of me, you know I totally would have. As for the snakes, Matt told me about the boa and I’m a little jealous I’m not not going to lie, but don’t worry gopher snakes are actually really nice once you catch them unless you are at the ranch then they are always mean.
I can’t believe that Chase is leaving on Wednesday that is freaking amazing I am so proud of him! I’m glad that you went to his farewell I know that he is going to be an awesome missionary! That is cool that Jeff and Laina sang I’m sure that they sounded amazing I wish they sang at mine but I guess that they love Chase more haha jk.
So sounds like you had a great week and that your talk in church went well. I think I am talking in church again this month. You know how much I love writing talks and how good I am at it... not! But it is goood because it makes me grow so much more.
So not a whole lot happened this week we have dropped a bunch of the people that we were teaching when I was with elder Simmons because they were just not progressing and it was more of a hang out than a place that invited the spirit so this last week was spent doing things like visiting potentials and tracting and all sorts of finding activities but we did manage to set up a couple of appointments where we could go back another time.
We have also been working with the elders quorum pres and the relief society pres to see if there is anyone we could visit that they can’t get a hold of. At our weekly correlation meeting with our ward mission leader we talked a lot about our dinner calendar and how there are about fifteen homes that he would like us in every month for dinner so things are coming along well. But we can always use more work!
Things are going great with me and elder Golden we get along really well.
Thank you so much for all of your support and all that you do for me
love Elder Christensen
I did love the pictures of the cabin it is so freaking green for July! I couldn’t believe it! The new door looks great it is kinda weird to have a clean white door though haha you should have gotten like a brown one. Just kidding it looks great and sounds like you are doing a lot up there and having lots of fun parties I don’t remember going as much as you talk about it but that is probably because all the visits mesh into one after a while ya know?
That is way cool that Bonnie is relief Society Pres. she would do an amazing job at that. Tell her congrats from me and to keep up the good work.
I'm glad that Paul got up on the water ski it is about time he tried! But I’m glad that you had a great time up at Pine View and thanks for saying the pelican poem in memory of me, you know I totally would have. As for the snakes, Matt told me about the boa and I’m a little jealous I’m not not going to lie, but don’t worry gopher snakes are actually really nice once you catch them unless you are at the ranch then they are always mean.
I can’t believe that Chase is leaving on Wednesday that is freaking amazing I am so proud of him! I’m glad that you went to his farewell I know that he is going to be an awesome missionary! That is cool that Jeff and Laina sang I’m sure that they sounded amazing I wish they sang at mine but I guess that they love Chase more haha jk.
So sounds like you had a great week and that your talk in church went well. I think I am talking in church again this month. You know how much I love writing talks and how good I am at it... not! But it is goood because it makes me grow so much more.
So not a whole lot happened this week we have dropped a bunch of the people that we were teaching when I was with elder Simmons because they were just not progressing and it was more of a hang out than a place that invited the spirit so this last week was spent doing things like visiting potentials and tracting and all sorts of finding activities but we did manage to set up a couple of appointments where we could go back another time.
We have also been working with the elders quorum pres and the relief society pres to see if there is anyone we could visit that they can’t get a hold of. At our weekly correlation meeting with our ward mission leader we talked a lot about our dinner calendar and how there are about fifteen homes that he would like us in every month for dinner so things are coming along well. But we can always use more work!
Things are going great with me and elder Golden we get along really well.
Thank you so much for all of your support and all that you do for me
love Elder Christensen
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Matt 7-6-10
Howdy,
Well this week has been awesome!! I got a new companion!!! His name is elder Capener he is from Boise Idaho and we get along super well. How was the cabin? I look forward to reading your letter. But this week elder Capener and I have just been trying to get everything going. We have been going through all of our former and potential investigators and are finding a ton of people to teach.
Last week our week started on Wednesday cause of transfers on Tuesday. So on Wednesday we trackted and just tried to meet with people and didn't have any luck but it was still a good day. On Thursday we decided that we needed to plan better and so we did and the day went much smoother. We contacted many people that I haven't seen all last transfer. Thursday is also our split night and that went really well I found a new investigator that we are starting to teach this week. Friday was another one of those tough days with no lessons but we contacted a referral, Leah and Desmond they are great people. We set a return appt. for next week cause they are out of town this week. Sunday the 4th was a great day we had a great testimony meeting in both of the wards. Then we had dinner with the ward mission leader in the first ward his name is bro Wieser. That was really good I don't know what we had but it was good!! haha we didn't get to see any fireworks but elder Capener had some poppers the ones you throw on the ground... we threw them at each other and had a war it was super fun :) haha
Well that was my week in a nut shell... it was really good and I look forward to this week and the people that we have to teach.
I love you tons hope to hear from you next week
Love elder Christensen
Well this week has been awesome!! I got a new companion!!! His name is elder Capener he is from Boise Idaho and we get along super well. How was the cabin? I look forward to reading your letter. But this week elder Capener and I have just been trying to get everything going. We have been going through all of our former and potential investigators and are finding a ton of people to teach.
Last week our week started on Wednesday cause of transfers on Tuesday. So on Wednesday we trackted and just tried to meet with people and didn't have any luck but it was still a good day. On Thursday we decided that we needed to plan better and so we did and the day went much smoother. We contacted many people that I haven't seen all last transfer. Thursday is also our split night and that went really well I found a new investigator that we are starting to teach this week. Friday was another one of those tough days with no lessons but we contacted a referral, Leah and Desmond they are great people. We set a return appt. for next week cause they are out of town this week. Sunday the 4th was a great day we had a great testimony meeting in both of the wards. Then we had dinner with the ward mission leader in the first ward his name is bro Wieser. That was really good I don't know what we had but it was good!! haha we didn't get to see any fireworks but elder Capener had some poppers the ones you throw on the ground... we threw them at each other and had a war it was super fun :) haha
Well that was my week in a nut shell... it was really good and I look forward to this week and the people that we have to teach.
I love you tons hope to hear from you next week
Love elder Christensen
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Ben 7-5-10
Hey,
Happy Fourth of July! How was your weekend? How was the cabin? Did you go boating or anything fun?
I am a little sad that I didn’t get an email this week but I got one from Adam and Amy so it’s all good. Sounds like they are having a great time over in Europe!
This has been a great but hard week. I am staying another transfer in Moorpark and have a new companion Elder Golden he is from Victor Idaho over by the Tetons and he is a pretty cool guy. I like him a lot and he wants to work hard this transfer so that is good. This week has been kinda tough because I have had to do all the planning and stuff because I know my way around and what is going on in the ward and such. I'm not complaining about the responsibility but I realized that planning takes a lot of time and effort that was not there last transfer. Mom you asked if I liked working with elder Simmons well the answer is yes for the most part. When we actually worked, I did. He was a very good teacher and knows his scriptures very well but he was the king apostate of the mission which means he kind of thinks he is above the law and doesn’t want to change so that is where we bumped heads but it all good he has moved on to Santa Maria and I have a new companion and a new transfer to look forward to.
So far things have gone really well this week was kind of a transition week with me getting a new comp and such so we have been going around making visits to members and trying to introduce elder Golden. We have also been going through a lot of the former investigators trying to see if any of them would be interested again. But it being the Fourth of July weekend no one was home. Oh well there is always this week.
It did not really feel like the fourth of July and I cant really figure out why but I think it is because it was not very hot and I didn’t get to watch fireworks or go swimming haha holidays as a missionary kind of stink because your not with your family. However I am in a good ward who loves the missionaries so I feel like I am at home here it is great I love serving in this area.
So on Sunday (yesterday) we had dinner at the Manwarings and we were talking inside before dinner and elder Golden was like "do you guys have a pet snake"? and of course they said no. But their was a 4 foot gopher snake in their back yard and sister Mainwaring doesn’t particularly like snakes so it was elder Christensen to the rescue. I caught it and took a couple of awesome pictures with it and then threw it over the fence and away it slithered it was pretty sweet!
We had dinner it was awesome and went to some visits and came back later that night for mallows it was awesome talk about flash back I think I ate 10 mallows it was so amazing.
Well it was kind of a boring week and sorry this letter is a little short but we have a lot of appointments set up for this week so it is looking like it is going to be a good week.
Love Elder Christensen
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