Wow sounds like things are going great at home! Yes I did get my birthday package and I’m so excited!! I loved the basketball and Frisbee. And the journal is so cool. So I have to admit that I haven't been keeping a very good journal... but since I opened the package with the journal I have written every day. I think it gives me some inspiration to write so I can use both of the journals. And the cd is awesome! I love it! And those pictures are way cool! I especially love the ones of the cabin and the moosen and all the snow at the cabin holy cow!!! Where did you take that picture from I have been trying to figure that out for along time haha. I can't believe that I will be 20 tomorrow it’s crazy.
Well things here have been awesome! So we were able to teach Dale Bogardus like 3 times and it was so great!! He is so ready for the gospel. When I asked him why he finally was interested he said " Well I guess I just had to push the I believe button" haha that works for me! :) So he is going to get baptized this week on Saturday! It was kinda weird teaching him cause he just believed everything we said and didn't really have any questions about things. So the lessons went really fast. We taught the first three lessons in like one hour haha. We also taught Jared twice this week and it went well one of them was at the visitors center. (While I was on exchanges) so elder Tsang and elder Shipley went up there. But I had a really great time with elder Harman in SanLeandro. We were able to meet a couple of good potential investigators and the day went really fast in a car.
So on Tuesday I was invited to a special district leader meeting by President Wade. And it went from like 9 to 12 and I was able to learn so much from him even though I wasn't a district leader. I learned how to do the weekly training and it has really helped my study through this week. Then we went through the week just as normal. And we got transfer calls on Saturday and....... well I have to say that I’m a little sad but I will be leaving Alameda!!!!! Ya!!!! haha I will be serving in the Hilltop first ward in Richmond and also the Laotian ward. cool huh. but I don't know any Laotian haha I guess I will learn some now :) I will also be the district leader. wow I feel like this is going to be a lot of stress but also very rewarding!
I can't believe that it is already the end of the playoffs for football! the Super bowl is coming so fast. Well, I don't care who wins but I say go packers. just cause haha
Wow! That is so cool that Danny might be coming to my mission for the summer! I sure hope that he gets a call back for the interviews!! that and I’m glad to hear that he and Adam both did well on the G-mat. I don't know if I will ever try to do something like that. hahaha
Way to go SAM!! making it to state!! That is so awesome!! I sure miss swimming! It is the best way to clear your head in the whole world because you don't have to worry about anything but going forward. haha and I sure hope that Mitch is able to drop the time that he needs to. I know how hard it is to shave off just a few seconds or less but if you just keep working as hard as you can then everything works out in the end.
so it has been fun here in Alameda I have been able to see some amazing changes here in people including myself. I know that the lord is watching out for all of us and that he loves us so much. I know this church is true and I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to be out here to serve the Lord with all my might. I hope that I will be able to touch the hearts of the people in Richmond.
I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week.
Elder Christensen
p.s. Happy birthday to me and Been!!!! :)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Ben 1-24-11
Thanks for the birthday packages they were great! I got them on Saturday and totally opened them immediately, haha sometimes I have no self control. I'm glad to hear that Paul is finally getting his eagle that is so awesome!
Man that is freaking awesome that Danny is having interviews in CA. It would be awesome if he gets a job here then he could come take me to lunch... ya right but maybe Matt...
I’m glad to hear that Sam and Mitch are doing well at swimming that is so awesome that SAM made it to state in the 100 you will have to let me know what his time is cuz I love the 100! How about Mitch? what event is he swimming? As for the super bowl I don’t want either one of those teams to win so I hope they both loose! haha guess that’s how the Lord works now I’m not even tempted to watch the game not that I would anyway but now the temptation is definitely gone!
This week is transfer week and we tore it up as usual on week six. It is funny how week six is always the best but it makes sense because the whole transfer we are trying to build and build so it just makes sense that week six is the best week that we have. So it started off by having a lesson with the Farris’s and we took a lady in the ward sister Majors who is a missionary machine. In the lesson we read 2nd Nephi 31 which was really awesome as we were reading sister Fariss stopped us in like the middle of the chapter and told us that we didn’t need to go any farther because she was already baptized and we proceeded to tell them that they did need to be baptized again because of the apostasy and she said that they needed to pray and read the scriptures in order to get the answer so we had them kneel right there and pray about it the spirit was super strong so hopefully when we go over on Tuesday we will be able to set them with a baptismal date. Alright so I just barely got my transfer call and I am staying here in Solvang which I am excited for. My new companion is going to be elder Christiansen... so it will be Christiansen and Christensen... ya I laughed too.
We had a great lesson with our investigator Taylor as well. It was cool, he is a cool guy. He is about 25 and has a crazy past but has been turning his life around and looking for something better in his life so he is truly searching and keeping our commitments which is great.
Sorry it is really short this week I didn’t have much time, hopefully I will have more time next week.
love you all
elder Christensen
Man that is freaking awesome that Danny is having interviews in CA. It would be awesome if he gets a job here then he could come take me to lunch... ya right but maybe Matt...
I’m glad to hear that Sam and Mitch are doing well at swimming that is so awesome that SAM made it to state in the 100 you will have to let me know what his time is cuz I love the 100! How about Mitch? what event is he swimming? As for the super bowl I don’t want either one of those teams to win so I hope they both loose! haha guess that’s how the Lord works now I’m not even tempted to watch the game not that I would anyway but now the temptation is definitely gone!
This week is transfer week and we tore it up as usual on week six. It is funny how week six is always the best but it makes sense because the whole transfer we are trying to build and build so it just makes sense that week six is the best week that we have. So it started off by having a lesson with the Farris’s and we took a lady in the ward sister Majors who is a missionary machine. In the lesson we read 2nd Nephi 31 which was really awesome as we were reading sister Fariss stopped us in like the middle of the chapter and told us that we didn’t need to go any farther because she was already baptized and we proceeded to tell them that they did need to be baptized again because of the apostasy and she said that they needed to pray and read the scriptures in order to get the answer so we had them kneel right there and pray about it the spirit was super strong so hopefully when we go over on Tuesday we will be able to set them with a baptismal date. Alright so I just barely got my transfer call and I am staying here in Solvang which I am excited for. My new companion is going to be elder Christiansen... so it will be Christiansen and Christensen... ya I laughed too.
We had a great lesson with our investigator Taylor as well. It was cool, he is a cool guy. He is about 25 and has a crazy past but has been turning his life around and looking for something better in his life so he is truly searching and keeping our commitments which is great.
Sorry it is really short this week I didn’t have much time, hopefully I will have more time next week.
love you all
elder Christensen
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Ben 10-25-10
Happy birthday dad!!!!!! That is crazy he is fifty I had no idea haha guess I didn’t really keep track of that one.
That is awesome that the Utes crushed Colorado! I'm glad that the family had fun at the Christensen’s.
Not going to lie I think I am more jealous of them going to the ski movie then I am of the chili cook off. Bah I miss the mountains! But at least if I stay here one more transfer I will get to see some snow maybe I will go shoe skiing or something just to get a fix haha
I think that is awesome that the Poulsons came dressed as Ute fans. And antelope chili sounds really good I think I might be a judge for a chili cook off on Halloween in the other ward I’m pretty excited I love good chili.
Ya being a cashier is definitely not the most exciting job in the world but in like 2 weeks it will get insane when people start shopping for that one holiday in December. (I refuse to say it until after thanksgiving). Ya he can have my badge if he wants I don’t even know where the thing ended up but if he does tell him not to loose it.
That is cool that Abbie's sister had a baby and she has a cool name. Our ward mission leaders wife just had her baby last Tuesday she was 6 weeks early! But she is doing well. She has a pretty cool name too Rylin I really like it. No Amy you can’t use the name I found it haha
This week was pretty good we did a lot of work in the golden hills ward with less actives and such. Plus we spent a lot of time riding bikes and walking because we have to save miles so we can make a trip to Bakersfield for exchanges. We taught a less active family that no one has been able to get in contact with in along time and they have a son who is nine and so we are going to start going over their more and teach him the lessons because he knows nothing about the church.
Things with Loretta and Nephi are going really well we taught Loretta the plan of salvation and she seemed like she got it. We were kind of in a rush to get to dinner so we are going to teach it more fully this week. She also came to church for the first time, which was, good except all three talks in sacrament was on baptism! And in our gospel PRINCIPLES class which is supposed to be like basic stuff right well this weeks lesson was on eternal families and lets say he spent a lot of time on the eternal part like in D&C 132 ya, it was a little deep to say the least. But that’s ok I think most of it went right over her head.
Nephi is doing great and is well on the path to baptism after out lesson this week he asked brother Moffat to baptize him when the time is right it was really cool.
So now time for some fun stuff after our meeting with Nephi we had correlation with brother Moffat which doesn’t sound all that fun but after he took us into his back yard and taught us how to rope. It was really hard at first but I went home and practiced for like a half hour and I’m actually not to bad at it I am definitely addicted to it I am determined to get good. So that was kind of fun and he taught us a fun game it is pretty much team roping. But you have one person running away from you and another person ropes the top and once you have the top you have to start hopping around while someone ropes your feet it was fun but I am set on beating him at that game and he is really good so I got a lot of work to do.
Well that’s about all for this week but next week is transfers again! Bah it’s going by to fast!
Love you all
Elder Christensen
ps this is something that a member gave me and it is really cool
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including seeds of doubt, hate, greed, ect. Then he carves you a smiling face and puts his light inside you to shine for all the world to see. This was passed on to me from another pumpkin, now it’s your turn to pass it on to another pumpkin.
I really liked this it made me really think about the good in everything because we normally relate Halloween to the devil and goblins and such but this proves that there is a light in all things if you just look for it.
That is awesome that the Utes crushed Colorado! I'm glad that the family had fun at the Christensen’s.
Not going to lie I think I am more jealous of them going to the ski movie then I am of the chili cook off. Bah I miss the mountains! But at least if I stay here one more transfer I will get to see some snow maybe I will go shoe skiing or something just to get a fix haha
I think that is awesome that the Poulsons came dressed as Ute fans. And antelope chili sounds really good I think I might be a judge for a chili cook off on Halloween in the other ward I’m pretty excited I love good chili.
Ya being a cashier is definitely not the most exciting job in the world but in like 2 weeks it will get insane when people start shopping for that one holiday in December. (I refuse to say it until after thanksgiving). Ya he can have my badge if he wants I don’t even know where the thing ended up but if he does tell him not to loose it.
That is cool that Abbie's sister had a baby and she has a cool name. Our ward mission leaders wife just had her baby last Tuesday she was 6 weeks early! But she is doing well. She has a pretty cool name too Rylin I really like it. No Amy you can’t use the name I found it haha
This week was pretty good we did a lot of work in the golden hills ward with less actives and such. Plus we spent a lot of time riding bikes and walking because we have to save miles so we can make a trip to Bakersfield for exchanges. We taught a less active family that no one has been able to get in contact with in along time and they have a son who is nine and so we are going to start going over their more and teach him the lessons because he knows nothing about the church.
Things with Loretta and Nephi are going really well we taught Loretta the plan of salvation and she seemed like she got it. We were kind of in a rush to get to dinner so we are going to teach it more fully this week. She also came to church for the first time, which was, good except all three talks in sacrament was on baptism! And in our gospel PRINCIPLES class which is supposed to be like basic stuff right well this weeks lesson was on eternal families and lets say he spent a lot of time on the eternal part like in D&C 132 ya, it was a little deep to say the least. But that’s ok I think most of it went right over her head.
Nephi is doing great and is well on the path to baptism after out lesson this week he asked brother Moffat to baptize him when the time is right it was really cool.
So now time for some fun stuff after our meeting with Nephi we had correlation with brother Moffat which doesn’t sound all that fun but after he took us into his back yard and taught us how to rope. It was really hard at first but I went home and practiced for like a half hour and I’m actually not to bad at it I am definitely addicted to it I am determined to get good. So that was kind of fun and he taught us a fun game it is pretty much team roping. But you have one person running away from you and another person ropes the top and once you have the top you have to start hopping around while someone ropes your feet it was fun but I am set on beating him at that game and he is really good so I got a lot of work to do.
Well that’s about all for this week but next week is transfers again! Bah it’s going by to fast!
Love you all
Elder Christensen
ps this is something that a member gave me and it is really cool
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including seeds of doubt, hate, greed, ect. Then he carves you a smiling face and puts his light inside you to shine for all the world to see. This was passed on to me from another pumpkin, now it’s your turn to pass it on to another pumpkin.
I really liked this it made me really think about the good in everything because we normally relate Halloween to the devil and goblins and such but this proves that there is a light in all things if you just look for it.
HAPPY 50 TO DAD!!!! Man that’s old haha
Yeah I know what wind and rain feel like. That is how the weather has been all week. Good thing I have a great rain jacket. I also bought a new jacket cause I can't use my red one so I got a black one. :) Haha I sure hope you get some snow that would be so sweet!! Man I bet the Warren Miller movie was awesome!! Yesterday we were riding in the mist and it looked kind of like snow in the headlights of cars and it made me super trunkey haha
That is cool that you had a wonderful weekend celebrating birthdays!! Family parties are the best and the Utes sound like they are doing great! Go Utes!!
So this week has been a good one it feels like time flies by cause it is already the last week of the transfer. We were able to teach the Ormsby family and we talked about the first half of the plan of salvation. And talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and how we can feel it. It was a really good lesson. They weren't able to make it to church cause they were out of town and will be gone next weekend as well. But we are hoping that one of these weeks we will get them there. We also met with Lily and talked about baptism, the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end and it went really well. She is definitely going to be ready for the 13th of November. And Andy Tomatsu was out of town so we weren't able to teach him. But we are going to this Wednesday and we are super excited!
We also had a Halloween party this week and it was tons of fun! They had a murder mystery and we had to dress up and find out who got murdered. Elder Gray and I dressed up and traded nametags!! Great costume!! Haha we also got some tattoo sleeves and wore those so I was bad elder gray. Haha it was tons of fun I will send pictures soon. I use the library so I can't email them but I’m going to get some printed next week and I will send them to you. That’s funny that the Poulsens were Ute fans. I saw the lamest costume but it was pretty funny. Our ward mission leader bro Stewart had a white t-shirt that said "Go ceilings" cause he was a ceiling fan... haha LAME!
So the last 2 p-days we have gotten together with all the elders in the zone and played sports and it was super sweet! Last week we played football and I was so sore afterwards!! I couldn't move for like 3 days and I still had to ride my bike! This week we carved pumpkins and it was sweet! I have some pictures from that as well.
I didn't know that the Mission Pres. wrote you and asked for a 72hour kit. But I think I would like a headlamp. And whatever else you can think of. I have my knife still so I don't really need one of those. But whatever you want to send I’m sure I will love, if I ever need to use it.
Well everything is going great here! I sure appreciate all of your prayers they are sure being answered here they are wonderful. I love you all and keep praying for all of you.
I’m sure that the missionaries will love the pizza. Or you could fix one pan pork chops mmmmm!! That’s what I want! Haha
Love elder Christensen
Yeah I know what wind and rain feel like. That is how the weather has been all week. Good thing I have a great rain jacket. I also bought a new jacket cause I can't use my red one so I got a black one. :) Haha I sure hope you get some snow that would be so sweet!! Man I bet the Warren Miller movie was awesome!! Yesterday we were riding in the mist and it looked kind of like snow in the headlights of cars and it made me super trunkey haha
That is cool that you had a wonderful weekend celebrating birthdays!! Family parties are the best and the Utes sound like they are doing great! Go Utes!!
So this week has been a good one it feels like time flies by cause it is already the last week of the transfer. We were able to teach the Ormsby family and we talked about the first half of the plan of salvation. And talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and how we can feel it. It was a really good lesson. They weren't able to make it to church cause they were out of town and will be gone next weekend as well. But we are hoping that one of these weeks we will get them there. We also met with Lily and talked about baptism, the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end and it went really well. She is definitely going to be ready for the 13th of November. And Andy Tomatsu was out of town so we weren't able to teach him. But we are going to this Wednesday and we are super excited!
We also had a Halloween party this week and it was tons of fun! They had a murder mystery and we had to dress up and find out who got murdered. Elder Gray and I dressed up and traded nametags!! Great costume!! Haha we also got some tattoo sleeves and wore those so I was bad elder gray. Haha it was tons of fun I will send pictures soon. I use the library so I can't email them but I’m going to get some printed next week and I will send them to you. That’s funny that the Poulsens were Ute fans. I saw the lamest costume but it was pretty funny. Our ward mission leader bro Stewart had a white t-shirt that said "Go ceilings" cause he was a ceiling fan... haha LAME!
So the last 2 p-days we have gotten together with all the elders in the zone and played sports and it was super sweet! Last week we played football and I was so sore afterwards!! I couldn't move for like 3 days and I still had to ride my bike! This week we carved pumpkins and it was sweet! I have some pictures from that as well.
I didn't know that the Mission Pres. wrote you and asked for a 72hour kit. But I think I would like a headlamp. And whatever else you can think of. I have my knife still so I don't really need one of those. But whatever you want to send I’m sure I will love, if I ever need to use it.
Well everything is going great here! I sure appreciate all of your prayers they are sure being answered here they are wonderful. I love you all and keep praying for all of you.
I’m sure that the missionaries will love the pizza. Or you could fix one pan pork chops mmmmm!! That’s what I want! Haha
Love elder Christensen
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Matt 10-18-10
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:53:10 -0700
Subject: Re: Mmmm...St. George!
Wow that sounds like a sweet trip down to St. George. That place is always so fun! I’m glad that you enjoyed church there. That is too bad that the elder didn't know Andrew. Have you found his mission address yet?
So this week has been pretty good. It started off slow but in the end it ended up to be great! So Tuesday felt like Monday long and slow. Haha but after that we went on exchanges with the district leader and that totally changed the week around! I went to his area to be with his companion and the district leader came here to be with elder Gray. While I was there we went to the visitor’s center with an investigator and the spirit was so strong. We watched the testaments movie and I forgot how strong that story really is. It’s so different to read it in the scriptures and to see it acted out. I loved it. That was the first time that I have been up there with an investigator in my mission and now I want to take everyone up to the V.C. haha. So then we finished exchanges and that was good. And while I was gone elder Gray found 2 new investigators that are super ready for the gospel! They’re Frank and Marilynn Ormbsy they are around 65 and have a son, and he and his family are in the church. So we are super excited to teach them. Then we were also able to set a baptism date with Andy Tomatsu for the 6th of November. He is still trying to find an answer to know if this is the true church but I know that the Lord will bless him as he continues to make changes in his life. We also set a date with Lily she has been trying to find that Jesus is he Savior and this week she felt like he is and that she needs to be baptized. So she has a date for the 13 of November. So things are looking up here in Alameda :) Yesterday we had dinner with this couple in the ward and they had this butternut squash soup and it wasn't my favorite but I still ate it haha. Grandma Ami would love it. We got rain again for the first time in along time and it felt nice, at first I didn't like it, but that changed pretty quick and then every thing was good.
That’s crazy that you found the missionaries right by our house! I’m sure that they will love to eat with Lori it’s always nice to meet people that want to feed us. Haha :)
I’m glad that Paul is loving work. It is really great place. Is he a cashier or working in a department?
Well that was my week I hope you all have a wonderful week I love you all a ton!!
Love elder Christensen
Subject: Re: Mmmm...St. George!
Wow that sounds like a sweet trip down to St. George. That place is always so fun! I’m glad that you enjoyed church there. That is too bad that the elder didn't know Andrew. Have you found his mission address yet?
So this week has been pretty good. It started off slow but in the end it ended up to be great! So Tuesday felt like Monday long and slow. Haha but after that we went on exchanges with the district leader and that totally changed the week around! I went to his area to be with his companion and the district leader came here to be with elder Gray. While I was there we went to the visitor’s center with an investigator and the spirit was so strong. We watched the testaments movie and I forgot how strong that story really is. It’s so different to read it in the scriptures and to see it acted out. I loved it. That was the first time that I have been up there with an investigator in my mission and now I want to take everyone up to the V.C. haha. So then we finished exchanges and that was good. And while I was gone elder Gray found 2 new investigators that are super ready for the gospel! They’re Frank and Marilynn Ormbsy they are around 65 and have a son, and he and his family are in the church. So we are super excited to teach them. Then we were also able to set a baptism date with Andy Tomatsu for the 6th of November. He is still trying to find an answer to know if this is the true church but I know that the Lord will bless him as he continues to make changes in his life. We also set a date with Lily she has been trying to find that Jesus is he Savior and this week she felt like he is and that she needs to be baptized. So she has a date for the 13 of November. So things are looking up here in Alameda :) Yesterday we had dinner with this couple in the ward and they had this butternut squash soup and it wasn't my favorite but I still ate it haha. Grandma Ami would love it. We got rain again for the first time in along time and it felt nice, at first I didn't like it, but that changed pretty quick and then every thing was good.
That’s crazy that you found the missionaries right by our house! I’m sure that they will love to eat with Lori it’s always nice to meet people that want to feed us. Haha :)
I’m glad that Paul is loving work. It is really great place. Is he a cashier or working in a department?
Well that was my week I hope you all have a wonderful week I love you all a ton!!
Love elder Christensen
Ben 10-18-10
From: Bennett
To: pickleballgal@hotmail.com
I cannot believe that another week has gone by it went by so fast I can’t even remember what we did!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time in St. George, I love that place! I wish we still went there for family reunions it was good to have a change for a while but I think its time to go back ha-ha. That is way funny that you saw Leslie she is so awesome!
That is so great that BYU lost and the Utes are still winning haha I had a talk with some guys in elders quorum about that yesterday. Pretty sure every one in California who is a member likes BYU except me. Its ok I like to be different.
That is way cool that you met someone from Andrew's mission. To bad he didn’t know Andrew. It sounds like you had some great talks. This week was the primary program for both wards it was fun the Bear Valley ward was not quite prepared but it was still good and the Golden Hills one was really good. The theme was I know My Savior Lives and they both did a really good job expressing their testimonies.
Mom you are awesome that is so funny that you got out of the car to get the missionaries phone number for the Plumbers I bet they were like, “What the heck just happened!”.
In the package if it is the one I am thinking of I haven’t sent on in a while but if you open it their is a BOSTON record for the cabin. :)
I haven’t gotten a letter from grandma Ami in a while but no the articles are not distracting I really like them.
Thanks for all you do
Love elder Christensen
P.S. I'm glad Paul I liking his job! What department does he work in?
To: pickleballgal@hotmail.com
I cannot believe that another week has gone by it went by so fast I can’t even remember what we did!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time in St. George, I love that place! I wish we still went there for family reunions it was good to have a change for a while but I think its time to go back ha-ha. That is way funny that you saw Leslie she is so awesome!
That is so great that BYU lost and the Utes are still winning haha I had a talk with some guys in elders quorum about that yesterday. Pretty sure every one in California who is a member likes BYU except me. Its ok I like to be different.
That is way cool that you met someone from Andrew's mission. To bad he didn’t know Andrew. It sounds like you had some great talks. This week was the primary program for both wards it was fun the Bear Valley ward was not quite prepared but it was still good and the Golden Hills one was really good. The theme was I know My Savior Lives and they both did a really good job expressing their testimonies.
Mom you are awesome that is so funny that you got out of the car to get the missionaries phone number for the Plumbers I bet they were like, “What the heck just happened!”.
In the package if it is the one I am thinking of I haven’t sent on in a while but if you open it their is a BOSTON record for the cabin. :)
I haven’t gotten a letter from grandma Ami in a while but no the articles are not distracting I really like them.
Thanks for all you do
Love elder Christensen
P.S. I'm glad Paul I liking his job! What department does he work in?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Matt 6-27-10
Yes! One week down in Alameda. It was a good week. Nothing really interesting happened but it was great. My comps name is elder Gray he is from Wasilla Alaska! And yes he has seen Sarah Pailin haha. He has been out for about 13 months. And he is a great elder. His last comp was going home and super turnkey so there hasn't been too much work going on here. But that is going to change. :) So Alameda is a small island right by Oakland and it’s not very big. We can ride our bikes and get any where in about 20 min. which is nice and it’s really flat. It’s so hard being surrounded by water! I want to go swimming in the ocean so bad! It’s been in the high 80's to mid 90's so it’s been hot and people were out playing the past two days. Yes we are planning on watching conference with some members on Saturday at least... it should be really good. The members are really nice and it’s a lot of young couples in the ward. Not much youth though. We had the primary program this week and it was really good. I remember prepare for my part along time ago it was always so fun. This past week a member was having a garage sale and we helped clean up and she gave us some tennis rackets so we played today and it was tons of fun. We only had one ball but I’m going to buy more next week. So Paul you better watch out I might be able to beat you when I get home. Haha our apartment is not to small it has 2 bedrooms and 1bathroom and a little kitchen. It has been a missionary apartment for about 10 years so it has a couple of things wrong with it... but it still feels nice to call somewhere home. We don't have any roommates so we find ways to entertain our selves usually with the tennis rackets... :)
Well I’m glad to hear that you had a wonderful week and that Adam and Amy made it home safely. Wow I’m going to miss getting wood at the cabin for conference! That was always such fun to me I don't really know why it was hard but fun. It always felt so rewarding when we could see how much wood we can fit in the cabin haha. I hope that you all have a fun time with out me. Wow that is such a cool picture of the fire and the temple! Yes I saw a couple of fires in Antioch but they were just grass fires nothing like at home. And I haven't seen any rain or lightning yet either that's one thing I miss the most is lightning! It’s just so cool!! Yeah I heard about the gas line we were at a member’s home and saw it on TV... but that was crazy do you know how it happened?
That is so cool that you are having success in missionary work at home. I don't remember the Isoms but I do know where they live. And I know how important fellowshipping is to those who aren't comfortable at church so keep up the good work and make sure that she recognizes the spirit while at church. And things will keep moving forward. I just sent the Mays' a letter today so they should get it this week.
What was your dream about? People from home are always in my dreams its crazy!!
I love you all
Love
Elder Christensen
Well I’m glad to hear that you had a wonderful week and that Adam and Amy made it home safely. Wow I’m going to miss getting wood at the cabin for conference! That was always such fun to me I don't really know why it was hard but fun. It always felt so rewarding when we could see how much wood we can fit in the cabin haha. I hope that you all have a fun time with out me. Wow that is such a cool picture of the fire and the temple! Yes I saw a couple of fires in Antioch but they were just grass fires nothing like at home. And I haven't seen any rain or lightning yet either that's one thing I miss the most is lightning! It’s just so cool!! Yeah I heard about the gas line we were at a member’s home and saw it on TV... but that was crazy do you know how it happened?
That is so cool that you are having success in missionary work at home. I don't remember the Isoms but I do know where they live. And I know how important fellowshipping is to those who aren't comfortable at church so keep up the good work and make sure that she recognizes the spirit while at church. And things will keep moving forward. I just sent the Mays' a letter today so they should get it this week.
What was your dream about? People from home are always in my dreams its crazy!!
I love you all
Love
Elder Christensen
Ben 6-27-10
I’m glad to hear that you made it through your first full week of school and that the kids survived. That is cool that you did a fun run I don’t remember ever doing one of those at canyon view.
That is good that Adam and Amy made it home safe. Sounds like they had more adventures with Amy going to help with the baby. Sounds like you had a good time cutting wood as dumb as it sounds I always enjoyed cutting wood just not hauling it to the cabin haha. But I’m glad that things are good up there. But that is sad that all the leaves have already fallen they haven’t really changed here and I don’t thing that they are going to.
That was such a cool picture of the temple with the fire behind it! and yes their have been quite a few fires close to our apartment not very big just like twenty acres and no houses because there are a lot of open fields in between houses up here so luckily none got burned down.
I am so excited for conference next week it is going to be awesome. I think we are going to watch it at the church this time because their will be less distractions and I will be able to learn more. I’m happy to hear that you liked the relief society broadcast I’m sure it was great I love president Monson's talks they are the best.
That is awesome to hear about the progression of Sylvia I hope that she continues to grow in the gospel and I’m sure that she will as she continues to come to church. That is what we talked about in district meeting this week was how important going to church is for the people that we are teaching so that they can feel the spirit and learn along side the other members. It also strengthens the relationship between the person investigating the church and the members instead of the investigator and the missionary.
So something cool happened this week during district meeting. We were sitting discussing ways to get investigators to church and this older guy walks in and asks if the bishop was here. we told him no and he proceeded to tell us his name was Nephi Wright and that he had been ex-communicated some years ago and wanted to know what he needed to come back to church so he came looking for the bishop and got the missionaries. It was way cool we got his address and told him that he would have to take the missionary lessons and be baptized again which he kind of figured but we are going to start teaching him later this week.
Our new apartment is not that bad we have pretty much eliminated the roaches. But it is a little plain and we don’t really have that much stuff so it is a little empty. Oh and the other night we heard a bunch of people yelling and almost getting into a fight at like 3 in the morning it was really funny. So it is a change to say the least. Oh and I have another new companion elder Jones. He is from Cleveland Ohio and is pretty cool. I just can’t believe that I have another companion. That makes 5 for the 6 transfers that I have been out. There must be something wrong with me haha
So I have another cool story to tell you and you are probably going to think I am crazy but I gave a horse a blessing last night. Ya that’s how I reacted when the lady asked me to give her horse a blessing. But it was actually kind of cool. So here is the whole story. On Saturday we were over at the Roghairs teaching a lesson because her daughters are getting baptized next week and there mom wanted them to take the lessons to make sure they understood everything before they got baptized. and while we were there she brought her pony out to walk it because it had colic which is a horse sickness(something to do with it not pooping) and so they had the vet three times and about 8 Sunday night I got a call asking me to come over because they had the vet three times and nothing had passed so I new what she was calling about so I went and when we got here she was like " you know why your here right" it was pretty obvious what she wanted me to do. And she looked it up on her I phone to make sure it was alright so I gave the horse a blessing it was pretty cool. And how many people can say that they blessed a horse? Well at least one.
As for the kindergarten teacher we haven’t met with her for a couple of weeks she has been really busy and not home when we go by but I will keep you updated on her.
Love you all and hope you have a great week
Love elder Christensen
P. S. I'm going fishing today and it is going to be super relaxing!!
That is good that Adam and Amy made it home safe. Sounds like they had more adventures with Amy going to help with the baby. Sounds like you had a good time cutting wood as dumb as it sounds I always enjoyed cutting wood just not hauling it to the cabin haha. But I’m glad that things are good up there. But that is sad that all the leaves have already fallen they haven’t really changed here and I don’t thing that they are going to.
That was such a cool picture of the temple with the fire behind it! and yes their have been quite a few fires close to our apartment not very big just like twenty acres and no houses because there are a lot of open fields in between houses up here so luckily none got burned down.
I am so excited for conference next week it is going to be awesome. I think we are going to watch it at the church this time because their will be less distractions and I will be able to learn more. I’m happy to hear that you liked the relief society broadcast I’m sure it was great I love president Monson's talks they are the best.
That is awesome to hear about the progression of Sylvia I hope that she continues to grow in the gospel and I’m sure that she will as she continues to come to church. That is what we talked about in district meeting this week was how important going to church is for the people that we are teaching so that they can feel the spirit and learn along side the other members. It also strengthens the relationship between the person investigating the church and the members instead of the investigator and the missionary.
So something cool happened this week during district meeting. We were sitting discussing ways to get investigators to church and this older guy walks in and asks if the bishop was here. we told him no and he proceeded to tell us his name was Nephi Wright and that he had been ex-communicated some years ago and wanted to know what he needed to come back to church so he came looking for the bishop and got the missionaries. It was way cool we got his address and told him that he would have to take the missionary lessons and be baptized again which he kind of figured but we are going to start teaching him later this week.
Our new apartment is not that bad we have pretty much eliminated the roaches. But it is a little plain and we don’t really have that much stuff so it is a little empty. Oh and the other night we heard a bunch of people yelling and almost getting into a fight at like 3 in the morning it was really funny. So it is a change to say the least. Oh and I have another new companion elder Jones. He is from Cleveland Ohio and is pretty cool. I just can’t believe that I have another companion. That makes 5 for the 6 transfers that I have been out. There must be something wrong with me haha
So I have another cool story to tell you and you are probably going to think I am crazy but I gave a horse a blessing last night. Ya that’s how I reacted when the lady asked me to give her horse a blessing. But it was actually kind of cool. So here is the whole story. On Saturday we were over at the Roghairs teaching a lesson because her daughters are getting baptized next week and there mom wanted them to take the lessons to make sure they understood everything before they got baptized. and while we were there she brought her pony out to walk it because it had colic which is a horse sickness(something to do with it not pooping) and so they had the vet three times and about 8 Sunday night I got a call asking me to come over because they had the vet three times and nothing had passed so I new what she was calling about so I went and when we got here she was like " you know why your here right" it was pretty obvious what she wanted me to do. And she looked it up on her I phone to make sure it was alright so I gave the horse a blessing it was pretty cool. And how many people can say that they blessed a horse? Well at least one.
As for the kindergarten teacher we haven’t met with her for a couple of weeks she has been really busy and not home when we go by but I will keep you updated on her.
Love you all and hope you have a great week
Love elder Christensen
P. S. I'm going fishing today and it is going to be super relaxing!!
9-12-10
Well I don’t have a ton of time this week because we only have one computer so if I leave some things out I'm sorry I will try to fit it all in.
That is crazy that you pretty much get five days off even though your not getting paid but I think its worth it now you can do fun things on those long weekends.
That is sweet that Paul was working out at the fair I’m glad that he is doing something and that is cool that Jeff was picking him up and taking him out. I agree that it is funny how the fair has not changed I think that is why people still go they know what to expect haha !
It sure is amazing how fast time flies I cant believe that Adam and Amy are coming home already the last few months have just flown by. I know that they will both be able to find jobs they are highly skilled but I think they should live at our house and Adam should be a ski instructor or something fun.
The temple was amazing it was so peaceful and quiet I loved it and I learn something new every time I go. The only bad part about the trip was how tired I was when I got home it takes a lot out of you to drive for pretty much 7 hours round trip.
Things are going well with our investigators we finally got two of them to church on Sunday which we have been trying to do for the last three weeks so we went up on Saturday night and called them a ride because their dad had to work or something and everything worked out. We haven’t had a chance to talk to them about it yet but I am pretty sure that they really liked it and hopefully we are going to get them to come next week too.
So I am moving! Not transferred just into another apartment which makes me really sad. So instead of being in a four man apartment we are going to be in a two man apartment that is actually in our area so it is better in that respect but will be a little bit more boring at night.
That is what I’m doing the rest of today starting at two because we can’t pick up the key until then.
So time for a funny story, on Saturday night we did exchanges so I went with elder Shaw and stayed in Tehachapi and we didn’t have dinner so we are riding our bikes down the street and neither of us were all that hungry so we decided that we would go hit some jumps on the bikes. Sounded like a good idea to me. So we got to these really little BMX jumps and started going off them getting about two inches of air. That’s right two inches. And then right after the jump was a berm that took you to another one that was kind of a step down and when I did that one I did what I do best on a bike and crashed. It was great to finally get the adrenaline pumping again. It was not a bad crash I just scraped my hands and got all covered in dirt I pretty much did a shoulder plant into the dirt but I didn’t rip any of my clothes which was sweet. It was totally worth it!
Well that is about all that happened with me this week.
Love you all
Elder Christensen
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Ben 9-6-10
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 11:26:38 -0700
Subject: Re: Labor Day!
From: Bennett. Christensen
To: pickleballgal@hotmail.com
Hey! Sounds like you had a great labor day weekend that is way cool that you ran into the Walkers at Swiss days. I love them they are great. That is cool that the leaves have already started to change colors, that is my favorite part about the fall, all the great colors. That’s fun that grandpa Ed and Dan and Abbie are coming up for dinner I'm sure it will be great.
Your class sounds interesting buT I’m sure things will keep improving. So we were teaching this kid with autism before he got baptized and it was difficult but he passed his interview and was baptized on Saturday. It was good, but the first time he was baptized he stuck his foot up out of the water so they had to do it again and he started crying and didn’t want to so they had to close the curtains and get everybody out of the room before he would do it again it was way sad but good at the same time.
I got the package last week and was surprised as well how much candy you could stuff in a box like that, haha, but I have been sharing so no need to worry about cavities....
Things kinda fell through this week but that’s ok we still managed to have a good week we met with the two boys William and David and found out that they really want to come to church so we are trying to arrange them a ride so that they can come next week. We would go pick them up but they live out in bear valley and we have meetings every week before church so we are going to get their home teacher to pick them up. We didn’t have the opportunity to meet with Ruth she is the teacher but have an appointment for Friday.
We executed or plan with Wayne and Nita to start knocking out some of their word of wisdom problems and it went alright but not as good as I was hoping. I guess they just bought a new coffee maker and 5 bags of coffee so they wouldn’t give it up they get why they need to they are just stubborn but we are going to continue working with them on it.
So the other day we were walking over to the church and found these trees with nuts on them and found out that it was an almond tree so we have been having fresh almonds the last few nights and last night we tried to make honey roasted almonds it pretty much worked. haha they tasted good but not quite the same. What is the recipe for the candy coated ones like we made with grandma Ami? I think it was cinnamon and sugar right?
love and miss you all
Elder Christensen
Subject: Re: Labor Day!
From: Bennett. Christensen
To: pickleballgal@hotmail.com
Hey! Sounds like you had a great labor day weekend that is way cool that you ran into the Walkers at Swiss days. I love them they are great. That is cool that the leaves have already started to change colors, that is my favorite part about the fall, all the great colors. That’s fun that grandpa Ed and Dan and Abbie are coming up for dinner I'm sure it will be great.
Your class sounds interesting buT I’m sure things will keep improving. So we were teaching this kid with autism before he got baptized and it was difficult but he passed his interview and was baptized on Saturday. It was good, but the first time he was baptized he stuck his foot up out of the water so they had to do it again and he started crying and didn’t want to so they had to close the curtains and get everybody out of the room before he would do it again it was way sad but good at the same time.
I got the package last week and was surprised as well how much candy you could stuff in a box like that, haha, but I have been sharing so no need to worry about cavities....
Things kinda fell through this week but that’s ok we still managed to have a good week we met with the two boys William and David and found out that they really want to come to church so we are trying to arrange them a ride so that they can come next week. We would go pick them up but they live out in bear valley and we have meetings every week before church so we are going to get their home teacher to pick them up. We didn’t have the opportunity to meet with Ruth she is the teacher but have an appointment for Friday.
We executed or plan with Wayne and Nita to start knocking out some of their word of wisdom problems and it went alright but not as good as I was hoping. I guess they just bought a new coffee maker and 5 bags of coffee so they wouldn’t give it up they get why they need to they are just stubborn but we are going to continue working with them on it.
So the other day we were walking over to the church and found these trees with nuts on them and found out that it was an almond tree so we have been having fresh almonds the last few nights and last night we tried to make honey roasted almonds it pretty much worked. haha they tasted good but not quite the same. What is the recipe for the candy coated ones like we made with grandma Ami? I think it was cinnamon and sugar right?
love and miss you all
Elder Christensen
Matt 9-1-10
Hello family!
Well this week has been awesome! We had a baptism of Joshua Aragona and found a new investigator who is super solid and we are super excited! So after the baptism we went to dinner with the Aragonas and they took us to Mimi’s cafe it was super good I’ve never been there but I liked it.
We are having the Turners baptism interview is tomorrow and we are super excited! They are so ready for this weekend and its going to be awesome! They are more excited than us, I think, which is really good to see. They have so much knowledge of the gospel already and have a huge desire to keep learning and make it to the temple as soon as they can after they are baptized. Which will be in 1 year.
So to tell you about this new investigator her name is Julie Whitman and it is truly a miracle how we found her. So, in district meeting last Tuesday we picked two streets to tract the first was Kodiak and the other was Elk horn. So on Wednesday we tracted Kodiak around 11 o'clock and only talked to two people but we left cards on all of the doors. (fast forward) to 7 o'clock we are getting ready to go on splits with the first ward and we get this text referral from the visitors center. saying that this lady is so ready and has read the B.O.M. and that she has a baptism date for the 25 of September. Well we were freaking out cause she lived on the street we just tracted earlier that morning... so apparently she has been looking into the church for a long time and knows a ton of members around here cause their kids all go to the same school. So we met her on Thursday and talked with her and she said "I already know the church is true and that Joseph smith is a prophet". So we went over the baptism interview questions with her and she has to come to church 3 times and that is all we are waiting for. She is going to ask for Sundays off so she can come to church. she has 3 kids and a husband and we are going to try and start teaching them as well. So thank you for all the prayers for the work they are truly paying off and I know that the lord is working miracles here in Antioch and all over the world. if we keep his commandments he will bless us with what we need and what we ask for. :)
So this week we get to go to the temple and we are super excited!! tomorrow at 8 am baby its going to be sweet!!
Well I’m glad all of you had an amazing week! It sounds like it was a good time at the cabin I hope you all enjoy the wonderful summer weather up there for me. The weather feels just like home sometimes... it gets hot in the day usually the 90's now and cools off in the night. but most of the summer was really cool which was nice. I got the package and when I saw all the candy and the types I said "my mom always knows what I want and need she is so great!" every night I snack on something different but I also have to pace my self haha. :)
Well I love you all and pray for you always
Love elder Christensen
Well this week has been awesome! We had a baptism of Joshua Aragona and found a new investigator who is super solid and we are super excited! So after the baptism we went to dinner with the Aragonas and they took us to Mimi’s cafe it was super good I’ve never been there but I liked it.
We are having the Turners baptism interview is tomorrow and we are super excited! They are so ready for this weekend and its going to be awesome! They are more excited than us, I think, which is really good to see. They have so much knowledge of the gospel already and have a huge desire to keep learning and make it to the temple as soon as they can after they are baptized. Which will be in 1 year.
So to tell you about this new investigator her name is Julie Whitman and it is truly a miracle how we found her. So, in district meeting last Tuesday we picked two streets to tract the first was Kodiak and the other was Elk horn. So on Wednesday we tracted Kodiak around 11 o'clock and only talked to two people but we left cards on all of the doors. (fast forward) to 7 o'clock we are getting ready to go on splits with the first ward and we get this text referral from the visitors center. saying that this lady is so ready and has read the B.O.M. and that she has a baptism date for the 25 of September. Well we were freaking out cause she lived on the street we just tracted earlier that morning... so apparently she has been looking into the church for a long time and knows a ton of members around here cause their kids all go to the same school. So we met her on Thursday and talked with her and she said "I already know the church is true and that Joseph smith is a prophet". So we went over the baptism interview questions with her and she has to come to church 3 times and that is all we are waiting for. She is going to ask for Sundays off so she can come to church. she has 3 kids and a husband and we are going to try and start teaching them as well. So thank you for all the prayers for the work they are truly paying off and I know that the lord is working miracles here in Antioch and all over the world. if we keep his commandments he will bless us with what we need and what we ask for. :)
So this week we get to go to the temple and we are super excited!! tomorrow at 8 am baby its going to be sweet!!
Well I’m glad all of you had an amazing week! It sounds like it was a good time at the cabin I hope you all enjoy the wonderful summer weather up there for me. The weather feels just like home sometimes... it gets hot in the day usually the 90's now and cools off in the night. but most of the summer was really cool which was nice. I got the package and when I saw all the candy and the types I said "my mom always knows what I want and need she is so great!" every night I snack on something different but I also have to pace my self haha. :)
Well I love you all and pray for you always
Love elder Christensen
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Matt 8-30-10
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:45:49 -0700
Subject: Re: Back to work :0(
From: Matt Christensen
Hey hey,
So it sounds like this week was really exciting... at least dad had some fun on the river :) Yes, that paragraph made me a little trunky but I needed a little fishing fix so it was good. I was thinking about fishing hoppers on the green and caddis on the Provo till o'dark thirty the other day it was great my comp didn't understand... haha
So this week has been good. We met with the Turners and went over to a member’s house for family home evening and it was awesome! We watched the restoration DVD and talked about the Joseph Smith story and bro Turner could totally relate to the story because he has had an experience similar to Joseph. So that was sweet and the spirit was super strong. Then later in the week we went over and taught them about the word of wisdom and they just soaked it in. They realized that our bodies are a temple and that we need to take care of them. So they are going to stop drinking coffee and tea. Which is a big step closer to baptism. So that is exciting! We are also getting closer with Joshua Aragona he should be baptized this coming weekend! Woot!
Last night we had a fireside with all the leadership in the stake and president and sister Wade. It was super good! It was about working with the ward and how the elders are there to help all the time. I sang in a musical number with the elders in my district. We sang the prayer of the children by Kurt Bestor and it was awesome thanks to the spirit and a lot of prayers! Haha after we sang pres. Wade talked and did a really great job. Then at the end of the night a member of the stake presidency stood up and bore his testimony of missionary work and issued a challenge to all the leaders to invite someone to take the missionary lessons in their home by Dec 25. And that they should fast and pray about the names that they think could use the gospel. And now I would like to challenge you to do the same thing. I know its a little harder in Utah but give it a try and see what you come up with... I know that the Lord will put someone in your path if you just trust in the Lord and try.
Well I love you all, hope you have a wonderful week! I pray for you every night!
Love Elder Christensen
Subject: Re: Back to work :0(
From: Matt Christensen
Hey hey,
So it sounds like this week was really exciting... at least dad had some fun on the river :) Yes, that paragraph made me a little trunky but I needed a little fishing fix so it was good. I was thinking about fishing hoppers on the green and caddis on the Provo till o'dark thirty the other day it was great my comp didn't understand... haha
So this week has been good. We met with the Turners and went over to a member’s house for family home evening and it was awesome! We watched the restoration DVD and talked about the Joseph Smith story and bro Turner could totally relate to the story because he has had an experience similar to Joseph. So that was sweet and the spirit was super strong. Then later in the week we went over and taught them about the word of wisdom and they just soaked it in. They realized that our bodies are a temple and that we need to take care of them. So they are going to stop drinking coffee and tea. Which is a big step closer to baptism. So that is exciting! We are also getting closer with Joshua Aragona he should be baptized this coming weekend! Woot!
Last night we had a fireside with all the leadership in the stake and president and sister Wade. It was super good! It was about working with the ward and how the elders are there to help all the time. I sang in a musical number with the elders in my district. We sang the prayer of the children by Kurt Bestor and it was awesome thanks to the spirit and a lot of prayers! Haha after we sang pres. Wade talked and did a really great job. Then at the end of the night a member of the stake presidency stood up and bore his testimony of missionary work and issued a challenge to all the leaders to invite someone to take the missionary lessons in their home by Dec 25. And that they should fast and pray about the names that they think could use the gospel. And now I would like to challenge you to do the same thing. I know its a little harder in Utah but give it a try and see what you come up with... I know that the Lord will put someone in your path if you just trust in the Lord and try.
Well I love you all, hope you have a wonderful week! I pray for you every night!
Love Elder Christensen
Ben 8-3-10
Ben 8-30-10
Well sounds like things are moving along there. That is funny that you weren’t as excited for the first day of school this year now you know how I felt most of the time haha, but sounds like you are going to have a good year with a new teacher. That is cool that she is positive I always say that it’s all about the attitude you bring to the table if you think it is going to be hard it will be and if you think you can’t do it you won’t be able to. Something I learned from swimming and running all those years, mindset has everything to do with it. So keep a positive attitude and things will work out the way they are supposed to. How many kids are in your class this year?
We are teaching a lady that is a kindergarten teacher in Mojave and she has 32 kids in her class this year.
That is pretty cool that you got those pictures framed. Is it the one when I'm standing on the dock fishing with my hat on looking back? I really like that one haha
I am excited for fall because I might actually have one! Last week was super hot it was in the high 90s and 100 most of the week and then cooled down to about 70 yesterday it felt so good and was actually chilly when we got up this morning.
Hey buddy,
Sounds like it was a killer weekend on the river! That is sweet that hoppers were on. Did you get a caddis hatch? I bet the weather was beautiful up there. Hey do you have any pictures of me fishing or with a fish or something I would like a couple if you could find some. That is crazy that you saw a rock slide did it go into the river? I’m glad that you got some use out of my rod did you use my reel too? So, in Bear Valley which is a gated community, they have like four lakes that are pretty big and have all sorts of fish in them from trout to catfish and next week I am going fishing. I’m pretty excited not going to lie. Hopefully we will be able to catch something. And the best part is I don’t have to buy an out of state fishing license because they are private ponds... score.
Well last week was crazy busy we had a bunch of good appointments. We took this lady, Terry on a church tour which went really well and we answered a lot her questions which went well and we had brother Beathke with us who is our ward mission leader. He used to be Catholic and pretty much told her that he never felt the spirit at the Catholic Church and it was not until he came to our church that he felt the spirit which I think really helped her because she could relate to him. And then we scheduled another meeting for Friday and watched the restoration DVD at the church again which was awesome that movie is such an amazing tool to help tell the story of the restoration. And we are teaching her the plan of salvation this week so things are moving right along with her.
We also taught Ruth the lady who is the kindergarten teacher with 32 kids in her class on Friday and taught the restoration which went really well. We are meeting with her again on Friday.
So this week I am going to the temple and I am super excited we are going on Wednesday and are going with a really cool couple in the Bear Valley ward. They are one of my favorite families up here.
So, yesterday we had an amazing sacrament meeting in the Bear Valley, it was quite unique. They had a testimony meeting but it was not your average testimony meeting they opened the podium up to the congregation to come up and share their favorite hymn and why. Then we sang their favorite verse of the hymn it was great. Probably one of my favorite ones was when two kids went up and said their favorite hymn was love at home because there mom sang it every time they started fighting it was awesome! Totally reminded me of home haha
Well that’s about all for me but I love and miss you all and hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Christensen
Well sounds like things are moving along there. That is funny that you weren’t as excited for the first day of school this year now you know how I felt most of the time haha, but sounds like you are going to have a good year with a new teacher. That is cool that she is positive I always say that it’s all about the attitude you bring to the table if you think it is going to be hard it will be and if you think you can’t do it you won’t be able to. Something I learned from swimming and running all those years, mindset has everything to do with it. So keep a positive attitude and things will work out the way they are supposed to. How many kids are in your class this year?
We are teaching a lady that is a kindergarten teacher in Mojave and she has 32 kids in her class this year.
That is pretty cool that you got those pictures framed. Is it the one when I'm standing on the dock fishing with my hat on looking back? I really like that one haha
I am excited for fall because I might actually have one! Last week was super hot it was in the high 90s and 100 most of the week and then cooled down to about 70 yesterday it felt so good and was actually chilly when we got up this morning.
Hey buddy,
Sounds like it was a killer weekend on the river! That is sweet that hoppers were on. Did you get a caddis hatch? I bet the weather was beautiful up there. Hey do you have any pictures of me fishing or with a fish or something I would like a couple if you could find some. That is crazy that you saw a rock slide did it go into the river? I’m glad that you got some use out of my rod did you use my reel too? So, in Bear Valley which is a gated community, they have like four lakes that are pretty big and have all sorts of fish in them from trout to catfish and next week I am going fishing. I’m pretty excited not going to lie. Hopefully we will be able to catch something. And the best part is I don’t have to buy an out of state fishing license because they are private ponds... score.
Well last week was crazy busy we had a bunch of good appointments. We took this lady, Terry on a church tour which went really well and we answered a lot her questions which went well and we had brother Beathke with us who is our ward mission leader. He used to be Catholic and pretty much told her that he never felt the spirit at the Catholic Church and it was not until he came to our church that he felt the spirit which I think really helped her because she could relate to him. And then we scheduled another meeting for Friday and watched the restoration DVD at the church again which was awesome that movie is such an amazing tool to help tell the story of the restoration. And we are teaching her the plan of salvation this week so things are moving right along with her.
We also taught Ruth the lady who is the kindergarten teacher with 32 kids in her class on Friday and taught the restoration which went really well. We are meeting with her again on Friday.
So this week I am going to the temple and I am super excited we are going on Wednesday and are going with a really cool couple in the Bear Valley ward. They are one of my favorite families up here.
So, yesterday we had an amazing sacrament meeting in the Bear Valley, it was quite unique. They had a testimony meeting but it was not your average testimony meeting they opened the podium up to the congregation to come up and share their favorite hymn and why. Then we sang their favorite verse of the hymn it was great. Probably one of my favorite ones was when two kids went up and said their favorite hymn was love at home because there mom sang it every time they started fighting it was awesome! Totally reminded me of home haha
Well that’s about all for me but I love and miss you all and hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Christensen
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ben 8-16-10
Hello.
I love it here in Tehachapi it is amazing! The people here are awesome and it kind of reminds me of Dutch John with the rolling hills and all the juniper and pines. It does snow and I could be here for that which I would totally be ok with. It is between Bakersfield and Lancaster.
I'm glad that you enjoyed your last week before you go back to school. That’s sweet that you went up to the ward camp out was it up at the spruces? Sounds like it was a blast.
That is pretty cool that you have been able to spend so much time in the temple recently I love the temple and I think I am going to go here in the next couple of weeks :) but that is sweet that you got to clean it and you went a bunch of other times I am going to have to say that my favorite temple is still the Salt Lake temple probably because it was my first temple.
Sounds like you had a good time up at the cabin with the whole fam damily up there( is that the right “there”? haha) that is cool that you got a new hutch we needed one bad but I kinda liked the old dresser that only some of the drawers worked so you had to put the games you wanted to play in the top two... as for dad going fishing yes mom that is why it is called fishing and not catching haha!
That is way cool that you are teaching gospel principles I love going to that class. That is way cool that you have a bunch of people coming back to church and that you had a I’m sure your lesson on the priesthood was awesome.
As for the package I don’t think I need anything at the moment but what ever you send will be fine. I don’t need toothbrush heads grandpa Ed gave me some before I left so I have like 4
Well on to what is going on here. We cover two wards the Golden Hills and Bear Valley wards and I love it! I would totally live in a place like this. The work is going well, we have a couple of investigators and people that we are working with part member families and stuff. One of the people we are working with is Wayne, he has been investigating for about two years and the only thing holding him back is the word of wisdom so we are going to start chipping away at things to get him on the right track. We are also working with two boys name David and William and both their parents are less active so we are teaching the kids and trying to get them back to church.
Covering two wards is hard I have a lot to learn about the area so I am still a little lost on where things are and who is in what ward but its all good.
I will know more next week.
love you all,
elder Bennett Christensen
I love it here in Tehachapi it is amazing! The people here are awesome and it kind of reminds me of Dutch John with the rolling hills and all the juniper and pines. It does snow and I could be here for that which I would totally be ok with. It is between Bakersfield and Lancaster.
I'm glad that you enjoyed your last week before you go back to school. That’s sweet that you went up to the ward camp out was it up at the spruces? Sounds like it was a blast.
That is pretty cool that you have been able to spend so much time in the temple recently I love the temple and I think I am going to go here in the next couple of weeks :) but that is sweet that you got to clean it and you went a bunch of other times I am going to have to say that my favorite temple is still the Salt Lake temple probably because it was my first temple.
Sounds like you had a good time up at the cabin with the whole fam damily up there( is that the right “there”? haha) that is cool that you got a new hutch we needed one bad but I kinda liked the old dresser that only some of the drawers worked so you had to put the games you wanted to play in the top two... as for dad going fishing yes mom that is why it is called fishing and not catching haha!
That is way cool that you are teaching gospel principles I love going to that class. That is way cool that you have a bunch of people coming back to church and that you had a I’m sure your lesson on the priesthood was awesome.
As for the package I don’t think I need anything at the moment but what ever you send will be fine. I don’t need toothbrush heads grandpa Ed gave me some before I left so I have like 4
Well on to what is going on here. We cover two wards the Golden Hills and Bear Valley wards and I love it! I would totally live in a place like this. The work is going well, we have a couple of investigators and people that we are working with part member families and stuff. One of the people we are working with is Wayne, he has been investigating for about two years and the only thing holding him back is the word of wisdom so we are going to start chipping away at things to get him on the right track. We are also working with two boys name David and William and both their parents are less active so we are teaching the kids and trying to get them back to church.
Covering two wards is hard I have a lot to learn about the area so I am still a little lost on where things are and who is in what ward but its all good.
I will know more next week.
love you all,
elder Bennett Christensen
Matt 8-16-10
Well I’m glad that bro Hendricks was able to get a hold of you. He is the ward mission leader here and one of the best people that I have ever met. He has been such a blessing to me in helping me with the work.
Wow! you wrote a ton this week!! Mine won't be that long but I did have a great week so it will be longer than last weeks :) That is so cool that you were able to clean the temple that was a super cool experience for me. To be in the temple and just have it be totally quiet and some times be alone long enough to just feel super peaceful it was great.
Wow! a ward campout I remember how fun those were. We had some totally awesome times with those snakes and when someone got bit that was funny. Wow! that sounds like a totally awesome find for the cabin with the hutch. And I’m glad that the whole fam damily was able to make it up to the cabin. Were you able to sing Dane’s favorite song while you were up there? haha I thought of that the other day cause some elders had a ukulele and were playing songs on it and I remember the fun times when we would sing around the fire with everyone.
Now on to my week... it was awesome!! To start off, with the new transfer last Monday, we were able to set a baptism date with the Turners, it was super awesome!! We had an amazing lesson with them and they are going to get baptized on Sept. 11th so we are working with them on getting ready for that. They are the nicest people, and we were able to finally get them to church yesterday. They totally loved it! After church they called us and just thanked us for being in their lives and for helping them to come to the true church. It was so great to hear that!
Then that night we did some re-arranging in our apartment... we took all the beds out of the room and put them in the front room and put the desks in the rooms to study. we call it an orphanage its totally awesome I love it!! Later during the week we were working with a family of members named the Aragona's they have a 9 year old son named Joshua and we set a date with him for the 4th of Sept. and we are so excited for him. We are also having a baptism next week for a young girl named Angel Mendoza she is the daughter of a less active lady that we have been working with. So for the next few weeks we are going to be super busy!! We are trying to keep daily contact with all of these people and that is a lot of work, but it is good cause we can call them or make super short visits. I’m glad to hear that the missionary work is going good back home! I know that you all will be a great help just keep up the fantastic work.:)
As for the package I don't have anything special that I want. just some candy or cookies or something. I have enough tooth brush heads grandma Lee gave me 4 before I left so I should be fine if I change it every 6 months. but thanks for asking.
I love you tons,
Elder Christensen
Wow! you wrote a ton this week!! Mine won't be that long but I did have a great week so it will be longer than last weeks :) That is so cool that you were able to clean the temple that was a super cool experience for me. To be in the temple and just have it be totally quiet and some times be alone long enough to just feel super peaceful it was great.
Wow! a ward campout I remember how fun those were. We had some totally awesome times with those snakes and when someone got bit that was funny. Wow! that sounds like a totally awesome find for the cabin with the hutch. And I’m glad that the whole fam damily was able to make it up to the cabin. Were you able to sing Dane’s favorite song while you were up there? haha I thought of that the other day cause some elders had a ukulele and were playing songs on it and I remember the fun times when we would sing around the fire with everyone.
Now on to my week... it was awesome!! To start off, with the new transfer last Monday, we were able to set a baptism date with the Turners, it was super awesome!! We had an amazing lesson with them and they are going to get baptized on Sept. 11th so we are working with them on getting ready for that. They are the nicest people, and we were able to finally get them to church yesterday. They totally loved it! After church they called us and just thanked us for being in their lives and for helping them to come to the true church. It was so great to hear that!
Then that night we did some re-arranging in our apartment... we took all the beds out of the room and put them in the front room and put the desks in the rooms to study. we call it an orphanage its totally awesome I love it!! Later during the week we were working with a family of members named the Aragona's they have a 9 year old son named Joshua and we set a date with him for the 4th of Sept. and we are so excited for him. We are also having a baptism next week for a young girl named Angel Mendoza she is the daughter of a less active lady that we have been working with. So for the next few weeks we are going to be super busy!! We are trying to keep daily contact with all of these people and that is a lot of work, but it is good cause we can call them or make super short visits. I’m glad to hear that the missionary work is going good back home! I know that you all will be a great help just keep up the fantastic work.:)
As for the package I don't have anything special that I want. just some candy or cookies or something. I have enough tooth brush heads grandma Lee gave me 4 before I left so I should be fine if I change it every 6 months. but thanks for asking.
I love you tons,
Elder Christensen
Monday, August 9, 2010
8-9-10 Matt
howdy!
Wow that is going to be a fast count down, it’s the final count down! haha Well Paul should definitely go to slcc that would be a good thing for him.
Youth conference sounds like it was tons of fun! Boating is totally awesome for an activity! It doesn't surprise me that Paul and T.J. had to create some drama. haha
Well this week was good we had transfers and both elder Capener and I are staying which is awesome! Things are going good and we don't have any new news this week and I feel bad because I don't know what to write. I even looked at the card and nothing has changed. hahaha Well I hope you have a wonderful week
love elder Christensen
howdy!
Wow that is going to be a fast count down, it’s the final count down! haha Well Paul should definitely go to slcc that would be a good thing for him.
Youth conference sounds like it was tons of fun! Boating is totally awesome for an activity! It doesn't surprise me that Paul and T.J. had to create some drama. haha
Well this week was good we had transfers and both elder Capener and I are staying which is awesome! Things are going good and we don't have any new news this week and I feel bad because I don't know what to write. I even looked at the card and nothing has changed. hahaha Well I hope you have a wonderful week
love elder Christensen
Ben 8-0-10
Well you are right this week was transfers and I am leaving. I have a bittersweet feeling about it because I really love the people here and things are finally starting to look up for the area. This last week went by way to fast! We found 3 new investigators and taught a bunch of lessons which was good, we had 3 people at church which is about normal. We have quite a few eternigators haha but we found all three of our new investigators through tracting so that is pretty cool. This one kid, Lance, seemed pretty interested which is awesome. He is about 29 and black which makes it cooler. Then this lady, Patty, she seems pretty solid as wel,l we gave her a plan of salvation booklet and a BOM. She is going through a really tough time right now her son just got arrested and is in jail and her husband died about a year or two ago so she has kind of been searching for a church which is awesome.
So I am going to the mountains!!!!! I will be serving in Tehachapi which is in the mountains above Bakersfield I'm super excited my new comp is going to be elder Sharpe he is from Wyoming and is a super cool kid. He was in Moorpark my first transfer but in the other ward so I already know him pretty well. Oh, and I get to drive a truck and if I stay long enough I will be able to see snow! That would be amazing! Haha
I’m glad that things are going well for you that is crazy that you are going back to school so soon. I can’t believe that it is august. I’m glad that you had a good time up at youth conference and that the weather cooperated while you were at the lake. Sounds like you did some pretty good service. So did anyone do anything besides surf and tube? I love the Paulsen’s boat it is amazing I only got to use it once but it was a blast. that is super funny that Paul and T.J. snuck out. T.J. would convince Paul to do that not that it would be hard but you get what I mean. I’m glad that they came back though. That is sweet that he is going to St. George for a week I hope that he has fun.
Tell Danny that I am sorry he hurt his ankle that is no fun I did it about 3 weeks ago playing basketball. But I hope that it is all better now. That is pretty sweet that they won the frisbee football championship I am impressed.
That is sad that John’s brothers wife Jane died. I’m so glad that I know the plan of salvation and the things that it does for us.
So, on Sunday we had a special kind of sacrament meeting and it was amazing it started off by me and elder Golden bearing our testimonies and how we helped people come into the church and then we had some of the converts from the congregation come up and share their testimony and how they came into the church and how it has blessed their lives. it was amazing we only made it through about 3 people on the list but it was fantastic. So, at the end of the meeting they had a musical number and this girl from the ward sang I stand all amazed and it totally fit the meeting I felt the spirit so strong it was amazing.
Well I’m sorry to leave this place but I am looking forward to the places ahead.
love you all and appreciate all that you do for me.
love elder Christensen
So I am going to the mountains!!!!! I will be serving in Tehachapi which is in the mountains above Bakersfield I'm super excited my new comp is going to be elder Sharpe he is from Wyoming and is a super cool kid. He was in Moorpark my first transfer but in the other ward so I already know him pretty well. Oh, and I get to drive a truck and if I stay long enough I will be able to see snow! That would be amazing! Haha
I’m glad that things are going well for you that is crazy that you are going back to school so soon. I can’t believe that it is august. I’m glad that you had a good time up at youth conference and that the weather cooperated while you were at the lake. Sounds like you did some pretty good service. So did anyone do anything besides surf and tube? I love the Paulsen’s boat it is amazing I only got to use it once but it was a blast. that is super funny that Paul and T.J. snuck out. T.J. would convince Paul to do that not that it would be hard but you get what I mean. I’m glad that they came back though. That is sweet that he is going to St. George for a week I hope that he has fun.
Tell Danny that I am sorry he hurt his ankle that is no fun I did it about 3 weeks ago playing basketball. But I hope that it is all better now. That is pretty sweet that they won the frisbee football championship I am impressed.
That is sad that John’s brothers wife Jane died. I’m so glad that I know the plan of salvation and the things that it does for us.
So, on Sunday we had a special kind of sacrament meeting and it was amazing it started off by me and elder Golden bearing our testimonies and how we helped people come into the church and then we had some of the converts from the congregation come up and share their testimony and how they came into the church and how it has blessed their lives. it was amazing we only made it through about 3 people on the list but it was fantastic. So, at the end of the meeting they had a musical number and this girl from the ward sang I stand all amazed and it totally fit the meeting I felt the spirit so strong it was amazing.
Well I’m sorry to leave this place but I am looking forward to the places ahead.
love you all and appreciate all that you do for me.
love elder Christensen
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Matt 7-26-2010
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
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
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
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