week ending 5.1.11

{with Elder Tialavia}

 Hey everyone,

Well, this week was a good one. Elder Evans and I worked really hard and we had some success. We are teaching a family of 4 and they accepted a baptismal date for the 22 of May. Their names are Miguel (Micheal) and Marlene and they have 2 sons. They are super great and I would love if you could put them in your prayers and ask God that he helps them receives the answer that they are looking for. They want to get baptized but they still haven't gotten their answer, so please put them in your prayers.

When I went to church this Sunday the members received me well and they are really nice. I am really excited to be here. They have a lot of good plans and ideas that I know will help out the members and investigators. haha. And it was different because there are a lot of people in this ward, my last branch had not that many, so I was happy to see it and shocked. haha.

My health is good and I am really excited for this next week, because I know we will have a lot of work to do and a lot of success too. So please put me in your prayers as well so I can do what the Lord needs me to do. Thank you.

Have a good week and talk to you next week.

love,
Elder Christensen

{with Elder Evans}

{Danilo came to see me}

week ending 3.27.11

 Hey everyone,

This Sunday was good for us with 2 baptisms. Their names are Guisselle and Jordan. They are sister and brother and they were so happy to be baptized. We have been working with them so much and so hard and we got them ready in time haha. The day when they were going to have the interview to see if they were ready was nuts! We went past their house to take them to the church a little before 4 and they weren't ready and Guisselle wasn't there. Then we went to the church to wait for them and they didn't come so we cleaned the Font and then we called them at 4:45 and nothing. So we went to their house to see what was going on and they said their mom was sick. But in the end they came and they were ready and all was well. haha. But it didn't help the stress level. haha.

Now we are on a mission to help a kid named Eric and find more people to teach. I am ready to do what the Lord needs me to do! I hope.  haha. We have been working really hard and we are seeing a lot of fruits, and I am happy about that.  Now I want to see more so I have to work harder, so if you could add me in your prayers I need a little more help this week, and for Eric as well. Thank you.


Well I am really pumped to watch conference this weekend and I wish I could just watch it but no I have to worry about getting people there. Don't get me wrong, this is the best thing in the world for the new people to see so I am going to make sure that a lot of people get there. haha. But I really need some help from the leaders of the church! haha don't we all?!

That's what I have for you all this week! I am really happy for the friends and family that I have. I love you all!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 2.13.11

Hey everyone!

This week was a good week, we helped out a investigator get over some addictions that he had and he went to church and really loved it this time. He got to see a baptism and he also loved that too, he is getting ready to be baptized on the 27 of this month. He is such a great guy! A funny story with him, we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he drinks tea and coffee and we taught him that it is bad for him and we was like what with a surprised look on his face and said, that is bad for you?! It was great and he gave us all his tea and coffee. So he is really willing to make the changes that he needs to so he can be baptized to be washed of all of his sins! So if you can put him in your prayers that would be sweet! Thank you.

More about our week:  Well we had a freak storm come into the part of Chile that I am in. It started to rain and there was lighting and all that fun stuff and I asked the people during the 3 days when was the last time that this had happened and they said I have no idea. Or I don't think ever. So the world is changing or just Chile. haha. Also there were 35 earthquakes in the South part of Chile, don't worry I didn't get to feel them. (dang it). haha. But the country is going crazy and I get to be to see it all. Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha. Well, that's what happened in Chile.

So today we got our fridge fixed after not having one for the past 3 weeks and now I can buy food and eat good now.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, seeing that my mom is health food crazy. haha.  But she isn't crazy. haha. Maybe just a little. haha. I love you mom. And the same guy worked on the thing that heats the water up and now it's all good and we can take hot showers with a high water pressure, so pumped am I! hahaha.

We also have 2 other families that are working towards a baptismal date, the first one is Cristian and Stephanie, they are so great and want to get baptized the only thing that is hard for them is getting to church. So if you could put them in your prayers so they can make it so church so they can complete their goal. The other family that we are working with is German, his daughter Cloudia, and her son Mat. They are super great!  We found them yesterday and we have high hopes for them. So if you could put them in your prayers that would be great! Thanks.

I love this quote:

"Tell me what a man thinks about when he is not required to think, and I´ll tell you what kind of man he is."  ~David O. McKay

I love you all and have a good week!

love,

Elder Christensen

PS  You thought I forgot, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

week ending 12.12.10

 Hey Everyone,

So this week I have learned something that I wish I learned a long time ago. It's about the way of praying. So I have always prayed but nothing really came of it, I was just doing it to do it and stuff, but I learned something really valuable. Well there are a couple of things you need to understand about prayer, the praying is work, it's not easy. When you get home and you are beat in to the ground and it's time to pray its going to be tough but you have to fight to pray. The other thing we need to learn is the nature of God. When we understand that it will be easy to pray to Him and we will want to pray to Him. And another thing is we need to understand that we are going to be receiving revelation during our prayers so we need to have a pen, paper, and a flash light. Why would God give you revelation if your not going to remember it or use it - so we need to be ready to write it down and all. I have a testimony of this, I have learned and started to pray and not complete and I have been receiving a lot of help and revelation. So I invite all to learn and put this in practice.

So about our week, we have been finding and dropping a lot of people. We have been working hard but we have a lot of work to do. We are working with the members more and still trying to work in the streets just as hard! And I have been feeling the pain in my legs. haha. Well, that's all I have this week for ya, sorry that its short!

Love you all and thanks for your help. If you could throw my companion and I in your prayers so we can find a family that would be sweet! Thanks.

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 10.24.10

{Ivan and his son Gaspar, they are such a cute family}

Hey everyone,

This week went good for us. We had people go to Church and Constanza, Camila´s sister, is going to be baptized this coming Sunday so we are really excited for her. We also have seen some crazy weather here - it goes from being super hot to super cold.

We found a family of like 3 families. haha.  They are from Peru and they are so cool. I talked about them last week when they took the photos of us. haha. Well, 2 of the daughters went to church and they loved it and they have read a part in the Book of Mormon and prayed and they feel good about all of it. I haven't really gotten to know them as well as I would have liked but we are going to, and we'll help them find their answer about the truth that we are teaching them. I love finding people that just take everything in just like they have known it before, that's when you know that they have been prepared for the message.

We have been teaching Constanza a lot - trying to help her get ready and in the same time we are trying to help the mom and dad get married so they can be sealed as a family. Man, by the time I am done helping people get married I will be so good at it, I´ll be ready for after the mission. haha. So Constanza is doing really good, last night we asked the questions that they ask in the interview for baptism and she passed but that was only a practice. The real thing will be this week and after she is all ready to become baptized. So if you could put constanza in your prayers to help her keep praying and progressing, that would be amazing. Thanks.

Something that I have been learning through study and the spirit and other things is the justice. The justice is something that we cannot get away from but someone helped us so we can get help through it. Christ is the only person that could have paid the price to satisfy the demands of the law. But the help from Christ doesn't come free, we need to do our part by living the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we do not live the gospel we have to pay for all our sins to satisfy the justice and that means we cannot live with God or Christ or our families so we need do all we can to live the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this is true and I know that we can have happiness through Christ, to have happiness is the purpose of life (2 Nephi 2:25). I love you all and thanks for all your support.  Have a good week and talk to you next week!

love,

Elder Christensen.

{the Palomo family, they wash my clothes every week and they help us out so much. love them}

{the Ramirez family, we made pancakes with them last p-day it was fun.}

week ending 10.3.10

 Hey everyone,

Well this week was super great seeing that we had conference!!!!!!! There were so many things I loved and I learned so much. I am going to talk about some of the talks that I liked.

First, Elder Costa, something cool about him, he came to Chile and talked to us about a month ago so it was weird to hear him talk in English. But I loved how he talked about the prophets and the 14 points of a prophet.  That helped me to better understand what a prophet is and how important it is to have a prophet. The next one was by Pres. Uchtdorf when he talked about slowing down and making sure that you are safe through the hard things and not to speed up to get through the hard times. That helped me out to see that I need to slow down when I am in hard times and make sure that I take care of them slowly and not try to rush the things that need to be taken care of. Another fact, Elder Duncan was the Mission Pres. before I got to this mission. haha. Another one was Elder Gong how he talked about the importance of temple marriage and work. It is a great blessing we have to be able to have these blessings in our lives and we need to take advantage while we can to do these great things. Well that is just some of the things I learned this week, I invite all to read the talks and study them for personal Revelation.

click here to read conference talks

Now about some of the people I am teaching. Karl, he is doing so good he went to conference and loved it. His baptism is planned for this weekend and he still needs a little bit more preparation so if you could put him in your prayers that would be great!

Camila is doing great. We had to push her baptism back so she will be getting baptized the 17 of Oct. Her mom just had a baby and is getting really sick. Her name is Maria, please put her in your prayers so Maria can get better and help her daughter get ready for her baptism.

Carolina and Monserrat, we didn't see them all last week. They were really busy and have been running back and forth from the hospital. It's crazy how Satan tries to attack people I know that they will get over all these things but once again can you put them in your prayers so they can get through these times and come unto to Lord. Thanks.

Well I am out for now but thanks for all you do for me and the love you send me. Have a good week and I hope to hear from you next week.

Love,

Elder Christensen

The photos are from a hill called Santa Lucia. It's pretty cool! It's right in the middle of the city and you can see everything from the top tower. So sweet!

week ending 7.25.10

Hey everyone,

 

This week was pretty sweet! On Monday we were knocking on some doors, oh man, such great fun - let me tell ya. But it was great when a lady and her daughter were like, "yeah come in." So we taught them and thier cousin and they all accepted to be baptized on the 15th of August so knocking on doors didn't suck too bad. This family is great - so if you could please add them in your prayers.  The family Ramirez. So we left that house and kept knocking some more on the same street just happy that we found that family. Like 10 minutes later another lady let us in and we taught her for about 15 minutes and she wanted to be baptized. Her name is Maria (like half of the women in Chile).  She is great and I am so happy that we could find her. Later this week we went back to the family Ramirez and the dad was there and we taught them the plan of Salvation and he wanted to be with his family forever so he wants to be baptized with his family the 15th. Oh man, it's so great to help families find the gospel.

 

I had a crazy experience, we had a feeling to go to see this guy during planning one night. Well, the next day we passed by the house and we didn't find that guy but we found a lady that is a less active member that has a son. To be short, they are poor her son is almost a vegetable and she lost her other son in the same accident. And on top of that they have had no food for almost 2 days. All she could do is cry to us and show us everything, man did my heart hurt but we did something right after we left. We went to the bishop and he acted right away, we went to the church and got a order form to get food from the bishop's store house (where they have stuff for people that need help). And we got some other people and went back to her house and we gave them blessings and oh man, it was a sad but amazing night. When we passed by 2 or 3 days later and she was so happy and just lovin' life and the amazing thing is that she made it to church with her son in a bad wheel chair. It's like a 20 minute walk. This lady is a champ. So we will just say that I had a good week.  haha.

 

I am starting to figure a lot of stuff out and I like it. I  will talk to you next week and I love you all.

 

Elder Christensen

week ending 6.13.10

Hey everyone,

Well this week my companion and I made a lot of progress in our sector and we are working hard to find those people that want to find the path of Christ. We have been teaching the members a little about Christ this week, and one of the scriptures we have been using is in 2 Nephi 31:21.  It talks about Christ and how he is the only way and he only has the true doctrine. It has been hard for me to understand how some people don't understand what I understand, I have been learning how to just share how I feel and what I have recived from Christ through my prayers. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is the path of Christ, and I don't learn that because someone told me that, I learned for myself. Through my studies, my prayers, my testimony, etc.

This week we got to go to the temple, oh man what a wonderful place. I think that is the best place to be in the world. When I was in there I felt a peace that you can't feel anywhere else. I know that is the house of the Lord, and he walks through his house. But I didn't want to leave after all was done, I wanted to stay there for ever! But we need to go out into the world and face those challenges that await us. I heard a saying this week, "I believe in Christ, so come what may." I have been trying to have this vision in my mission, hopefully I can get it soon. haha.

Well I am excited for this week to come, I am going to put everything I have into it. Thanks for your prayers that push me along everyday. I love you all. Have a good week.

Elder Christensen

week ending 5.9.10

Hey everyone,

First off I want to say, ¡Feliz dia de la Madre a todas! I am sure everyone understands that, if not that's too bad. lol. Well, I guess this was the best Mother's Day for my mom and family because they got to talk to me. I was like - you talked to me every other Mother's Day. Then I remembered that we hadn't talked for a long time. It was a good answer. haha. Well it was great to talk to my family and tell them hi. It's a lot easier and faster then this stupid emailing stuff but I am grateful that I get to email every week. 

Well this week was good. Carlos got confirmed and seems really happy so all we have to do is help him stay strong in the church and not lose his testimony. But he is a fun kid.

Last week we have been teaching a few people, and one of them that is progressing well is a family of 3, Carlos and Sofia and thier 3 month old baby girl Laura. Laura loves us so much and she always has a smile on, she is so cute I hope that we can help them get to church. They love talking with us and learning but they can't go to church because they have small store they own and they don't want to close it to come to church.  That's what we have been working on with them so if any one has an idea let me know. And please add them in your prayers. 

This week we had our mission conference and it was really good. We heard 4 talks, the son of President May came down with is wife and kids and we heard from them, the wife doesnt speak Spanish so a missionary translated for her and it was funny but she had a great message. And then we heard a lot about being obedient and it made me think about the things I could change to help me be more obedient, so we will see if I can change them. haha. Well I loved this week - I learned a lot and I loved talking to my mommy! lol

Thanks for all the prayers and support! Love you all!

Elder Christensen

week ending 4.4.10

Hey everyone,

Well, everyone has been asking about Easter and how it's celebrated down here. As far as I know they don't do a lot. They hide some eggs and that's about it. It's not that big here I don't think, but there were great feelings still.

Okay this weekend was amazing!! I love Conference! I learned so much this weekend, and I enjoyed so many of the talks. I forgot my notes that I wanted to share with you so I am going to try and remember some of them. One of the quotes I loved was, "If you give a man a fish it will feed him for a meal, but if you teach a man how to fish you feed him for a lifetime." I loved that. It made me think of the Lord and when he called his apostles that were fishermen, he told them follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He taught them what they needed to know so they could feed for a life time and so they could share it with everyone. That's how I feel, that I have been taught something amazing that will help me forever and now I am sharing it will others so they can be feed forever by the word of God. I never really looked at my mission like that until I heard that, it makes me feel honored to be sharing this message.

week ending 3.28.10

Hey everyone,

Yes! I found a computer that let me upload photos. It's a good thing too, because we went on a hike the other day. It was really fun, but there was one thing that wasn't fun that happened to me. We were going down the hill and there are a lot of cactus and I slipped a little and I got cactus spikes in my butt. Oh man, that was something I could have done without. But all in all, I had a great time.


Okay we got a new Elder this week. His name is Elder Jensen and he's from Sandy, Utah. He came out of the MTC speaking really good, he doesn't have any fear to do anything. But it's a lot harder to train than I thought, even though there are 2 of us doing it. But we are having a great time. I think I hear this from Elder Jensen every 10 mins. "they talk so fast! how do you understand that?" and then he told us that the first couple of days all the sentences sound like one word, but now he is picking out more and more words. He is getting better everyday. It's cool to watch someone grow in the mission and to have a hand in it. I hope I can help him more and more everyday.

week ending 3.21.10

me, Amanda, Fabiola, Elder Davies

Hey everyone,

Okay, something happened this morning that I didn't think would ever happen. Well, I got a call from the mission office and they said that Elder Stark and I were going to be training a new missionary. aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! I was like, "no I can't do that!" But now I am really excited. And why we are getting a new missionary right now is because he was going to go to the Concepcion mission but that mission isn't allowing missionaries to come, so we are getting them. Oh, and I am still a little nervous to train, it's a good thing that I have Elder Stark with me still. Both of us together will train this kid so well. It's going to be so much fun.


Flia, me, Elder Rich

week ending 1.24.10

Hey everyone,

This week was a little different and a little harder, because of the changes. It took this week to get used to my new companion and how he taught. But now we are ready to do some work and baptize the people of San Felipe.

Yesterday I went on changes with another elder and a member and we were on bikes, that really sucked. I haven't ridden a bike for so long and it kicked my butt. And on top of that my back tire went flat and it was so hot. But I felt like a missionary. I was laughing the whole time, and thinking what am I doing. But I am having a great time.

week end 11.8.09

hello everyone!

well once again i can't send pictures from this computer so you will have to wait until next week maybe.
well this week has been good.

TUESDAY
on tuesday's we have zone teaching and that is always fun but boring at the same time.

WEDNESDAY
nothing fun happened. lol

THURSDAY
nothing fun happened again.

FRIDAY
well today i had to travel to the mtc for new missionary training, and it was a 1 hour and 45 min. bus ride then 20 mins on the subway. its always fun to travel. but it was nice to see all the elders that i was in the mtc with. we shared stories from our first week, one of the got robbed all ready. so funny. but after that we had to travel back to san felipe.

SATURDAY
i cant remember what happened.

SUNDAY
well sunday was fun, not. i did not understand one thing that was going on at church so i was getting mad. 3 hours of hearing blah blaljksdhfasñldkfhasdfhñasdkfñ

saldfksffklsjhf. thats what it felt like. blah lol.

okay i can remember some of the experiences from the week. okay one of the doors we contacted a lady lived there with her kids and her kids came to the door and they went to get her and see came around the corner and her shirt wasn't quite on and her chest was showing it was a little scary. lol. all i could do was laugh. okay something every similar happened, we were teaching a lesson and this ladies shirt was hanging down really far and was showing pretty much everything, try teaching a lesson with that in your face, it sucked. and then her daughter sticks her hand down the moms shirt and yeah blah! that's all i have to say. another moment when you have to laugh. okay this was a funny one, we were contacting and this guy that doesn't like us very much walked past and yelled "LOOK" but in spanish, ("mire") and then flipped us off and we just smiled and said "oh okay" good times in the mission. this one happened last night. we went to the investigators house a man and his wife, their daughter served a mission and same with her husband. and they told us after the lesson that they were going to do the same thing and asked how did you get here. it was cool. okay with the parra family the dad didn't stop smoking so we had to push the date to this sunday so lets hope they will be ready. i am praying so hard for them.
well, you all are in my prayers. i miss you all. but i am loving this to much. lol

bye
elder christensen.