week ending 6.26.11

Hey everyone,

 

This morning I was thinking about my mission and my life and I was like what am I doing? And how am I ending my mission and how will it help me with my life? So I started thinking how hard am I working and where is my heart in all of my thoughts, baseball, home, girls, the mission, where? That's what I want to figure out here soon and start working harder then ever but I need my heart here, because that is how I am going to work hard.

 

We have been trying to find new people to teach because we have been losing all of the people that we have been teaching. We have two young people that are really interested in learning more. Their names are Alexandra and Erasmo. They are dating and have plans to get married here soon and they are super cool. All Erasmo talks about is Disneyland and how he wants to go there so bad. haha. But they are really awesome.

 

The weather here is so cold and its kicking my butt!  I am so cold. But I am getting over it and just working through the cold.

 

Thank you all that wrote and have a good week everyone!  I hope that this week is the best one for you! Love you all!

 

love,

Elder Christensen

week ending 6.19.11

Hey everyone!

 

Well this week was a tough one for us, we worked hard but it didn't turn out like we wanted it to and then the weekend turned out to be a wet one. Oh man, I have gotten wetter before but it was a crazy one. So we were walking down a street trying to get to our house and we couldn't because there was a river in the street so we had to walk half way down the street to find a place to cross. Here in Chile when it rains - it rains - and the streets become rivers. Oh man, it's so cold here when that happens haha. Well more than that, I am doing good and fighting the blues from this cool rain but we are doing good.

 

My mom asked me to write more about my companion so here is a little more about him. He speaks almost no English, so I am speaking Spanish 24/7 with him. He is 21 years old and his birthday is the 30 of May. He has 10 months in the mission and is a hard worker. We laugh so much and work really good together. All the members of his family are members of the church. He comes from the South part of Bolivia, its called Tarija. He is really cool and I am glad to be with him.

 

The work this week went okay. We found 6 new people to teach 2 of them are a couple and they both are 20 years old and the girl was so interested and I am excited to keep teaching them. And our goal this week is to invite all the people that we have found and going to find to be baptized, so we can know what their doubts are and to see if they really want to learn and progress.

 

For me, I went to the doctor this last Friday and he told me that all is going well with my surgery and that I can start to work out again. haha. I am getting fat and we can't have that. So I am going to start working out really hard. haha. I just got over a cold and now I am feeling good. Well, I am happy and strong and ready to work! I love you all and thanks to all the people that wrote me this week. Have a good week all!

 

love,

Elder Christenesn

 

PS The family that's in the photo are members and we had a family home evening with them and I made them pancakes. They loved them haha.

 

week ending 6.12.11

Hey everyone,

 

My companion and I had a good week!  We found a lot of people and I feel so blessed. I think the Lord is telling me that I have to work harder than I have in my life right now and he is giving me a really big chance to do a lot of good work. We also taught a girl her name is Nataly and she accepted to be baptized in July and she is really excited, we are really happy for her. We also found a family that the mom is a member and no one else is and they loved talking with us and want us to keep going over. I know that that family will be a great family in the gospel and they will be baptized next month.

 

More than that, nothing really happened that cool, but there is a kid named Isreal that works with us and he is really cool. He will be coming home in a week from school and wants to work a lot with us, so I am really pumped for that! Well, I love you all and have a good week!

 

love,

Elder Christensen

week ending 6.5.11

Well hey everyone,

Last night we had changes and I have a new companion that is from Bolivia his name is Elder Maigua and I have been in the same zone with him before and I am really excited to be with him and I think I will be with him until the end of my mission. And that means that my Spanish is going to be so good and I will not be able to speak English. haha. That's one of my goals, and last night 2 people were really surprised when I told them that I am from the USA. They thought I was Latin, so I am going to start saying that I am Latin. haha. Well, I am really pumped for these last months of my mission because Elder Maigua and I are going to kick some butt.

We had a lesson last night with Miguel and Marlen and we told them that they need to choose what church they want to follow and they will be telling us what they think tomorrow. But I know that they will find the truth and they will be baptized here soon. And we have been finding a lot of people and I am really excited for all the things we are doing. I love the mission and I feel really old now. 21 is a little to old for me and I am in one of the last months of my mission which makes me sad. A friend said it best: "I bet you feel bittersweet." It's true, I want to do this forever but I also want to come home and start the next part of my life. But I am not going to talk more about this or the house so I can be here in the mission 100%.

I love you all and I miss you all. Have a good week. Talk to you later and thanks to everyone that wrote me for my birthday - it made my day!

love,

Elder Christensen

week ending 5.29.11

 Hey everyone,

Well it looks like something cool will be happening this Saturday. If you guessed the end of the world - you're wrong. haha No, it's my birthday! whoooooooooooooooooooooo! That's right, I will be 21 years old and I will be just kickin' it here in Chile doing the Lord's work - not doing anything cool for my birthday. What am I saying? The Lord's work is the coolest thing in the world, so that's ok.

This week we found 10 new people to teach and 2 of them are from Peru and it's a family and they said yes to get baptized on the 26 of June so we will be working with them a lot this month to come. And we found a lady that is really awsome. She believes in the Bible and when we started to show her the Bible with the Book of Mormon she was like, "I like the Book of Mormon, it seems like it's more complete." I was like, "You got it!" haha But she isn't married so she can't get baptized until she is married to the guy that she lives with or moves out. Moving out won't happen. haha.

Another thing that is funny (my companion said it was okay that I write this). We were walking down the street and my comp says, "We need to go to the house. I need to use the bathroom right now." So we started back home. I thought it was just a normal bathroom run but he says if another wave hits me I wont be able to hold it in. So we started to walk a little faster, he was squeezing so hard but all the sudden he stops and puts his back to the wall and with a terrified look on his face and says, "I am pooping." Oh man, I started to laugh. I felt bad but it was so funny. And then we get to the house and he's like "It's running down my leg." It's so funny at this point but it gets better, he starts to poop his pants again before he got to the bathroom. After all of this, there was poop everywhere and the words of my companion "I feel like a 240 lb baby!" He is so funny. I will never forget that day.

Well that was my week and I am pumped to be 21 this Saturday. Have a good week and I will talk to you next week. Love you all!

love

Elder Christensen

PS The photos are of me in the hospital and it was great fun. haha.

week ending 5.22.11

Hey everyone.

 

This week has been a good one for me. On the health side, I have started to work more and I feel a lot better, but on the work side we lost all of our investigators and now we have to go find some more people. I am ready to do it so we will see some good stuff come out of the week.

 

Well, an update on me: I will be going to College of Eastern Utah again after my mission and I will be playing baseball for them as well. I will be getting home on the 30 of Aug. and I go to school the 31 or 1 of September. We will see. But I am excited for that but I am not worrying too much about that. haha.

 

I have nothing more to say - I am out of things to say this week. I love you all and thank you for all your prayers. Have a good week.

 

love,

Elder Christensen.

week ending 5.15.11

{at zone conference with President and Sister May the day after being released from the hospital.}

 Hey everyone,

I didn't write last week because I was having surgery (for all of you that didn't know.) It wasn't anything super bad, but if you want to know more you can ask my mommy what, how, when, why, and all that jazz. haha.

This week I sat in the house and read the Book of Mormon for a week and now I think I am good for this week. No, that's a joke. I love reading that book.

On Sunday I used my surgery to ask our investigators if they would come get us and take us to church. It worked and they came and liked it, but they couldn't stay for all the meetings. The next thing that happened at church was that I was in pain for all of it but after it was all good. It was sweet, I got to stay with a family while my companion went out to work and I got to help the kids with English.. well they are not really kids, they are as old as me but it was cool. My companion had a good day working he did a lot and found new people so that's pretty cool. We are trying and praying that Miguel and Marlen get baptized this weekend so pray for them. If anyone goes to the temple this week please put them in there as well. Thank you so much. Oh, and please pray that I get better so that I can work at 100% for a whole day because I am at about 45%.

Today we went to the doctor and he told me that everything is healing well and that I am just fine - so don't worry. I go back to talk to him on Thursday to get checked out again. All is well and now I don't have so many pains.

I love you all and thanks for all you do and for all of your prayers. Have a good week and we will be talking next week.

love,
Elder Christensen

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 4.24.11

Hey,

Happy Easter to all! This week is a great week and a sad week because this computer won't let me send a photo to you all of my new companion. Yes, I was changed and now I am in a new ward as well. I am in the ward Zañartu, I will give anyone a dollar that doesn't know how to speak Spanish that can say that name. haha. It's in a place called Quilicura. I am really excited to be here and my new companion is from Nephi, Utah and his name is Elder Evans. He seems like a good guy and I am really excited to be here and I am still a District Leader so that is pretty sweet! haha.

This morning something happened that we shouldn't do but it was out of my power, Danilo came to see me and I signed a baseball that I had and he loved it. Oh mom, I need more baseballs, it's a sweet new gift for the people here. haha. And Danilo started to cry and I was like don't cry, you're going to make me cry and I don't cry I am a man. I was joking with him to make him smile so he would stop crying. haha. Well, I am happy it was the first time that I was not sad to be changed. I am still sad that I left all those people that are so sweet but I am happy to be here!

I also learned something really cool this morning, that the way of the Lord is the best way and the way of Elder Christensen is not the best way. The Lord knows best and He does what He thinks best. So I will go and do what the Lord commands and not complain about anything. haha.

Thank you all for your letters and your love, I feel the power of your prayers every day and I am really grateful for them. Have a good week!!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 4.17.11

 Hey everyone,

Well this week was a week full of things! We had a lot to do! We planned the baptism of Marcela and it turned out so great! It was a baptism to remember - not going to lie - I was like it's going to be interesting. But it was so amazing! Danilo, my convert, did the baptism but I went in with them to help carry her into the font and hold her in the water. We didn't fill the font all the way up and we had her sit down while we did it and it was sweet. I held her legs down and Danilo did the baptism.

But something that was really funny, we sang I Am A Child of God in English but we forgot the last part of the last line and we just stopped singing it was bad and really funny. haha. Well, something else cool happened... Danilo was called to be the president of the Young Men. That man is doing so well, they are planning on going to the temple in a year. So, yes mom we will be coming back to Chile next year so work on your Spanish! haha.

We also had a sweet activity in the church that we planned and ran. We bought 12 cakes and played games and shared a small message, and all the members and investigators loved it. haha. One of the games that we played was where we made teams and put them in a line and the last person had a small balloon hanging from their pants and the person in front is the only person that can grab the balloon. Oh man, they were throwing everyone around people ended up on the floor and it was so funny! I am going to do that for a activity when I get home. haha.

We also did some service for a member and we painted. We painted a wall then when we were alone I painted my name on the wall so they will alway remember me. They were not mad but they were like, "Sweet! Now Helmick you do it too!" haha. But the family we did it for is a family that I love, they are so sweet I am going to be sad when I have to go. But that is the mission. haha.

This week we have  a lot of plans to do a lot of good stuff! Please put us in your prayers that we find that family that is waiting for us please. Thank you. Have a good week and I love you all! It's a joy writing you all!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 4.10.11

Hey everyone!

 This week ended really great! We had a baptism of Erick, he is such an amazing kid! I talked about him last week and now he his clean of all of his sins and really to get the Holy Ghost the next week. Also, Jordan was confirmed a member of the church yesterday - but his sister was sick and couldn't make it. I was sad about that but next week she will get confirmed.

All of Erick's family were able to come and see his baptism and they loved it so much and it was really cool! We sang I am a Child of God in English, and they all loved it. Everyone here wants to learn English and a lot of people think they know English but the only things they know in English are swear words. haha.

Another thing that was sweet: I was able to go work with one of the zone leaders, Elder Tialavea. That elder is so cool!  I learn so much from him and we worked really hard and I felt good about our work together. And I did something for the sisters of my district, they were really sick so I took them a lemon pie and cleaned their house while they were working and they were so happy. They are so great - some of the best sister missionaries I have met.

This coming weekend Marcela will be being baptized, and I would love if you could put her in your prayers. When we found her last month she was smoking 20+ cigarettes and yesterday she smoked 0! She is working so hard and making so much progress. She is in a wheel chair and everyone in their house smokes, so it's hard because she can't leave. But we pass by everyday to help her out and take her mind off of smoking. So if you can pray for her, she has been waiting so long for her baptism and she is the sweetest lady. I am going to be so happy for her on Sunday! Thanks.

This is Benjamin, the son of Danilo and Violeta. He is the cuteist kid, and says amen after the prayers. So cool! I love him!

 I love you all! Thanks for all you do for me. Thanks for all of your prayers. Have a good week!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 4.3.11

Hey everyone!

First things first:  If you are going to send* me something, you need to send it to:
Elder Jackson McKade Christensen
Mision Chile Santiago Norte
Sucursal Correo Patronata, Casilla 60
Santiago
Chile
*and if you live in the USA, only send stuff through the USPS.  haha.

Well this weekend was a good one - that is for sure! We got to listen to our prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and he had a lot of good things to say to us! And all of the other speakers as well, don't get me wrong on that. haha. I liked the talk Monson gave in the priesthood session about getting married. (Well, now, we all know why the missionaries get married within 1 to 2 years after the mission.... it's because the prophet said so. haha). But the one thing I liked was "choose your love and love what you choose." We need to find the love of our life and when we find her (him for the girls haha), we need to love them for the rest of our lives and do all we can to make sure that we never lose the love we started-out with! A lot of missionaries were like, "oh no, why are they talking so much about marriage?!" But I was like, "oh yeah, now I have a good reason to get married!" haha (just playin' mom.) But I am not scared of it like a lot of missionaries are here. haha. Well I would like to hear from you!  Write me and tell me what you liked about the conference we just had. Thank you!

This week we will be seeing another baptism and the confirmation of Jordan and Guisselle. I am really excited for them. The kid that will be getting baptized is Erick and he is 9 years old. He reminds me of my own baptism when I was 15. His family are members but they are less active. Now that we found him he loves going to church more then going to school and it's so funny! I love this little kid! I am so excited for him and his family this weekend. So be sure to put him in your prayers so that all goes well with his baptism. Thank you.

I am doing a lot better in my health and I am loving the mission. I keep finding all the good things about being here and all the good things of my companion and all the good things of bad things. I can testify that it makes the world a better place when you look at all the good things. When something bad happens be ready to look for the good things in that situation and you will begin to love all things. I invite you to look for the good in all things!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support! Have a good week!

love,
Elder Christensen

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 3.20.11

Hey everyone!

Well this week was a short one for me. I have been working to lighten the weight of having the 2 sectors now and it's going well - so well that we are going to have 2 baptisms this weekend! I am so excited! Their names are Guisselle(16) and Jordan(10) they are brother and sister and they are so great! They love going to church and are so pumped for their baptism. This weekend they couldn't go to church and we passed by in the evening and they told me that they felt so bad that they couldn't go to church. Now think about this: 2 kids that aren't members missed a day of church and felt bad, and how many of us that are members miss a day and don't think twice. We have something so special but sometimes we don't see it. I invite all of you that missed a day of church to say sorry to the Lord and make it there this Sunday because it's something so little but so important in our lives! And I got taught that by two kids here in Chile. We can be taught by anyone and anywhere!

I would like to share with you this story that the mission president shared with us that teaches us some important principles:

The Silent Lesson

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.  After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.  Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.  As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.  Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.  The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.  He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.  Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave his host said, with a tear running down his cheek, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday”.

Like before if we are going out just a little our fire goes out, but when we get put back in the fire we can catch fire so fast and just take off!

Well if you have anything you would like to know about Chile or my mission ask me because I am running out of things to write. haha. Thanks.

I love you all and have a good week.  I hope this message helped you in some way.

love,

Elder Christensen

week ending 3.13.11

Last night was a tough night for the 4 missionaries that lived in our house. We had changes and the changes that happened were not what we wanted. Well, Elder Stark goes home today (he's standing next to me), his companion Elder Poole got sent to a different sector and my companion, Elder Mendez (on the far left) was sent to another sector. I stayed and I have a new companion. His name is Elder Helmick. He is from Oregon and was in the army before the mission. He is a great guy from what I know and it will be fun working with him. I continue as district leader of 2 sisters haha.

 This photo is of the sisters that are in my district, Sister Agilar is from Guatemala and Sister Martinez is from Mexico.
 
Well now that I have to take over 2 sectors we have a lot to do.  We gained a lot of people that Elder Stark and Elder Poole were teaching so we have a lot of work to do. And if you ask if I am happy about the changes, I would say no. I didn't want this to happen but it's what needed to happen. So I have to live by this saying, "Come what may, and love it." So what ever happens, I have to love it and just work my little butt off.

On the bright side we are still working with Marcela and she is doing really good - especially with quitting smoking and she feels so good about herself now. I am so happy for her. We have also found a lot of other people that we are really excited to teach and I will be letting you know how all of this new change stuff goes next week.

Thank you all for your emails and your love and support. Have a good week and I love you all!

love,
Elder Christensen

{with my new companion, Elder Helmick.}

week ending 3.6.11

Hey everyone,

Well this week was a good one! We worked really hard and we got a lot of things done. We have a lot of people that are learning more about the church and want to keep listening but all the ones that are really good can't get baptized because they live together. We have two families that aren't married and that's what we are trying to do with them because they are super great. One is Marisol and she is from Colombia and she is super great! She is so funny and says things how there are. One of the things she said that was great is that she wants to be Mormon. So we will be working with her a lot this week. The other family that we are teaching is fantastic, Their names are Maria and Giovani they learn all the things we teach them and understand that they need to get married. So we will see today if they want to keep learning more and get married haha. They are super great.

Something I learned this week is that consistency is the key to all the things we are going to do.  When we can keep doing the things we want to do with our heart and all we have it goes so well. The other consistency is do the things that we need to do but sometimes your heart isn't there. The first one will bring us so much more happiness.

Another lady we are teaching is Marcela. She is doing great and trying really hard to give up smoking but it's a tough thing to give up but she is fighting. She is doing well, but she couldn't make it to church yesterday. We are going to keep working hard with her so she can complete her goals. So if you could put her in your prayers that would be so amazing. Thank you.

Have a good week and we will be talking next week! bye

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 2.27.11

Hey everyone,

This week was just amazing!  On Monday we passed by a reference we got from a lady in the street. She was like I want to you two to come by tomorrow and teach my niece and we were like okay. So we passed by and we met Marcela, she is a women that is really strong. She is passing for a lot of things in her life but the gospel is changing her life. She is in a wheelchair and we taught her the plan of salvation and she ate it up. And every time we pass by she is like I feel a burning in my chest and I just feel so good. When she says that I just want to cry and jump up and down for joy. She has the baptismal date for the 20th of March so if you can put her in your prayers to help her to quit smoking she would really love that! thank you.

I really don't have much to say this week. I am looking at the screen thinking about what to write and nothing so I am sorry that this is short but it's my email and I am stumped haha. But I have learned if there isn't love in a companionship or marriage there is a good chance that there will be fights. So I invite you all to show the love in your friendships, relationships, & marriage haha. I love you all!  Have a good week!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 2.20.11

Hey everyone,

Well this Sunday was one of the best Sundays ever because I got to see my convert Danilo bless the sacrament and he did it perfectly! He did it with Elder Mendez and told Elder Mendez that he was really nervous but it was great and they are doing so well. They haven't missed a day of church since they got baptized! That makes me so happy and they are still making plans to go to the temple so I have plans to come back to Chile! haha. Other people that I am teaching: one family I am teaching is a mom and a son, Cloudia and Maties - they are so great!  We talked about the apostasy and they didn't understand so I just came out and said with a lot of love that the only church you can have a baptism that means something to God is in the Church of Jesus Christ, we had a little kid that is a member with us and he said, "I thought that after Elder Christensen said that she was going to be so mad." - but she was like, "well, I guess I have to pray then."  I was so happy when she said that! so good!

This morning we had a sports day and it was really fun! I got to play soccer or, if you please, baby futbol. It's a court smaller than a basketball court and it is really fun. I am getting better at soccer so I think I might take up soccer when I get home. I also took my baseball glove and so did Elder Stark and I got to throw and it was amazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing! I haven't gotten to throw a baseball hard and far for 2 months and for a baseball lover that is too much! haha. Then I played some volleyball that was fun, well I have to say I don't know how to play a sport with out talking trash, so I learned something. Note to self, learn how to play sports without trash talking! haha.

I hope that all is well with you all!  Thanks for reading and supporting me in my mission, I love every second of it! Have a good week!

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 2.6.11

Hey everyone!

This week started off so great! We started to find so many people and our investigators were so excited for everything getting ready to go to church. Man, when that happens you feel so happy and all you can do is get on your knees and give thanks for all you have to our Heavenly Father. We are teaching two different families that are just great! One is Cristian and Stephanie and they are so great, they have talked with missionaries before but they are ready this time. Cristian told us he wants to get baptized and he is ready. His wife was like "I am a little bit tougher than him." I laughed when she told us that and we asked her why and she gave us a lot of different excuses. But we are working with them and they will be progressing here soon! The other family is great we just got to know them.

Something really amazing happened, I got to witness Danilo getting the priesthood! I was so happy watching that and he is so happy and all. I am really happy for them and I am planing to come back to Chile to see their sealing in the temple! =)

We went to lunch one day with a new family that lives in our branch and they live in this part that is really rich. When the husband (not a member) came to pick us up he was white and had a deep voice, I was like your not Latin. haha. He is from Canada and is really funny, he was crackin' jokes the whole time. I loved it. But this sister is so great she is like I am going to spoil you guys even if you don't want it, so I asked for Life cereal. haha. The cool thing was that they have two baseball gloves and Elder Stark and I threw a little and I let one go really hard and broke one of the gloves. Know what that means? I still got it. haha. It felt good - but I felt bad about the glove and he said it's all good and that they don't get used. haha.

So that is a little about my week. I really don't have anything else to say except have a good week and I am glad to hear from you all! Talk to you later!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 1.30.11

Hey everyone,

Well this week was really sweet!!!!!!!!!! Danilo and Violeta got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woooooooooooooooooooo they were so happy! I messed up on the prayer and had to do it 2 times, whoooooooopppppssss. But it's all good - Danilo still got a remission of his sins. And we asked them how they felt after and they said, "I feel as light as a feather." It is so awesome to hear the testimony of a new convert and see that they are really happy and that they wanted to be baptized to follow Christ. We had the baptism on Saturday and the got confirmed on Sunday and they were really happy. Danilo had his interview to get the priesthood, he is going to be a Priest this next week! So excited for him and his family! woooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The photo of Danilo and Violeta in normal clothes is right after they got baptized.

Well the other reason why this week was so great is that we found of 10 new people this week! 5 of them came to church and they loved it and the members were doing such a good job to make them feel at home. I am really excited to keep working with them. One of them is named Juan (John) and he is great. He lives alone and travels all over Chile to find work and when the work that he is doing is up he moves. He is a hard working man and he needs your prayers so if you could put him in your prayers so he can keep learning the gospel that would be awesome!

The other 4 are girls, they are so funny. They asked me if I knew the Jonas Brothers and I said no, and then they asked me if I knew Hannah Montana. I said she was my ex-girlfriend and they freaked out. But I told them right after that I was joking. But one of the girls went and got a magazine and there was a photo of Hannah Montana and a boy and they all said that it was me. haha. Crazy little girls. Well, their ages are 18, 16, 10, 9, 7.  We are also teaching their grandma and brother & cousin. This family is so big they all live together in the same lot but in different houses. They are all reading and praying so we are going to keep working with them and see if they can keep the things we ask them to do and if they really want to do this. They are great.

Thanks for all the prayers that you send my way. They are helping a lot, I would not be able to do this work with out them. And thanks for supporting me in this battle haha. Have a good week!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 1.23.11

Hey everyone,

Well this week was a good one!  We made a lot of progress this week and I have been really happy with what I am learning with Elder Mendez.  He is a funny kid and always is smiling. haha. So the good news is that the family that we have been teaching has plans to get baptized this coming weekend and I am so pumped for them! They are such good people and they are like, "you guys are our family" but sometimes I don't know if they really understand that we can't do a lot of things - but it's all good. haha. Well, they will be getting a remission of their sins this weekend and we are helping them make plans to go to the temple when the time comes. So when that happens I will be coming back here.  Anyone that wants to come, feel free to join me (with your own money haha).

So we have lost all of our other investigators that we had, but this week we are going to work really hard to get some more. So a thing you can do for me is pray that we find some more people this week. thanks. =)

I have been learning a lot about goals and desires, so I have been thinking a lot about my goals and my desires. I have a lot of goals but are they really my desires?  I found out no. When you have a desire you do all you can to complete it, like in the mission, you will make a goal, present it before God and then make the plans and present those too.  Then you will always be thinking of that desire and pray everyday about it and to all you can do to complete it.  Like my desire number one is to baptize and baptize, so I have to make a goal and then a plan and do everything I can to complete it.  Even when I am just dragging, I have to get up and put on that happy face on and do it because I want to. A desire is something that we want to do. I know that we all have desires but I want you to look at them and really think, "Do I do everything I can to complete that goal?" "Did I make that goal and not do anything?" "How bad do I want to do that (thing)?" I know that this will help you all out because it helped me out!

I love you all and thanks for all you do to help me! Have a good week!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 1.16.11

Hey everyone!

This week was a fast one, it feels like I was just on this dang computer yesterday writing the last dang email to you all. haha. Well, let's see what I can talk about this week. well..........................

..................... Danilo and Violeta when to church and are loving it, and on top of that they accepted to be baptized on the 30th of this month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, man I was so pumped when they said yes!  I never thought that I would be happier then hitting a grand slam but I found it.  It's helping the people of the world (in this moment the people of Chile.) receive the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Man, I wish I could let you know what that feeling is like but I don't have the words to do in an email so you will have to wait to the end of my mission. haha. So they went on a trip and didn't read one dang thing but they prayed the whole time so I was like, oh man, they aren't very good with reading............... I was wrong!  They got here and started to read and I was like yessssssssss. It was so great and it's nice that they are both 22 years old. We get along so well.  I didn't go one time and I made the mistake of telling them my name =( and Danilo was like what is Jackson?  It's funny because all the people in the USA know me by McKade but all people here in Chile know me by Jackson. So its fun haha. But if you could put this family in your prayers that they can keep reading, praying, and going to church so they can make it to their baptism that would be super great!

So something that is going on here in Colina, there is a stage outside of the city hall and there are all kinds of things going on like plays, bands, classical music, etc. But the bad thing is that we can't go because its during the time we have to work and today we have to start working at 7 and that's when it starts so yah. haha. But there are members that are playing in it and that is sweet. It looks really cool. What else?  It's about 100 degrees here, "I am bakin' like a tosted chesse-it! It's so hot here!" (what movie?) I have to put on sunscreen. I know its crazy - me, Elder Christensen, putting on sunscreen. It's so hot and the sun seems a little bit stronger here than it is in Utah........... I will be glad when it's cold again!  At least I can get away from the cold - the heat there is nowhere to run.
  

Well thanks for reading my email of the week. I hoped you liked it. Have a good week and I love you all!

love,
Elder Christensen

The haircut that I did myself!!!!  good or bad?

 

week ending 1.9.11

 Hey everyone,

Something amazing happened to us this week!  We were working hard and we were talking to a family that has been going to church for a long time but they live together so they can't get baptized.  We are always trying to help them so they can make the decision to get married. This week they told us that they are going to be getting married as soon as it is possible so we were really happy to hear this.  Their names are Cesar, Maritza, and Bastian, they are great!  Please add them in your prayers so they can get more help with the plans.  Thanks.

We did service for them and the photo with the hats is the first day we did service for them.  During this service we ran into about 8 spiders that are so big and they are the most dangerous and the fastest and craziest spiders I have ever seen.  If they bite you, you can: 1) die or 2) get a shot and you have a hole where it bit you. haha.  But I am really careful when we are dealing with these spiders.  I was carrying a sword and cutting them in half or smashing them from a long ways away.  And it doesn't help that I hate spiders so this makes it really fun! haha. But we cleared out their house and tore it down. haha.  It was really fun and I have videos of the spiders and stuff so when I get home ask me to see them. haha.

I am learning that I have to learn how to act on my decisions so that I can change for the good and help others, because lately I have been backing out on something that I need to do.  But I am learning so much and I am going to be changing that this week. The thing that helped me is that I read in James chapter 2 it talks about faith and it says this, without works our faith is dead.  So I was like, oh man my faith is getting kicked hard so I have to change something.  So when I feel like I need to do something I am just going to do it so I can learn just to do the things that I know are right and the things that the Holy Ghost tells me to do.  I know life is hard but the Gospel is easy to live.  I love you all and thanks for all the support you have given me.  Have a good week and I'll be talking to you next week.

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 1.2.11

Hey everyone!

I am so pumped for the year 2011!  I have so many goals and stuff that I want to do before I come home. I am going to just work so hard that when I come home I am going to sleep for 3 days straight so don't make any plans anyone because my 3 days of sleep are really important. haha. No, I'm just playin. But I am really going to kick my own butt this year and just do everything I can so I can help out the people of Chile and just lose myself in the work!

Well the good news is that we have a family that we are teaching.  Danilo, Violeta and Ben went to church and Ben, the little boy, was running all over the place and just loving it. He went to the primary and loved it and left with the biggest smile on his face. Danilo and Violeta loved it and were talking with people and answering questions in the classes. Oh man, I am so excited for them, I am going to give everything I have to help this little family and the crazy thing is, they are only 2 years older then me haha. I can't imagine myself in their shoes.

The new year was fun, a family in the ward brought us dinner to our house because we had to be in the house at 10 pm so they brought us food. Then we made a fire in the back waiting for the new year and we started screaming at 12 it was great! I was into 2011 and sleeping before any of the people in the USA got to 2011. That's funny haha!

I am not complaining or anything but I am so hot - I am going to die of heat. I have not sweat so bad in my life!  It is so hot and we had a sports day on the 31st and I got so burnt thanks to my thinking, I am tan I won't get burnt. False I got burnt haha. But I took my baseball glove and ball and Elder Stark took his glove and we got to throw and I still can throw the baseball really far and really hard. It made my day and I am so happy that I got to throw. The beat thing ever! haha.

That was my week and thanks for all the support that you all give me! Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Talk to you next week!

love,
Elder Christensen