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

Merry Christmas 2010

Hello Everyone!

My Christmas was just great!  I spent the 24th with a family that is amazing.  I am going to have photos of them to show you. Enzo the dad, Maria the mom, and Maxi and Seba their 2 sons. They are so cute, we got to help Santa Claus and bring out the toys for the boys while they went and looked for him outside. Because in Chile Santa comes at night on Christmas Eve at 12:00. It was so sweet to see the look on the faces of the little kids when they saw their new toys!

Then on the 25th I got to call my mom and family! It was great! It's crazy to hear the voices of my mom and of my family members, sorry family haha. But it was nice. We spent the day with the Alomia family, they are from the USA and they made a Christmas lunch which was just great! haha And I got 2 ties from them and they are so sweet! haha.

So to tell you a little about Colina, well it's up around 98 degrees and its just cookin me everyday! I wear sunscreen and it still kicks my butt but what can you do? ummmmmmm go out and work for the Lord with all your heart, mind, might, strength, and will. When I do that I don't even feel the heat I don't think about the house I just work and work and love it and love it! haha. I love this work, I love Colina, it's a small little town and we have about 5 smaller towns that we have to ride bikes to.  It takes about 20 to 45 minutes.  The one that is far away - we haven't gone if we go we will be taking a bus! haha.

Well, that's my week and I just want to say Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here comes 2011! One year until the world ends in 2012 haha NOT! Well, have a good week everyone! Peace and love!

Love,

Elder Christensen

{Christmas eve with an amazing family}

{Elder Christensen & Elder Mendez at the mission home Christmas dinner}

{the yard he sat in as he was talking to family on Christmas day}

{Jessica sent a Christmas gift to this beautiful girl in Chile}

{pumpkin pie MK made for Christmas dinner}

week ending 12.19.10

Hey Everyone,

Well today was a sad but a happy day! I got a new companion and he is from Mexico.  His name is Elder Mendez. He is really funny and I think we will get along just fine. haha. So we got together around 1:30 today and its only 3:45 here and we already have been making jokes and stuff. I hope he can help me loosen up a little, I have been really stressed with the work but the work always goes on and we will see fruits here soon.

Yesterday we went to see a family that we contacted in the street and when we got there they let us in and we started to teach them and they were just sucking it all up, it was sweet! haha. They were so excited and they are going to pray about Joseph Smith and they said they want to get baptized! And we will be doing everything to help them, they will be going on a trip here soon but that wont stop us. haha. Their names are Danelo (dad,22), Violeta (mom,22), Ben (son,almost 2). They are awesome.

So something I learned this week is that I need to learn more about love with patience. When I lose one of these things it's all downhill from there.  So if anyone has a thought or anything to help a poor missionary out I would love for your help. One thing that I learned is that the prayers helps out so much in any situation that you are in, even when you lose your patience. But the thing that we need to do to have love and be patient is have the Holy Ghost, and how do we get that? We are obedient. So almost everything comes down to being obedient.

Thanks to all that wrote me and i hope that everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all and have a great Christmas!

love,
Elder Christensen

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 12.5.10

Hey everyone,

Well, this week was a tough one for us - but we fought through it and we ended up kicking butt. We completed a lot of the goals we had. I feel so blessed when we get to help the children of God and share a message that can change their lives. So we are doing ore best to find new people to keep helping the branch and doing all we can for the members in the branch. I learned a little more about love this last week, I was reading in Ether Chapter 12 - I think verses 33 and 34, it talks about love and charity. I keep gaining a big testimony of the principle (love), without it I wouldn't be anything.

I have a really funny story for you guys! I was riding on my bike and to let you know this bike has been welded together. lol. Well, I just fixed it on Saturday and it cost a good amount of money. That night I was riding a little fast and all the sudden the bike broke in half! My legs got all tangled up in the bike and I was sure I was going to eat the ground but I was helped by something, (angles), and I landed on my feet. This is the second bike crash that I have been in and both of them I landed on my feet and walked away so I am doing good. But it was just funny that it happened and I am fine - just thought I would tell a funny story. haha.

So we got a Christmas tree from a family that we are teaching, (Elizabeth and her daughter darling). We bought lights and I put the silly rubber bands I got from Mandy on it so it's a sweet 2 or 3 foot tree. I will be having a fun time with that tree, I hope Santa brings some gifts to put under the tree! haha.

I am going to be going now so I will talk to you next week! Have a good week everyone!

Love,

Elder Christensen!

week ending 11.28.10

Hey everyone,

Well this week has been a good one and a rough one for me.  But I have learned a lot about myself and the meaning of "thank you". Even if you are having a hard time there is always something to be thankful for and show someone that you love them. Like in these 3 photos, these are the 3 people I live with and I love them all - even when they bug me. haha. It doesn't happen a lot. For Thanksgiving we ate noddles with salsa and meat. And at night we made pancakes with chocolate chips, brownies in the microwave, shakes in the blender and all that good stuff. So I am guessing it's not anything like the Thanksgiving you all had - but it was a fun one.

So this week we were on a mission to find some new people to teach and we found some!  One is a family of 3. They are so great and I love them already!  Juan, Verginia, and Constanza. They are looking for something to help them have more faith. We have been helping them and they have loved talking to us. So if you can put them in your prayers so that they can open up their hearts more and keep listening to us so they can progress. Thanks.

So on Sunday something really cool happened! We had lunch with a family that's from Utah. The husband is working down here and they live in a part of my sector that is really nice, really nice! haha. They made us a lunch that was so good - the salad from Cafe Rio. Oh man it was so good, they had the green sauce and sweet pork. Oh man it was the best thing that has touched my mouth! And we played with their kids that speak both Spanish and English. Elder Poole was so happy, he is new and he was like "I can have a conversation." haha - he is funny.

Well, thanks for everything that you do for me and the love you send my way.  Have a good week.

Love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 11.21.10

Hey everyone,

Well I just want to say thank you everyone! I am so grateful for all the support you have given me throughout my mission. Thanks. And I hope that Thanksgiving goes well for all of you!!!!!

This week was super-great, we had a conference with Elder Corbridge from the 70. He talked to us about the Holy Ghost and a lot of other stuff. There was one thing that I really liked a lot and it was this: "the gospel isn't hard, going to church isn't hard, the only thing that is hard is life." I have to agree with him, the world makes all of it hard, the world tell us that being obedient to the Word of Wisdom is lame but the truth is that it's cool to do it.

Because what are some of the blessings for following it?
•knowledge
•strength
•health
•protection from evil
And the down sides of not living the Word of Wisdom:
•loss of free agency (needing to smoke, drink, take drugs)
•loss of money
•bad health
•loss of mind control

I am going to have to say that living the gospel and the commandments are a lot better than not. And the other blessing we get from living it is going to the Celestial Kingdom. Who doesn't want to go there?  It's full of happiness and joy - who doesn't want that? Once again, I say living the gospel isn't hard - it's a blessing. The Word of Wisdom was only a example. We need to be thankful that we have the gospel in our lives, and all the people that have given their lives so we can have it and live it. Starting with Jesus Christ, he gave his life so that we could live the gospel and be saved. And Joseph Smith, who fought to restore the gospel in our days so we can have all the blessing of the gospel. There is a lot more - but there is a lot of thanks we owe all the people that sacrifice to bring the gospel to the world. (okay when I started to write this it wasn't my intention to be like, "be thankful for me and the missionaries," it just came out that way - whoops.) I love you all and I am thankful for you all as well! Have a good week!

Love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 11.14.10

Hey everyone,

Well I have to say that I am loving my new sector because I am in the field again and it's so hot and I feel at home. But the only bad thing is that I have to ride a bike and my butt hurts so bad!  I never want to ride the bike again!  And on top of that it broke on me and I have to go get it fixed. But that's just me complaining - it really is great having a bike because we get around faster and we are still getting things done that I want to get done.  It's fun.

So living in a house with 4 missionaries is a more fun then I thought it was going to be.  I thought it was going to suck, but it's not that bad. This last week we got the crap kicked out of us. We had to do so many things and nothing was going the way I wanted it to go so I was getting a little upset.  But I learned this week that getting upset doesn't help anyone or anything. We just need to do our best to make the best of it and make sure we are being obedient.

There is a little town in my sector that is call "pueblo sin ley" (town without law) it's a pretty funny name.  We finely went there last night and I can see why they gave it that name - but its a good little town and I feel like we are going to have some success out there.

Something I learned today:  some one asked me why did God have to come down from heaven to call Joseph Smith to be a Prophet? So I started looking for scriptures and things in study guide and I found nothing.  And then I was in the bathroom (yes you can receive revelation in the bathroom) and I started to think of the Bible.  The Bible says that Christ and God are one and never says anything about the body of God. And everyone thinks that God and Christ are one. Well, when God come down to call Joseph Smith to be a Prophet it was showing the world that God has a body of flesh and bone and is a different person then Christ. And that comes from the 1st article of faith. Yes, I felt good after finding that out but it came from God - I was so pumped! haha. Just thought I would share that with you.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me about anything, I love getting asked questions! haha.

Have a good week!  Love you all! Please pray that we can find some new people this week! thanks!

love,
Elder Christensen

week ending 11.7.10

hiking on p-day

Hello Everyone,

Well, this last week was a good one - we had a lot of success with Alex a new guy that I was teaching.  Alex is doing good and he went to the Stake Conference.  He liked it and was really happy to be there with us and learn.
I got changed and now I am in a different sector. All the members on Sunday were really sad because they  found out that we were going to have changes - but we didn't know until 12:30am last night and after the call they told us that Elder Nielsen needed to be somewhere at 8am so I had to pack last night. I was packing from 12:30am to 3am and then after that we couldn't sleep much so we talked and we were talking about how much we are going to miss one another. After getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep we woke up at 6:20 am and that kicked my butt. haha. Well, my companion Elder Nielsen will be training now and I am in a city called Colina that is outside of the city  I am with Elder Jones.  Elder Jones is from Boise, Idaho and he is really cool and I am excited to work with him. So I am really happy and I am really excited to be in my new sector and the cool thing is that Elder Stark - my old companion - will be living in the same house as me. So it will be a fun time with him and stuff.

with Elder Jones

Something that I have learned is that we cannot be upset with what happens in life - because everything happens for a reason. The times when something happens and we don't know why - that's when we need to go do and fight. I learned this today seeing that I didn't want to leave my sector but I was called to come out here. There is a reason and I am going to go find out why, and I am going to complete with my purpose. So if anything happens to you - don't ask why is this happening to me - but what can I learn from this or what do I need to learn or what do I need to do. I know if you can do this it will change the way you look at things and life will become easier and the challenges won't be so hard.
I know that this church is true and the work that I am doing for the Lord is true. It's the most important work that I could ever do in my life - next to having a family. haha. I know that Jesus Christ lives and He restored this church to the earth through Joseph Smith.  Because of that, we can be baptized the way that Christ was baptized - the way that is valid in the eyes of God. I love you all and I hope that your week goes good for you!

Love,
Elder Christensen