Hola!

We saw a ton of really cool miracles this week! I learned the
importance of following the promptings of the spirit! It was such an
awesome week!

Miracle #1: Oralia finally went to the temple! It has been a struggle
to help that woman find names so she could go! We finally went on
Friday. When we got in the car to go, a HUGE storm rolled in. It was
so bad! The roads started to flood and everything was a mess. Oralia's
family has been waiting soooo long for their work to be done and the
temple was only about 20 mins away so we (Oralia, us, and the relief
society president) decided that it was worth the risk. As we were
driving, we felt a distinct impression to take a different route to
the temple. It was a route that was longer and potentially more
dangerous during flooding due to the fact that it was right by the
bayou. We decided to obey and took that route to the temple.
Everything was fine and eventually we made it to the temple. Come to
find out, the road we were driving on first had been shut down because
the water had gotten too deep. If we hadn't listened to that prompting
we could have gotten ourselves into a potentially dangerous situation.

 But because we did listen, we made it safe and Oralia was able to have
an INCREDIBLE experience at the temple.

Miracle #2: On Saturday, we were walking back to our car after an
appointment when we ran into this man. He was just standing around and
jamming to his beats like most people here enjoy doing.. He was a
little creepy and was right in our path to get to our car. I have
learned that whenever there is a risk of getting mugged, the best
thing to do is to approach them before they approach you. Haha. We
gave him a smile and asked if we could share a card with him. He was
actually very nice and we started getting into a gospel discussion
with him. A few minutes later, this other man walks up out of no where
and starts doing sign language to us. He was slow of speech but we
could understand him if we listened really close. He told us that he
was a member church and attended the deaf Ward. After a few minutes,
we ended up giving the creepy man a Book of Mormon and went on our
way. The deaf member told us that he had been sitting in his apartment
watching basketball when suddenly he felt something was wrong. He said
the feeling wouldn't go away so he walked out on his porch to look
around. He said he saw us talking to that man and felt like he should
go down there to be with us. It was so cute to see his little
testimony grow as he realized he had listened and acted on a
prompting. The Lord protects His missionaries.

Miracle #3: About a month ago, Bishop gave us an assignment to visit
this less active that no one had ever met. We stopped by her house
many times but she never answered the door. This last week, we kept
getting a prompting to go visit this lady. We went to her apartment
complex and started walking towards her apartment. On our way there,
we saw this Hispanic girl hanging her laundry out to dry on a clothes
line. We felt like we needed to go over and talk to her. As we walked
over there, she looked up and her jaw dropped. She started jumping up
and down and yelling, "Hermanas! Hermanas! You speaking Spanish?" We
were like, "Si!" She got all teary eyed and then proceeded to tell us
that she was baptized about two years ago in Honduras. She had just
arrived to the United States about a month ago (about the same time
Bishop felt prompted to have us visit the less active). She didn't
know any English and had no idea where she could find the church. She
told us that this last week she got on her knees and pleaded with the
Lord to send her the Spanish speaking missionaries so she could go to
church and take the sacrament. She was all smiles and kept saying, He
answered my prayer, He answered my prayer! It was so tender. Turns out
she is the next door neighbor of the less active. Her and her brother
are the only members in her family! We are going to baptize the rest
of them!

I can not even begin to explain how many miracles and blessings I have
seen here on my mission. These last 16 months have been the greatest
of my life. I know that the Lord is very in control of His work. It
has been such an honor to represent our Savior and be a tool in
blessing the lives of others.

Have a great week!

Hermana Christensen

Hello! 

We had another great week! I LOVE THE MISSION. 

We had Zone Conference this week. Once again, President Mortensen changed my life. We went over the Plan of Salvation and I learned so much. It seriously changed my whole view of the gospel. I think I am going to share the things I learned in my homecoming talk. It was that good. 

There was a Hermana who extended her mission and went home on Saturday. She stayed with us on Friday because we live really close to the airport. Friday night we got to go to Presidents house so she could have her interview. We just sat on his couch and ate popsicles with Sister Mortensen. It was a good time. Haha.

We found a new family who just got here from Cuba. Cubans are my favorite. They have a really think accent which makes them a little hard to understand! We taught them the Restoration and they were literally on the edge of their seat the whole time. They were so excited about our message! They came to church yesterday and we are going to set dates with them to be baptized this week! Woo! 

The Torres family got baptized on Saturday! They are so cute!  

Sorry this is so short! I don't have much time today! 

Hermana Christensen

Hola

Hola! 

I know that every week I say that we had the best week ever and we saw so many miracles.. But this week we really did! Haha! We really do every week but ESPECIALLY this week. 

Kenny and Natali came to church!! Let me tell you the story of Kenny Bautista.. About two months ago, we got a phone call from Kenny. She told us that we had given her a card when we were walking down the street and that she wanted us to come to her home and teach her. So we go to her home and it turns out she is a member! She was baptized in El Salvador when she was 14, went to church for a few years and then moved to the USA and lost all contact. We started teaching her and her family (none of them are members). They have been reading in the Book of Mormon and were progressing really fast. Her 8 year old daughter (Natali) has already read the whole children's Book of Mormon and is already in Alma 59 in the real Book of Mormon. The only thing that stopped them from progressing was church. Kenny felt really awkward about coming to church again and had some fears that she would fall away again if she started coming back. We had been praying really hard about what we should do and last week we got an answer! We went into their home and taught them the story of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14). We compared the boat to our comfort zone or the things that are easy and comfortable in our lives. Interestingly, the Savior was not in the boat, He was out walking on the water in the middle of a storm. We talked about how they have shown their faith and "left the boat" by reading in the Book of Mormon and taking those steps to the Savior. Inevitably as we get closer to the Savior, the storm starts to get a little more fuerte. When we look at the example of Peter, he had three options when the wind started coming and the storm got stronger. 1. He could return back to the boat 2. He could sink and drown 3. He could look to the Savior and keep going in faith. After we discussed about what happened to Peter, we looked at them and were like "The Savior has asked that you come closer to Him by attending His church. You have three choices, what are you going to choose?" The spirit just filled the room and Kenny started to cry and said, "I'll see you at church." Then we all cried and it was one of the best moments of my mission. She came yesterday with Natali! It was so beautiful to see her act in her faith! 

We found another new investigator this week named Anarelys. We taught her the Restoration and it was so powerful! There have been very select times where I have teared up during the first vision. This lesson was one of them. After we had taught her the Book of Mormon she was like, "I will read it but I already know its true!" She is so perfect and so prepared!! We are really excited for her!!! 

I feel a lot of anxiety every single day because there are so many people in this world who are living without the safety of covenants. I realized I have very little time left on my mission. It really goes by so fast. So so so so so so fast. I think I am coming to understand how Alma felt when he was lamenting about not being able to cry repentance to the people forever. My new life motto: Alma 29:1-3. I feel you man.

Well have a great week! I love you all! Thank you for your prayers! Read your scriptures! The church is true! 

Hermana Christensen

Hola

We had such a bombin week! I have never been more exhausted in my entire life. We found two families this week! And guess what! They both just moved here from different states and they both have had the discussions before. One lady has been going to church for two years and told us that she already knows the Book of Mormon is true. Wooo! Blessings! I have seen time and time again on my mission that when we go out and find that the Lord leads us to His elect. 

We found another really prepared friend this week. Her name is Socorro. We were walking back to our car after a lesson and saw her bringing in her groceries. We walked over to her and offered our assistance. She said she was good so we gave her a pass along card and started contacting her. Before we could even really say anything she looked at us and said, "when can you come over, I want to learn more!" We were just like, whaaaaat! We set up a cita and then she invited us into her home and gave us some water and fruit. (Hispanics have a weird obsession with fruit). We are going to go teach her tomorrow! Woo! 

We had a really awesome sacrament meeting yesterday. Every Sunday I just feel the spirit so strong. Obispo Myers runs a really tight ship. The members are expected to be at sacrament 15 minutes early and they are to sit and read their scriptures until it starts. No one walks around and greets their friends. They all sit quietly and listen to the prelude. It is so special. It really sets the meeting up to be great because everyone's mind is prepared to receive revelation. I have never seen a ward that has more respect for the Sabbath day and the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. Its really awesome! Our investigators can feel it as they participate. The Houston 6th ward is such a special place! 

We had to do more flood clean up this week. It is so nasty! We have been helping our ward members throw out all their things. The streets of Houston are just piled with furniture and wet dry wall (the irony.. haha). There is also a bunch of sewage everywhere. So nasty. Everyone is coming together though to help! Its a blessing in disguise because a lot of people have been humbled and are more receptive to our message. 

Well, have a great week! I love you all! 

Hermana Christensen