Hola

Hello Everyone!

I need everyone right now to go watch a video. Right. Now. HeLives.mormon.org or ElVive.mormon.org if you would like to watch it in the language of my people. It is super good either way! Go watch it and then come back and you may finish reading

Was that not just the best thing you have ever seen!?! AHHH. I love that video! I would like to invite everyone to share it! Whether it is on Facebook or email or show someone on your phone.. Just share it! We try to share it with everyone we meet! We will just walk up to people and be like, "Hey we have this cool video we want to share with you. Get out your phone and we will watch it." Then we watch it and we all shed a few tears. I am so grateful that He lives! And that because He lives, we live as well!

So this week has been fantastic! Every week is fantastic but this week is just extra fantastic! First of all... WE HAVE A BAPTISM. And this time it is actually going to happen! She is 14 years old and is as cute as can be. She has actually been coming to church for a while and Obisbo asked us to teach her the lessons. So we did and she is getting baptized on the 19th. It is such a blessing! And the crazy thing is that Hermana Marlowe and I were both fasting that we could have a baptism this next month and that same day she committed! We are so excited!

We also had a really neat experience this week with one of our investigators. We were teaching her about profetas! Except during our lesson, she wasn't really believing that we had a prophet on the earth today. At the end of the lesson we asked her to say the closing prayer. She didn't really want to but we talked her into it. She then proceeded to give one of the most beautiful and humble prayers I have ever heard. When she finished she grabbed her chest and just started to hysterically cry. At first I was worried she was having a heart attack or something because she was holding her heart like she was in pain. She cried and cried and then told us that she has never felt this way before. She said she felt peace and so much love inside her. We then testified to her that she was feeling the Holy Ghost and that he was telling her that what we had talked about was true. She looked at us like she didn't want to believe it but she knew it and she knew she couldn't deny it. It was so neat and special!

Womens Conference was soooooo good! We got to go to the Stake Center and watch it! The members were so nice because they set up a little room with a tv so the sister missionaries could watch it in English. I was very grateful! I loved the theme of being a defender of truth and a defender of the family. We all have an obligation to stand up for what we know to be true. I know I have had to do that so much on my mission! This week we had so many people attack us and try to bring us down. I had my first encounter with a southern baptist preacher and that was interesting... But what I have learned is that we receive so much strength when we testify of truth. Be fearless my friends in defending your beliefs.

I hope all y'all have a wonderful week! You guys are such an example to me and I love you all! Cuidese!

Hermana Christensen

Hello my darlings! How is life? This week has been so amazing! And really weird.. but mostly amazing so it is ok! We found 11 new investigators this week! Everyone we talked to wanted us to come back and teach them! We have found so many people who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration of the Gospel! Here is a funny story.. So go to knock on this door and a woman opens it up. She told us quite directly that she was not interested and that we should go away. But we don't take no for an answer.. we are missionaries. It is what we do. We told her what our purpose was and finally she let us come in. We started talking to her and her boyfriend and she really started to open up. By the end of our visit, she was helping us get her boyfriend to come to church with us on Sunday! Haha! She had a complete 180 change! And now she has a baptism date for the end of April! Woo!

I also got to go on an exchange this week. I got sent over to the West green area just for a day. And holy smokes. It was fancy compared to where I am! My first visit was with a member in her luxurious mansion. She served us smoothies and assorted berries on fine china. I felt so out of place! It was super fun to be in a different area for a little bit but I was glad to get back to the ghetto! My area is so much fun! I love it so much! 

So let me tell you about a few strange things that happened this week.. Well first of all.. You will never guess what I got to eat.. I got to eat some blood sausage.. What is blood sausage you ask? Well let me tell you. Pretty much it is just blood and nerve bundles that they put in a pot and cook until it is super thick. Then they shape it like a sausage and you eat it. It is just a big juicy scab. Bleh. It actually didn't taste that bad until they told me what it was. Thankfully, after being here for 4  weeks, my stomach can handle anything so I was able to eat it! 

I also got a foot massage yesterday.. Probably one of the strangest things that has ever happened to me. We were at a menos activos for dinner yesterday! She is this old Mexican lady and is as sweet as can be! Anyway she started telling us all about reflexology and how when you massage your hands and feet that it helps relax other parts of your body. I was asking her questions about it and she told me to give her my foot. I didn't know if I understood her correctly so I just kinda sat there. So she grabbed my foot and put it right on her lap. Then she took of my shoe and proceeded to massage my feet. Hermana Marlowe couldn't stop laughing because it was so strange! I didn't know what to do because she was speaking spanish like 90mph.. It was so funny! I wish you guys could all come meet the people I visit with! They are all hilarious! 

I hope all is well with all y'all! Have a great week and remember who you are and what you stand for! I love you guys! 

Hermana Christensen

Hola Hola! Como esta? 

Life is just fab here in the hood! We had such an amazing week! Let me tell all y'all a little story… So once upon a time there were two missionaries who were having a difficult time helping people keep commitments! Then one day they decided to pray and fast that they would be able to find people who were serious about the gospel and prepared! And all of a sudden they had all these miracles! The end. Seriously, we have had so much success this week! Let me tell you about one of our investigators! She is from Honduras and is probs one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Anyway, we knocked on her door and she started talking to us! And you will never guess what she said. She is seriously like every missionarys dream investigator! She said that when she was a young girl she used to live next to a Mormon church in Honduras. Her family was very Catholic but she never really believed it! She said that she used to beg her mom if she could attend the Mormon church, but her mom would always forbid it. So every Sunday she would sneak out, sit outside the chapel, and just listen to the members sing hymns! Umm what!? (While she was telling us this she then proceeded to sing a hymn out of our hymn book from memory) She then told us that she wants to be baptized and is so grateful that she finally has the opportunity to be a member! And hermana Marlowe and I just stood there with our mouths open. So she has a baptismal date in April! She is keeping all her commitments and is so ready! It was such a blessing!

We have had experiences like this all week! People will literally come up to us, ask us who we are, and then tell us they have always wanted to learn about Mormons and they want us to come teach their family! It is so AWESOME. At the end of this week and we counted all our new investigators. If all goes well, we will have at least 15 baptisms next month!! 15! AHHHH! It is such a blessing! And I know it is because we have been working hard and being exactly obedient. When we show that we will do our part, the Lord will trust us with more people! Missionary work is so amazing. 

Many of our investigators also said how they had friends in the past who were LDS! We had one guy say how he would watch how his LDS friend would act in school and he always respected him. So, my dear young friends.. You are such an example! Please please please always act in a way that shows what you believe! Because some day your friends might meet some missionaries and they might say that they want to learn about the gospel because of your example! You guys have such an impact on everyone you come in contact with! Always act in a way that the Savior would be proud of! You are helping missionary work just be being an example! I am so grateful for the friends of these people I have the opportunity to teach! Because of their examples, these people are ready and have a desire to learn! Woooo! 

We had to teach Young Womans this week. The president came up to us and asked us to teach right after they had their opening exercises and stuff. We had like two minutes to prepare.. But it went really well! It was kinda fun to be in Young Womans again! I love church here! 

Well that is all I have to say… You are all so amazing! Thank you for your emails and love and prayers! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!

Hermana Christensen

P.S. We get to go downtown today!! AHHHHH!! I am so excited! We have an elder who is getting ready to go home so our mission president gave us special permission to go downtown as a district! So I will have some pretty rad pictures next week!! Yay!

P.P.S. I ate raw fish this week.. And it was actually kinda good.. And I also ate a buch of peppers and they made me cry. haa…ha. 

So.Much.Food....

Hello all my darling friends and family! How is life??

Let my tell you about this week. It was amazing! I. LOVE. MY. MISSION. So i'm not going to lie.. when I first got to my area, the ghetto kinda scared me.. But after a few days I got over it and I love it so so so much here! AHHHH. Houston is the bees knees. Hermana Marlowe and I get strange looks every where we go. Two white Idaho girls in skirts hiking around the shady streets of Texas is quite a sight to see! Haha! The great thing about this area is that every day you can count on someting strange happening. It is such a weird culture here! It is a mix of central america and korea and texas. The people crack me up! Everyone here is so so funny. And so so kind! 

Which leads me to my next point.. Because the people are so kind.. They also like to feed us. All. The. Time. If anyone wants to know what the hardest thing about a mission is, it is trying to squish 4 dinners into your body and acting like everything is fine. The Latinos love to eat! Everytime we have a cita we get fed. And they get so offended if we dont eat it ALL. Sometimes I want to cry because there is so much food in me. It is a real struggle. We eat so many strange things too! We had spagettii (Not sure how to spell that), scrambled eggs, and ham for dinner yesterday. I was instructed to mix it all together.. It was interesting. So far I have eaten pig skin, octopus, and… cow intestines.. The cow intestines were so terrible. I had to pray I could eat it without gagging. Somehow I got it down. I have a solid testimony that there was some divine help with that one! Good times. 

One of my favorite parts of this mission is teaching the English classes! We teach english to all kinds of people! We have russians, chinese, korean, and a bunch from central and south america in our class! It is really interesting because they all speak a different language and some how we can all come together and learn english! It is so fun and they are all so cute! 

This week has been great but also a little rough. I have learned that the Latinos are totally open to hearing our message.. but keeping commitments is a whole other playing field. No one likes to keep commitments! It is really hard because they can't progress if they are not coming to church, praying, or reading the Book of Mormon. It gets a little frustrating because they say they will and then they won't! We could use some prayers! On the bright side, we have so many "investigators" that we don't know what to do! We are always crazy busy because everyone wants us to come back! It is great!!! 

Have a great week everyone! I miss you all! Remember that when ever things get hard to pray and then get to work! I have learned that the best way to be happy is to put off the natural man and just lose yourself in the work! Always be willing to share the gospel with everyone! It is amazing how many people are prepared and ready to hear! Always be in a position where you can feel the Holy Ghost and act! I know that as you do this that so many blessings will come! Hasta Luego my dears! 

Hermana Christensen

Houston, Texas!

Hola everyone!

First things first. I am in Texas. AND IT IS SO FUN!!!!!! AHHHHH! And guess where my first area is!!? Yep. It is deep in the heart of the ghetto.. We are close to down town. Not gonna lie sometimes I am scared for my life but at the same time I love it! The people here are so prepared! I have never met a group of such humble people before! Everyone we talk to wants us to come back! It is so amazing! We are working hard and staying very very busy! 

Let me introduce you to my lovely comp. Her name is Hermana Marlowe! She is the best trainer ever and get this… She is from Boise.. She went to Capital.. And she knows Amy and Henry.. AND Papa gave her her patriarcle blessing! How crazy is that?!? Having her as my trainer really is such a blessing and is so inspired! She is such a hard worker and is so diligent! We work so so so hard and we get so many blessings because of it! The key to success on a mission is exact obedience! She is adorable too! She has super blond hair. The other day we were tracting in this apartment complex and all the little Mexican children kept saying we were Anna and Elsa from frozen. My heart melted a little bit! All the little girls always come up and ask us if we are princesses. It is so cute!!! 

So my area is the bomb. We are in an area that used to be just for Elders.. But not much work was getting done so President sent in the Hermanas! And holy cow the work is exploding! Just in the time I have been here we have found 3 new investigators and have already commited 2 of them to be baptized. It was such an amazing experience. Hermana Marlowe does most of the teaching (because my spanish is still pretty lame..) and then I bear testimony and invite them to be baptized! And they say YES!!! It is so wonderful! The people here are so so prepared! Yes, it is pretty dangerous and pretty scary, but if you just listen to the promptings of the spirit you are fine! I have already had so many experiences where we are walking somewhere and we just feel we should leave. So we do and we are protected! 

The ghetto is the best place to be and it is very humbling! These people live in such humble circumstances. Most of them are just fresh out of Mexico and are trying to have more stable lives. We had a cool experience the other day. We were out knocking doors and we felt that we should go knock on this one.. I was a little nervous because it looked super sketchy, but we felt we should so we did. Anyway, this woman opened the door and invited us to come in! Her home was very humble but very clean. We could just tell she was a good person. So she invited us in and we started talking to her. We ended up giving her the whole restoration lesson! And commited her to be baptized! She kept crying and saying how we had come just at the right time. She had been having some hard struggles and had been praying for some guidence in her life. She said we knocked on her door right when she was at her lowest and really needed some help. It was so awesome! She gave us some food and we set up an appointment to come back this week! AHHH! 

The members here are awesome too! They feed us every night! I love the mexican food! They have this really fantastic drink that is pretty much hot chocolate and cornstarch. It is super thick and you eat it with pan. Ah. It is so good! The great thing about this area is that there are people from all over South America so we get to try all kinds of different foods! Yesterday we had this soup that was super pica but really good. And guess what I am eating tonight… Intestine soup.. I am a little scared. We went to a menos activos home yesterday and were talking about all the weird foods we eat. Hermana Marlowe mentioned something about intestine soup and the lady got really excited and invited us over tonight to eat it with her.. And of course we couldnt say no.. So I will let you now how it goes! Nothing like cow intestines… *barf*

Another cool thing we get to do is we teach an English class to members in the community. It is so fun! Pretty much everyone here only speaks Spanish! We teach one class at a school, two at the church, and one at the library. It is such an awesome tool to get people interested in the church! When we go tracting and people don't want to hear our message, we always invite them to the English class. They are way more willing to accept that! It is totally free and it is so fun! All the hispanics like to help me with my Spanish and I help them with English! I love it!

Thank you all for all your support and prayers! I can definetly feel them! I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week! My p day is now on Monday! Wooooo! Be good and do good things! Until next week my loves!

Hermana Christensen

p.s. And mom, my area is a driving area!

The End of the Beginning.. Dun.. Dun.. dunnnnn‏

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

Today concludes the end of my CCM experience! Tomorrow I am off to Texas! (Fun fact, in Spanish Texas is pronounced Tay-has.. So theres that) Anyway... This week was one of the best weeks I have had here! And also one of the saddest.. Esta Bien! 

Let me begin with one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! So on Friday we had a surprise TRC. TRC is when we just go in and teach random people. Real people!! Not teachers! Well anyway, on Friday a ward came to TRC for their ward activity. I think it was a primary activity because there were so many little kids! They called our district in to teach and it was one of the coolest things ever! All the little kids had little missionary tags that said future missionary. I died a little inside. It was so precious. It made me so excited to get out in the field and start teaching for real! The kids were so honored that they got to talk to the cool missionaries. (Because lets be real.. we are pretty cool..) They had such a little light and excitement about them. Missionary work is the best! 

I also had to speak in sacrament this week... I have avoided it for the whole time I have been here and finally Presidente Machado realized I hadn't had an opportunity to speak. Haha! The talk was on faith so it wasn't that bad! I am a little nervous for this Sunday though.. I have a feeling the ward I am assigned to is going to call me up and have me bear my testimony and introduce myself. My Spanish is pretty good but it sure isn't great. Oh well! I am sure the gift of tongues will help me get my message across! Pray for me! Our district also had to sing in sacrament meeting. We decided to sing la oracion de un niño. (A childs prayer) It is really hard to sing in spanish!! It goes super fast!

This week we also had to take a little spanish test on the computer... They would give us 20 seconds to read this story and then we would have to teach a lesson to the person in the story. It was.. fun... I passed so I guess I can survive in my mission! 

I also had to give the missionary purpose in front of the whole CCM last week. It went fine.. except when I get really nervous I smile really big.  So I guess when I went up there I was a little too energetic and I made everyone laugh... Haha.. I was so embarrassed.. But its ok! It takes a special kind of person to make 300 people smile! Oh and David Archuletta was here visiting and I missed him! He was just in the area and he stopped by the CCM and I missed the whole thing. I am only slightly bitter about it. 

We also had to say goodbye to our district this week. It was so sad! A few tears were shed. It is amazing how close you can get to a group of people when you are all unified in the Lords work. My district was my little family while I was here and I am going to miss them so much! But it is ok because I know we are all called to do great things! 

Well anyway, I hope you are all having a great week! I love you all so much and you are all in my prayers! Remember who you are and what you stand for! Until next week my loves! 

Hermana C.   

Houston...here I come!

Hello!! Que Pasa? This week has been one great week! I can´t believe how fast the time goes here! One more week and I will be in Houston! WOOOOOO!!! We leave next Wednesday and I am SO. PUMPED.

So we watched a devotional from Elder Bednar on Sunday. It was amazing and pretty much changed my life. I have no idea what it was called but if you need something to do, look up Elder Bednar Provo MTC devotional.. cookie monster.. natural man.. And hopefully  you can find it! It was phenomenal. He talked about how the Atonement is the character of Chirst. It was all about how we all need to turn outward when the natural man would turn inward. I decided to get a little paper back Book of Mormon and just mark it looking for examples of true conversion and the character of Christ. It has been amazing! This gospel is so amazing! Also, I read another great talk from Elder Bednar this week! It is called The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality. I would challenge you all to read it! It is a good one!

We taught our investigator more this week. Here is a funny story! So we were teaching her about the Word of Wisdom and she explained to us that she has an addiction to cigarettes and she doesn't think she can quit. So I decided to share with her 1 Nephi 3:7 (ya know.. the Lord will give us no commandments unless he prepares a way for us to accomplish it) Anyway, I told her that Nephi was faced with the challenge of building a ship and knew that he could do it through the Lord.. And that she could do anything through the Lord as well.. It was a great lesson! Except afterwards I realized I used that scripture in the wrong context.. And then I felt bad for teaching false doctrine. Haha! My life is so awkward. 

Speaking of awkward.. Here is another story.. So the whole time I have been here I have been DYING for a street taco. I real mexican street taco!! None of my teachers will take my pesos and go get me one!! Anyway.. We were walking back from service the other day and this man on this bike thing (It looks like the little motor bike on Nacho Libre) comes up and asked us if we liked tacos! I got so excited because I thought he was going to give us one! So I ran over to him and was like YES! YES! YES! I LOVE TACOS! Then he just looked at me and said "Yo Tambien" (Me too..) Then he drove away and i sat down in the middle of the street and almost cried. The end. 

I have also had to be the investigator literally every day this week! Our teachers will do a teaching demonstration and they always ask me to be the investigator! Im not going to lie.. It gives me a little bit of anxiety because I have to do it in front of everyone!!! But at the same time it is really fun.. I always just pick a family member or a friend and act like them! It is so cool to see how the gospel can bless the lives of every single person! Everyone needs this message! Tonight I have to lead the whole CCM in the missionary purpose.. In spanish! I have been practicing every day but I could use some prayers because I am super nervous! Haha! It will be fine! 

One last thing.. There are these candy bars that I have just discovered.. They are called Bueno Bars. And they are very very very bueno! They are little globs of hazelnut butter wrapped in a cookie and dipped in chocolate.. I die a little inside every time I eat them. SO. GOOD. 

Sorry this one is a little short! I hope all is going fantastic back in the states! This gospel is so true! I would like to challenge everyone this week to share the gospel with someone somehow! People need this message in their lives! Have a wonderful week! I love you all!! 

LOL (lots of love)

Hermana Christensen