Hello Everyone! 

So I started this week with two companions and now I just have one! We were all driving to an appointment on Tuesday when we got a call from President. He told us that there was a situation in another area with some Hermanas and he needed Hermana Woodard to pack up because she was being transferred to that area. It was really sad because we were all really good friends. We took her to her new area and now it is just me and la hermana Rupp. It is so much fun! The missionary work in this area is progressing so fast. Things are a little crazy just because we are pretty much white washing the second area… But we are learning and we are seeing so many miracles! Hermana Rupp and I made a huge plan to help the missionary program in this ward. After we created it, we have seen a huge increase in this ward. We are all working together to do visits and bring others to come unto Christ! It is so so awesome!

We have been able to have so many lessons this week! Let me tell you about a little miracle we had! Hermana Rupp and I were walking down the street when this man came up to us and asked us who we were. We told him we were missionaries and he immediately asked for some information. We set up a cita with him to come and teach and he was so excited! We have given him the first two lessons so far and he is progressing so fast! It is amazing to see the people that the Lord has prepared to receive this message. We had another miracle where week! We were walking down the street and this car pulled over by us. At first we were a little worried but then this little old woman got out. She walked over to us and said that she knew us. It turns out that she was a super menos activo member of the ward! She hadn't had contact with anyone from the church for years. She gave us her address and we are going to visit her this week! Wooo! 

Tender Mercies all around!

We went to a mexican birthday party this week. Mexicans have this super fun tradition where after they sing happy birthday, instead of blowing out candles, they smash the cake into the face of the birthday person. Then everyone grabs a piece and they have a cake fight. It is so crazy and so much fun! The Mexican people really know how to party! Haha!

Sorry this is a little short this week! Thank you all for your emails and for your support! I love you all! Have a wonderful day!!!!!!

Hermana Christensen

Grasshoppers

Hello friends!

So this week was fantastic! I was super scared to take over the area and get a new companion but all is well! I actually got two new companions! Yay for trios! Their names are Hermana Woodard and Hermana Rupp. They are so much fun! I love being in a trio because I get to see so many other ways to teach! Hermana Woodard is from Oregon and is so strong! She is the only active member in her family and she doesn't get much support but her testimony of the gospel is incredible. She is already blessing the lives of everyone in this area! Hermana Rupp is hilarious. She is from Utah and is an amazing missionary. She is so friendly to everyone and is really good at breaking the ice when we meet with a new investigator. I know that the three of us are going to do some amazing things together!

 

So we have been trying so hard to put our areas together this week. We now have so many investigators! Almost too many! Just kidding. There are never too many investigators! We currently have 45 people we are trying to work with. This week we have had appointments literally every single hour. We are working so hard! I know we will see so many blessings because of it. We had an investigator come to church on Sunday! It was a miracle because getting people to church is like pulling out teeth. It is a struggle. But she came and she LOVED it!!

 

We went to visit this menos activo family this week. They fed us grasshopper tacos. Bleh. We told the woman we would only eat them if she committed to read her scriptures every day. She committed and so we ate her tacos. They actually weren't that bad, just very crunchy! I just tried not to think about the legs and the eyes and all that jazz. Missionaries will sacrifice anything to get people to come closer to Christ. Literally anything.

 

My Spanish improved 200% this last week. I know its because I have had to take action with the people in my area. I didn't realize I knew so much until I was forced to speak it. I can now talk to people on the phone which is a huge accomplishment. I am still no where near fluent, but I am getting better! Yay!

 

Pues, muchisimas gracias por todo! Yo se que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es verdadero! La obra misional es da bomb. Disfrute su dia mi amigos! Para siempre Dios este con voz! :)

 

Hermana Christensen

 

Hola mi amigos!

So conference pretty much changed my life. In the mission, conference weekend is the equivalent to Christmas. I couldn't sleep the night before conference because I was so excited!! Haha! I loved all the talks that were given! Especially Elder Bednars.. and Elder Hollands.. and Elder Anderson.. and Elder Uchdorf.. and all the other ones! If you didn't get an opportunity to watch conference, go watch it right now! We had a neat experience where we had this random family text us and ask if they could come to church! So of course we said yes! They came and watched conference with us and they LOVED it! They loved it so much that they want us to teach them and they want to come to church again next week! Ahhhhh!! Yay for conference!

Soooo this week is transfers week.. dun dun dunnnn.. Here is how things are usually supposed to go down.. When you get into the mission you are trained for 12 weeks by a lovely trainer! Then they leave you and you are supposed to take over the area. But things are a little different for me…. Hermana Marlowe is getting transferred this week. She is needed in a different area.. which means Hermana Christensen is taking over the hood! And I have only been here for 6 weeks! Ah. Not only that, but I am also getting another area to have stewardship over. I am so excited/ freaked out!! It is very very intimidating but I know that the Lord wouldn't ask us to do anything we couldn't handle. I am actually pretty excited because this new area that we are getting has so much potential. It is FILLED with apartments of people just waiting to hear the gospel. We are going to do some serious damage in there! I am so sad my trainer is leaving though.. I love Hermana Marlowe so much!! But I know that who ever comes to replace her will be awesome and that we will make miracles happen! 

Well I don't have much time this week, we have a lot to do before Hermana leaves! Take care my friends! The Church is True!

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