March 10, 2014

Hello my dear family:)

I hope that all is going well back in Utah for you guys:) No big deal.. but it is 65 degrees warmer here today compared to last Monday!! I love you lots and miss you. But, I am being strengthened to handle things so don't worry about me. I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ! Through it we receive forgiveness, strength, comfort, healing, etc. I cannot convey my gratitude for my Savior for all that He has done for me. I would not be anywhere without Him. I am truly so thankful for a loving Savior that sacrificed and gave everything for us. It doesn't matter what challenge you are experiencing.. Everything can be overcome through the Atonement. What a wonderful blessing we have been given and how fortunate we are to have the knowledge!!

You may have noticed that we got here to the library later today than normal:) Let me explain why:) So right after our studies this morning, we got a text letting us know that all of the computers at the libraries in Omaha were down today and they didn't know when they would be up and working again. We were pretty nervous that we wouldn't be able to email today but all of the missionaries prayed a lot!! We went to the grocery store instead of the library first and within the hour, we got another text that said that some miracle happened and they were able to get them all up and running again!! Heavenly Father answers our prayers as we act in faith! Well anyways, there is more to the story:) haha:) So after we were done at Walmart we passed a homeless guy and decided that we would give him a Book of Mormon with a dollar bill in it. haha:) We drove by a couple of minutes later, and he was outside holding the Book of Mormon for all of the people to see, instead of his sign!! haha good missionary opportunity for him right?!:) the Lord works in mysterious ways!! Hopefully that Book of Mormon ends up in someone's hands that needs it:) I guess I'll never know the result of that, but it was a pretty cool story:)

Some exciting news this week.. We got a new investigator!!!  She has a less active husband that works out of the country most of the time, but he was back in town last week for a couple of weeks so he said we could come by. She is Buddist and she is from Thailand. There is a little bit of a language barrier but for the most part, she is pretty fluent in English. We taught her about God is our loving Heavenlty Father and prayer, and she accepted the commitment to pray with her husband each night! She is great! and they came to Sacrament Meeting yesterday!! I was so excited to see them there!

Also, something that i forgot to tell you about in my email last week..:) At Mari's farewell party, she had a couple of non members there. We tried to talk and mingle with all of them to see if any of them were interested. One couple was very interested! Their names are C and A. When we met them, they were actually sitting at the kitchen table, talking to the same member that introduced Mari Simpson's family to the chruch!! We went through the Restoration with them (as her farewell party was going on around us! haha) and gave our number to them to call with questions. :) Pretty sweet! there are missionary opportunities everywhere if we pray for them, look around, and have the faith and courage to open our mouths! Apparently the next day, A contacted Sister Simpson and they had another long talk about the church and our beliefs:) there are people prepared everywhere!

At a dinner appointment this past week with a single sister in the ward, Sister Druery, she invited one of her non member friends, L, to come. So we got to know her and taught her the Restoration! When we extended the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, she automatically said that she wasn't interested, but we were persistent, and got her to accept a copy of it. We didn't think that much would come from that.. but.. on Sunday sister Druery came up to us and told us that her friend L has been reading the Book of Mormon ever since the day we gave it to her! She said that L was really impressed by our persistence and love so she started reading it! Pretty cool!!

So Mari left today to fly out to Utah and the MTC! craziness! I can still remember when she first decided to serve a mission. So we were helping her get ready to go on Saturday and we decided that we would have a lesson at Yo-Yo berry (one of my new favorite places to go!). It is a self serve frozen yogurt place that is amazing! I will have to take you guys there next year when we come back:) it is delicious! So i was struggling a little.. and Heavenly Father made sure that I knew that He was aware of me. As we walked into the store to get ready to buy our yogurts, a random member from the Millard ward walked in and paid for all of it for us! He left right after that. that was such a tender mercy that showed me that Heaveny Father is aware of us!

For your commitment, I want to extend the same one that mom and dad seem to be giving..
:) Try and read all of the talks from the previous general conference by the time of the next one!! I know that you can do it!! I am so thankful for Living prophets and the guidance we receive as we follow them! You are amazing! Keep up the great work! I love you all so much!!

With Love,

Sister Erica Christensen