Thursday, May 15, 2014
May 15, 2014 - Emmetsburg, Iowa
We just received word from a ward member that Erica is getting transferred to a new area. Her and her new companion (Sister Peterson) are opening a new area in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
May 12, 2014
Hey Family and Friends!
It was so good to see you
all last night:) You all seemed happy and that you are doing well:) Sorry the
phone call was so crazy!! But hey, who can say they had their mother's day
phone call interrupted by a tornado?? haha:) It's a pretty cool story if I do
say so myself:) You can thank me for that later:) haha jk:) But if any of you
didn't hear, we had tornados in Nebraska last night! At one point, the tornados
were over the area where I live (literally) but they didn't touch the ground
around us. There is a lot of damage to trees and some buildings, but it could
have been a lot worse! In some areas of the mission, they got it pretty bad and
at one point, there was a 2 mile long tornado hitting. So I am very thankful
that everyone around me is doing ok:) While I was on the phone, my adrenaline
was going crazy still from the rush of hearing the sirens and hurrying to the basement:)
All of the Frederick's grandkids were going crazy so it was a little hard to
concentrate:) So if I acted weird, you can attribute it to all of that:) haha
even though that is probably my normal quirky self:) haha:) I never thought
that that would actually happen:) I will attach a picture of what our view from
the front yard looks like:) haha
All in all, it was a good
mother's day:) We played dominos during our dinner break with Sister Gudjenov:)
She really appreciated that since she was home alone:) and it was a lot of fun!
haha its been a while since I've played games but watch out.. im still just as
skilled:) haha I won both rounds:)
So last week we were able
to go to the temple again!! It was wonderful! We were able to do the work for
13 individuals from our family:) Just one female didn't get done so you
will have to do that quick for her:) I am sending them home today so you
can expect to get them on Wednesday or Thursday:) Anyways, I am so
thankful that I have been able to serve so close to the temple since
I have been here. Although a 45 minute drive may seem far away to those of
you in Utah:) haha:)
If you haven't already
seen it, watch the Mormon message #itwasmom (why we need mom) it is great! and
I felt like it described my mother perfectly:)
For this week I want you
all to go onto LDS.org and look under general conference. You will probably
have already noticed this but it is such a good and simple way to share the
gospel. On the side of each talk, there is a picture that you can share
online:) It is awesome!! shown below is an example! You can put it in an email,
facebook, pinterest, etc. I know that as you try and share the gospel and pray
to know how and what to do, the Holy Ghost will guide your thoughts and actions
and you will be the means of inviting others to come unto Christ.
As you
know, transfers are this week. wish me luck! haha
Thank you for being a
wonderful family! I love you all so much!
With love,
Sister Christensen
May 5, 2014
Hey family and friends:)
Happy mothers day on
Sunday!!! I hope all is well with you guys now. From your email it sounds like
you had an eventful week but I am happy to hear that everything is
"ok" now:) Haha I will admit my heart stopped beating when I was
reading your email mom and you said that there was an accident in the family
last week. I'm very relieved to hear that nothing worse happened. I will be
praying for Chandler to have a speedy recovery:) I am very excited to talk with
you guys this week!!! I can't believe that it is already Mother's Day! I sure
do love all of you!!
So my week wasn't too
terribly exciting:) I am very sore but that is just fine! We did a TON of
service this week:) On Wednesday we went with one of our investigator's P to
serve some Karen refugees:) We scrubbed down their apartment from top to
bottom..:) You have to remember that these people are used to living in bamboo
huts. So they don't have very high expectations of how to keep their house
clean.:) So we got it all cleaned up nicely for them:) They really appreciated
the help:) Along with that we helped two families pack, move, and clean their
home and we did a lot of yard work:) Haha I felt really weird being in jeans
for a change..:) That will be a weird adjustment when I come home:) haha:)
You guys will be so proud
of me:) haha I will have you know that in one day, I made 42 phone calls:)
haha:) I wanted to hide the phone forever and never make another phone call
again... but it was nice:) Because we have a very full week this week with
appointments:) We are meeting with every active family in the ward so it keeps
us really busy:)
We had a really good
lesson with E and N G’s this week. We did it by their fire pit in the back yard
and made smores around the fire:) It was fun:) It was about missionary work and
E said that he knows he needs to get baptized, he just has to "swallow his
pride pill". It may take some time but he is doing really well! And.. He talked
to N and he wants her to teach his family more about the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints!!! Woot woot!! They are awesome!
So you may have noticed a
picture sent to your email last night! We were over at the Hatch's home
teaching them how to do family history work and we were able to trace a line
all the way back to Adam and Eve!!! It was so cool!! I was like bouncing off
the walls for the rest of the night because I was so excited!! haha:)
My message this week
comes from the conference talk "Grateful in Any Circumstances" by
Dieter F. Uchtdorf:) Here are some of the things that he said..
"We can be grateful!
It might sound contrary to the wisdom of the world to suggest
that one who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God. But those who
set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace, and
understanding.
Why does God command us to be grateful?
All of His commandments are given to make blessings available to
us. Commandments are opportunities to exercise our agency and to receive
blessings. Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit
of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.
“Have we not great reason to rejoice?”
"How blessed we are if we recognize God’s handiwork in the
marvelous tapestry of life. Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our
perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy
toward our fellowmen and all of God’s creation. Gratitude is a catalyst to all
Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of all
virtues.
The Lord has given us His promise that those “who [receive] all
things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto [them], even an
hundred fold, yea, more.”
May we “live in
thanksgiving daily”—especially during the seemingly unexplainable endings that
are part of mortality. May we allow our souls to expand in thankfulness toward
our merciful Heavenly Father. May we ever and constantly raise our voices and
show by word and deed our gratitude to our Father in Heaven and to His Beloved
Son, Jesus Christ."
That was a wonderful talk
that he gave and I would recommend that you take the time to read it:) No
matter what we are going through, we can have an attitude of gratitude:)
Looking for those tender mercies in every experience will help us to be
happier:) it doesn't mean that that will be easy though:) But, it
is worth it! I have found great joy in living the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Joy that I couldn't have found any other way. I know that our Father in
Heaven loves us, knows us, and is there for us as we turn to Him. He promises
that as we keep His commandments, He will bless us:)
Sorry I don't have much
to talk about this week. But.. I am thrilled to talk to you on Sunday so
hopefully that makes up for my email this week:) I love you guys so much!!
You are all wonderful examples to me and I appreciate everything that you do!!
Thank you!!
Love,
Sister Christensen
April 28, 2014
Hello my wonderful
family!!
I hope that all is going
well back home:) I am so looking forward to talking with all of you soon!! I
feel very blessed to have a wonderful family back home that supports me,
encourages me, uplifts me, prays for me, and is simply always there for me no matter
how much distance is physically between us. Thank you for everything you do for
me. I appreciate it so much! My companion can attest to the fact that I light
up anytime that I hear from people back home:) (emails or letters) haha:) You
brighten my life!! (have I buttered you up enough yet?) haha JK!! don't worry I
don't need anything from you;)
So I have come to the
conclusion that a mission always has something coming your way to stretch you
so that you can constantly be growing and changing to hopefully become more
like the Savior. I am facing a few difficult things right now, but
Heavenly Father is blessing me with the faith I need to stay hopeful and happy
through it. (Although that is not always easy:))
R could use a lot of
prayers right now:) If you wouldn't mind including her in your prayers. Last
Monday evening we got a message from her letting us know that she is unable to
meet with us for the time being. She has to take a temporary break from meeting
with us because she has some severe health issues. Whenever she meets with us
she gets really sick so we have to wait for her immune system to improve so
that we can see her again. She is the one with lupis (sp?), allergies to
smells, deo, perfume, detergent, carpets, the sun, etc. So the odds aren't in
her favor but she is determined to succeed. She is still set for baptism but it
looks like it will happen after transfers in about a month. She is solid though
and doing amazing!
We were able to get
involved with a really cool service project this last Saturday! It was a puzzle
walk/5k for families affected with Autism. We got there bright and
early helping get everything set up, then we stationed ourselves around the
path so that we could cheer them on while they were running the 5k, ran a photo
booth, blow up toys, a flash mob, helped with clean up, etc. It was very
cool! There was probably around 1,000 participants so it was really
cool to get out in the community and for so many people to have exposure with
Missionaries:) The Guidry's (our ward mission leader) was the family that got
us all involved! It was awesome! We were able to round up around 24 other
missionaries to be there as well:)
Not sure if I have mentioned
the Grenados before in my emails home. They are a part member family:) E
is the non member and N is the member:) They were actually the first people I
met when I first got to the area:) We meet with them about once a week still:)
The Elders are actually living with them too which is really neat! They are
awesome! We have all become pretty tight:) Well.. guess what? E came to church
for the very first time yesterday! He said that he was driving past the church
and felt like he needed to be there:) So he came!! I was so happy! He is doing
well:)
I am very grateful that I
spent the time learning how to do family history work prior to leaving on a
mission. It has been a great blessing:) Heavenly Father is using that talent
and I have been able to help many people here in Omaha with missionary work on
the other side of the veil. I have been able to teach about 8 families how to
do it and they have all been really excited finding names and doing the work! I
am also doing a combined young women and young men activity soon to teach
all of the youth how to do it:) It is really exciting!!
Sorry I didn't have time
to type out a spiritual thought:) I was going to pull it from the talk
"Your four minutes" so if you have some time this week, I'd challenge
each of you to read it! It is awesome!! A few things from it though..
"Now, consider how your pathway to eternal life is similar to these athletes’ “four-minute performance.” You are an eternal being. Before you were born, you existed as a spirit. In the presence of a loving Heavenly Father, you trained and prepared to come to earth for a brief moment and, well, perform. This life is your four minutes. While you are here, your actions will determine whether you win the prize of eternal life. The prophet Amulek described, “This life is the time … to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day … to perform [your] labors.”
and...
"Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “I already blew it. My four minutes are already a disaster. I may as well give up.” If so, stop thinking that, and never think it again. The miracle of the Atonement can make up for imperfections in our performance. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught:
“To those of you … who may still be hanging back, … I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. …
Remember, you are not alone. The Savior has promised that He will not leave you comfortless."
I love you all so much and look forward to talking with you
soon!! Have a good week and know that I love you so much!!
With love,
Sister Christensen
P.S. "Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). The more works you put forth, the more faith you have to produce miracles." -President Weston-
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