Tuesday, July 1, 2014

June 16, 2014 - Happy Father's Day

Howdy Ya'll!

Hey mom, dad, family, and friends! I hope that you are all doing well
and are in good spirits:) I hope that you had a great Father's day
yesterday! I was thinking about you a lot:) I hope that my letter made
it to you in enough time for you to get it before Sunday:) I love you
all so much! You are great:) I feel fortunate to be in the family that
I am. I want you to know that I can feel your prayers for me and I
really appreciate it! Thank you for all that you do for me, whether
its seen or unseen to me, to help me:) I couldn't thank you enough for
all that you do.

We had some fun and crazy times this week. I will tell you of a few
and a miracle we had yesterday:) So last Monday, we were buying
groceries after emailing and everything was going well.. until.. we
came back out after we were done and we had a huge dent on the front
of our car! Someone hit the car and ran... So that took up a lot of
our time filing that report. But, all is well! We are just really
happy that we weren't in the car when it happened:) the damage could
have been much worse:)

For some reason, I attract bird poop. I don't get it. Yes, a bird
pooped on me again this week! nasty! At least it was on my arm this
time and not on my head:) I'm counting my blessings:) haha:)

On Tuesday, we were walking around trying to find people, and we
weren't having much luck. (That seems to be more common than not) haha
so we were walking back home for our dinner break and we had just
turned the corner that our home was on, when we saw a man walking our
direction! So we were thinking, "Sweet!! Someone to talk to!" haha so
we started talking with him and like most street contacts, it can be a
little awkward at first:) This one was a little more awkward though
for a couple of reasons:) He was in his late 40's and very desperate
to find someone to marry. He told us all of these dating websites he
had been on with no luck and many other things he has tried. He told
us that he walks around and talks to women that might be interested in
him, hoping that someone will take him up on the offer. Haha. So we
had this guy that graduated almost 10 years before I was born, hitting
on us. Yikes! So what do we do? Haha we take control of the situation
and testify! So we didn't feel right about giving him our number yet,
but we gave him a Book of Mormon, and he said that he would read it!
It was an interesting first contact:)

Then, the next day, we were going to see one of our potentials, D!
He is an 82 year old! haha:) And.. he is a character:) because some
young ears read this, I am not quite sure what to say about him, but
he always wears really interesting t shirts...:) haha. He is also an
alcoholic and smokes, but he has a very kind heart! So we went to go
see him and when we got there, we were happy to find that there was
another woman in the house so we were able to go in and teach them.
Her name is S and apparently she just lives up the street in the
trailer park. She has a lot of similar challenges as D so it is
cool to watch them learn together. She asked a lot of good questions
about the Apostasy and Restoration, so it was very neat how open she
was! Then, all of the sudden, J walks in! We had a mini panic
attack because we weren't sure how this would all play out, but it was
good:) We have actually run into J everyday since we have met him
so the Lord provides a way to meet the people we need to, even if we
aren't able to give him our number yet:)

Last week we had zone training down in Sioux City which was great! We
added it up and we spent about 6 hours in the car on Thursday:) So we
were both pretty worn out that night, but it was worth it! I was able
to see Sister Rasmussen and some other sister missionaries which was
wonderful!! (Being as far out as we are, we don't see other
missionaries much. So when we see them, it is great!!) We went to a
yummy restaurant called Pita Pit. If we ever go to Sioux City, we
should try it again:) It's like subway, only with Pita bread:)

Saturday was a pretty fun day! It was Spencer's annual flag fest
celebration. Most of it got canceled to do some really bad weather,
but they still did some of it! During our dinner break, we went to
"The Grand Cruise". Haha I had no idea that "cruising main" was a real
thing:) I had always thought that mom and dad and the Needles were
crazy talking about it:) haha:) jk:) but its quite fun being in a
small town:) They all brought their old cars and parked them on the
sides of the road and cruised down Grand St. We had a lot of contacts
with people and took lots of pictures:) It was probably one of my
funnest dinner breaks:) Haha:)




We served at a baby shower which was fun as well:) I am gathering lots
of good ideas for myself after the mission:) That is something that I
love about serving and meeting with the members:) they give really
great life advice on the randomest (sp?) things:)

Yesterday, we went tracting a little bit in the town called Ruthven.
We knocked on some doors and walked around and weren't seeing much
success, but we kept going. We knocked on this lady's door named
C. It was probably the best door approach I've had so far. She
came right out and was so sweet and she opened right up to us. She
asked lots of great questions too like why bad things happen to good
people. So we read some scriptures with her and she accepted a Book of
Mormon and said that she would read it! And if we are ever in the area
we can come by! She has a lot of potential! She said that she could
feel something as we had her read the scriptures:) That is one thing
that has been so cool to see, helping people recognize the Holy Ghost
for the first time:) There are a lot of things I have always taken for
granted.

I was reading the talk from this past General Conference called, "Fear
not; I am with thee" by Sister Stevens. If you haven't read it
already, I would recommend it! It is very uplifting and she shares a
couple of very touching experiences showing God's love for us. Here
are a few things from her talk.

"As Deric expressed, not every prayer is answered so quickly. But
truly our Father knows us and hears the pleadings of our hearts. He
accomplishes His miracles one prayer at a time, one person at a time.

We can trust that He will help us, not necessarily in the way we want
but in the way that will best help us to grow. Submitting our will to
His may be difficult, but it is essential to becoming like Him and
finding the peace He offers us.

Wherever we find ourselves on the path of discipleship, whatever our
worries and challenges may be, we are not alone. You are not
forgotten. Like Deric, the Saints of Africa, and the Gatrell family,
we can choose to reach for God’s hand in our need. We can face our
challenges with prayer and trust in the Lord. And in the process we
become more like Him.

Speaking to each of us, the Lord says, “Fear … not; … I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; … I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness."

I know that God is aware of us and He does hear and answer prayers.
Just like it says in Alma 26 at the end of the chapter, God is mindful
of all people. Isn't it comforting to know that whatever may be going
on around us, our loving Heavenly Father will always be there for us.
If it matters to you, it matters to Him!

Love you lots!!
Sister Christensen

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