September 29, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

I want to start by just expressing how much I love each of you! I am so thankful to have so many good friends and a wonderful family! I treasure the relationships that I have with each of you so much and I could never tell you just how much you mean to me. A mission really makes you appreciate the good people around you that you often took for granted before. :) Although I am not the best at writing each of you individually, I pray for you individually and think of you often. :)

I had a pretty good week:) Sister Hirro and I have seen many miracles! I will tell you of a few of them:) On Wednesday evening, we went out to dinner at village inn with Sister Souder (an active member) and a few other Sisters from the ward. It was fun! And free pie day:) yumm! (sorry for the random side note:) I have a strong love for food:) haha:) ) anyways, so Sister Souder let us know that she has a grandson that wants to be baptized! He is 10 years old and lives with her some of the time:) His mother is a non member and his father is very in-active in the church. The grandson has come several times with Sister Souder to church and he has been to a baptismal service as well! He loved it! Right after the baptism, he made plans on who would do what for his baptism. He asked who the highest in the ward was (the Bishop) and he decided that that is who he wants to baptize him:) Sister Souder talked to him and said that before he can make that decision, he has to meet with us to make sure that he believes everything we do and is ready for that kind of commitment. He is so excited! Pray a lot for the parent’s hearts to soften! We have to have parental consent before we can begin teaching him:) But he is so ready!

Later that night, we decided to try some former investigators:) We decided to try the Bucci (pronounced Boo-chee) first:) When we got to their home, all of their lights were off. We walked to the door and knocked but it looked pretty dead inside. We headed back to our car to head to the next person. Right as we got to the car, their lights turned on and a boy looked through the window. So, we walked back up there:) the boy let us right in and said, Oh! I know who you are. I will go grab my mom for you:) The mom came down and we gathered with their family in the living room. They are such a fun family! The father passed away due to cancer in December so it is a single mother, Julie. She has 2 children that live at home. Dominic is 13 (male) and Jasmine is 10 (female). They had missionaries coming by about a year and a half ago, but they lost contact with them. With the passing of their father, their hearts have been softened and they really like what we believe about the Plan of Salvation. We taught them how to pray and they said that they would pray each day. Our next appointment with them is next week so I will keep you updated as we continue to meet with them. They already had a Book of Mormon but we gave them another one so they could each have one:) I am really happy and excited that I get to work with this family:) People are coming out of the woodworks right and left:)

On Friday, there was a fireside at the Trail Center. We made several calls that day inviting everyone that we could:) One person in particular that we felt impressed to try was Sister Vicich. She is the only member in her family and a convert of about 20 years. She was promised long ago that if she would remain faithful, her husband would one day become a member and be called to serve as a Bishop. She has remained strong all of this time but nothing has changed with her husband. He didn't have any interest to learn more. Part of a back story, Sister Vicich has had many concerns over the Jews and how they will be brought to the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few years ago she decided to put that on the back burner and not worry about it anymore. So, back to Friday:) We called her that morning inviting her and she said that she would have to check with her husband if she could go, and to give her a call back around 4:30. We called her back later that day and she didn't answer:) She said that she decided to not answer on purpose but we were persistent:) We called her back a little while later and she answered and said that she would call us back in about an hour to let us know if she decided to go or not:) She ended up being able to go, so we went to the fireside with her. It was on the Law of Moses being fulfilled! It was perfect! She said that the things we learned that night, answered those concerns that she has had for years! She was so excited!! She asked the instructor to send her a copy of the power point via email.:) so, the next day, she was driving in the car with her husband when the email came through! She was so excited and started telling her husband all about it because he wanted to know why she was so happy:) Long story short, his heart has been softened and he wants to know more! (not from missionaries yet.. but from his wife!) Wow!! She thought that she would never see the day that her husband’s heart would soften:) I know that as we stay faithful and do our part, miracles happen in the lives of those that we love:)

The Women's Broadcast was so amazing on Saturday night!! We went to the Gray's house to watch it and they had a lot of the women from the ward over:) It was so nice watching it with a family and knowing that my family back home was doing the same thing as I was:) It answered many things that I have been struggling with lately:) Isn't it great to know that we have a Father in Heaven that is involved in the details of our lives and answers our prayers:) I am so excited for General Conference this weekend!! It will be wonderful!! I know that as we prepare ourselves to hear the word of God from our Prophet and inspired leaders this weekend, we will know what God wants for us and those areas that we can improve in:)    

I hope that you all have a wonderful week! I love you all so much!!

Sister Christensen 

September 22, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been another good week in the Nebraska Omaha Mission. Thank you
so much for the package that you sent me this week! I loved the banana
bread! As many of you know, we had transfers this past week! We got a
call on Thursday morning to let us know the news! I sent a separate
email with the recorded phone call for your personal entertainment:)
haha:) I hope that you enjoy it:) My voice sounds really weird in it
so I think that I was just REALLY nervous when President Weston
called. I was in the shower and getting ready when he called the first
time and he talked with Sister Peterson for a little while. She got
transferred to a ward in Omaha called Tranquility Park. She is with
Sister Call and in mission terms, Sister Peterson is killing her off:)
haha:) If you don't know what that means, it's Sister Call's last
transfer:) Sister Peterson has 1 more transfer to hopefully get her
visa and head off to Brazil. We found out that they aren't actually
doing reassignments right now because there are so many people that
need to be reassigned. So it's Brazil or here for the rest of her
mission :) So after I came out of the bathroom, Sister Peterson gave
me the phone and said that President needed me to call him so that he
could tell me personally what was happening with transfers. I was so
nervous! I am staying in the Fairview ward in Bellevue and I am
training Sister Hirro!

I love this sister so much! We have had a blast the last couple of
days:) I am so thankful for her:) Heavenly Father just knew that I
needed her at this time in my mission:) We have laughed more in the
last couple of days than I have in a long time:) She is from the
Philippines near Manila! (sp?) Neat huh? She is actually a sister from
the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission:) They send all of the
missionaries outbound for 2 transfers so that they can have the
experience of being in a ward and be a full proselyting missionary. So
she arrived in Nebraska on Wednesday and I picked her up on Friday:)
She had her first experience of eating apple pie last night:) So that
was fun! She loved it! :) haha :) she has had a fun time eating my
American food in the pantry:) It's really fun having a foreign
companion:) Her English is really good! She took classes growing up to
learn it so she is basically fluent:) there are a couple words here
and there that we have to explain to figure out what we mean, but not
too bad:) One of my favorite things about her is that she doesn't like
contention! I don't either! So we are a good match! :) haha:)

We are in a car share again..:) We found out on Friday when we got to
the mission office. So that has been a test of our faith, trying to
figure out how to get to the places that we need to :) We talked with
the Ward about it yesterday and 2 individuals are letting us borrow
their bikes! So, I will now be biking! :) We are getting them in the
next day or 2:) wish me luck! I haven't rode a bike in a while, and
never in a skirt:) so this will be an adventure! haha:)

I want to share with you a miracle that happened this week though! It
was Friday night and we had just had our dinner break. Let me remind
you, we didn't have a car and we live outside of our proselyting area.
But, we felt like we really needed to find a way to get out:) We found
a member that could give us a ride to our area and drop us off! So, I
had Sister Burke pull into a neighborhood and drop us off. We felt
like we needed to be on Halifax St. So, we got out of her car and
started walking:) We walked by the first house on the right side of
the street and noticed that there was a lady in the garage. She was
taking some things from a moving truck into her house. We called up to
her from the side walk and started talking with her:) She was a little
resistant to talking with us:) which is quite normal:) But, we were
persistent:) Then, a man walked around from the back yard to the front
of the house and was really nice and started talking with us. We
immediately formed good connections with him and we talked with them
for a while! He said that he has a friend that is a Mormon and is
actually interested to know more! Just wait, the story gets better! We
asked for his name, Nate. We asked for his last name and realized that
this was a referral that we have been trying to contact for a week
now! We got the referral from a member that talked with other
missionaries and we have been calling him with no luck. Then, we just
happen to be in the area and parked right at the house where he lives!
Crazy right?! We have an appointment to teach him and his wife this
next week! I can see a lot of potential in them:) I know that as we
are obedient and exercise our faith in Christ, we can see miracles!

I hope that you all have a good week! You are in my prayers:) Enjoy
the General Women's Broadcast this weekend! It will be cool to be
involved in watching that together, even though we are far apart:)
Love you all!

Sister Christensen :)

September 15, 2014

Hello dear family and friends!

I hope that you have all been doing well! Are you feeling any better
and getting over those sicknesses? I am so sorry to hear that you were
all really sick this past week! Just a reminder that transfers are
this week, so if you send any mail after today, send it to the mission
office:)

Things in Fairview are going well:) I now know most everyone's name,
so I can shake their hand each week:) haha so life is good:) There are
some good members here that have continued to steal a little piece of
my heart:) I had no idea that my heart could hold so much love for so
many people:)

We had a good week:) I am trying to figure out what to share..:) We
had a really good lesson with Brother Brown and Angie last monday
evening. We went over there for our family home evening and had..
strawberry shortcake! again:) haha I could get used to eating that
every week:) haha:) I consider Brother Brown to be a grandpa away from
home:) He's great! Brother Brown taught the lesson and for his lesson,
he read the talk "Drawing closer to God" from the October 2013 General
Conference. He had almost made it through the lesson when all of the
sudden, he just broke down! He couldn't hold himself together and he
just bawled. He said that that has only happened to him once before.
He has had a few experiences recently that have shaken him up a
little, (friend's have given him anti material) but he decided that he
would put all of that behind him and stay true to what he feels is
right. He prayed for a confirmation to feel that this was true again
and it definitely came. I think that that is one of the strongest
times that I have ever felt the Spirit on my mission. You could almost
reach out and slice it with a knife:) In all honesty, I don't think
that there was a dry eye in the room. Even though he has been a member
for a year now, he said that when he feels the Holy Ghost, it is still
kind of new for him. He said that it was hard not having the Gospel of
Jesus Christ in his life, but it was worth the wait:) I love the
Brown's and their examples of diligence and faith:)

On Thursday, we had a lot of service opportunities:) Sister Peterson
and I went down to Plattsmouth for a few hours in the afternoon and
provided some service at a thrift shop! It was fun for a change:)
haha:) then that night, we had a relief society activity where we made
kits for a humanitarian project! I love service:) that is probably one
of my favorite things about serving a mission! There was a little 8
year old girl in our ward that got baptized yesterday after Stake
Conference so we were on spiritual highs:) I am so excited for the day
that I am able to hear about or see someone that I have worked with
enter the waters of baptism:)

I was reading a talk this morning in my personal study called "Faith--
the choice is yours" by Richard C. Edgley. In it, he shared a couple
of thoughts that I wanted to include in the email today:)

"When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast a devil out as
theyhad just witnessed the Savior do, Jesus answered, “If ye have
faith as agrain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence toyonder place; and it shall remove” (Matthew 17:20). I
have never witnessedthe removal of an actual mountain. But because of
faith I have seen amountain of doubt and despair removed and replaced
with hope andoptimism. Because of faith I have personally witnessed a
mountain of sinreplaced with repentance and forgiveness. And because
of faith I havepersonally witnessed a mountain of pain replaced with
peace, hope, andgratitude. Yes, I have seen mountains removed."

I have found similar times in my life and the lives of those that I
have worked with. I may not have seen a literal mountain move, but I
have seen emotional and spiritual mountains move. As we make the
choice to have faith in our life, we are given the strength through
the Grace of Christ to move symbolic mountains.:) It doesn't matter
what "mountain" may be in front of you right now. It could be fear or
uncertainty about the future. It could be a recent loss. It could be
an overarching feeling of despair or discouragement. You might feel
alone or abandoned by God. No matter what you are struggling with, it
can be overcome! That is something that I have learned about Christ
and the Atonement on my mission. Yes, Christ did come to Earth to take
upon Himself everything that we would ever go through. But, He didn't
just experience it so that He could relate to us perfectly when we
struggle. He overcame everything. And because He overcame everything,
we can too! He knows what it takes to overcome everything because he
did so perfectly! As we choose to have faith, and more specifically
faith in Christ, He can help us and strengthen us to overcome our own
personal mountains. Through His strength, we can do all things:)

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

With love,
Sister Christensen

September 8, 2014

Dear Family,

Sorry for a bit short email this week. I hope that you have been doing
well this last week or so. I seem to have been struggling with some
things more lately, but I keep going regardless. :) I have found
healing through the Atonement though and through my Book of Mormon
study:) So that is a plus:) From Maddy's letter it sounds like there
have been some sicknesses going around the house. I can totally
relate:) My companion and I have been facing some sinus colds and
stuff like that:) Haha I have been sneezing a lot today:) Kind of
embarrassing:) But I think I will be on the mend and getting better
this week:)

As I mentioned in my email last week, I was able to go on exchanges
with Sister Jones last Tuesday in the Plattsmouth area. I had the most
wonderful miracle happen that day! So, a member from my first area
(Lakeview) got in a car accident! (that's not the miracle;) ) It was
Sharon Jones, a less active that I saw and worked with, each week! She
is in pretty bad condition, but the Doctor's say that it is a miracle
that she is alive! She got transferred to a hospital/care center in
Plattsmouth (I didn't know any of this). Well, Sister Jones got a text
from the Lakeview Sisters, asking if we would go to see a member of
their ward at the care center. They didn't tell us who it was or
anything at that point but we agreed and went there. I was really
excited, hoping that it was someone that I knew! We walked into the
room and I almost cried when I saw Sister Sharon Jones! She is covered
with bruises everywhere but smiled really big when she saw me and had
me give her a big hug:) She actually remembered me! I was so
relieved:) haha:) Then, I turned around and in a chair across the
room, there was Sister Fulbright and her companion, Sister Breaux! I
was so happy! Then to make things even better, out of the bathroom
walks Sister Cooper!!! I was so happy for that miracle that I was able
to see all of them that day on exchanges!! That was such a tender
mercy and everything worked out perfectly!! I wasn't able to see them
long because they were getting ready to head out a few minutes later,
but it was great!!! It was a sweet tender mercy to see that even
though its been about 4 1/2 months since I have seen them all, and
they still remember me:) haha and it didn't really feel like a lot had
changed in the absence of time:) so that was reassuring:)

Other than that, my week has kind of been uneventful! We have been
spending a lot of time just getting to know the members and less
actives and figuring out where we need to spend our time:) We have
seen a lot of miracles as we have spent our time doing this. Just last
night, we stopped in to see a less active member that we have never
met before, and he let us right in, and his non member sister sat in
on the lesson! She even invited us to come back for dinner sometime!
So that was really neat!

I gave another training again last week for district mtg:) It was on
obedience to the commandments and consecration:) which is great
because I am on an obedience kick right now:) If you want a good
study, look up all of the promised blessings to the commandments in
lesson 4 in PMG. It will blow your mind! I have been sick so I am
hoping that passes quickly:)

I love you all so much!! you are great!! thank you for your support:)
I hope that you have a wonderful week! Stay strong and remember to
look up!

With love,
Sister Christensen:)

P.S. "May I commend you faithful Saints who are striving to flood the
earth and your lives with the Book of Mormon. Not only must we move
forward in monumental manner more copies of the Book of Mormon, but we
must move forward into our lives and throughout the earth more of its
marvelous messages. This sacred volume was written for us-for our day.
Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves" (1 Nephi
19:23)(President Ezra Taft Benson).

September 2, 2014

Dear Family!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Labor Day yesterday!! I am sorry
that I forgot to remind you that I wouldn't be on yesterday so I hope
that you were able to figure that out quickly. How was the Ogden
Temple open house? Was it just gorgeous inside? I am so jealous:) jk:)
I will have plenty of time for that later on in life:) I hope that you
are all doing well and enjoying life:) Things in Fairview have been
going well this past week:) We have been diving into the work and
doing our best to pick things back up in this area:) How is your Book
of Mormon reading going for those of you who are participating in it?
You should be on page 45 today:) If you haven't started already, it’s
not too late to begin:)

I had a nice Labor Day yesterday:) We had our preparation day so we
were able to do a couple of fun things:) We started our day with our
typical Monday morning routine:) ie: normal study schedule, laundry,
and cleaning. After we got all of that done, Sister Peterson and I
went out to lunch at a BBQ place which was super delicious!! Then we
went to Gordman's!!! I have missed that place:) It was crazy seeing
all of the fashion trend changes these days.. haha I haven't decided
if I like all of them or not yet:) haha but I spoiled myself and
bought a necklace:) So that was great!! and it’s my favorite color..
sparkly! :) After Gordman's, we headed to Walmart and got all of our
shopping done:) Let me say, it is really nice having a Walmart close
to you! I took that for granted until I went to Emmetsburg:) and.. I
cut my hair!! No worries:) I didn't do anything extravagant or too
crazy :) Just a normal trim:) I cut about 4 inches off and put in some
layers:) It was just getting way too long:) All in all, it was a nice
preparation day:)

Last night we went over to Brother Brown's house for dinner and Family
Home Evening:) He is a recent convert of almost a year now! His year
mark is September 13th! So it's coming up! We go over there every
Monday night for FHE:) His daughter Angie comes each time as well:)
She is an investigator and has such a strong testimony:) she is golden
and loves everything about the church:) She has been through all of
the missionary lessons and is reading the Book of Mormon
consistently:) and.. she really wants to be Baptized!! It will just
take a little bit of time because of some complications with other
things.. She is so sweet though and I love her so much already! The
Hartigans (an active couple) are good friends with them so they come
each week as well!! They are all very supportive of each other and do
a lot together:) So I am thankful for good ward member support:)
anyways, so last night we had grilled hot dogs, baked beans, and.. dun
dun dun.. Strawberry Shortcake!! haha Brother Brown LOVES strawberry
shortcake. That is an understatement:) haha:) so we have strawberry
shortcake every Monday night:) It is wonderful!! I love FHE with the
Brown's and the Hartigan's:)

Also, last Friday night, we went to a fireside that they were having
at the Mormon Trail Center. It was fabulous! You will never believe
who I saw there.. Sister Fulbright!!! Seriously! when she walked in
and we saw each other, we almost screamed! It was a good reunion:) I
sure miss that Sister of mine:) But she is doing great things in
Lakeview! Yes, she is still there:) I am very interested to see what
happens with her this next transfer:) She only has one left, and she
has been in Lakeview for 5 transfers (this is her 6th). She is doing
well though:)

Anyways, back to the Fireside:) Sorry I am a little scatter brained:)
We went with Brother Brown and Angie:) President and Sister Weston
were the speakers and they did a great job:) They talked all about
obedience, the commandments, and blessings for keeping the
commandments. I have actually been doing a study on promised blessings
in lesson 4 of Preach my Gospel for my Preach my Gospel study each
day. So it was really neat how a lot of the things that I had been
studying, were brought up and talked about. I just love how willing
our Heavenly Father is to bless us with everything He can! He stands
over our heads with his hands cupped full of blessings, and as we Keep
His commandments and ask for those blessings through prayer, He
willingly and anxiously opens up His hands for blessings to be poured
out upon us. It has really stood out to me that the things He asks us
to do, and the commandments in general, are just to help us find
happiness! He is so patent with us. As we have that desire and just
keep a simple commandment such as praying, He blesses us with so many
things!! ie: guidance, strength, peace, etc. Isn't it so neat that as
we do these simple things, He blesses us with so much!! Just like any
Earthly father, He want's us to be happy and so He is so willing to
help us with anything we need. I know that He is there. He loves us,
and that love never faileth. It is always there for us.

I am on exchanges right now with Sister Jones. She is actually from
Lehi as well so that's cool! Maybe some of you know her? I hope that
you have a great week! Remember that I am always here for you if you
ever need anything:) I love each of you dearly:) Keep up the great
work! and remember to always look up!

With love,
Sister Christensen