December 8, 2014 - Rex was Baptized

Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,

I hope that you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas season! 

I am so thankful that I was blessed to be able to spend 2 transfers with Sister Hirro. She is a very good missionary! I don't think that I was really training her.. she was training me:) She got the news this morning that she will be a Zone Leader when she gets back to Salt Lake City! She has helped me grow a lot:) It will be sad to see her go, but I know that she will touch many people and have a good experience back at Temple Square. 

We also found out this morning that I get an extra day with her. Initially, she was going to be leaving tomorrow morning, but it will now be early Wednesday morning. Starting tomorrow though, we will be with Sister Dumont and I will stay with her until Friday morning. I am not sure if I will be staying in Fairview this week or heading up to Sister Dumont's area (Plattsmouth). We have transfers this week, and I am anxious to hear who my next companion will be and what area I will be in. haha It will be a long week of waiting:) But it's always great being a missionary!  

  

Our investigator, Rex, was baptized and confirmed on Saturday! He had his interview on Wednesday afternoon. It was the cutest experience! He was really nervous and he walked into the church, saw Sister Hirro and I, and told us really proudly, "I made a cheat sheet!" We looked at his cheat sheet to see what things he wanted to remind himself of, and he had just a couple words written down. It said faith, blessings, holy ghost, and family. Elder Fuller, the missionary that did the interview, asked him to try and do the interview without his paper. He passed:) At the end of the interview, he had Rex rip up his cheat sheet into shreds as a sign that he didn't need those things. He was ready and knew everything that he needed to. He knew enough:)  

His Baptism was the most amazing experience! There were many non members, family, and ward members that came out to support him. As he was given the gift of the Holy Ghost, I could feel the Spirit so strong. Sister Souder shared a really touching experience with us about Rex. When he was two, he aspirated lamp oil. He was in the hospital for several days and all of the doctors told them that he wasn't going to make it. He got a priesthood blessing though which told him that his work wasn't done yet. He was saved for a reason. I know that Rex has an important work to do here on the Earth. I am so thankful that I was able to learn so much from him these past two transfers:) 

We finally found an Asian Market last Preparation Day so that Sister Hirro could make some food that she was used to before the mission. She loved it! So she has been letting me try all sorts of food from the Philippines:) I bought her a few things from the market as well that she told me she really loved so that she could have some snacks and stuff over the next few days:) She doesn't know yet:) 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week! The 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional was amazing! If you didn't get a chance to watch it, go to LDS.org and you will see the link there:) It was so great! I love you! 

Sister Christensen  

December 1, 2014

Hello family and friends! 

Can you believe that it is December already? Time is passing so quickly! I love the Christmas Season! It is a wonderful time to be a missionary! I had a great week:) I am doing much better now that my health is all back to normal:) 

We are all very excited for Rex's baptism this Saturday! It will be a wonderful day! We finished all of the lessons and got him fitted for his baptism clothes yesterday. We have handed out all of the invitations and most everything is done now besides his interview this week. He has always been a little shy and hasn't prayed in front of us before. Last night, when we had our last lesson with him, he prayed vocally in front of all of us. It was such a happy moment! He is ready and prepared to enter into a covenant and stay faithful throughout his life! He is such a strong example for his family to follow! 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went to the Riffles home for dinner and they had Brother Riffles Parents and older sister there as well. Guess what? We always find really cool connections! So Brother Riffle's dad, Skip, works with Grandma Kidd at Heritage! How cool right? So we took some pictures with him and he said that he would talk to her this morning:) What a small world:) 

We had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders which was so much fun as well! The Sisters are Sister Dumont and Sister Jones! (Sister Jones is from Lehi!) They have made some changes in how we do our exchanges. We now both go to our STLS area and we both do exchanges there. The idea is so that we can see what an area should look like so that we can bring that back to our areas. Our day consisted of mostly service which was really great! We went to a less active sisters home, Sister Harper, and helped her set up all of her Christmas decorations. It reminded me of being at home, pulling all of the totes out from under the crawl space, and being surrounded by Christmas decorations! It was wonderful! Later that day, we went to someone's home and painted their dining room for them! That was a lot of fun! I was amazed at how much they trusted us to do that:) I think that it turned out pretty good though! So I will have to send you a pic later of that:) 

If you haven't already, I would recommend going online to watch the short video, "He is the Gift". It's at christmas.mormon.org. I loved it! You are all able to be apart of this initiative! Included in your Ensigns are 9 pass along cards that you can give to others that need this message of Christ in their lives. The church has bought out the advertisement bar on youtube, a thing on times square in New York, and others as well. Individually, we can all do our part in spreading this message across the world! I will be doing the same:) As missionaries, they have asked that we hand out cards to 10 people every day:) 

Elder Nelson has said, "We are pleased to announce the month-long Christmas initiative, “He Is the Gift.” Beginning November 28, He Is the Gift focuses on God’s love for the world, made manifest in the first gift of Christmas, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christmas is a time of reflection on what we can become because of God’s sacred gift. As we discover the gift, we learn of the immeasurable love of God and our absolute need for a Savior. As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and our desire to become more like Him. As we share the gift, we follow in the Master’s footsteps, who invited all to hear His message.

May we find greater holiness in our own lives and share the gift with others this Christmas season."

I hope that you have a wonderful week! You are all so great and I love you!

Sister Christensen   

November 24, 2014

Hey family and friends! 

I hope that you are all doing very well!! I hope that you have a very wonderful Thanksgiving this week! We will be going to the Riffles house for Thanksgiving! (The members that we have dinner with every Thursday) They are great! Brother Riffles family will be in town so it should be a lot of fun! Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving? 

This week was very challenging on me but I think that I will be back to my normal self within the next couple of days. I was on some medicine that didn't react well to my body.. so I have been very sick this week. But I will be able to go off of the antibiotic within the next couple of days:) Don't worry about me though. I will be just fine! Just have to keep moving forward and get through the next couple of days:)     

Rex is doing very well! He is very excited for his baptism day.:) It was really cute. We were going to teach him on Wednesday evening and we got to his house and you could hear him say from the other room, "Yay! My Missionaries are here!" I thought that that was so cute! It feels good to be "someone's missionary":)    

So, here is a little tender mercy from my week:) I forgot to buy peanut butter when we went to the grocery store on monday, and then we had to give up the car. :) So we didn't have a way to get peanut butter:) It was a very minor detail, but hey, it mattered to me:) So of course, I prayed for peanut butter:) haha:) on Wednesday, a member ran into us as we were out and offered to go buy us a snack! any snack of our choice! so they bought me peanut butter! It was a miracle! It was very good to know and have that reconfirmed this week, that our Heavenly Father is very aware of us and the details in our life. I know that if it matters to you, it matter to Him, because you matter to Him. :) 

I want each of you to know that I am so thankful for each of you and all that you do for me:) You strengthen me and help me more than you will probably ever know:) I love you! I hope that you have a wonderful week! I love you! Happy Thanksgiving!! Thank you for being some of the greatest blessings in my life:)  

Sister Christensen 

(ps. sorry for the shorter email this week:) ) don't worry about me:) 

November 17, 2014

Hey Everyone! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in the Omaha Nebraska Mission! The weather changed very quickly here:) One day it was in the 70's and then it went to snowing over night:) I can honestly say that I didn't miss the snow but I love how it looks when the snow has just freshly fallen:) The Farmer's Almanac has predicted that it will be a really cold, really long winter.. so we'll see! I think our new approach to get investigators is to have people see us walking around outside while its very cold, take pity on us, and let us into their homes! Then we can teach them by the fire! haha:) I'll let you know how this strategy goes:) 

We had a good week! We taught Rex twice this past week and he is progressing very well! and.. guess what? He is.. SET FOR BAPTISM!!! He will be getting baptized on December 6th! I am so excited for him! He is doing very well. There are many challenges with family and other things that he has had to work through but he has stayed strong through it all:) Please continue to keep him in your prayers:) 

We helped Sister Gray with canning applesauce! She was very overwhelmed so it was nice to be able to help lighten her load and learn a new skill in the process:) I really love serving other people:) that is one of my very favorite things about being a missionary:) That was a lot of fun! We will have to do that in the future as a family:) 

We had a mission tour this week as well. That is where a General Authority comes and "tours" your mission. In our mission it happens once a year. It happened last year right before I got to the field, so this was my first one:) We had Elder and Sister Brent H. Nielson of the First Quorum of the Seventy! What a blessing to have a General Authority in our Mission. This spirit was felt very strongly throughout the whole meeting. I think that one of my favorite parts was the meeting with just the sister missionaries that morning. Sister Nielson spoke to us and it was very encouraging and motivating. A lot of her thoughts revolved around the principle of holiness. She read a book several years ago called Holiness in every day life. She shared an experience that I am sure you can relate with mom:) One day, she came home and the house was a mess:) Toys were everywhere, cracker crumbs were smashed into the carpet, etc. She said that she was fuming:) So, she went out to the garage and brought up her garden rake and raked everything in the rooms into one large pile! She said that her kids were terrified! haha:) She then proceeded to time herself to see how long it would take to clean everything up :) It only took up 5 minutes extra of her time. She said that a lot of the things we have to face in life are similar. It may cause us a lot of frustration and anxiety in our minds, but in reality, as we look at the situation with a different perspective, its not so bad. She said that she then looked at the situation in a different way. The fact that there were toys on the ground showed that they had enough money or people that cared about them to get toys for their children. Not everyone is so fortunate. The fact that there were crumbs on the ground showed that they had enough food to eat. Many people in the world don't have that luxury. It can go on and on:) She said that holiness, is having the mindset of God. There is holiness in every situation. As we look at our situations with a different perspective and see others as children of God, things change and we are able to look at life differently. We are able to see these things as God sees them. And.. Opposition is the only way that we can learn to see things as God sees them for "there must be an opposition in all things". But we are commanded to "practice virtue and holiness before me". D&C 38:24  

I love you all so much! I hope that you have a wonderful week! You are the bestest family in the world! My prayers are with you! 

Love, Sister Christensen 

November 10, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow! What a week:) It is always good to hear from you! Thank you for your love and support. It really makes a difference. I just wanted to give you all an update on some of the people that we are working with this week.

Angela, one of our investigators is doing so well! We had our weekly family home evening with them last Monday night, and we had a lesson on Faith in Jesus Christ. We each went around the room and shared a simple testimony or experience that has strengthened our faith. She shared her experience of waiting to get consent from her husband to be able to be baptized. She shared a powerful testimony of prayer and how she has seen Heavenly Father answer some of her past prayers. She says that she has had some prayers (wanting her husband to let her get baptized) that she feels have gone unanswered, but she knows that in the Lord's timing, everything will work out as it needs to! She had tears in her eyes as she was sharing her experiences. She could feel the spirit very strongly! I am so proud of her and the growth that I have seen in her since I first met her. She is very strong! Although her husband hasn't given her consent, I know that everything will work out as she continues to act in faith. :)

Rex is the 10 year old boy that we are teaching! He is the strongest 10 year old I have ever met! He is feeling much better now. He has opened up a lot as well and isn't as shy around us anymore:) Turns out we aren't that scary after all when people get to know us:) haha:) We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ last week and he accepted everything very well! He told us that since we have been meeting with him and he has started saying more prayers and reading the scriptures, he has had happy dreams instead of his recurring nightmares! A simple blessing, but a big deal for him! No consent from the father for him to get baptized yet either, but it will happen!

We also met with the Fowlers again this past week. They were so happy to see us! With Sister Hirro sick, we hadn't made it over to their home in a little while, so they thought we had gotten transferred last week. They were so happy that we are both still here! They all rushed to the door and gave us big hugs:) It was nice to feel so welcome and that they like us so much:) Although, they still aren't liking the message we bring each week as much. They believe the things we read from the Book of Mormon and they feel the Spirit as we teach, but they don't understand the reason why we need it all yet.. Hopefully that comes with time. They still aren't open to reading it on their own. Their hearts seem to close more and more each time that we meet with them. They feel the Spirit but are scared and close their hearts off. We aren't sure what to do to help them and make the change, but we are seeking for it. The answer will come, I just think I need to learn to listen better:)        

We eat dinner with the Riffle family every Thursday night:) You may have gotten the pictures already, but we provided some odd service this week:) We gave a haircut! haha it was the first haircut I have ever given in my life! I think it ended up turning out ok though:) haha. They were very trusting to give us the scissors! haha:) I love giving random service though:) I never thought that I would give someone a haircut on my mission:)

I had a very strong spiritual experience yesterday. We had been asked to teach the Gospel Principles class and Relief Society yesterday. Because of a couple of things, I was struggling on Saturday and Sunday. More so, than I have in a very long time. To be honest, this has actually been building now for a while but it all kind of just peaked Saturday night. I didn't know how I was going to be able to teach. After our ward coordination meeting on Sunday morning, I asked our ward mission leader, Brother Burke, to give me a Priesthood blessing. I think that it was one of the most powerful times I have ever felt the Spirit. It was a very good blessing. I was given some very good counsel and received a lot of comfort and strength. I was told that I was stronger than I think I am and stronger than what others think I am, and that I was stronger than my challenges. I don't say this to boast in myself by any means! Just so that you can better appreciate and understand the situation. I prayed harder than I have in a long time and asked for strength to be able to teach this lesson and say what He wanted me to say. I received that strength and much much more. The lessons ended up going very well and many people thanked us, saying that we said exactly what they needed to hear at that time. It was a very humbling experience overall, but it strengthened my testimony on the power of the Priesthood and the power of prayer:) Our Father in Heaven loves us. We are His Spirit children. I know that my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives! Through His strength we can do all things!

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

Sister Christensen     

November 3, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

It is always great to hear from you and to feel of the power of your testimonies. You each are such great examples to me and lift me up! I love you! I hope that you had a really great Halloween this past week! We had transfers this past week on Halloween! I am staying with Sister Hirro in the Fairview Ward. I was so happy when they let us know we would be together for another transfer! She is a great blessing in my life and I am learning so much from her! She has had a rough week. We have been running faster than we have strength and she got pretty sick yesterday. So a lot of the day I had her stay in bed and recover. It basically took all of my energy forcing her to rest:) haha:) I noticed a few days ago that she was starting to get sick:) So, I asked her to rest but of course she kept working through it:) and it finally hit:) but, She is feeling a little better today!:) Hopefully it goes away quickly! She is such a great example and diligent missionary!   

We have a new investigator!! His name is Rex and he is 10 years old! He is the grandson of Sister Souder, a member in our ward. His parents are divorced so he bounces around from his mom's house, dad's house, and grandma's house throughout the week. We taught him the Restoration on Wednesday and he really wants to get baptized!! He has been to a couple baptisms before and church many times in the past already! He is so prepared and so strong for a 10 year old boy:) His non member mother gave us the consent to teach him and for him to be baptized but they are still waiting to get permission from the dad. There are some difficult situations going on with that.. but it will all work out ok! He made sure that he was at church yesterday, even with some hinderments along the way! We will be seeing him again on Wednesday so please keep him and his father in your prayers! They could use a lot of prayers right now!  

I was able to go to departing testimonies on Tuesday night! Departing testimonies is where they have all of the missionaries that are going home share their testimonies in a big meeting and everyone can come and say a last good bye. I had a lot of mixed feelings! All 3 of my previous companions are now gone. Sister Peterson got her visa and left for Brazil last Tuesday!! My trainer, Sister Frisina and my 2nd companion, Sister Fulbright both went home this past week. They both completed a full mission:) Sister Rasmussen and Sister Larson were some of my close mission friends that went home as well. It was very hard to say goodbye to all of them. They are great missionaries though and have changed so much in the course of their missions:) I am so proud of them!

For Halloween, we went over to Sister Gray's house and helped her by handing out the candy to the trick or treaters outside on her front porch while she took her children out trick or treating for a little while!:) Her husband is gone on deployment for the military, so we decided to go to her place to help her out. We had to be at our place or at a member home starting at 6 pm that night because they didn't want us out tracting or driving around with a chance of hitting a child.:) After she got back from trick or treating, she made us all some hot chocolate and we played banana grams:) it was a lot of fun! That morning we went to the mission office to drop off our car.. and went visiting teaching to a few sisters:) Other than that, it was basically a low key, normal day:)   

One thing that I have been doing this week, came from a talk that I read. It was from the October 2012 General Conference. I would recommend reading the whole talk, but here is a little glimpse of what it included:) He says, "How do we ingrain this love of Christ into our hearts? There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference for every member of the Church, including you boys and girls, you young men and you young women, you single adults, and you fathers and mothers.

That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. Stay focused, just like the honeybees focus on the flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen. If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible.

And President Spencer W. Kimball said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82).

I know that if you do this—at home, at school, at work, and at church—the Spirit will guide you, and you will be able to discern those in need of a particular service that only you may be able to give. You will be prompted by the Spirit and magnificently motivated to help pollinate the world with the pure love of Christ and His gospel."  

I have done that this week. In my morning prayer, I pray that I will have notice an opportunity to serve one of my brothers and sisters, that I will have the courage to follow the prompting, and do whatever is asked of me:) We were driving to a formers house on Friday that we thought that we would try, but along the way, I noticed a guy down a street that we passed. He was outside working but I couldn't tell what he was doing. I had the prompting that I needed to go back and ask if we could help them with anything. So, we did. We turned the car around and asked if we could help them. This was actually a less active family and they let us come in and talk with their family and help them put away Halloween stuff. They have never let anyone in their home before! So this was a huge miracle!! Who knows if I would have noticed them and gone to help them if I hadn't been praying for it and really seeking through the day for my opportunity to come. It's a simple thing but made a big difference for them!

Have a wonderful week! I love you all so much!!

Love, Sister Christensen