June 9, 2014

Hey mom, dad, family, and friends!

I hope that you are all doing well!! I sent some emails with some
pictures included:) I hope that you got that:) It has been a pretty
good week. We have had some good times and seen some miracles which
has been wonderful:) I will tell you a little about them:)

So on Tuesday, we were out tracting, and weren't initially seeing any
luck. We tried a couple of people but they weren't home. One of these
people was D, but we couldn't find his house. (not sure if he gave
us the right address though) We then tried another potential named
J but she wasn't home. So we turned away from the door and started
to walk down the driveway when lo and behold, D comes down the
street riding his bike!! What? haha so we were able to talk with him
for a little while! Then he drove off and we hadn't finished talking
with him yet so we tried to follow him. (yes, we are professional
stockers:) ) But, because he was on a bike and we were on foot, we
eventually lost him. But, we kept walking in that direction because we
felt like we needed to walk in that direction. Finally, about a mile
later, we came to the end of the road with a culdesac(sp?) and we felt
like we needed to knock on the blue house in it. So we did.. and guess
who answered the door?? this little boy:) haha not what you were
expecting? just wait:) So this little boy answered the door and said
his mom wasn't home but his older sister was so he went and got her:)
and.. it was j!! She was babysitting her younger brother there!!
haha and we had no idea that it was her mom's place:) Its crazy how
everything worked out that day and we crossed paths with the people
that we had hoped to:)

We went to a birthday party last Saturday for Miguel Fox. They are an
adorable Mexican family that moved here a few months back, so they
don't know much English:) It was fun! They had a pinata, games, cake,
lunch, sack races, etc:) Party!! haha but I had a couple not so fun
things that came from it:) I got food poisoning from the meat which
hopefully passes quickly:) haha I am almost better now though:) And I
sprained my ankle:) I guess I am a little too competitive sometimes:)
We were doing the sack race (where you are in a big sack and you have
to jump to a location the quickest to win) I jumped on a branch that I
hadn't seen there before and it crunched my foot pretty good:) I
tripped and twisted it a little weird.. but its ok! No pain no gain
right? haha:) I still managed to get in 2nd place though:)

The Spencer Elders had a baptism yesterday!! It was wonderful and the
Spirit was felt by all that were there:) Her name is Paris Spencer and
she just turned 9. It was really neat because she is around Emily's
age and it was just a week after her baptism:) So it was really cool
being able to be there and see that so close to Em's:) I attached a
few pictures from it:)


We also helped 2 families move out of the Branch on Saturday. One of
the families is the Bennetts and they are moving to Price UTAH!!
Lucky:) haha I have an odd obsession with Price:) But, it was cool
because I was able to tell her all of the cool things about it and
that there are some amazing people down there to become friends with:)
That seemed to calm her down a little bit:) Which was good:) haha:) so
if we ever go down to Price, we have someone else to go see while we
are there:) haha:)

Oh, and the weather down here has been crazy!! There have been lots of
storms this past week all over Nebraska and Iowa:) We were doing that
chalk finding idea again this past Tuesday that I was telling you
about, and we found out later that there was a tornado watch going on
while we were out at the park:) haha oops...:) But we were ok:) So i
guess it wasn't a big deal:) haha

Anyways, I hope that you all had a good experience fasting last week
and that you have a good week this week:) enjoy your second week of
summer vacation!! I love you all so much!! Keep up the great work!! I
sure do love you all so much!! and daddy, I hope that you have a
wonderful father's day and know that i will be thinking about you that
day:) I hope it is a good one:) I love you all!

Sister Christensen

June 2, 2014

My dear family and friends,

It's Summer time!!! can you believe it? I hope that everything went well for your baptism Emily! I am so proud of you! I hope that you liked your little gift:) Know that I was thinking about you during the time of your baptism on Saturday:) I sure do love you all so much! Time keeps moving forward:) I remember thinking about (before I left on my mission) what it was going to be like when I got to this point, being 8 months out. Haha to say the least, it is nothing like what I expected it to be:) In some ways it has been much more challenging than I anticipated, but in other ways, I have been blessed and strengthened more than I thought was possible! My testimony continues to be strengthened and my love for my Savior increases. I am so thankful that He not only knows and understands what I am going through, but He overcame everything as well. So as I rely on Him and keep pushing forward, He is able to strengthen me and help me to overcome those things too.
We have been doing a lot of finding these past 2 weeks, trying to build up a teaching pool to work with. We have several people that we have started working with. I will tell you a little bit about some of them.:)
First, we have an investigator named S. He has a very open heart and is willing to listen to our message. As we were talking with him, he said that he could feel a difference from us being around. He could feel something, the spirit!! He told us that it was really neat because the things that we had him read in the Book of Mormon was directly talking to him and what he needed at that time. I love the Book of Mormon and how individual it is:) Everyone reads the same words, but as we liken them to ourselves, it speaks directly to our needs and concerns. He has run into some anti from his mother and some friends and so we haven't been able to contact him this last week, but I know that things will work out the way it needs to!
Another lady that we have begun teaching is K. She is Sister Darling's older sister. Her main hold up is that she has problems with the Word of Wisdom and she has manic depressive disorder. But she is so kind and I feel like she has a lot of potential:) We just have to over load her with kindness and love:)
Before we left our home Saturday morning, we were really praying hard that we would be led to where Heavenly Father needed us that day. We wanted to find someone to teach or serve someone. We had plans written down but we felt like we needed to be somewhere else. So we walked down the road and about a block up the street, we saw a family sitting outside on their porch. To paint the picture in your mind, they are not your "typical" idea of someone that is prepared. All the guys had their shirts off, gruff beards and expressions, and lots of tattoos. We went up to them though and asked if there was anything that we could do to help them in anyway. They immediately said, "Sure!" so they took us around to the side of their house where a huge pile of rocks lay. They had us shoveling up rocks into wheelbarrows, then taking them around their yard to spread. Apparently they don't live there, they just rent the property out. I think that they thought we were really crazy because we kept telling them "thank you for letting us help you! We just love serving people!" haha. At first they were really suspicious about us and why we wanted to help them so much. They literally thought we were crazy!! Let me remind you that it was 85 degrees outside with lots of humidity so we were pretty soaked with sweat by the end, and we were in skirts:) haha:) but towards the end, they were very thankful for us and their hearts had been softened. The dad was nearly in tears:) I may or may not be able to walk for a couple more days:) (my body is really sore) but it was worth it! They have a way to contact missionaries now in Minnesota where they live:) I was very happy for that tender mercy that Heavenly Father provided us with someone to serve and put us exactly where we needed to be at that time.
So there were a couple of things that I forgot to mention last week. We have been trying to think of a lot of finding ideas. One of them that we have tried, is we went to a park and drew out the plan of salvation on the side walk:) It turned out really neat! It stayed there for about a week so we hope that many people saw it. We left the information for them to request a visit on Mormon.org. So we probably won't see a lot from the work or efforts we are doing right now, but we are laying the groundwork for great things to happen in this area. It was revealed when the Spencer Branch was organized that the church building would one day be a stake center! So this area will grow a lot in the years following us:) Whether we are harvesting or planting seeds, we are doing the same work and doing our Heavenly Father's will.
As I was thinking about Baptism songs with Emily's baptism last Saturday, I was thinking a lot about the song "When I am Baptized." The first line of that song is "I like to look for rainbows, whenever there is rain". How interesting. I have never really thought about this but you can't see the rainbows while it is raining. Only after the rain stops can you see the rainbows. Although you can't see them during the storm, rainbows do come. In life it can be the same way. We go through storms in life where sometimes, all you can see is the storm around you. You can only see the rain pouring down, but just as there is a rainbow after the storm, good times will come. As we look to God, we will be able to recognize that He is always near us in the storms of life and that He will give us those tender mercies (or rainbows) to show us that He loves us. I know that our Father in Heaven loves us and is involved in the details of our lives. If it matters to us, it matters to Him. Keep looking up and remember how much I love you! I hope that you enjoy your first full week of summer vacation! And.. only 10 fast sundays left!
With love, Sister Christensen

May 28, 2014 - My Friend Sparky

Dear family and friends,

I hope that you are enjoying your last week of school! I can't believe that it is already time for summer:) You are all probably super busy this week:) I can remember how crazy everything is:) Enjoy your time
though, it ends quickly:) Emily, I am so happy for you that you are getting baptized this week! You have made the right choice and I know that mom and dad are so proud of you, friends and family are proud of
you, I’m proud of you!, but even more importantly, Heavenly Father is so proud of you!! In 3 John 1:4 it says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." I know that our Heavenly
Father is so happy when we make correct choices:)

This past week was wonderful going to zone conference! It was such a tender mercy! We drove up on Wednesday afternoon to meet some sisters in Sioux city to car pool up the rest of the way.. :) and guess who I
saw? Sister Rasmussen!!! My dear friend that used to serve in Millard! It was so great and I laughed and had a good time! It was wonderful! I'm sure that we are going to remain good friends for a long time:) I
also saw Sister Reidhead! My MTC companion!! It was a happy day of reunions!! I couldn't help but think how it will be to see all of you again:)

Our zone conference was focused a lot on families and our future families:) It was weird because that is usually a taboo topic out here! haha:) Satan tried to destroy Joseph Smith, then He attacked the Book of Mormon, and since that hasn't worked out yet, He is after the family. We need to do all we can to keep ourselves and our families strong so that we can push those influences out!

If you have any fears about spiders, stop reading right now!! So.. we had a pet spider last week and we called him sparky.. He liked hiding in the base boards under one of our power outlets.. So we couldn't ever get to him because he was really quick. So we went several days without finding him. We hoped that he had died. But.. we weren't that lucky.. yesterday morning I woke up around 5 am to something crawling up my leg! It was a wolf spider! and it was huge! I thought that I
was going to die!! haha:) but I was able to get it off without any harm and we had sister darling kill it:) (she was awake already! don't worry!) haha:) It was terrifying though!!! R.I.P sparky!

This next week is fast sunday so I want all of you to think of what Heavenly Father would have you fast about and do it:) Make it meaningful and prayerful:) I know that there are great blessings from fasting:) Our Father in Heaven hears and answers prayers!

I love you all!!
Have a great last week of school and baptism!!!
Love,
Sister Christensen

May 19, 2014 - First Week in Emmetsburg, Iowa

Dear Family and Friends,

I am not sure if you have heard the news or not yet, but if not, I got transferred on friday to Emmetsburg Iowa. When most people think of Nebraska or Iowa, they think of miles and miles of corn fields with no people and really flat. That my friends, is exactly how Emmetsburg Iowa is! It has been a huge adjustment from being in Lakeview. I am not going to lie, it was very hard saying goodbye to my dear friends in Lakeview. Very comparable to leaving home when I came out on a mission.There was a lot of tears from everyone there. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father that He allowed me to serve for so long in Lakeview. I met so many remarkable people that have left permanant traces on my heart and hopefully friendships that will last forever. But I look forward to seeing all of them in a year from now! :)

My new companion is Sister Peterson. She is from Texas/Colorado. (she has lived in both places) She has been out 1 transfer less than myself so we are about the same which is pretty cool. She is a "visa waiter" so pray that she can get her visa really quick so that she can go to Brazil! I know that she would love that.

We are opening the Emmetsburg area so for those of you who don't know what that means, there weren't any missionaries here before us. So in short, that means we have a lot of work to do here to find people to teach and help members gain trust in us. Emmetsburg is part of the Spencer branch here in Iowa. The Spencer branch boundaries go about 90 miles one way and 60 miles the other way. So it is a huge area geographically to cover. There are about 50-70 members in the branch here. They are all great and have such simple and pure testimonies. We are very limited on miles so we spend most of our time walking because we use all of our miles to get to church/district meetings/zone conference this week!/and driving down here from Omaha. Haha it was a long drive and I ended up driving here the whole way:) My companion got her license about 2 months before her mission and hasn't driven since so we are taking advantage of the wide open spaces and I am teaching her how to drive. haha I shouldn't say this probably but it can be pretty scary putting your life in that situation:) haha I have so much more empathy for how my own mom and dad felt when I was learning how to drive:) Jk! Cuz I was a pro from the start right? haha:) So things are very difficult right now, but I know that things will get better in time.

Listed below are some of the towns we will be covering and their poplulation.:)

Emmetsburg (the largest area)= 3904 individuals.

Ruthven=765

Graettinger=900

Ayrshire=202

Mallard=298

Cylinder=110

Curlew=62

Rodman=56

So they are all pretty small towns and very far apart. It will be interesting to see how everything will work out. :) We live with a wonderful member though! Her name is Cheryl Darling! and.. she is darling:) haha I know, lame joke right? :) We have dinner with her most nights which is nice:) The members are too far spread out to eat dinners with them most of the time. (the nearest member is about 20 miles away) haha so it is very different than Lakeview. I am sure that I will come to love Emmetsburg and the people here though.

So, did any of you do the challenge that I left you last week? If you haven't yet, I will extend the same one. Look on LDS.org and share a picture online from one of the conference talks. When you do this, I would love to hear about which one you did! Sharing the gospel really isn't all that complicated:) There are very simple ways to share your testimony:)

I have shared this quote before but it has always brought me peace when I need it, so I will share it again. It is from Elder Holland in the talk titled "An High Priest of Good Things to Come."

“Don’t give up. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead...You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come...Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

I know that there is great power in prayer. I have been strengthened to do things that I didn't think were possible these last couple of days. I have felt the love that Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ have for me as I have tearfully prayed for strength. I know that they hear and answer prayers. They are there for us all of the time, through the good and the bad, and they will never leave us. I know that my Redeemer lives!

I hope that you all have a wonderful week! School is almost out! Can you believe that summer is already almost here? Remember that I love you all very much! You are amazing!

With love,

Sister Christensen

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