Time to Cast All Doubt Aside

Hello friends and family.  Transfers.  I am...wait for it...STAYING!  By the time I finish this next transfer, I would have been here for about 7 months.  As far as I see it, it's basically guaranteed that I'll be gone this next transfer.  I've seen the pattern that the trainer leaves after the 12 weeks is over.  So it's time to make the most of the time left.  There have been some big changes in our district caused by the lack of cars.  The zone leaders, who used to roam the whole ward, have moved to a different ward.  So good news, we picked up all of the zone leaders' investigators in our area (and they had a few solid ones).  Bad news, everyone's areas were rearranged, and we lost part of our area that I absolutely LOVED.  But a smaller area is definitely a good thing.  I've been feeling a little overwhelmed about how big our area is.

I'm a little low on time, so I'm going to cheat a bit and copy part of my letter to President:

"These last 2 months have been pretty trying for me. My patience was tried more than anything. Last night, as I was talking with Elder Alvarenga, I expressed some of my concerns. I feel like I haven't been living up to my own expectations. I was feeling accountable for the lack of success we have had in the past weeks. My mind had been slipping into the deadly "what-ifs." What if it doesn't change? What if I'm not good enough? At the same time, I was trying to be a good example for Elder Marchan in always going out there are working despite the lack of success.

"He helped me realize that, yes, these last few months have been pretty bad, but to doubt that the Lord will not help is absurd. Over the last few months, I slipped into the thoughts "I gotta do this," "I need to accomplish this," "I have some high expectations,"  "I need to get this done." Slowly, I took God out of the picture, and Elder Alvarenga helped me realize that. I was focused on what I wanted me to be, not what God wanted me to be. I am still trying to capture the vision of what God wants me to become.

"On looking ahead to the coming transfer, a six-week period never has felt like such a long time to me. I feel like we can genuinely turn around EVERYTHING before the end of October. I feel like it's time to get some righteous revenge. It's time to cast all doubt aside. I'm excited to get out there and get done what the Lord wants to get done, and not what I want to get done. I got a glimpse of what God wants the area to be, not what I want it to be."

So ya, I'm stoked and expecting to see some crazy awesome stuff in the coming weeks.  I'm feeling a kind of fire I don't think I've felt before.  It's gonna be fun.

Love and kindness,

Elder Christensen

A Week of Self-Reflection

Hey family and friends.  This week was a very interesting one.  First off, thank you mom so much for the package!  The talks I have listened to so far have been fantastic!

Work wise, it's still pretty slow.  We picked up two new investigators.  Both are people Elder Smith and I taught a few months back.  One of them feels like he's different now, and the other, I'm not sure.  We'll see.

We've had a lot of disappearing investigators, investigators unwilling to fulfill commitments, and miracles that then don't lead anywhere special in the end.  I feel like we're all a little spiritually burned out.  But like we all do, or are supposed to do, we are keeping our "eye single to the glory of God" ~D&C 4:5

This week there was a lot of self reflection.  It was one of those weeks where I came to be aware of every little thing that I could possibly do better.  Having such a slow time, I find myself asking myself constantly:  What are we not doing?  Why are miracles happening in all the district except here?  Are we lacking faith? 

I believe yesterday I came to a bit of a realization.  One of my goals all along was to be able to trust God more.  So why would I be upset if God is giving me this chance to grow?  I sometimes feel like God's will is conflicting with itself.  Does he want baptisms or does he want me to grow?  I'm sure every missionary would tell you that the times they learn the most about themselves is in the toughest times when things feel like a total drought.

Then at the same time, I think about all the things that have been going for us.  We've been able to run into some really cool people, have some great first impressions, then have everything fall apart or have them constantly running away.  This week I realized that God has been leading us to people that could be prepared, but then they choose not to be.  "...nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received." ~D&C 88:32

So recently, we've tried a lot that hasn't worked, and Einstein teaches us that it would be insane to keep doing the same thing, so we're going to be trying to switch things up a bit.  Being in a leadership position, I feel like the numbers I put up have to be an example, but despite all the effort, it's just not working.  So ya, I still have many questions going in my mind all the time, but I feel like everything's okay.  Not sure what God has planned, but He's always got something in mind.

"...all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." ~D&C 122:7

Another talk that I read that helped a ton was "But for a Small Moment" by Elder Maxwell. (thanks, Mom) I only understand about half of it, but the stuff I do understand is fantastic! 

"...past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord" (D&C 130:7) So, he knows what our future self is going to be.  So what he's doing now in all of our lives--He's putting us through the things we need to be able to become what he knows we need to become.

I love you all and thank you all for the prayers.

Elder Christensen

p.s. Evidently, there has been a problem lately with chinches (bed bugs) mission-wide. President has asked all of us to caulk any cracks in our bed frames so they can't hide there. I know the sisters in our district have had some problems with them; but so far, we have not picked up any...thankfully!!!

The Cars Are GONE!!

Hello hello.  Hope you all are well.  So do you remember when I told you that they were going to be reducing cars significantly in the mission?  Well, as I described, they have already taken away our car, and we're still working on getting used to the bus.  BUT, the car reduction is going to be a little bit more intense than originally anticipated.  They are going to take away EVERY CAR IN THE MISSION!  Watching the faces of the Zone Leaders and the sister missionaries was SUPER funny.  Few of them looked like they got slapped in the face, some others laughed nervously, some just sat there speechless.  So this will be very interesting, indeed.

 

This announcement came during zone conference.  President Becerra started his lecture with, "if you apply what I will be teaching you today, I promise you will double your baptisms."  In our mission, Spanish missionaries teach 3 times as much as English, but we baptize the same.  It's super, super weird.  So everything we talked about is ways to make sure that we are teaching people that are ready to progress.  I know Dad has shared a bit with me about this, but for some reason it clicked this week.  In short, we had a lot of drop lessons this week and are desperate to find.

 

This past week we saw some cool things happen because of all the walking and busing.  We are starting to see the members step up a little bit with the lack of cars.  We got a few random rides from members of our ward, and we have had multiple people offer to pick us up wherever we are at to take us home at night.  It's good stuff.  It's been kinda hot the last few days, so the rides are always very, very appreciated.

 

This past week we got a baptismal date!  It's been way too long since the last one.  Her name is Chela and she lives in an apartment behind a member family.  This member family, the Balderas, referred her to us.  Now a slightly worrisome part of the story: we randomly ran into her and tried to set up another appointment with her because she missed the appointment on Friday.  Then, she said the dreaded words, "I'll call you."  The Balderas family are still working with her.  She might be feeling a little smothered.  We'll figure out how to fix that.

 

Another sad story:  Cristina and Elvia (our recent converts) have totally disappeared.  I don't know what is going on.  We cannot find them or get hold of them despite everything we've tried.  We still haven't found the Garcias again either.  It's been a little tough.

 

Relationship with the companion is still a work in progress.  We are on exchanges today, and I've given his companion for the day the assignment to open him up a bit and see what he's thinking about everything.

 

Thanks for all the prayers.  I've still been diving into Atonement doctrine.  The most recent question I have been working on is, "Why is repentance enough to receive mercy?  I know that's how we get it, but why is it all that's needed?"  Haven't gotten too far on that one, but I know that there are a lot of members that need to understand justice and mercy a lot better.  We have a few people here that think because they're in the church, they've got the free ticket, and others that think that even though they do everything they are supposed to do, they aren't sure if they are worthy or not.  We have been working a lot to strengthen the members to get referrals out of them.

 

Love you all.  Thank you for all your prayers.  Emmy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Sunday.  Your present will be a little late.  Hope you like it.  It has been approved by Hermana Lopez.

Elder Christensen

Week 38 in Cali (Week 47 overall)

Hey everybody. 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to share about this week in particular.  It was, admittedly, pretty tough.  We switched to bus this week.  We tried bike the first day, but it was pretty bad.  Elder Marchan started having some crazy joint and muscle pain.  Elder Smith and I would ride back to our area (at our fastest) in 25 min and it took me and Elder Marchan 80 min.  So we'll probably be sticking with bus.  I learned this week that I have to get way, way better at planning.  We missed a lot of buses by just a few minutes, which cost us 20-30 min each time.  Because of our difficulties with transportation, it was a lot harder to get the drop-in-when-they're-usually-home lessons.  Finding was pretty rough, too.  This next week, we are going to be a lot better at talking to everyone.  I found out people are not used to talking while they're on the bus.  Looks like it throws them off pretty bad. 

 

Elder Marchan and I are getting along okay. I need to find a way we can start laughing.  We're having a tough time getting on the same page.  I'm still working hard to get him pumped about the work.  We are teaching a family that reminds him of his family, so hopefully that will spark something.

 

I've been having a super awesome study about the Atonement recently.  So we've all been taught that we need faith and repentance to have access to the Atonement, right?  This week, I was diving into questions like, "why does it have to be that way?" "How is it possible that mercy overpowers justice (why does that work / why is that sufficient)?" "How are the fall and the atonement linked?", etc.  It's helped me gain a greater appreciation for what Amulek called, "the great and last sacrifice."  Here are some helpful chapters that I've found: 2 Ne 2, Alma 34, Alma 11, Alma 42, D&C 19, D&C 45:3-5.  I'd highly recommend going into this stuff and studying it.  President McConkie said, in his final talk, (paraphrasing) "The Atonement is the most important, least understood doctrine that we have."  It's been pretty cool.  I've come to realize how perfect the Plan is and how it can't work any other way.

 

Love you all, and have a great week.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Elder Christensen

Week 37 in California

Hello family and friends.  The computers here are struggling a bit so I don't have tons of time.  Sorry in advance for the semi-short letter.

So the mini-miracle for this week came during a member meal.  There is a family here, the Balderas, that knows almost everyone in their neighborhood.  We have never been able to have a solid "sit-down-and-tell-us-everything" session.  So, we are there for a member meal and they say, "we have a surprise for you."  Half an hour later, a mom, Graciela, and her two kids walk in.  We finish up eating and talk with her and help her talk through what she wants for her kids and how the church can help.  Right now, her big obstacle is getting to church.  To be to church by 9:00, they would have to be on the bus by about 7:45.  Being a single mom, that's a little tough.  She was going to come this week, but her kids didn't get up. We have another dinner/lesson with them tomorrow.

Bad news, we have almost totally lost contact with the Garcias.  I have no idea what's going on.  Hector isn't answering his phone and when we stop by, only the wife is there and we just kind of yell back and forth from the front door to the back room.  That's been a little frustrating.

About two months ago, the missionaries that we were sharing the car with got moved and two missionaries were brought in. These two new missionaries weren't interested in having the car, so we have been in the car all the time for the last 2 months or so.  Now, remember how I said a few months ago that we were switching to all bike and bus?  Well, it's happening this week along with everything else. (I think something super cool is on the way.) And, we are trying to find a new apartment with desperation. Our current apartment is 3 miles out of our area, so we need to find something closer to our area since we will be on bikes 100% of the time now.

Elder Marchan is still coming along bit by bit.  He's totally opposite from my last companion in every way I can think of.  Since I was with Elder Smith for 4.5 months, the transition has been a little weird.

So ya, that's all.  Thanks for all the emails.

Elder Christensen

p.s. I saw Raul and Rosy at Stake Conference last Sunday. They are still doing awesome. Raul has the Aaronic Priesthood. I heard they are interested in getting sealed in Mexico. I hope (for my own selfish reasons) that they don't do that. ;)

All With Patience and Time

Hello friends and family.  So last week I told you all that I was going to be training!  Truth!  So this week, I got Elder Marchan.  He is from Guerrero Mexico.  He is 21.  He worked insane hours as a construction worker in Texas right before coming out.

  

I'm missing Elder Smith a lot.  I didn't realize before how much I fed off of him.  He was always on it, and I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting.  All with patience and time, right?

 

As a district (this is a cool one) in the past 2 weeks, we have found 41 new investigators.  September and October are going to be awesome for all of us.  In August, we might be able to squeeze in the Garcia's depending on her health, but it looks like September at the latest for them. We still have a lot of people that we aren't really sure what they are going to end up being.  It's kind of cool and terrifying all the same time.  We have all these people, and they could either tank or take off.  It'll be interesting.

 

Learned a lot about patience this week.  I've been thinking a lot about my trainer, Elder Flores, this week.  Being on the side of trainer is definitiely a different one than trainee.  I find myself asking, "what would Flores do?" a lot.  He was so perfect for me.  Just what I needed.  Actually, I think all my companions have been like that, so we'll see what Elder Marchan and I have waiting for us.  Looks like it will all work out well.

 

Love you all, sorry for the shortness.

Elder Christensen

p.s.  Just for you, Mom!

A Week Packed Full of Awesomeness!

Alrighty.  This week has been nuts.  This email will be short, but jam-packed full of awesomeness.  Let's get started.  Mom, HUGE thank you for the package!  Love the talks.  Thanks for those constant reminders of the ones that care back home.  Thank you to Dad for the awesome letters of advice.

 

HUGE congrats to Gioia Reni on her mission call to Italy Milan.  Hope to be hearing good things from you really soon.

 

Transfers:  I am STAYING!!  Elder Smith is gone.  That was really tough.  We have been together for 4 months (1/6 of a mission).  Kinda crazy when we thought about it like that.  His new companion is super super awesome.  He's a former zone leader and they are in an area that was started 2.5 months ago.  Elder Smith has been in really new areas his whole mission.  We had soooo much fun together. 

 

Companion:  I don't know who my companion is because....wait for it...I'M TRAINING!!  Ya Woo!  Super stoked about that.  The last time I trained was when I was with Elder Flores 7.5 months ago.  And in that case it only lasted for 2 weeks.  I'll pick him up tomorrow.

 

Baptisms:  Jaime DID get baptized!!  It was so fantastic.  It technically doesn't count as a baptism as far as the numbers we report, but we are very very excited about it.  When Elder Smith and I started this area, he was the ONLY guy that we would be able to have steady appointments with. 

 

AND...that's right...AND, Armando got married and baptized yesterday!  I was able to go and he was so happy.  Elder Flores baptized him.  Elder Flores has been in that same ward ever since I left.  He was there for almost 10 months.  Huge blessing there.  I feel like most of the loose ends from my Bel 2 days are all tied up now.

 

Area:  Garcias were super busy this week.  They are all still back and forth with what's going on with their whole situation.  Remember two months ago when I said that I had the best week of my mission with all those baptisms?  Well this past week was the second-best week.  On top of everything I have already shared, we were able to find 11 new people to teach this week.  That is by far the highest we have ever found in a week.  Hoping for some really good stuff out of this batch.

 

Love you all so much.  This was one of those weeks where everything just worked out.  Thanks for the love and prayers.  I send them all right back at ya.

 

Thanks again,

Elder Christensen