COWS

What a week. This week I got used to sleeping on the floor because I was on the floor three days for divisions and I had to get my visa again. So when I got home on Saturday night, I laid down in my bed, I don’t remember anything else until Sunday at 7 30 in the morning. That was a good sleep.

We had some crazy divisions; first, we got there in the country at about 9 40 at night and we got off the bus in the highway and we couldn’t see anything so we started walking using the cell phone and the star light as a guide. We found the elders in a house eating sopaipillas and talking with about 6 men. We went in and started talking and they invited us to lunch the next day because they had just killed a cow and wanted to have a BBQ with us!! It was awesome. So we went and did service with them and ate Cow freshly killed.

Then I went and biked 25 miles. Taught some lessons and it was a good time.

On the way back to the city we were waiting for the bus for about 30 minutes and it never came and then we saw our new friends who killed the cow and they stopped and took us to Melipilla in their truck it was cool.

We had a good month of March and now we have three baptisms planned for this Sunday during the conference. We are super excited for the work that is happening here in Melipilla.

Today I studied about Covenants and I liked it a lot. I learned that the Covenants that we make are the guides in our life. They tell us what God expects of us. For example, baptism. We promised, we covenanted, with God that we would take the name of Christ upon us and keep his commandments. So that is what God expects of us. As result of that we will have the Spirit to be with us.

I have been thinking a lot because people always ask if the church pays us to be here or if we are obligated to be here.  Fiscally no and we say no it is a service we choose to do. But spiritually I am obligated. I know that I made a covenant with My Heavenly Father to be here. I have always felt like I can’t leave the mission. But I never understood why. But I know that this is a promise between me and God and I will complete my part. I promised and I will complete with that promise. I am grateful to be here and for the blessings God has given me. I love you all.

Elder Christensen

                                     

MELIPILLA STRONG

We had changes this week but luckily I stayed here in Melipilla!! I am very thankful for that because it is too cool here. We have a family that is preparing to be baptized on the 6 of April so that will be cool and also we have a baptism this week with my good friend J L. 

J L has been going to church for about three months but he didn’t want to commit to be baptized. So we took a leap of faith to stop teaching him. It is hard to leave an investigator, seriously. But two weeks later he called us up and said “good Christensen y Felipe I want to be baptized this week”. Well he didn’t get baptized that week, but now he is ready.

I got to go back to El Mirador in Cerrillos yesterday because I had to stay in Santiago so I could renew my Visa.   I saw some families and it was really cool. I think you don’t understand how much you miss someone until you see them again. But I was happy yesterday. And today rocked! We waited in lines for like three hours, but lines are good to make friends so I talked with someone named L. She spoke English really well and wanted to practice. I told her that I wanted to send missionaries to visit her and she accepted. I know it is very simple but a little conversation can change everything. 

God is simple we are simple because we are his children. Saying hola or talking with someone in the street might just change their life, who knows?

God just hopes that we trust in him and he does the rest. We have got to learn to trust.

Now my goal is to not just change the people in my sector but this change I want to help the missionaries here. They are so great. I don’t think I have understood yet how faithful they are. I respect them and love them. But it is easy to say that but showing it is another thing.  I’m going to show this change. Melipilla is so great!

I am so happy for sister Christensen 1 y 2. They are so great.

 I love you mom and dad

Elder Christensen

J

We had a good week. We had some good lessons. I went to Bollenar and rode a bike for about 4 and a half hours-- that was so cool!! I have seriously decided that I do not want a car after the mission I just want a bike, it is much better.  I am excited to keep working.

We had a zone conference this week in San Antonion.   We got to go to the beach for the second time in my mission!! It was all misty and cold but we still took some cool pictures.

                                       

 We got up at 6 and left at 8 30 am and we got back and 8 30 pm. We learned a ton. What I liked the most is we talked about how simple the Doctrine of Jesus Christ is. We need to study and learn it so we teach the words of Christ and not our own words. In Predicad mi Evangelio (Preach my Gospel) Chapter 3 we have the Doctrine plain and simple. So I have  to study it everyday. It is simple and I feel like all the missionaries including myself felt like we already new that stuff but I started studying it again this week and I learn something every time. Maybe not a new fact, but my understanding is always getting better. I am thankful for the conferences that help me be better.

This week I think the biggest event will be Wednesday!!! When Sarah leaves!! I am so excited for her and I know that she will be an awesome missionary in England. I am so proud to my hermanita in the mission with me and the other Sister Christensen. Now I will have to say Sister Christensen 1 and sister Christensen 2. That is great!  Thanks for the Example sis. 

I love you all.  Keep working and serving others 

I love you mom and dad

Elder Christensen

Think of Christ

We had a pretty cool experience this week.   We went to teach one of our investigators named E about Tithing. I feel like as missionaries we sometimes are scared to teach the commandments because we don’t want to find the problems of our investigators. So we always wait until the end to teach them. But it shouldn't be like that because we have to help them repent before their baptism and they have to know the commandments to prepare themselves. Anyway, we went and started teaching about tithing and she said, “It is so obvious!! We have to pay tithing. When we pay tithing with a willing heart we receive double the blessings.”  Also, she loved the fast offerings, she said that we have so many blessings we have to share with the people who don’t have anything!!

                                         

That was a milagrito (a small miracle) She also came to church

I learned a lot from my studies today.  I learned about the light of Christ. As missionaries we work a lot with the light of Christ and the Power of the Holy Ghost because we try to create environments where people can feel and recognize the presence of the Holy Ghost. This should never be new for them because we all come from the presence of our Heavenly Father. We already know how it feels to be in his presence. So the Holy Ghost should be a familiar feeling. We should know it. So when we help people learn more about Christ they become more sensitive to what they already know.

Two little guys in a large shirt

                                     

Also I learned that the Adversity is a gift from God. He gives us trials so we trust him and have faith in him. We always come closer to God when we are in hard trials. We learn to really love him and trust him. I come to be more humble and to not only say, thy will be done, but mean it too. When we really come to love God we give up our own will and we unite ourselves with Gods will.

“I couldn't get Him out of my head. Still can’t. I spent three solid days thinking about Him. 

The more He bothered me, the less I could forget Him.  And the more I learned about Him, 

the less I wanted to leave Him” 

The more we think of Christ and learn of him our commitment to follow him until the end will increase.

I love you all thanks for all you do for me

I Love you Mom

Elder Christensen

Bus to Santiago

                                     

Who know what this is?

                                     

3:30

It is official! I broke a new record with my companion of getting up at the earliest hour in all of my mission. Yea we woke up at 3 30 AM. Why? 

Well we had a conference with all four missions in Santiago and as always it just happens to be very far away from us. We were going to travel to Santiago the night before so we could get to the meeting on time at 7 in the morning. But they told us the day before that we had to stay in Melipilla. What happened was that we woke up at 3:30 left at 4:20 to pick up the sister missionaries and took a bus with the whole zone at 5:15 to Santiago. Then we had a Reunion with Elder Evans of the seventy. It was super cool!! It started at 9 and ended at 5:20 in the afternoon. A ton of revelation!!!

I learned a lot of things but the most important things that I learned were that we need to search for the people that will build up the church such as families that can serve in callings and youth that will go on missions. We need to help the Lord in His work and not impede him. Also we need to focus on repentance before baptism and not just baptism. Because if people don’t repent they will not be able to receive the spirit they will have the confirmation but it won’t change them until they repent. And we have to help them get to the temple!

We are teaching an awesome family.  The dad is Chilean and the Mom is from Peru. They are reading the book of Mormon and they are such good people I want to help them so bad. They are our friends and they have their priorities based on the Family. The Family is the most important!

Elder Evans said that Salvation is personal but Eternal Life is a family matter because we can’t make it back to the celestial kingdom without the Family.

It was a good time

I love you all

Elder Christensen

Ps Sorry no fotos I forgot my camera