Hey everybody!

I'm really tired.  it's just one of those days I guess.  The ones where you feel more like getting a giant mug of hot cocoa and curling up on the couch to watch whatever's available, in this case probably the district or the testaments, and shutting out the rest of the world.  it's a good thing it's P-day I guess, but the desire for complete selfishness is probably not okay with the whole "giving your whole heart might mind and strength" thing. so the cocoa is probably out. bummer.

this week was pretty crazy.  the drunk lady called us on monday and she was completely sobor!  apparently after we helped her out on friday ( we had basically done all we could, went and found all her pictures of her kids in the basement for support, told her we can't help her come closer to God until she makes some decisions and left. ) she had loved being able to see her kids and think about how much she loved them, but crazy story--when we were with her she didn't know if she could physically quit.  been to rehab twice right?  wanted divine help, found it hard to feel anything.  she tried to pray and ended up getting extremely sick, to the point that she couldn't eat or drink anything for three days, and by the time she was sobor was too afraid to drink.  we had a really good lesson with her on thursday after she had gotten her hair done and gone to the doctor where she prayed clear headed with us for the first time and the spirit was strong.  but she is still struggling really bad.  after that it has been really hard to find her off the couch, she's been eating so little and the meds the doctors gave her put her to sleep really well. sowe've just been praying for her.

I also got to work on the other side of the harbour this weekend, as there was a concert in saint john and my comp was gone. there is a lot of people over there, and it's really intimidating!  I'm used to tiny towns, trying to street contact and talk to people when there are litteraly thousands around is really weird. there are also a lot of cats, and I got to pet a few members' cats.  one looked an awful lot like sophia, and one looked almost exactly like blair!  good times. 

well I love you.  I know the book of Mormon is true, and that God loves all of his children.  I have read it, and I have prayed and received a witness that it is true.  Christ is our savior, and if we turn to him he will help us.

sister christensen

today I am writig this letter to a chorus of crying babies. 

I seriously should be recording this, it's phenomenal!  haha just kidding.  but it is funny when in a public library crazy things happen.  I always feel bad for the mothers who are caught in the awkward situation after they fall or pinch their fingers in doors.   at least there isn't a cranky person here today  like the one guy in newfoundland,  if he get's irritated about keyboards one can only assume the discord of an upset child in his midst.

anyway.

this letter is about missionary work isn't it?  well it certainly has been going this week I don't know if the adjective for it is good or well, or bad but it's going.  we have a few new investigators after a long time of searching, which is always satisfying, and leads to some good stories.

we have been meeting a girl who is catholic, and really actively catholic, goes to all the women's organizations, helps wtih the alpha course, voulenteers in the youth programs, and has a lot of friends that inspire her right now who are busy with evangelical persuits, serving in other areas of the country and in halifax.  She is involved! and sometimes really hard to get ahold of, but we really enjoy meeting with her because she genuinely has questions and sometimes our conversations are really interesting.  one time we were talking about prophets in the Bible, and how there are verses in acts and ephesians and other places that prophecy about there being modern prophets and we were talking about it, and she read a verse and said " so that basically said there will be prophets in our day, and they'll lead us." 

          "how do you feel about that idea?"

          "well, it makes sense.  i believe that's true.  I wonder why my (insert the name of apropriate church teacher here) doesn't teach us about that."

          "Kathy, it's because  they don't believe in modern prophets."

          "Huh! really?  that's weird, well i'm going to have to ask him about that!"

          And so on.  she really loves the Book of Mormon, and when she has read it and when she reads it with us she treats it like it's really the word of God but then also tells us all of the things she likes about catholicism!  she taught us how to pray the rosary and explained a few other things that I didn't really understand about catholicism before.  which is nice and interesting, but we're having a fun time noticing the differences in learning and liking something and spritiually feeling that it is true.  we know that it takes commitment and trying things out, praying about them and seeking to know from God that it is true.  it reminds me a little of the principle taught by Adrian Ochoa in his talk Look Up. we can know the truth from it's author, even God.

Another person we've been meeting with has been a really interesting find.  when we first met her she was acting a little funny, and after learning about her history of six concussions we couldn't decide if the weirdness was the invariably absent alcohol or brain injuries.  i was naive at first and wanted to believe she could make choices to learn and was just having problems, but we soon found that she is just drunk.  which is a bummer!  she really connects to a desire to be clean and free, but then you read a scripture from alma 36 about repentance and she gets caught on the words and randomly changes subjuect to eye color mid conversation.  it is almost comical, sometimes you could laugh if it wasn't so sad.  needless to say I have learned that addictions are real, and more than that they are really one of the tools that satan uses to bind us with chains of death.  when we are under the influence of something to the point that we cannot focus enough to make choices, and are too far from the influence of the spirit of God which tells us we can, we are indeed in a miserable state. without it she doesn't feel that there is a way out, because there is a constant stream of self doubt and physical addiction clogging the channel to communication with the Lord, and until she realizes that she needs divine help she cannot receive it.

so it is with us.  sometimes we do stupid things, not always as dumb as alcohol addiction, but that still require the assurance of a loving God, and the redeeming power of our Savior.  are we willing to face reality and come to the knowledge as Mormon taught that all things that are negative and distructive come from evil influence, and that all things that are good are from God? (Moroni 7: 11-15)  it doesn't mean everything we do is wrong, but if there is conflicting feelings in our hearts then it will require some self examination to see if we are willing to do what it takes to seek the right. myself included.

other than that I don't really have anything new or exciting to report, 

well I love you all and think of you all the time. 

enjoy your holidays and keep it classy!

Sister Christensen

so I don't have a ton of time this week but I will tell you that I have been learning about faith and that it is the first principle of the gospel for a reason!

 

moroni 10: 7 talks about how it is by faith that God works by power through the children of men, and that faith is something that can change not only our hearts but circumstances and conditions, and makes things better!  we can do it if we have faith. 

 

ether 12:6

Hebrews 11:1

Alma 32: 23-end'

 

are all good ones.

 

I love you all and really appreciate all that you do for me!

 

You're the best

 

Sister Christensen

The letter below are in reverse order.  The most recent post is the letter from the 21st of October.

huh, huh, I have already written like five emails.  this is exciting but my mind is jumbled so who knows if this is going to come out in a coherent manner.

this week!  lots of things happened.

we had steak conference last sunday, and all the missionaries from the metro came and we had a big missionary party (not but it was fun to see familiar faces in the crowd.) we heard lots of talks, including one about running perseverance and obedience.    

we said goodbye to sister broadhead who was our Sister Training Leader, as she is going to Corner Brook Newfoundland to train and be the STL there.  she was lots of fun to work with, and as a goodbye we spent last pday doing random fun things like wearing jeans and climbing the wave on the waterfront and donating blood.  I have pictures!  but I didn't actually donate because I've been getting over a cold and they disqualified me.  one of the sisters that we were with had a bad reaction because they hit the nerve, and that was fun.  in the end only one of us donated, ( my companion) and we left triumphant (of sorts).

we taught lots of people, mainly less active members and recent converts, all of our investigators seem to have dropped off the face of the earth for a while.  kind of scary but they have the choice and I can only cross my fingers and pray that they do what is right and read their scriptures.

I randomly lost my camera halfway through the week, because we were raking leaves in a members yard after having borrowed their rake to serve other people, and was super sad about it for a while.  but then it randomly showed up in the Dartmouth sister's apartment and i have no Idea how it got there.  none.  i think it may have apparated. 

I think of you guys all the time, I hope you are well and enjoying life and spreading the gospel to every creature.  here's a scripture:

"but thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for the Mighty God shall deliver his people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contend with thee."

2 nephi 6:6-13.

like jacob, I love the words of Isaiah, and know that the promises of the Lord are real, and that he does walk with us and fight with us when we engage in his work.  never forget the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

I love you all, Be righteous,

Sister christensen

Hey everyone!

It is this time of the week again.  I really love to hear from all of you but man there are a lot of weeks in a year!  I've written a lot of these weekly emails.

so gather my thoughts time.  It has been a pretty interesting week, one the members' daughters was baptized this week, so it was amazing to have the opportunity to go and invite people we're meeting with. I just love the spirit at baptisms, and one of the recent converts we've been working with gave one of the talks, and it was the first one she's ever given since being baptized herself, and I have to say I was pretty proud despite the fact that she is like thirty years older than me.  it is always great to see people who've found the gospel continue to live it and love it.  it is just another witness to me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. 

other interesting things that happened, three more people accepted meeting with us, which is always somewhat gratifying.  it is also interesting to me that so many people try to be so tolerant that they refuse to believe that there could possibly be a single universal truth when it comes to Faith in God and religion.  being spiritual is great, and I do sincerely believe that everyone at some point in their lives has a relationship with their father in heaven, but the fact that there is one answer when it comes to how to return to live with him isn't going to change no matter how much we want to accept everyone for their nuances. Ephesians says there is one Lord one faith and one baptism.  God wouldn't go through the trouble of having a plan of salvation if we could choose multiple routes back home.  it is funny to me that people let us in to have a spiritual chat but don't really intend on listening to what we have to say, neither in their minds nor in their hearts.  but I am rambling.

point is the atonement is for everyone, but it really does work through God's authorized channels.  anyway.  it isn't like I don't talk about this stuff all day.

uhhm, the weather has been getting colder, but I've been alright, I just wear my tights and coats.  everyone here thinks I am weird, because I never take my coat off.  I just tell them I am always cold.  because it's true.  why does the church have the air conditioning running in November WHY???

so that and I have made commitment to my companion to trust her and be on fire about the work.  so we will see how this goes.  

other than that I don't really have anything really different or interesting to say... we have knocked a lot of doors, and met a lot of people... some are nice... some aren't... the east coast is beautiful... we're going to try to cook lobster soon, probably next monday... I need to buy more bread... life is lifey.

Keep reading the scriptures and Keep it real Y'all!   Christ is our savior.

I'm still working on some seriously belated letters, to you people in college and africa.  I think about you a lot.

anyway I love you all,

Sister Christensen