January 17, 2012 w/ pictures

Warning: From now until who knows when, I will no longer be able to write as long as I want or at my leisure. In my new area, the library only allows ONE hour with NO wiggle room :( I usually take an hour and a half to write so now I am really feeling the pressure. Anyway, I still love getting emails, but now I will only really be able to write one long letter to everyone and hand write everything else.

What a crazy week. Last Tuesday did not feel like P-day, so it seems like a long time since I got to relax for a minute. As you all know, last week was transfers. I spent the greater part of the day packing. I am now down south in San Diego County, specifically the Vista Stake. I cover two wards, the Vista 8th family ward and the Young Single Adult 6th ward. (Funny story, one of the guys in the YSA ward hit on me multiple times at BYU and now he is in my ward. Awkward!)

Anyway, my Orange County tiara has been officially knocked off. There are no more BMW's and Mercedes'. Now we have trailer parks and chickens. (Seriously, there are a bunch of chickens that crow every morning right near my apartment.) The people down here are way more humble and willing to listen. I am homesick for my old ward, but at the same time I am happy to have changed and am excited to see what I can learn down here. (One thing that scares me is that there are no street lights here and the roads are super curvy and thin...and slightly ghetto....like there are dirt roads that lead to broken paved roads that lead to big main roads......I am just not in the OC anymore ha).

My companion is Sister Allred. She is one transfer younger than me. She is a very good missionary. She has that missionary voice that I kind of refuse to have, but at the same time she has shown me that it's not a BAD thing to talk like a missionary. She is very obedient and is a great example to me. My first day here we had five appointments, back to back, which was exhausting but awesome too. While teaching, I really felt the Spirit speaking through me. I was saying things that I wouldn't have thought of myself and for some reason this is the first time I have really acknowledged that happening. It happens all the time, but making note of it was something I wanted to do. I really love that I feel like a good teacher. I cannot answer every question thrown at me, but I am not scared of teaching or giving my viewpoints.

On Thursday we kept busy getting to know the area. It's stressful being new here because I don't know everyone and I cannot really help get us around or decide what to do. I have to rely on my companion a lot and she's great so it's all good. We did contacting, had a fun dinner, and taught a couple lessons that night.

Friday was a LONG day of weekly planning. Once we finally got out of the house, it was not the best day. Just kind of ehh.

Saturday we spent visiting less actives and part member families. The weather was amazing and always helps make the day a little better. Unfortunately, because both of us are relatively new to the area, we got lost for an hour. Because we cover two wards, our area is a lot bigger and harder to find our way around. It was frustrating because we were wasting gas, miles, and it wasn't missionary work.

Sunday was busy busy. We had meetings from 8-11, then Church 11-1 and we went on splits so I went to the YSA ward and Sister Allred finished with the family ward, and then we finished Church at 4 and had dinner and a teaching appointment and another meeting. It was just, busy.

Monday we had district meeting. In my last area we had a total of eight missionaries in our district. Now we have like 14. It's a lot bigger and I don't really like it. I feel lost in the crowd. I just need to get used to it, but it will take some time. We did some service (helped clean the yard of a girl's trailer) and then we had dinner with a very nice and supportive family. We are going around teaching all the families about ward mission plans and creating their own "Family Mission Plan" (if you don't know what a ward mission plan is, you need to go talk to the missionaries in your ward haha). I am excited about it and hope to gain the trust of our ward and get them involved as much as possible.

I get stressed really easily, but overall it was a great week. I see a lot of potential here and I am excited to make new memories. We currently have about four investigators and two of them are pretty solid. I am excited about that. I hope all is going well for everyone! Party hard!!!

Love,
Sister Christensen

Goodbye Sister Rokobuli

Hello Sister Allred

January 10, 2012 with pictures

Hey all-

It was an insane week. Last week feels like a lifetime away. I don't even know where to start...

Hmm...well I am getting transferred. I have been here in RSM(Rancho Santa Margarita)/Mission Viejo for six months. It's my home. I am sad to go but excited to see more of the mission and meet different people. I found out I am going down to Vista - my companion, Sister Rokobuli, and I literally changed places. She was down there for six months in that ward. I also know who my companion is going to be......I am very interested to see how this one works out. I am two for two on awesome companions, but we'll see. I am senior comp, aka this girl is younger than me, and I still feel like a young missionary so I am nervous about that. Next week will be a whole different ball game.

My birthday was fantastic. I saw all the people I love and had four mini-celebrations. I guarantee I gained like 3-5 pounds with all the cakes and cupcakes I ate. I had Cafe Rio for lunch, which is my fav, and my companion totally surprised me with a balloon, cupcakes, and a really sweet letter. And she made me breakfast. She was awesome to me! Love her!

In terms of missionary work, it was great! An investigator I've been teaching for a while basically told me she will see me "sooner than later", aka she is really considering getting baptized! I would be so thrilled for her. She is great and I have really grown to love her.

We rode bikes on Saturday, which was so fun. I finally stopped caring about what I looked like and we stopped and talked to anyone and everyone while we rode around. The weather was amazing - seriously amazing. I love it here.

I spent all day Sunday and Monday saying goodbyes. It's totally bittersweet. I'll miss this area like crazy. It's all I know. Pray for me! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and love. Hope all is going well.

-Sister Christensen

January 3, 2012 with pictures

If I never had to live this week again, I would be a happy woman. It was the week of Heaven and Hell. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were fulll of cancellations, appointment changes, and frustrations. I am far too anal to be a calm and patient missionary when things like that happen. Friday night I was in tears with frustration and stress. Ahh! It was so not fun! It all had to do with the New Year and family being in town and people taking vacations and illness etc. But seriously, it was a trying start to the week.

Saturday was fun. We went on a breakfast picnic with two girls in our ward who love us. We went to a swamp called Froggy Pond. It had rope swings that we played on and hung out. I am sure somewhere, in some book, rope swings are against the rules, but whatever. It was fun. We had to come in at 630 because it was New Year's Eve and people are crazy. We watched a documentary on Gordon B. Hinckley which was good and then went to sleep! I woke up at 12:09 because people were lighting fireworks. And then I slept till 730. We didn't mean to sleep in so late, but we turned the alarm off and just kept sleeping. It was great. But later in the morning we realized that the lady we live with left the fridge open all night long and it ruined our food. No apologies either. That was slightly annoying. Church now starts at 11 for us, which was weird. We had two non-members show up which was awesome and they stayed for all three hours. We hope to teach them eventually. I wrote my New Year's resolutions too. Most of them are spiritual, aka, not measurable, but I'll be a missionary the entire year....sooo...yeah.

Monday was district meeting. We each had to write a talk on a Christ-like attribute we want to work on. Based on the previous week, you might be able to guess what I chose.....patience. There is a quiz in PMG (Preach My Gospel) that tests you on each of the attributes and I failed hardcore on patience. I made a plan to work on it. I had a bunch of quotes and questions that I will carry around with me and whenever I am getting frustrated or annoyed, I will try to calm down, ask myself the questions, and read the quotes. We'll see how it goes. We had some legit teaching last night so it was def. a good start to the week.

Friday is my birthday. For those of you who know me, I started celebrating last week. Today we are having district activity which I got to plan, so therefore it is a mini birthday party for muah. We are having a cake made up of Oreos and playing games of my choosing. And I am getting my nails done later today. I already have my whole birthday planned out and it should be fabulous. Don't worry all of you white-handbooks who are reading this, I am not taking the day off, we are just teaching the NICE non-members and less actives who will be good to me on the day of my birth :)

Sorry this is short and somewhat negative, but that's the roller coaster of missionary life. I say it like it is. I could be fluffy and talk rainbows and sunshine, but then I would be a liar and I am pretty sure that's against the rules. Ha. Joke.

Ok, have a wonderful first week of the new year. Party hard cause I won't be! Love you all.

pce and blessings.
pce and blessings.

-Sister Christensen

My district.

Ellie the Elephant, Oswald the Turtle, Garret the Carrot

Rope swingin!

December 27, 2011 w/ a picture

Wednesday: We spent the morning wrapping Christmas presents for a family in our ward who needed some extra help. It was lots of fun. That night we went to Candy Cane Lane with Jessica. It's a street where everyone has to deck out their house -- it's part of a contract when they move in. It was a fun Christmas adventure.

Thursday: We picked up a new investigator! Her name is Sherri. She is awesome and when we were talking to her, she quoted the Book of Mormon - meaning she totally read and understood what she read! We are excited. The day was super windy and cold so we mostly stayed indoors. All week we shared a Christmas message with all the families we saw.

Friday: Was long! I just wanted Christmas to be here. We did weekly planning, walked around and contacted for a couple hours, and taught Jess. Nothing special.

Saturday: Was the big mission-wide Christmas party! We drove down to Vista with Madsen and her comp. There was a devotional, lunch, a talent show, and a Sacrament meeting-esk program. I got a gross cold earlier in the week and it was the worst on Saturday. I was coughing up a storm and blowing my nose, which kind of put a damper on the party, but it's all good. We had Christmas Eve dinner with a really nice lady and then stopped by one of our favorite families to help leave out cookies for Santa.

Sunday: Christmas!!!! It was so great. We had Church from 9-10 and then presents! We got sooo many presents. The lady I live with emailed all our Relief Society to get money to buy us a ton of stuff. I got more this year than I have ever gotten in past years. It was overwhelming but so fun. We hung out with some of our favorite families and then got to make calls home at 3. I Skyped with my family! It was like I hadn't been gone. I already miss them again but it was great! We had a fabulous dinner and finished our evening helping a family pack for a trip to Utah. It was a great Christmas and I was surprisingly not homesick.

Monday: Was a pooper day. I was sick and grumpy. I had to start listing my blessings to my companion to remind myself that my life rocks and missionary work is awesome. It worked for the most part.

It was a quick week. I am def. sad that Christmas is over, but I still have New Years and my birthday to look forward to. January 7th my companion is going to need to pull me out of bed due to depression because I know I'll be bummed all the holidays are over. Such is life. But the Church is still true.

Party hard people! Love ya!
-Sister Christensen

December 20, 2011

What a week!!  It went amazingly fast. I'll start from last Wednesday:

Every week we visit a 94-yr-old lady named Dorothy. I adore her. She is still totally with it and has a hilarious sense of humor. She is always joking about the pioneer women and wonders how they went to the bathroom with all those loads of clothes on. She loves to see us and always gives us a big kiss when we leave. I want her to be my grandma! She says things like "it's colder than the Dickens in here" and "we thought she was getting shipped off to Timbukto" (about Madsen). She is just so funny.

Later that day we had interviews with President. Mine was maybe a total of five minutes. Basically he says, "Are you happy and healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually? yes? ok pce."  haha nothing too exciting. After interviews we went on sister exchanges. Madsen came into my area and I went into her area with her companion, Sister Coloumbe. Sister Coloumbe is from Quebec and has a thick French accent. I love it. I said something jokingly and she was like, "I don't know what that means but I think I agree" (in the thick accent), it was funny. I like her. I got to teach their investigator, Amanda, who was so fun and bubbly. She crochets and she made a carrot. I loved it so much that she gave it to me! I named him Garret the Carrot, or Garry for short.

Thursday was windy and cold. Coloumbe and I walked around and then went and did service for the Relief Society president. We did a couple member visits and then exchanged companions at three. Overall the exchange was good - I loved being in Madsen's area so I know where she lives and the people she works with. It made me happy.

When I got back to my area, we visited another older lady, Milda. She gave us a bunch of her clothes. Ha, she is so nice. She always tells us stories of her growing up and being a young mom. She loves to chat and we have fun listening to her. Later we went and shared a lesson with the Whitakers. They have three boys and the youngest is a girl. They are easily one of my favorite families because they are so fun and crazy. We also went and taught Rickie and Meg, which we do every Tuesday and Thursday night so that was same old.

Friday we had weekly planning. That night we had dinner with Jess and she got us Taco Bell. Previous to my mission I hadn't eaten Taco Bell in over two years, but Madsen loves it so we went a couple times. I rediscovered my love for Taco Bell, but Friday night I remembered why I swore it off. I was up till one a.m., totally sick to my stomach. It was awful! I still love Taco Bell (baja chicken chalupa, yes please), but I guess I have to pay the consequences for eating cheap food.

Saturday our ward had a bring-a-friend bike hike. We went for the lunch and got to talk to a couple non-members and hang out with the youth. It was so fun! I love being around the YM/YW (young men/young women). It makes me miss my teenage days and wish I had been better about missionary work when I had the chance. We did a whole bunch of contacting (walking around and hoping to run into people to talk to about the gospel) and then we went to a convert baptism. I love convert baptisms. The Spirit is always so strong and it's awesome to see someone change their entire lives for what they know to be truth. She was previously at Saddleback, which is the huge church around here that everyone belongs. We always, always, always run into Saddleback people, which a lot of times end up being bashers. Her baptism was great and in January we will get to teach her the new-member lessons!

Sunday we had Church. A guy gave us a couple hundred boxes of granola bars and cereal so we went around and gave some out to people in the ward. We had a fun dinner with some young couples in the ward and then we went to the Evert's and wrapped Christmas presents. She played some Celine Dion Christmas music which made me miss home, but I loved it! I love Christmas!

Monday was bomb. We had an awesome district meeting. Rokobuli and I made a missionary Jeopardy game to play and the elders had fun being competitive. Later in the day we went contacting and shared a Book of Mormon with a really nice girl. We exchanged numbers and hope to follow up with her. At dinner, there was a non-member. I decided to be sneaky and teach her by asking a bunch of questions to her son-in-law who knows a ton about the gospel. I love secretly teaching people haha. Later, we tracted an apartment complex and shared another Book of Mormon with a really nice girl who was recently invited by a Mormon guy to go to a Mormon party. It made me so happy! We finished the night teaching Jess and baby Oliver which is always fun. It was a great Monday!

All week we have been teaching people about the birth of our Savior and about the real meaning of Christmas. It's been an educational experience for me. I love that as a missionary, my focus isn't on getting people the best gifts, but on what the Savior's birth meant to the world. We can overcome every temptation or trial because that little baby boy was born into the world to take upon him the sins of the world. He makes up the difference for us because we cannot do it ourselves. There is a talk by Elder Holland that I love and use as a motivator when I am down. This is a little excerpt from it:
When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing in the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Heavenly Father's gift to us was His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's gift to us was the atonement. All week we have been asking people what their gift will be this Christmas to our Savior. That is my challenge to you. Take is seriously, evaluate your life and set a goal to change in a positive way as your gift to our Savior.

Love you all! Merry Christmas!!!

December 13, 2011 w/ pictures

Man, I was so grumpy this week! Me being grumpy = me having a very pessimistic view on the week so bear with me - there will be some good in this post, I promise! On Wednesday and Thursday we had a lot of cancellations and schedule changes. For those of you who know how anal I am, it drove me nuts. We did some service building bookshelves, which was fun, but otherwise Wed. and Thur. were a bust.

On Friday, we had our ward Christmas party. You would think that would be a highlight and fun but you would be wrong. There was a guy there who always pokes fun at me but sometimes takes it too far. He totally loves me and just doesn't realize how sensitive I am. He kept going and going and finally I burst out in tears and had to leave the party early. I couldn't stop crying! It was embarrassing and my poor companion felt so bad and it was just awful. I hate crying to begin with and I hate that I can't stop myself from crying....so another bust.

Saturday was good though. We rode bikes! Talk about humility -- I had an ugly helmet on, in a skirt (which kept getting caught in the brakes so I had to tuck it into my g's) and we stopped and chatted with people with sweat running down our faces and out of breath. Ha. We looked like such dorks but I don't mind. My companion literally did not make it up a single hill...she had to stop and walk. I am mean and wanted the workout so I left her behind and rode up the hills and would go back and check on her. Later in the afternoon, we helped clean a house (which I love cleaning and organizing so that was fun). We had an amazing dinner and then went to a Christmas choir concert called "Sing Noel" -- it was really cute and fun. We sat with some other missionaries who are hilarious and always make me laugh so it helped ease my grumpiness. Also, throughout the week we helped decorate three Christmas trees. I hardly ever even helped decorate my families' Christmas tree, so it was fun to do three and see the different ways people like to do their trees.

Sunday is always busy busy with Church and meetings. We had a yummy dinner and went to Sing Noel again. This time we sat almost front row, which made it totally different and still fun. It helped bring the Christmas spirit!

Monday was rainy and cold. And rainy. We had a good district meeting, had a couple member visits, and taught three recent converts/less actives. I like keeping Monday busy because it's the day before P-day (P-day's eve) and it will feel 100x longer if we don't keep busy.

This seems really short and without much "spiritualness" so I'll add some. For personal study, I am reading "Jesus the Christ". It is huge and hard to read, but I really like it. If you want something to do in your free time, read chapters 16 and 17. I am only up to chapter 18, but 16 and 17 were probably two of my favorites so far. We have what we call a "study journal" where we add any insights, quotes or scriptures to each day. I love it because it's so organized and I have a place to record everything. Anyway, when I am reading, I always find such good little insights that help put together pieces and allow me to feel like I know Jesus Christ on a more personal level. It's a legit book, but you def. need a dictionary when you read.

Hope all is well. pce out.
-Sister Christensen

December 6, 2011 w/ pictures

The title of this email will be "Christmas kickoff"! The members we were eating with last night told us that December 1st they always have a party and decorate and eat a nice meal and they call it Christmas kickoff -- although there was no big party or fancy meal for us, everything we have been doing this week has been somewhat related to Christmas and I love it!

I'll start with last week - I got a new companion, Sister Rokobuli, from Fiji! I was crying like a little girl all the way to transfer meeting and when President called my name, I was not smiling or happy...but then Sister Madsen got called to Aliso Creek ward --- in my zone and in our Church building! We see them at the very least, every Tuesday and Sunday!!!  haha, the tears turned to happy tears because now she is not tooo far away and I can still see her. I love it.

Sister Rokobuli is awesome. She attended BYU-Hawaii and used to dance at the Cultural Center. She has three brothers and two sisters. She is the youngest, but the first to serve a mission in her family. Yesterday she paid me the nicest compliment - she was like, "My whole mission I have never felt so happy or comfortable" --- her other companions were white hand book status, which means they left their personalities at the door and are ridiculous about following the rules. I try really hard to balance my personality with being obedient, but hear you me, I will NEVER be a white hand book. I refuse. On Thursday I gave her the speech which I also gave Sister Madsen, that we WILL laugh and we WILL have fun. It's quite an inspiring speech if I do say so myself. Ha, that was a joke.

Anyway, Wednesday and Thursday were rough because I missed Madsen, but I did a lot of praying and surprisingly didn't break down once. All day Wednesday and Thursday were spent handing out fliers for a Christmas program called "Follow the Star" that our stake puts on every year. It's a live nativity with real animals that is performed outside. Inside is hot chocolate, cookies, and the life of Christ depicted in art and scripture. It's a reallyy big deal. People have been talking about it since I got here in July! It was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. I got to see Madsen all three nights which was legit.

As promised, "Follow the Star" was awesome. It stirred up the Christmas spirit in me. I had a light bulb moment where I realized that Jesus was born - our Savior and Redeemer - to humble Mary and Joseph in a stable with yucky animals all around --- I don't know why it hit me so hard, but I was so happy and excited. I have a new appreciation for this time of year. On Sunday, my companion and I got to play the role of Mary!! It was so fun! I got to be pregnant and then hold the baby Jesus and sit in a stable. When walking back, the crowd was taking pictures and one guy was like, "My daughter wanted to meet Mary and baby Jesus." It was so cute! See pictures.

Also on Sunday, our investigator came to Church for the first time while we have been teaching her. I was so happy she was able to make it. Sundays are crazy at Church because everyone talks to us and we have a million meetings and appointments to set so it's really chaotic, therefore I didn't get to talk to her to see how it went, but according to B. Thatcher, she said it was good! We are seeing her tomorrow so I am stoked.

Everything is going well here in sunny California. The Church is still true. I am working little by little each day to increase my faith and dedication to the Lord. I saw a quote the other day that said something along the lines of, "Some blessing come now, some blessing come late and some blessing don't come until Heaven, but for those who follow Jesus Christ, the blessings will come." I loved it because sometimes I expect instantaneous blessing because I am doing what's right, but I just gotta be patient. I love the people I have gotten to meet and the different ways my testimony has been strengthened. The saying stands true, this might not be the best 18 months OF my life, but it is the best 18 months FOR my life.

Love you all! PCE!
-Sister Christensen

Goodbye Sister Madsen! I love you!

My new companion

The nativity scene. The lighting is bad, but you can see the three wise men (two were elders in my district), a sheep, a horse, and a donkey.

Me, Joseph, and baby Jesus