The last 6 weeks ... and the first 6 weeks

 mini mission with Diana

 ward Halloween party with Nigel, our skeleton frog

These are honestly 5 of the best elders I have ever served around. They have gone above and beyond for us these last 6 weeks. And Juju in the background is really cute.

Things have gotten a little interesting here in Los Altos. Let me explain.

Last Monday Hermana Johnson and I were at the mall, just enjoying P-day, when we sat down for a minute to rest. That was when the phone rang. I looked at it, saw it was the assistants, and said "I think this one's for you" and handed the phone to Hermana Johnson. However after about 30 seconds the phone got handed back to me. That was when Elder Sowards told me I would be training a new missionary next transfer, and to be at the office at 8 am the next morning for the trainers meeting. I was honestly shocked, mostly because I have been in the area longer, and I'll finish my mission in 6 weeks, so I won't be finishing her training. It's a strange thought, but I'm trying not
to focus on it.

We tried to keep the rest of the week as normal as possible. At the trainers meeting I again was told by Hermana Villanueva to rest as much as possible before Monday so we still had to take it pretty slow. But there were some bright moments.

Mini mission: this week we took advantage of the car, and Diana, the branch president's daughter's desire to serve a mission, and had a mini mission with her. The way it worked was we picked her up in the early morning and had studies with her, and then went out and worked until about 4. She was exhausted by the end, but had a great time. We felt bad, because it was one of those days where no one was home all day long, so we only had 2 lessons, but it was okay. As we told her later, it was a pretty accurate day in the mission. The best part, she still has a burning desire to serve. This kid is my favorite.

Lessons: this week we had a few really cool lessons, well really experiences with the Spirit. The first was with a woman named Alondra. We had a pretty good lesson with her, nothing special really, but at the end she told us how she had been feeling so down during the day, as if no one actually loved her, and so she decided to pray, and
immediately after we texted her to see how she was doing. It was such a small thing, but to her it was the answer to her prayer. Then, on Sunday, a man just walked in off the street to church. His name is Roger, and because he lives in Hacienda Heights and wants to come to a Spanish branch, (he speaks fluent English and Spanish), we grabbed him and had a quick lesson. His back story is absolutely crazy, I'll tell it in full detail a little later, but he has the desire and is searching for the gospel. We set him on date for the 26th of November, but we might move it up. We'll see.

Ward trunk or treat: it was so fun! It was combined with the English ward and I think they all underestimated how many people would come. We were in charge of counting everyone and we got in between 160 and
170. Possibly more. I had a couple close calls, we have learned from sad experience that I need to eat 3 meals a day and not be on my feet or in stressful situations for too long right now, my head gets a little funny. But I got through it, and it was worth it because we got to hear the transfer news in person instead of getting a phone call. The verdict is, both of us will be staying here! I will still be training, but Hermana Johnson will also be here. We're not entirely sure yet how it will work, but it will be fun. And it probably means that Hermana Johnson will finish my trainee's training. It certainly brought a lot of peace. In other news both the elders will be staying the same, though we are losing Elder Bentley and Elder Pao from the English ward. It's going to be a good 6 weeks!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Christensen

Lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs

 Chick-fil-a after the hospital

sleep over

Disclaimer right from the start, this is going to be a long one. I've attached some pictures at the end, and so if you don't want to read everything, check those out and then scan for anything that interests you. Also I'm not being disobedient, we went to the temple this morning, and so P-day was changed.

Our week last week started out pretty well. We had interviews with our mission president (by the way, he says hi, mom and dad) and then we went to get our bikes at the church and bike to dinner. We hadn't even made it 10 minutes up the street on our bikes though when a wrench was thrown in the fan. Only it wasn't a wrench, it was a rock, and it wasn't a fan, it was my front tire, and I went down hard. My companion ran back, and dragged me and my bike out of the road with some help from a very sweet couple that stopped to help. We called our zone leaders for help, and the asked if we could get ourselves up to the church, which we did, where they met us with dinner (as our dinner appointment was now out of the question). It turns out a member had given them enough food for about 10 people (there are 3 of them) and so they shared with us. The best part though was the chocolate cake. Normally I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake, but this cake had caramel throughout, whipped cream frosting and toffee crumbles on top. After a traumatic incident it probably saved my life.

The next morning (Wednesday) we thought I had gotten away pretty easy. I was fairly stiff had sore, had some minor scratches on my hands, some pretty bad road rash on my elbow and knee, and various bruises. We were grateful because it could have been so much worse. We were ready to go about our day as normal until studies. As I tried to study, I had a pounding headache, I was dizzy and nauseous and I couldn't focus on anything. My companion made me call the nurse, who told us that we should get to a hospital as soon as we could. So eternal shout out to Hermana Maldonado who came and dropped us off at the hospital in Glendora so I could get checked out. And it turns out I must have hit my head (I thought I hadn't for a while, but I did eventually find a sore spot) and probably blacked out for a second, and successfully gave myself a minor concussion. So lots of rest and fluids and no driving, bike riding, or deep thinking for me for the next few weeks. Fortunately for us the hospital was right down the street from Chik-fil-a (benefits of serving in an area for 6 months, you know where all the good stuff is) and so we got lunch before hopping on a bus home. And a shout out goes to our elders for buying us a dozen donuts and 4 bottles of Gatorade to help with our confinement to the apartment.

Life has been pretty quiet since then. I keep being stubborn and trying to work harder than I should, and so Hermana Villanueva finally laid down the law and said rest on the days we don't have the car (basically dinner appointments and nothing else) and then I can take it easy on the days we have the car. Wednesday morning was probably my lowest point. That was when Hermana Villanueva called, just as we were on our way to district meeting. I just felt so useless. My mindset was sort of if I can't teach then what's the point of being a missionary?I spent a good portion of my day reflecting, just trying to make sense of it all. After talking through a lot with my companion and spending some time talking to Heavenly Father through prayer, I have come to the conclusion that there are other ways to serve, and I can still serve even if it's at a lower capacity than normal.

That was all reconfirmed this morning sitting in the temple. I love the temple. It is the house of the Lord. The first thought that entered my mind when I entered the Celestial room and that has still stayed with me is 'it's all going to be okay. Don't worry. Trust me, and it will all be okay.' There I could feel an overwhelming sense of peace and love, as well as the Lord's approval. It was amazing.

The temple trip itself was out of the ordinary. Sister Rozsa, the stake president's wife took us up, and she got permission for us and 4 other sisters to sleep over at her house the night before, so we didn't have to be up so ridiculously early. Then this morning before heading out we made a quick stop at the church to pick up 3 more sets
of missionaries making the grand total 13 missionaries and Sister Rozsa all in a 15 passenger van. There were donuts to share, great hymns and great times. It was certainly an experience.

And so there it is! The latest events in our lives. I will be writing again on Monday, and it should be a short one, there probably won't be that much to report. I love you all! Thank you for all of the love and support you give me. Stay safe out there!

Two conferences is better than one!

 Women's conference with friends

 Exchanges with Hna Schmutz

 We bought matching Harry Potter t-shirts. We are two peas in a pod.

This week we were blessed with not only having General Conference but also zone conference! We spent so much time at the stake center it felt like we had moved in. But it was amazing! It was all such a spiritual high.

It all started with the Women's Session last Friday. We ended up watching it in Spanish (fun fact the conference was showed in 4 different languages at our stake center, English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean). The spirit was so strong. I especially loved President Uchdorf's talk at the end. I love how he emphasized that we need to keep going, to the last door on the last floor. It really stuck with me. As some of you might know, this is my second to last transfer as a missionary, (meaning I'll be home in early December) and I've begun to reflect on my mission. Something I have learned though is the principle of enduring to the end. It doesn't matter what I have done earlier, it all depends on how I finish, and I plan on finishing strong!

The next conference was zone conference. It was honestly one of the best that I have attended. We learned about a new goal for the mission, to have a White Christmas, or to have every missionary companionship baptize in the month of December. It's an exciting goal, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I also really loved the part taught by our zone leaders. They taught about the Atonement and sacrifice, especially the sacrifices that need to be made as missionaries. There's a quote by James E. Faust that says, "Everything has a price. There is a price to pay for success, fulfillment accomplishment and joy. There are no freebies. If you don't pay the price that is needed for success you will pay the price of failure." That is a price that needs to be paid daily. As missionaries we need to put more wants and desires aside and focus on what the Lord wants, and let our will be swallowed up in His. It's not easy but it's worth it.

Finally General Conference! It was amazing! A pattern I noticed this year was a return to the basics. Talks were about the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the Doctrine of Christ, which are the first things we teach as missionaries. There were also talks about various Commandments, especially prayer. It's hard for me to pick out what my favorite talk was because there were so many good ones. I loved Elder Rasband's, President Nelson's and Elder Oaks'. They are all worth studying again.

So it was an amazing week. We are still talking to everyone and are beginning to see the fruits of it. Also, coming this week, we are beginning a car share with our elders! So I'm back in the driver's seat, at least for the time being. It should help a ton, especially with getting members in lessons. It's harder to say no when you offer to pick them up.

Have a great week!

Hermana Christensen

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it

 1. How many missionaries does it take to put 2 bikes on a bike rack?

 2 and 3. Ice cream and Korean barbecue. Yes that is squid Robert is cooking.

 4. The baptism!

 5. Claudia and us in our folklórico outfits. 

A traditional dance from Mexico estado de Morelos, which is just south of Mexico City. We're pretty easy to spot. We later received comments like: 

"You danced so beautifully!" 

"Son casi mexicanas! (You are almost Mexican)" 

And my personal favorite: 

"You should have been born in Central or South America, that's why you went to a Spanish speaking mission." 

This week had a lot of highs and lows. Basically we were on a rollercoaster to whole time. But here we are at the end and all is well. Here are the highlights... 

Bike troubles (because always) 

 We made the mistake of thinking that we were out of the woods when it came to bike troubles this week, only to be hit by a flat tire on Tuesday, a flat tire on Friday, (making our grand total of flat tires this transfer 5) and another trip out to the bike shop in Monrovia for Hermana Johnson's derailer. Funny story actually. We had gotten off our bikes to walk across a cross walk, and crossing the first street was fine, and then as we were crossing the second street, la bicicleta se explotó. The derailer was actually touching the back tire and the chain was all over the place. We called our zone leaders, who have a car and a bike rack, and begged them to take our bikes to the church for us because it was impossible to ride, or really walk them. They came, and were in a trio, so picked us up as well and gave the bikes a ride back to our apartment and us a ride back to the church. Putting the bikes on the bike rack was a little sketchy because they didn't have any bike bars, but they all made it back on one piece. And thanks to Hermana Borrayo we made it Monrovia and back without too much trouble. 

Familia Cruz! 

Now for one of the biggest miracles I have ever seen on my mission. My first time here in La Puente a man named Jeferi was baptized along with his cousin. A few weeks ago Jeferi's wife daughter and son arrived from Honduras. The elders have been teaching them and this week everything fell into place. Wednesday was the signing of the marriage papers, held in the branch president's office, but they let us come anyway, Thursday was the baptismal interview and Saturday was the baptism! Let me just say, I love this family. I have adopted Claudia and Justin as my little brother and sister, and I love Lydia and Jeferi just as much. It was such a blessing to see the change in each of them, to see Claudia become happier and more confident, Justin a little less crazy, and Lydia just more secure and happy. They are already planning their temple sealing in a year, which is amazing that they already understand that that is the end goal. Also Lydia is an amazing cook. Just saying. 

Cultural adventures

We had quite a few cultural experiences this week. Tuesday Robert and Darlene, two of my favorite members treated us to Korean barbecue. They way it worked is it was all you can eat, and they would bring you three plates of meat at a time and you would cook it yourself on a little grill on the table and then eat it with rice and rice paper. Well, we got our money's worth. 16 plates of meat worth in fact. Then afterward they took us out for ice cream, to a place called Afters, which has all sorts of ice cream flavors, the cookie butter is excellent, and make ice cream sandwiches out of warm donuts. It was delicious, and I don't know if I have ever been so full in my life. Then later in the week was the Cultural celebration! It included food of every type imaginable, and traditional dances from many of the Central and South American countries. And this year we got to participate. It was honestly one of the funnest nights of my life. I love how rich Latino culture is, and how open they can be about sharing it.  

Transfers 

Now the last bit of news, another transfer has past. The good thing is Hermana Johnson and I are staying together! Also Elder Chavarria is training and Elder Pugh is off the be a zone leader in East LA. Elder Pao is now our district leader, but he is in a trio with the zone leaders. Also we now have Chinese sisters in our zone! That's about it transfer wise, and here's to a new one! 

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it. 

This morning Darlene asked me if I could serve my mission again would I do it. I thought about it for a minute, and I said yes, a million times over yes. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I don't think it's worth it. Missionary work is just that, work, and sometimes it's not very rewarding. But then I think about small moments, like giving one of the hermana's a hug, or a small child a high five, or when my eyes well up to see the smile on someone's face after they are baptized, or to feel the spirit so strongly it brings you to tears during a lesson. Those are the moments that mean everything. The mission call letter states "Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children." I love that sentence for so many reasons. This mission has brought me to my knees in prayer more times than you could imagine. It has brought tears to my cheeks, both tears of sadness and tears of joy and gratitude. I have arrived at home, at the point of collapsing physically, but with a heart full and ready and willing to keep on going. This is a labor of love, and love is what keeps me going each day. Love for my family, love for the people, and most importantly love for the Lord. And so yes, it is all worth it. 

Hermana Christensen

A picture's worth a thousand words.

I find myself fairly emotionally exhausted this week, which means that I don't quite have the energy to write a long weekly e-mail. And so instead here is a bunch of pictures from the week and a few short explanations.

 

Exchanges with Sister Ashby! I got to see my old roommate Sister Duncan!

 We spent a good amount of time walking this week so we experimented with sun hats.

 

Friday night farmers market, we never miss the chance for a good elote.

 We were celebrating Hermana Johnson's year mark with our branch president and his family. It was so fun.

 

My desk is usually a good reputation of how my mind is feeling. I was pretty done about halfway through the week. It got better though.

 

The continuing saga of the bike trouble. This was on the way to the bike shop to get it fixed.

 

The Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple we visited this morning.

A humorous bumper sticker.

Have an awesome week! 

I do all that for this‏

 Ashley and I at her birthday dinner

 Bowling

 Sometimes your third flat tire of the week leaves you stranded at a bus stop, but it's okay because there is hot chocolate at home.

 Yuri's baptism!

She was really really happy I promise. We just cannot get the girl to smile or look at the camera.

All I can really say is that it's been one of those weeks. Hermana Johnson and I were basically at the end of the rope this week. But some General Authority said "When you're at the end of your rope tie a knot and hold on!" So we held on, with a lot of help from a lot of different people, and we saw the blessings of it.

Last week ended with the birthday dinner for Ashley, Lorena's s the usual carne and other meats asada, and then a cake. The food was really good, as usual, the problem was that we had eaten lunch only a few hours before. Shout out to Elder Pugh for finishing his own plate and Hermana Johnson's and mine when we failed. The boy can eat. The over eating was all worth it though, to see Ashley get so excited about the simple things like getting her face stuffed in the cake, and opening her present from us, a piggy bank and stickers from the dollar store. It was so sweet.

Monday was fun, we went bowling with the elders and some of our ward missionaries. We learned three things 1. Elder Pugh is really good at bowling. 2. Elder Chavarria is very competitive and doesn't like to lose. Especially at bowling. 3. I am spectacularly bad at bowling. I probably had the most fun though because I flat out didn't care about the game. What can you do.

And that's when the crazy started. The main reason for the crazy would be our primary source of transportation: the bikes. We got a record of 3 flats with some other random problems thrown in there within like 4 days, so that was fun. Hermana Johnson managed to pop both of her tires somehow, I popped my front one, her chain got wonky, and my front wheel got busted, so we had to replace that. It was as much of a nightmare as it was an enormous headache. Thank goodness for the elders who brought us rubber cement (twice), random members who helped us out, and the fairly decent bus system to get us where we needed to go. Hermana Johnson is convinced that she was never supposed to bike on her mission. But we survived! We conquered! And it lead to one of the biggest miracles of them all....

YURI'S BAPTISM!!!
I can't even describe all my feelings about this baptism. First of all it was almost zero stress. The font was filled on time, and was the right temperature and depth, she passed her interview (which finished 15 minutes before the baptism was scheduled to start, that was a little stressful) everyone who was supposed to be there was there mostly on time, the talk showed up (well the talk was given by me), she remembered her towel, she was early to church on Sunday to be confirmed, the Spirit was felt by all, basically it was perfect. Yuri was happy, her family was happy, the branch was happy, the elders were happy (it was Elder Pugh's first time baptizing and confirming someone, he was really excited) and we were happy. Though I still wish that she didn't have to wait a month it was well worth the wait.

Which leads me to my subject line, I do all that for this. I eat way to much so I can see the joy in member's faces knowing that they are feeding the missionaries. I ride my bike and endure all the fun things that comes with that so I can go and teach people. I have sometimes quite awkward conversations with everyone so that I can find just one person who is prepared. I tolerate the elder's shenanigans because really they do so much. I put my own pride, and comfort and choices on the line everyday so that everyday I can grow a little bit closer to the Savior, who did the very same, and who did it perfectly. And He did it all for us. So that way we could have bad days and good days. So that we can feel the joy in the simple things. So that we can repent and change and grow and become better. And at the end of the day, everything I do, I do for Him.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Hermana Christensen