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Somehow, two years have passed. And Dallin will be flying back to the states on March 26th. It has been quite the adventure! I will encourage him to add his own summary when he gets back...(Living the good life in the Philippines, Quezon City North Mission. Entered the MTC in Provo on April 4, 2012. Flew to the Philippines on Sunday, May 13, 2012. What a great adventure! And what an honor to serve the good people of the Pines!)

Friday, April 20, 2012

"Water is for cowards, water makes you weak..."

Hellllooooooooo!!!

Guess what?? It's me!!! And no, it's not mario!!

Hello my dearest family!! It is good to hear that life outside of the MTC is good! I'm REALLY sad to be missing out on all of the heaps and heaps of yard work, but I GUESS if I keep an eternal perspective, the Lord's work is more important. Ha, needless to say, I'm sure I'll get over it :)

As for life on the inside of the MTC, man things are good. First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to all of the love and support. My goodness, everyone in the MTC hopes, wishes and prays to get just a fraction of all of the letters and packages I get. Thank you my dearly beloved mother, my good Aunt Dawnette, grandma, and of course, G-ma!! Haha, nearly a package every other day from the G-ma!! I'd almost think you guys are planning on fattening me up for those good people in the Philippines. "Yes Lord, we're so grateful for the missionaries you have sent to us and the great nourishment we will recieve from the fat one!" No but seriously, thank you! My roomies, my district, and all the elders from my zone living anywhere near my living quarters are all grateful for the packages coming our way. Thank you, thank you!! I think I had about 100 letters this week too. Thank you everyone! I'm probably the only person that gets mail every day, and I usually get more than one. It's the best part of the day!!! So thank you thank you everyone!!!

This week was a most fantastic week. Last Sunday, we had a workshop on the Atonement. It was a fantastic experience. The Spirit was so strong! We shared our testimonies and feelings with our districts. Wow, there was a lot of insight there. It makes me so excited to be able to go out and share that with people!! Haha, if I can ever figure out how to say what I want to!! But I'm not too worried about that. The Spirit is a great translator! :) Following the workshop, we had a fireside. D. Archie sang for us all. I'm not going to lie, when they announced it, I thought, "ah gee, great, what an opportunity to show off." Terrible, I know. But that's how it went. But oh boy!!!! He sang The Spirit of God. It was soooooo good!! The Spirit was ripping the whole place up! It was fantastic!! Ha, I feel much differently about him now. I'm really glad he sang. It was a great way to open up for....drumroll.... M. Russell Ballard!! Whew! What an awesome night!! Just in case anyone cares, the archster is gone from the MTC now. The man left monday. The district leaders snuck off and snagged a photo with him. Ah! They didn't even tell me! I woulda been there! Oh well. It was way cool.

This is for Riley Reynolds. Keep seeing his cousin, Elder Mooney? (somethin like that)

Then a question for Lo: who is the author of The Message? I told some of the Elders in my district about it and they want to read it, if not out here, for sure when they get home.

Oh, just ran into Ashley Snyder. Pass along to her family. She might, may, and probably will be getting surgery. Miniscus or something? Anywho, she wanted me to pass that along cuz her P-Day was yesterday. Aunt Dawnette, thanks for the package!!! It was amazing!!! And, I got the package delivered to Ashley, so mabuti!!! Thanks!

My kasama has been pretty sick. Yesterday, after we taught our investigators, we bounced and went back to residence. Got back around 7. Early day!! I read all of first Nephi. It was the best study of the BoM that I've ever had. The Spirit was leading the way the whole time. I had all manner of insights and everything seemed to make sense. And in case you're wondering, there's no doubt in my mind whether or not it's true. Easily!! I could have told you before, but it was witnessed to me again so strongly yesterday. The Book of Mormon is true. And it's awesome!!!! Read it!

I got to help with two priesthood blessings yesterday. One of the sisters in my district has been really sick for about 3 days. So she asked if we could give her a blessing. She wanted it done in samoan so the Elders in my district and I just helped. But it was an amazing experience. And then my kasama wanted one last night after he had had some good rest. So I gave my first ever priesthood blessing!! It was crazy!! But cool story with that actually. I've been really nervous to actually give blessings. I am game any time to help out. But to actually do it has been a scary thought. But then, after our fireside on Tuesday, we have a review and go over the things we learned at the fireside as a district. We had the branch president in there with us. While he was sharing some thoughts, I had the random thought that I shouldn't be afraid to use the priesthood whenever the chance came along. It had nothing to do with what the branch president was saying. I thought it was cool so I wrote it down. Then when the sister in the branch needed one, I felt confident that I could do it. A peace and calm. We found some samoan replacements last minute but I was ready. And then with my kasama, I had the same calm. It was a really cool experience!!!

This morning we went and did a session at the temple. I've never been through the Provo temple before so it was a cool first. I must confess some wickedness on my part; I dozed off several times during the session. But it was a great way to start the morning!!!

I got my first haircut at the MTC today. Hm. Good experience. Needed to be done. But eh. Dad cuts it best.

G-ma and Pops are going to rock in their branch presidency!!! Holy smokes!! Just be awesome for the missionaries. We have a couple in ours that is a lot like you. Just treat the elders and sisters like your grandkids and all will be well!! You guys will be coveted by all missionaries!!!

Our zone leaders head out to the field monday. I'm gonna miss those boys. It's amazing how fast you really grow to care about people out here. REALLY fast!! Love em all! We will be about to our halfway point on sunday, so I should be getting released as DL.

Oh important thing to note; huge schedule change coming up. Everything is getting switched around. Word on the street is P-day is on tuesday from here on out. So as in next tuesday coming up. P-day again. So, fill up the email box by then. I realize not much may happen between now and then, but I'll be back for more Tuesday. Do not disappoint me, Jacob.

Which reminds me, we got to watch The Testaments after the Fireside on sunday. Woohoo!! Hahaha, they actually cautioned us that it had dramatic elements and romantic themes!!! Hahaha! Oh man!! So funny! It's as hardcore as we get out here!!! But it was awesome!!!

Well, that's about all the time I've got. So I'm going to bounce. Thank you all for all the love and support out here! It makes every day better! I'm still loving every minute of being a missionary!! Miss you all, but I can't deny I'm glad to be here!!! Love you! Take care!!!

Kita kitz!

Elder Christensen


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