Yaba-daba-daba-doo!!!!
(In case you are concered, that is a noise coming from
scott. So don't ask me, ask him.)
Hello my people!!! It's been a most excellent week for me!!
Very good indeed!! Know I just have to try to remember all the many things that
happened that I may have forgotten to write down. Whoops!! :)
So, as always, first and foremost, thank you for the
fantastic amount of love and support!! Letters galore, and a package from my
momma and from the G-ma. Loved the amazing talks from dad. Those were
fantastic. And mom and G-ma, you've definitely got many strippling warriors
willing to do anything for you. They have enjoyed your packages immensely and
would all like to be adobted. Thank you very much!!! I love the mail. It's my
favorite part of the day!! That's probably sinful since I should be enjoying
the work more, but I figure while the mail lasts, I'll be enjoying it!! So
thank you!!
Next so I don't forget. Question: where does George work
over here? I'd like to make a field trip to see him sometime but there are a
lot of buildings and I have no idea where to find him. So, get the word for
me!!
Also, most of Lone Peak just came into the MTC this last
week. Steve Maddox, Chandler Birks, Trek Robison, Garrett Pliler, Bryce Boyer
(possible two weeks, my bad), and....dah, a lot that I forget!! I can even
picture a guy but for some strange reason, his name has run away. Sad story!!
But it's been really cool to see so many familiar faces. And answering a
question from someone, yes I know Josh Skousen. Good for him!!! And on another
note for Zach Newman, I met two missionaries headed to his mission this week.
The one happens to be a friend of my comp. They should still be here when Zach
comes, I think. An Elder Crossman, in case you wanted to know.
Since becoming ZL, I have really gotten a lot closer with
the missionaries in the zone that aren't in my district. I've liked most of the
people, but man did we get tight this week!!! I love my zone!! As a side note,
there is an elder, Elder Callaway, that is super super boss. He's shortish and
skinnyish but the boy is ripped!! Of course, he's a wrestler. But he's a really
funny guy and he reminded me of someone but I couldn't put a finger on it. And
then it came!! David Belnap!! Haha! Sameish height very similar! They have the
same laugh and humor and they talk the same. It made me laugh! Love the man!
Speaking of, when you hear where he is going, please let me know!! I'm excited
for him!
It's a small world in the MTC. There are a lot of random
connections all over the place. I don't know if y'all remember, but while you
were in Italy, I went up to Idaho on a date with Michael Cormier? Fun time, but
the people from Bora High School don't know how to dance. Turns out, I have an
Elder in my zone from Bora High School that just graduated. He knows the girls
we were with! That was a fun connection. He is sooooo cool! Elder Mcmurdie. I
love the guy. Also speaking of it being a small world, I ran into Kim Connors
mom. That was cool!!! Small world, eh?
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!!!!! So, the
day after P-day last week, I got a ton of new missionaries. 16 instead of 17
cuz we had a sister that didn't come. But a ton!! We sent out about 7
missionaries and got 16. Whew!! Crazy!! So Elder Grigg and I (he's the other
zl) had to prepare an orientation meeting for the new districts. I was
nervous!!! And if I'm honest, that first day, it looked like we might have some
cranky, pasaway missionaries! But we had hoped it was just on account of it
being late on day one in the MTC. It's a crazy day. Luckily, that was the
case!!! The new missionaries are sooooo great! Love them all! Amazing how the
Spirit works. As we gave the orientation meeting, Elder Grigg, Sister Tivalu
(the coordinating sister), and I all had impressions of who the new DLs would
be. We all happened to have the same feelings and it turns out that the Branch
Presidency did too! Very cool. One of the DLs is from Heber Utah, Elder Kohler.
He went to Wasatch High School. Heavy Weight wrestler. Needless to
say, we were friends quickly. The orientation went great! Elder Grigg
and I were informed that the Branch Presidency had conflicts sunday with
priesthood meeting, so we would need to come up with a lesson. Oh boy. But that
ended up going very well too. We've quickly become friends with all the new
Elders and Sisters. I love them all!! Man, it's good to be a missionary!!!
Funny story for the week. Elder Hibbert and I were blessing
the sacrament. We looked before hand to make sure there was a little card with
the prayers on it. There was one under the table, so we were good. When we
actually got down to give the prayer, the card was legit. Problem was, it was
in Russian. We may have the gift of tongues, but, heheh, not the russian
version. We scrambled for a second before one of the members of the branch
presidency threw us one in english. Hallelujah. I gave the second prayer.
Started out on the bread, but thankfully Dr. Hibbert was paying attention so he
motioned for me to flip it after the fist sentence. Got to make the transition
smoothly. Thank goodness for my comp!!! And, because of the priesthood lesson,
orientation, and new ZL meetings, I hadn't had time to write a talk. So I was
very grateful when I didn't get called to speak. But Dr. Hibbert did. Close call.
One of wives from the branch presidency spoke. She reminds me a ton of G-ma!!
To you, G-ma and Pops, your missionaries will love you!! I'm excited for you
guys to get out here!! I may not see you, but the missionaries you serve will
have the best branch presidency ever!!
The week was good on the learning side of things. Our
investigator lessons in Tagalog have improved. We can understand a lot better.
I have a hard time speaking still. But I understand a lot more. So that was
good. The class time has been excellent too. And my study time has been great!!
I've been having a lot of great insights during study. Just another bonus to
being a missionary. It's the best!!!
Cool story. Dr. Hibbert was still sick at the beginning of
the week. We got permission to go to the outside world for a little to go to
the BYU clinic. That was fun!! But during one of our MTC clinic visits, I was
sitting in the reception area waiting for Elder Hibbert. There was one other
Elder in there waiting for his comp. I felt like I should talk to him, but I
didn't really want to. It was a few minutes before I realized it wasn't just me
thinking, but it was like that feeling you get in fast and testimony meeting
when you're supposed to get up but you don't want to so you try to resist?
Yeah, it was that feeling! So I did a cool little happy dance in my head and
decided to go talk to him. The Elder was brand new this week from Bountiful. We
had a nice little chat. I have no idea why I felt like I should talk to him,
but it was really cool all the same. I don't need to know!!
I'm loving all the new opportunities to serve as ZL. There
have been a few more blessings this week and a bunch of talks with
missionaries. It's been really really great!!
Another cool thing was one of our new Elders hadn't recieved
his endowments yet. So today, we got to go through the temple with him for the
first time. He is an awesome elder from Guam, Elder John. He is soo cool! I
asked him in the BEST room how he felt. He just said it was the best feeling in
the world. He was all smiles the whole time! Yes, it was my best week for
staying awake so far. AWESOME!!
I feel like there is a ton that I am leaving out and
skipping, but I am just feeling mushy in the brain right now. Nothing else
wants to come to memory. So for now, I will close mine epistle. I'm absolutely
loving my time here (in case you couldn't tell)!!! Crazy how close it is to
being over. We have this week and next week and then, I'm headed out!!! Whew!!
Word from my compadres that have already left is that I won't understand a
thing! So study hard, but be prepared to be nalito!!! Anyway, I love you all!
Thanks for the letter, packages and prayers!! Particularly the prayers. I need
all the help Heaven has for me! Thank you!!
I love you all!! Til next week!!
Elder Christensen
Whoops!! I almost forgot...... HOLY TAE!!!! Congrats to
Scottie and Hannah!! From the word and pics, it sounds like I missed a
heck of a party!!! I wish you both the best!!!!
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