Dear Mom, Dad, Amanda, Blake, Bennett (in Fiji you lucky dog), and
Aaron (in Logan studying up some gospel stuff)
I'm just trying each day to do the simple things that God asks me to
do, and do what little I can to improve in being more loving, more
reliable, more caring, and that is a pretty long and imposing journey
that doesn't really have an end. However, there are blessings and
checkpoints that I have noticed that God provides to let us know its
not for nothing.
We really don't have any progressing investigators, but we do have one
investigator that has faithfully hung around for the whole time in
H since he can't be baptized until next year.
His journey has been an uphill battle as well that still keeps going,
but we have a lessons with him tonight and with our recently returned
less active member (25 years ago that we met on the train) who has
just received his temple recommend. Eternal blessings are the reason
we do all of this anyways. Baptism was never the end, nor even just
going to church. Seeing him devour the Book of Mormon and set his
sights on bringing happiness that lasts to himself and others is one
of the most humbling things I've ever seen, and hearing him thank me
over and over again makes me feel so undeserving of that kind of
gratitude. Flip, I can't even work ATMs correctly sometimes, who would
believe that we could change people's lives? Keep on going forward in
humility and faith, and watch the Lord work His wonders.
I love you guys, and I'll never get tired of saying it
Love,love,love
Elder Christensen
Cleaning our bath tub (just for you mom)
Temple!
Monday, October 19, 2015
small world meeting!
September 14, 2015
Dear Mom and Family,
The American man who came to church and sent you the picture of us is actually
in the mission presidency of a mission in Georgia and has met the Hansens
before! Small world stories just keep popping up! His former mission president
is in our ward and loves giving us advice on what to do during our proselyting
haha, to which we kindly respond that we follow both our mission president and
the Holy Ghost but we would love to help him and his family with missionary
efforts.
It rained for a solid week here in Yokohama, but it didn't really flood
here and cleared up beautifully! As of right now, we haven't heard of any
instruction to assist with the relief efforts, so it seems like we will most
likely be staying. Thank you for being such great people and giving your best
in everything you do! Bennett, Sounds like your senior year is off to a great
start! Keep it up my brother! How did you feel about the test?
This week we've been working to meet with those we've found over the
last few months and helping them grow in the gospel and becoming more
Christlike. With transfer calls in one week, we're trying to get in contact and
meet with as many of them as we can just in case I end up leaving. One of the
opportunities we had was to paint a bed frame for our investigators' daughters.
Their dad is an uptempo man who often jumps to quick conclusions and
judgements, which can be kind of frustrating since when we make even the
smallest mistakes he points them out. While we were painting it was obvious
that things weren't planned out very well and there were lots of flaws in the
plan laid out: not enough paint or time to do it, kids running everywhere, etc.
It could have been very easy to say either out loud or in my heart something
like "who's talking now! It's not so easy being perfect is it?" But
even stronger than my desire to be right or to defend my pride, I felt a love
for him and for his family. How many dad's hand paint their children's beds? He
may have many weaknesses, but he loves his children which is something
praiseworthy and a godly attribute.
As it says over and over in the Book of Mormon God has "given us
weakness that we may be humble" (Ether 12:27) for " this life is
the time for men to PREPARE to meet God" (Alma 34:32). If we were already
perfect or had everything handed to us on a plate, this life wouldn't be too
fulfilling.
This week I learned how to be more patient with the weaknesses of others
and to forgive them their trespasses as I wish to be forgiven of mine. In the
end, we all " sin and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
and we all rely on Christ's Atonement for ultimate forgiveness. Don't hold
grudges. It's not worth it. Help others be better than they are now and it will
all be worth it!
I love you all!
Elder Christensen
small world experience! September 14, 2015
September 14, 2015
Dear Mom and Family,
The American man who came to churchs and sent you the picture of us is actually
in the mission presidency of a mission in Georgia and has met the Hansens
before! Small world stories just keep popping up! His former mission president
is in our ward and loves giving us advice on what to do during our proselyting
haha, to which we kindly respond that we follow both our mission president and
the Holy Ghost but we would love to help him and his family with missionary
efforts.
It rained for a solid week here in Yokohama, but it didn't really flood
here and cleared up beautifully! As of right now, we haven't heard of any
instruction to assist with the relief efforts, so it seems like we will most
likely be staying. Thank you for being such great people and giving your best
in everything you do! Bennett, Sounds like your senior year is off to a great
start! Keep it up my brother! How did you feel about the test?
This week we've been working to meet with those we've found over the
last few months and helping them grow in the gospel and becoming more
Christlike. With transfer calls in one week, we're trying to get in contact and
meet with as many of them as we can just in case I end up leaving. One of the
opportunities we had was to paint a bed frame for our investigators' daughters.
Their dad is an uptempo man who often jumps to quick conclusions and
judgements, which can be kind of frustrating since when we make even the
smallest mistakes he points them out. While we were painting it was obvious
that things weren't planned out very well and there were lots of flaws in the
plan laid out: not enough paint or time to do it, kids running everywhere, etc.
It could have been very easy to say either out loud or in my heart something
like "who's talking now! It's not so easy being perfect is it?" But
even stronger than my desire to be right or to defend my pride, I felt a love
for him and for his family. How many dad's hand paint their children's beds? He
may have many weaknesses, but he loves his children which is something
praiseworthy and a godly attribute.
As it says over and over in the Book of Mormon God has "given us
weakness that we may be humble" (Ether 12:27) for " this life is
the time for men to PREPARE to meet God" (Alma 34:32). If we were already
perfect or had everything handed to us on a plate, this life wouldn't be too
fulfilling.
This week I learned how to be more patient with the weaknesses of others
and to forgive them their trespasses as I wish to be forgiven of mine. In the
end, we all " sin and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
and we all rely on Christ's Atonement for ultimate forgiveness. Don't hold
grudges. It's not worth it. Help others be better than they are now and it will
all be worth it!
I love you all!
Elder Christensen
October 19, 2015 letter
October 19, 2015
My dear family!
I'm listening to the talks from Conference often! It's difficult to
pick one in particular right now, but I loved them all! I haven't
gotten the package yet, but that doesn't mean it's not at the mission
office. I'll let you know when I get it!
Wow, I don't think I have to say it, but time is speeding by and my
friends are growing up without me! It's one thing to know that people
will eventually grow up, but it's quite another to actually see it
happen. We really need their strength, obedience, and faith in the
mission field because there are a lot of forces out here working
against us as well.
I guess I never really felt much of that opposition before or at least
I chose to ignore or avoid it before. The blessings and truths of the
gospel are certainly real and the happiest and most joyful of truths
out there. We are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loved us
before, loves us now, and will always love us and seek to bless us.
The wonders of the world around us bear witness of it! Jesus Christ
lived, suffered for each of our mistakes, failings, shortcomings,
sins, died, and rose from the midst of the dead. Because of Him, we
too can overcome our natural desires to do wrong, do right, and live
with our Father in Heaven and families forever. This joyful message
was always a part of my life that I guess I didn't consider what the
burdens would be. Recently, I've felt perhaps God has been allowing me
to feel more of the burden and pain that comes with discipleship
although I'm not sure I fully understand why.
When all is said and done though, I would much rather choose this
path, the path less traveled. I don't know all of the lessons that I
need to learn from my mission, but I do know that Christ has promised
that he won't leave us comfortless when we must, of necessity, suffer.
As painful as the climb of repentance can be, the joy of looking back
from the summit of success is worth it.
From your loving son,
Elder Christensen
I'm listening to the talks from Conference often! It's difficult to
pick one in particular right now, but I loved them all! I haven't
gotten the package yet, but that doesn't mean it's not at the mission
office. I'll let you know when I get it!
Wow, I don't think I have to say it, but time is speeding by and my
friends are growing up without me! It's one thing to know that people
will eventually grow up, but it's quite another to actually see it
happen. We really need their strength, obedience, and faith in the
mission field because there are a lot of forces out here working
against us as well.
I guess I never really felt much of that opposition before or at least
I chose to ignore or avoid it before. The blessings and truths of the
gospel are certainly real and the happiest and most joyful of truths
out there. We are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loved us
before, loves us now, and will always love us and seek to bless us.
The wonders of the world around us bear witness of it! Jesus Christ
lived, suffered for each of our mistakes, failings, shortcomings,
sins, died, and rose from the midst of the dead. Because of Him, we
too can overcome our natural desires to do wrong, do right, and live
with our Father in Heaven and families forever. This joyful message
was always a part of my life that I guess I didn't consider what the
burdens would be. Recently, I've felt perhaps God has been allowing me
to feel more of the burden and pain that comes with discipleship
although I'm not sure I fully understand why.
When all is said and done though, I would much rather choose this
path, the path less traveled. I don't know all of the lessons that I
need to learn from my mission, but I do know that Christ has promised
that he won't leave us comfortless when we must, of necessity, suffer.
As painful as the climb of repentance can be, the joy of looking back
from the summit of success is worth it.
From your loving son,
Elder Christensen
Monday, October 12, 2015
Adam's e-mail from October 11, 2015
Dear Mom, Dad, Panda, Blakey, BenBen, Aayayron,
Yes! We watched all of the sessions as an entire stake, members and missionaries included.
One thought rang particularly true for me today as I was trying to pay better attention to the promptings from the Spirit during the day. With the thousands upon thousands of people around us, there are really endless opportunities for us to talk to people, but God in his infinite mercy and understanding often places prepared people literally RIGHT NEXT to us. He could easily guide them somewhere else and then make us pay extra attention to the Spirit and do something really bold like push through a crowd, run across a street etc., but instead, he has them walk next to us so we can casually say hello to start it off. Elder Renlund's words are fitting description for this: God often calls and blesses us "in spite of what we've done". For all our weakness, he rewards every step we try to take in the right direction.
I love the Carswells so much! Norah looks like a happy healthy baby too. How do they all feel about their new baby sister?
I haven't gotten the package yet, but I'll keep my eyes open for it!
Have you all picked scriptures to "ponderize" this week? I would love to hear all of the ways you come up with to share those scriptures with those around you and incorporate them into your lives!
God knows us and our situation perfectly, and I have chosen to believe that God knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts and acts in the way that will best help us. For "all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things". How do you feel about the idea of a God who knows everything, from start to finish, from top to bottom?
We spoke to a woman on the street the other day who thought that such a God might as well be a puppet master manipulating us on his whims, and if we accept that, then we must simply be chess pieces, lab rats, in some already decided game. It wouldn't be fair. Rather than believe that, she believed that there must be no God, and only she decided what would happen to her. No one already knows what she will do.
On the other hand, we believe in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that although God knows everything, He has given YOU the power to choose, whether it will be to you eternal benefit or eternal condemnation. He knows there will be some people who deliberately choose to do wrong despite knowing what is right, and there will be many who will earnestly seek to do the right. "Well, what is right and what is wrong?", the cynics ask. The truth is, you already know. It has been etched into your heart, taught to you my loving leaders and parents, and perfectly shown to you in the life of Jesus Christ. If you openly and honestly review the teachings of Christ, with nothing held back and with a desire to change to do what is right, you will know in your heart that they are true. If you do that, I promise you that making decisions will become so much easier. You can know for yourself what is right. Don't listen to all of the false voices telling you that it's different for everyone or that each person decides what is right and wrong for themselves. That is a not true principle.
There is more to this life than just to have fun, get a lot of money, see the world, or other such empty goals. Don't give up hope! If you ever feel unsure or frustrated, I want you to know that you can come to me with questions or please ask my parents or my siblings! They're amazingly loving!
With all my love,
Elder Christensen
Monday, October 5, 2015
From strangers to friends. October 4, 2015
October 4, 2015
Dear Mom, Dad,
Amanda, Blake, Bennett, and Aaron,
General Conference is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World in my
opinion, and I think my favorite part is that we can review it over
and over and over again whenever we feel so prompted! I think I can
patiently wait until next week. There's one thing in particular this
week that stuck out to me in a whirlwind of emotion and events. Last
night, we were invited over to dinner with the family we met whose
sister is a member and nephew is serving in Fukuoka. I really didn't
know what to expect and both Elder P and I were wondering if
they would give us any time to share a message. We felt the chances of
a nice, full "lesson" was not really something worth considering. More
than anything though, we felt their love. It's not often we get
invited to spend time with anyone. Rather than trying to plan how to
create a gospel discussion, I was reminded of a quote from Elder
Holland in Preach My Gospel: "These people are not lifeless objects
disguised as baptismal statistics. They are children of God, our
brothers and sisters, and they need what we have." As we ate over one
of the most delicious meals I've ever had, their hearts opened up. We
felt a connection with them, and they felt the same. As we shared our
testimonies of morality, faith, and prayer, we could see hope building
in their eyes. Even though one or two expressed several times that
they didn't have any inclination to believe or rely on any god, let
alone a Christian one. It seemed like they wanted to believe in
something good that could bring an end to the various problems in the
world. I felt somewhat like Paul when King Agrippa said that he almost
felt like becoming Christian, but we both felt a strong love for each
and every one of them. Each and every person has doubts and struggles
and reasons for their beliefs, but I truly believe that often they
want to believe in something more if only given the chance. The
restores gospel of Jesus Christ is that hope that never dies, it has
held up to thousands and thousands of years of pressure and still
brings hope and changes hearts. You have my promise it will not fail
you! Keep trusting! Keep believing! Share that hope with someone else!
We all need saving after all.
Love you all!
Elder Christensen
General Conference is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World in my
opinion, and I think my favorite part is that we can review it over
and over and over again whenever we feel so prompted! I think I can
patiently wait until next week. There's one thing in particular this
week that stuck out to me in a whirlwind of emotion and events. Last
night, we were invited over to dinner with the family we met whose
sister is a member and nephew is serving in Fukuoka. I really didn't
know what to expect and both Elder P and I were wondering if
they would give us any time to share a message. We felt the chances of
a nice, full "lesson" was not really something worth considering. More
than anything though, we felt their love. It's not often we get
invited to spend time with anyone. Rather than trying to plan how to
create a gospel discussion, I was reminded of a quote from Elder
Holland in Preach My Gospel: "These people are not lifeless objects
disguised as baptismal statistics. They are children of God, our
brothers and sisters, and they need what we have." As we ate over one
of the most delicious meals I've ever had, their hearts opened up. We
felt a connection with them, and they felt the same. As we shared our
testimonies of morality, faith, and prayer, we could see hope building
in their eyes. Even though one or two expressed several times that
they didn't have any inclination to believe or rely on any god, let
alone a Christian one. It seemed like they wanted to believe in
something good that could bring an end to the various problems in the
world. I felt somewhat like Paul when King Agrippa said that he almost
felt like becoming Christian, but we both felt a strong love for each
and every one of them. Each and every person has doubts and struggles
and reasons for their beliefs, but I truly believe that often they
want to believe in something more if only given the chance. The
restores gospel of Jesus Christ is that hope that never dies, it has
held up to thousands and thousands of years of pressure and still
brings hope and changes hearts. You have my promise it will not fail
you! Keep trusting! Keep believing! Share that hope with someone else!
We all need saving after all.
Love you all!
Elder Christensen
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