Week 1

Hola familia!

I cannot believe I have been here for one week! Actually I can, the time has gone by pretty slow. The first day (Wednesday) seriously felt like it had 200 hours in it. Since then the days have gone by faster... I got pretty homesick on Friday night and all Saturday. It is super hard and stressful being here! I stress about everything. I have super struggled with mi compañera, BUT the last few days have been a lot better. She is seriously the exact opposite of me. HAHAH I have learned to just accept her and laugh though.

The food is so funny and weird haha, I haven't had much trouble with over eating.

The first day we did orientation stuff with the CCM president and his wife. They let us know some cool stuff about this beautiful CCM. We have 90 acres of land here and it is all seriously so pretty!! I feel like I live in a painting (yes mom I feel like that). And the weather is perfect ALWAYS! It rains almost every night at 5. The Provo MTC only has 40 acres of land, so technically we are the largest MTC. Our numbers here will just keep growing and soon will be the second largest in number of people behind Provo. Hermana Faw and I room with 2 girls in a casa that has 5 rooms. 4 girls to a room. Most in our casa are American. The two we room with are from Utah. My companion is from Meridian Idaho? Our two roommates are part of the first generation, so they got here the first week this opened. I am the fourth generation. The fifth just got here :). Everything is still pretty unorganized still ha.

The hardest part so far has been mi compañera. When we are teaching lessons she is super quiet! BUT because of this, SHE is learning a lot from me, so I am happy I can help her. And I am learning PATIENCE like never before, which I am grateful for!

Sunday was THE BEST. My district (12 people, we are the only two girls) started a new branch so it is just 12 of us in our branch. Sacrament was just us, I didnt speak this week. By the time we leave we will probably have 4 districts in our branch. Sunday we had interviews with our branch president and I LOVED IT. It was just President Tenorio and me, and I got to talk to him about everything and I felt like I was with dad. Ah it helped me so much. He and I just cried together it was awesome. He helped me with my feelings about my companion. Sunday night we got to watch Legacy...haha super cheesy but if was all about Farr West and Haun's Mill and all that stuff we just learned about!
Okay the best part of the day is GYM TIME!! Our campus is huge and there is so much to do. So the first day we had gym we went and ran on the track around the soccer field. It felt so good. Then finally I couldnt resist and I ran onto the field and asked if I could play with them. They said yes and told us what way to go. After a few minutes I finally got the ball, did a sick turn and ripped an shot and scored. HAHAH everyone stopped and were like, okay you obviously play soccer. I play with them a lot and it is so much fun :) I wish i had cleats though. Later that day some of the elders saw me and said "hey its soccer chick!" Now the elders call me Hermana Fifa- I love it.

So we have taught our first progressing investigator 3 times now. We teach again tonight. It is seriously so hard and I get so stressed out about it. But we are starting to figure out how things work so it will just keep getting better. The second time we taught 'Maria' I bore my testimony in Spanish and started crying. I could feel the spirit so strong.

My first miracle... The second day we learned how to pray. And we pray like 80 times a day but it is still hard and I can never remember what phrases to say where and stuff. On sunday for Relief Society our lesson was on The Book of Mormon. And President Pratt´s wife taught.
"I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for eachother will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of thier parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity-the pure love of Chirst- will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.´" President Marion G. Romney

We learened about how reading The Book of Mormon can literally help with ANYTHING and help heal every problem, emotional, mental, and PHYSICAL. I decided to practice faith in this. Hermana Faw and I read it in Spanish and English everyday. We read yesterday for an hour and after we did, I said the most amamzing prayer yet in Spanish!! I could not believe how the words just flowed out of my mouth. I can now pray in spanish!! I said our district prayer last night also and my district was so impressed.  I am by no means GREAT. But I know the Book of Mormon has helped me. The gift of tongues is real :)

I love you all so much and think about you all the time! Please keep praying for me. I love it here... it has taken me a few days to realize it, but everyday gets better!

con todo mi amor,

Hermana Christensen