Eagar Arizona Stake Trek 2014
We are trying to work out with the elders in the New Mexico mission in Bernie's home town how to work with Bernie. They live 2 apartments away from him. But Bernie wants to be baptized in Pie Town on the 21st of June still.
MIRACLES are already coming forth from trek. We got a phone call this morning from a Pa over a non member from Pie Town. He told us she wants to take the missionary discussions. She goes to the Pie Town branch almost every week and is living with members. We will see her this Saturday!
There were 2 handcart companies.
There were 23 families with about 10 kids in each. I was in family 23! Last one called :)
I had the best trek family. I was so so so so blessed. I was in the Hadlock family and I was an adult participant with the elder from Hawaii Sister Arevalo and I talked in church with for his homecoming. I had 4 little brothers and 4 little sisters. We all got along SO WELL. 2 of my little sisters were visitors to out stake. One lived here 5 years ago and her dad is a doctor in St. George now, his office is the one I went to, to get my medical papers done for the mission! small world. So they invited him back to be a doc on the trail. And Lydia came along. She plays soccer too at Dixie High! We got along soooo well. And the other little sister's grandparents are in the stake so she came along. She reminds me exactly of Eden and we all hit it off. We had a blast.
The trek was so REAL. The Eagar stake does not mess around. We cut the head off of out our chicken and then plucked it, gutted it, and cooked and ate it. I washed my hair in the river, made taffy, WATCHED people shoot black powder rifles, dipped candles. We watched a girl get baptized in the river. We had over 5 river crossings waist deep ( the closest I will come to swimming my whole mission). Sacrament Meeting was really really powerful. We all brought our own little homemade rolls or scones or bread and then we passed around the plates and broke off bread. We also passed around 1 cup and sipped out of that one cup in our family. It was a really spiritual experience and all the youth were so so reverent. MIRACLES are already coming forth from trek. We got a phone call this morning from a Pa over a non member from Pie Town. He told us she wants to take the missionary discussions. She goes to the Pie Town branch almost every week and is living with members. We will see her this Saturday!
There were 2 handcart companies.
There were 23 families with about 10 kids in each. I was in family 23! Last one called :)
I had the best trek family. I was so so so so blessed. I was in the Hadlock family and I was an adult participant with the elder from Hawaii Sister Arevalo and I talked in church with for his homecoming. I had 4 little brothers and 4 little sisters. We all got along SO WELL. 2 of my little sisters were visitors to out stake. One lived here 5 years ago and her dad is a doctor in St. George now, his office is the one I went to, to get my medical papers done for the mission! small world. So they invited him back to be a doc on the trail. And Lydia came along. She plays soccer too at Dixie High! We got along soooo well. And the other little sister's grandparents are in the stake so she came along. She reminds me exactly of Eden and we all hit it off. We had a blast.
In my AMAZING family with a non member named Lupe who comes from a Spanish home here in Eagar. She PLAYS SOCCER like me ( and our Pa is one of her soccer coaches at the school), she is SBO president next year and is the coolest girl ever. I was able to have conversation after conversation with her about the gospel and the church. She was invited along by member friends and she is starting to think a lot more about the church and will attend the fireside next week! (I witnessed her being invited by a member friend). THE YOUTH IN THE EAGAR STAKE ARE INCREDIBLE. During the testimony meeting on Sunday night more than 100 of the youth bore simple sincere testimony I was so impressed. At least 3 of them were NON MEMBERS (Lupe included).
One particular experience from trek... Lupe and I had gone down to scrub a pot clean. We were sitting on the ground scraping off blue corn meal mush using dirt, rocks and sticks. This was the first time we had really been alone the whole time and I started praying in my mind asking Heavenly Father what I should say to Lupe, I felt so nervous! I asked her what she thought so far of the trek. Her first response to these questions was always " You Mormons are CRAZY!!" Then I asked her about a few more things and eventually she said, " you know, I don't think I could ever change religions. I have been Catholic my whole life and I just couldn't change." So we sat there for a few seconds and I said very sincerely, " Well Lupe, if you KNEW that everything we teach in out church is true, would you join it?" And she stopped scrubbing for a second and said, " hmmmm, I have never thought about that." And we sat there in silence for a minute. Then I told her to think about it and I would ask her later. She agreed.
Then the next day during the 4.5 hour solo time I gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read 3 Nephi 11 about Jesus Christ visiting the Americas- which she did. Then that night is when she bore her testimony in front of EVERYBODY about how good her experience had been and how much she loved her family (me :)).
That last night she went to bed a little earlier than everyone else and I went and layed next to her for about an hour. I asked her about her whole life and her dreams for her future. We then discussed the purpose of life and where we go after we die. She was so intrigued and kept saying," wow, I have never thought about that before." I finally ended up bearing her my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was so nervous! I invited her to pray and ask what she should do, which she agreed to. She will be baptized one day, she had SO MANY SEEDS PLANTED. I can't even begin to explain all the little miracles that happened with her and all the other experiences us missionaries had those 4 days.
There are so many miracles about to take place in these next 90 days after the trek. It was a hard, spiritually uplifting missionary experience.
I love EAGAR. I LOVE sister Pass and Sister Arevalo. I know that our current companionship is SO INSPIRED. I know that without a doubt. :) I love being a missionary.
I love Jesus Christ and I know that he lives!
Hermana Christensen
Sister Pass labeled everyone in our district haha
My trek family (minus Jeff)
Me and my bff Madie Snow at the finish!
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