Week 69

Besides getting to meet Elder and Sister Lawrence this week, we saw SO many miracles. It really does help to have an entire mission praying for you, and then some!

Sister Lawrence taught us all about "The Holy One of Israel". Now The Book of Mormon makes so much more sense! I understand now the scattering and the gathering of Israel so much better. She rattled on for two hours about all of this and it felt like 5 minutes. I love learning. I know that I am here in this day and age for specific reasons. I feel a greater understanding of my potential as being part of the house of Israel. I love Heavenly Father so much and I love Jesus Christ for leading us all in His eternal plan!

THANK YOU to all who prayed for us this week. I really felt like I was being pushed along and gently guided every day this week. Everything just fell so much easier into place as we planned and as we taught.

Lalo is still progressing towards baptism on the 28th of November! We taught him the Law of Chastity and The word of wisdom this week.... He agreed to live them both after resolving a few concerns. He said, "well I guess I just need to try a little harder." He has not had coffee or tea since Thursday! He says its hard but he is just drinking a lot more water and juice and its helping him. Thank you for praying for him! He has so much faith. We are meeting with him everyday this week to get him ready for his interview! I Seriously can't believe we found someone who wants to be baptized! At dinner last night one of our members was asking more about Lalo and his progress. We all got so emotional because of how prepared he is. He is such a good example to us in his obedience and in his desires to do right. He is so humble and so easily taught. Just like a child- how we all should be!!!

Our lesson with the Sanders in Datil this week was ABNORMALLY spiritual too! Sister Sanders was HAPPY the whole time. We taught them the 10 commandments with the fun hand signs to help them remember. We also talked about obedience. Brother Sanders in the closing prayer was so thankful for us helping he and his wife to get to the temple. They truly are a reason we are out here. Branch President Hobbs told us that all they needed was us here to visit them and push them along. The Sanders have changed a few things over the past few weeks and are still working on reading and praying together, but they are striving. They are attending church and were able to attend the Phoenix temple dedication yesterday! Brother Sanders afterwards came up to me and asked if ALL temples look like that one. And I explained to him that each one is unique but they all have the same purpose. They are so excited to get there! They also took us out to dinner this week. We asked them questions about how they met and what they love about each other the whole time. We are working on re-kindling their love haha. We figure that is part of missionary work too. They are going to be sealed soon! They need to really love each other!

Okay this is a small miracle that happened this week too. We were leaving our lesson with Jesse and talked to a girl on the side of the road. As the car was parked and SIster Doolhoff was talking to this girl, a woman drove past in a car and so I waved. 30 seconds later the woman in the car backed up beside our car, so I rolled down my window. She asked who we were. I told her and asked her her name. She said Franny Smith! 

FRANNY.....was a referral a while back. We contacted her at her door and got the door slammed in our face. We received her as a referral 2 more times and went back 2 more times to have the same thing happen... 

BUT after that wave at her,  we chatted for a minute and I told her how much the people we know love her and tell us how great she is. She was flattered and wants us to visit her ANYTIME now!!!!!!! WHAT A MIRACLE!!! FRANNY HAS INVITED US OVER!! By small and simple means are great things brought to pass. 

Okay another miracle. Another referral we received a week or two ago we finally contacted this week. As we were searching for their house we passed a man outside his home so we decided we'd ask him where the Armijos lived. He WAS Mr. Armijo! So he ended up being atheist and was not wanting to learn more. He wouldnt even let us sing to him. So we left. But as my companions were getting in the car I asked if he knew anyone else who would like to listen to our message or needs help. (I asked him in Spanish). While he sat thinking, his grandson visiting from Colorado for a few days came out on the porch to grab something and Mr. Armijo introduced us. I asked if his grandson Adam would want missionaries to visit him at his home in Colorado. Without hesitation he said yes and I asked if we could get his address and he said Yes do you have a pen?! He took a Book of Mormon and we sent in his referral to Colorado! We called him this morning to get his zipcode because we forgot to, and he was excited to get the missionaries at his home! WHAT A MIRACLE. And it would not have happened if we didn't ask for referrals.

ALSO another referral we have been trying to contact since the beginning of October FINALLY called us back this week!!! It is a family with young kids in Pie Town. President Hobbs said he wants to meet with us! We started doubting that this family in Pie Town really wanted to meet with us. BUT WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THEM ON SUNDAY.

ALSO we are teaching a woman in Luna who investigated the church a few years ago but then the elders never went back. She is SUCH a truth seeker, with a German, atheist husband. She is baptist but REALLY wants to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. After our lesson I ended up in the bathroom crying because I was so emotional and happy!!! I pleaded on my knees that Sister Boerner will recognize her answer. 

Also we are teaching an 8 year old who is preparing for baptism in Alpine named Shayde! He has a single less active mother who is now becoming active. 

We received another referral from a member last night for an interested family in Reserve! We have an appointment with them and with the member tomorrow! They are a young family.

What I realized last night is how we are teaching someone in EVERY city we cover. It is seriously such a miracle how many people came out of nowhere this week. Our members trust us and are giving us referrals. Our less actives are progressing towards the temple and we will have the Luna wards first baptism in a few years next week!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY AND I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE LUNA AND PIE TOWN!

Jesus Christ lives. This is His church, and He will come again soon!

Hermana Christensen

With Lalo last night.

Sometimes we haul wood to our back porch for exercise.

ELDER AND SISTER LAWRENCE

Week 66

​Family,

About the ONLY people I am really excited about in our area right now are less actives. The Sanders (In their 70's) are doing so great!!! They live in Datil and have come to church now for two weeks in a row!! They hadn't been to church since 1984 at the soonest. They are grasping everything we teach. Brother Sanders just stopped drinking tea and coffee without a problem practically. And the progress seen in their happiness is so real! They are on date to receive their endowments and be sealed before Christmas! I love the Sanders!! Even if the only reason we moved up here was for them- it is so worth it.

We also have another progressing less active, Sister Davis who is the last bishop's mother. She hasn't been to church in many many years and feels so guilty that almost all of her children are not active in the church. She has gone from not reading or praying at all to now...read an hour from the Book of Mormon last night!
Our companionship is doing well. Sister Doolhoff has so much fun yet is an exactly obedient missionary. She is such  good example to me. And Sister Harrast  always makes us laugh too. We are the best three friends anyone ever did see. 

Rcently I haven't felt like I am doing th right things up here because no one is getting baptized anytime soon. It's hard to see the good sometimes, and to feel like our laboring up here is accepted. 

I do LOVE these people with all my heart, it is just frustrtrating that they don't want to listen yet!

I love reading Trevor's emails because his excitement is so tangible! I remember when I was THAT excited about being a missionary. I hope he never loses that excitement! It helps me be excited too! That he can look at his tiny little "group" in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country and have so much hope! "hope is the anchor of our souls" and HOPE is the attribute I wish to strengthen. If I would stop worrying about all of the people that DON'T listen to us and keep looking for those who MIGHT my soul would have a lot more peace.

I am staying up in this area for another 6 weeks at least!

The Hunters last week loved our next rendition. One of them from Florida is anxious to get back and go see the temple there. We planted some good seeds. They all said they would go see "Meet the Mormons" as well.

My 2 companions and I are singing for the Adult session of stake conference on Saturday because President Hamblin asked us to. We are excited!

I am learning and growing everyday still. I am really thankful for the scriptures and for prayer. I love reading the scriptures. I love how much I am learning. I love being anti'd sometimes so that I can bear real, sincere wrenching testimony. I love praying and knowing that God hears me. I love knowing that I can live with Him again and feel and KNOW complete JOY. I long to choose the right yet I always make mistakes! I am never going to be perfect, not anytime soon. But I can always be COMPLETE in Christ.

Life is hard and Satan is SO REAL. But God's power will ALWAYS overpower the Devil's.

If you ever don't feel like praying- PRAY! Pray ALWAYS! And you won't be tempted. Satan LOVES it when we don't pray. Don't please him, please God :)

2Nephi 32

 8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
 9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

Hermana Christensen

 With President Hobb's dog Loki :) I love dogs. 

Week 67

We had a few miracles this week!

 

First off- the Sanders came to Stake Conference this week in Eagar!

 

We got to spend all of Halloween in the temple!!! The temple invited all of the mountain missionaries to come because it is very dead on Halloween! It was such a great experience. My companions did baptisms and I stuck with a girl who just got back from a mission in Italy in our stake, Sister Wiltbank who I thought to invite the day before! She had just been released the day before and was so grateful to come with us because she didnt get to go to the temple her whole mission! We did an endowment session and then sealings. Sister Pew and I got to do sealings with President and Sister Sweeney and a few elders. Definitely a Halloween to remember! What a spiritual and ghostly place to be! :)

Cynthia dropped us last week. BUT she called last night and said, "I have been thinking a lot about you sisters and I wanted to tell you that you taught me a lot. I now know that I should pray night and morning and through out the day and that I can just talk to God whenever I want! I have been praying a lot for my sick friends. Thanks for teaching me that. Even though I haven't started reading the Book of Mormon again I will. And even though I have been baptized once and feel like I have done enough as of now, that could still change.  I really appreciate you coming over and spending so much time with me. I want you to know that you didn't waste too mich time on me, because I feel closer to God."

I was crying of course by the time she gave me a second to talk. I told her she is always welcome to come to church (which she HATES church so she quickly shut down that inviation haha) and I told her that we don't feel like we wasted ANY time on her. I told her how happy I was and how it was the Holy Ghost that prompted her to call and tell us that. She agreed!

I love her so much. What a tender mercy it was to get that phone call!

We have been taking the garbage to the dump almost every week since we have lived here. There is a man named Lalo who punches our trash card before we can dump. We have been talking a lot  to him about the gospel for a few months now and invited him to find his Book of Mormon and come to a few activites. Week after week he hasn't showed any sincere desire to keep any of the commitments we have left him. BUT this last week we made plans to get out of the car and teach him a lesson in the little shed he stays in all day. We did, he listened sincerely, showed interest in learning more, and accepted to be baptized on Nov. 29th! The garbage man is on date!!

 

We went to lunch in Alpine with a member for the cummunity Thanksgiving Dinner this week. There were about 100 people there and we only knoew about 10 of them (all members). One of our other members
had the feeling she needed to ask us to sing for the whole bunch. She asked if we would, then talked to the director and he agreed. We did a spur of the moment performance and the WHOLE place quieted down. They all listened intently. Af ew people even pulled out their phones and started recording. Everyone loved it, and we got great exposure in the Alpine community now!! I am so thankful for our proactive members who created that oppourtunity!

 

We also visited a part-member/less active family for the first time yesterday. We had stopped by once before and left a note, and never heard back from them (normal). But we stopped by again because his less active father told us to go visit. The husband (member) was so excited for us to be there, he is the most humble less active I have ever talked to. We invited him back to church and eventually the temple and he readily accepted and turned to his SEVEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ( who he can prepare to baptize soon!!!) and asked her how she'd like to go to church next week? WIth a huge grin she nodded yes! He commited to come to church this week! He was so grateful we stopped by. It was a miracle. 

I feel very humbled to be in this area and to try and be a leader. Sometimes it's hard to be enthuiastic all the time. I feel the need to lead, but that takes great faith I am realizing. I love how hard this area is. I love how much I can feel my faith being tested. I love the need to rely on the Savior and the desire I have to know that this truly is HIS WORK. 

We sang on Saturday for the adult session of stake conference. Afterwards we were thanked by so many people who said we made them cry. President Heap had talked to president Hamblin about us singing at the upcoming community Christmas event. He then asked us if we would sing at the multi faith "Reason for the Season" celbration the first week of December because we really invite the spirit when we sing! So now we are preparing Christmas songs :).

ALSO, I have tried TTI'ing many cows, every single time I try they run away. It's not just the people, even the cows don't want to listen! hahah

 

Hermana Christensen

It's November! We got a Christmas tree at the dollar store! Merry Christmas! :)

Week 68

Things are about to get super real here in New Mexico.

We had a tough yet rewarding week. LALO, the dump man wa to come to church this Sunday! Some members that live by him in Aragon picked him up and he stayed all 3 hours and agreed with everything taught in gospel principles class about baptism. We had GREAT member support in the instant class.

We taught Lalo the Plan of Salvation this week and he was so cute! He said," I didn't know that I lived before I came to earth." He grasped everything so well. When we asked him about his Book of Mormon reading he was so sad and said, " I haven't been able to memorize that chapter yet, I want to testify like you all do, I want to know the scriptures like you do." We assured him that he doesn't have to memorize the scriptures! He is so diligent and his prayers are so sincere. We love teaching Lalo. He has been telling all his friends about us and about his baptism. He is so exicted! We drove to the reserve dump with Bishop the other day to introduce him to Lalo as the Bishop. Lalo told bishop about his progress and said,"The sisters say I am almost ready to be baptized so I guess I am doing well!"

Bishop told us that he would have NEVER guessed that Lalo would be interested. Lots of people look down on him and have made some rude comments about him. But when we meet with Lalo I know that we see him as who he can become. And he is starting to believe how special he is! He is rediscovering the light in himself.

We are so exited an humbled to be part of a mission prayer this week. This is the email that President Sweeney sent out to the whole mission...

Dear Elders and Sisters -

We have a mission that has great faith. It is because of that that I seek your help.

The Sisters (Sisters Christensen, Harrast and Doolhoff) in the Luna Ward and Pie Town Branch have labored to share the gospel with those in this area since June 2014. Prior to this time, there were no full time missionaries in this area. The Spirit seemed to brood upon me and I assigned three wonderful Sisters to labor there to open up this area for the preaching of the gospel.

I know there are those here that are prepared to listen. But despite their best efforts, the harvest has been meager.

The District Leader for these Sisters approached me with an idea: could we do a mission-wide week of prayer for this area - added to the groups we are praying for - for one week? I asked the 3 Sisters and they were enthusiastic to the idea!

I am impressed with the sincerity of the request and the child-like faith of the Sisters that our prayers in their behalf will yield an increase in the harvest. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

So, please join me in praying for the Luna Sisters' area for one week beginning on P-Day (Nov. 10) for one week (through P-Day Nov. 17). That they will find - or members will help them find - people to teach in their area. That hearts will be opened to our message.

THANK YOU!

President Sweeney

I am so humbled and excited to be included in every companionship's prayers this week! I know that we will see miracles as a result!

In my studies this week I learned about being patient with the work. These were a good reminder....

2 Nephi 27

20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee. 21 Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.

2 Nephi 33
2 But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.
 3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.
 4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.

This is how I feel right now. That a lot of people don't want to listen. Their hearts are hardened. These people are merciless. Haha but so are we! I love these verses in chapter 33 because I know that all of my prayers will consecrated in some way. I am still thoroughly convinced that I am a seed planter.

I am grateful for this area and how hard it is! Yesterday in fast and testimony meeting we had a few members get up and mention us in their testimonies. The members up here actually trust us and love us now. We are making differences in many lives. I can't wait to see this area continue to grow as time goes on. 

Hermana Christensen :)

 Right before our big singing break at stake conference

Trying to teach the cows, fails every time. President Sweeney suggested that I lure them in with apple slices!