Christensen Missionaries: 11/1/2011 Hermana Christensen "I'M SO HAPPY IT'S NOVEMBER!!!"

me and sis adams/lee on our 17 month mark!

Well HELLO FAMILIA!!!!

How was everyone's old hallow's eve? Halllllloooowwwwwwwwwwwwen. I bet we all missed broseph and his magic with the fog and chainsaw... so fun. We had to be in at 530 and so we did some weekly planning and then had a TALENT SHOW at the battalion! it was a blaaaaaaaaast!

lets skip right to it!

this week has been fabulous. highlights:

• bullets? haha.
• there was definitely trick or treating in the outfitting room last night (where we dress people up like soldiers). classic.

• yesterday was rough finding people at home... not sure why. you'd have thougth it was christmas or something--people are crazy here about halloween. anyway, so we go to an investigators apt, not home. go to another, and there's this nurse lady who cares for both of them and she tells us she's in the hospital. oh no! she then said she was going there right now and that we could follow her. at first i was like, "naaw not so much" but then i realized that maybe there was a reason everything was falling through. so we went! and as we stood there, holding this 81 year old lady's hand, you could tell that it meant so much to her. it was one of those moments where we knew we were in the right place at the right time. and we asked if she'd read in the BOM, she said no but that she wished we'd brought one... whoops! got on RIGHT HERE IN MY BAG! haha she was all excited and said she was confined in there so she'd for sure be reading. sooo neat.

i don't know if you can tell or not... but my knees are dirty. literally. with dirt.

• on friday night we had a cita with a golden family. the dad was recently deported but tried ten times to cross and finally succeeded on the 11th time and is back. so this family of seven lives in this tiny house and doesn't go outside because they live in fear of being caught and deported. wow. so sad. anyway, they have this little tent area to the side of their house and we met them there. they'd dressed up for our visit and we talked to them about the proclamation to the family; the husband and wife have tons of marital problems... that's why they're not married. and that's also why they're listneing to us... they realize we have something that could help. OH WILL IT! anyway, it was a beautiful lesson. really truly. but i think my very favorite part was when they asked if we could kneel in prayer because that's what we've done before! We looked at the elders kinda surprised and got down onto the dirt floor to pray. it was SO special to me that this family didn't care about getting dirty so they could pray. the spirit was so strong and i felt SO HUMBLED and so grateful to not only have my little prayer rug by my bed, but to be a missionary and to be able to flood the earth with the TRUTH. and i KNOW that it is the truth and that the GOSPEL BLESSES FAMILIES!

• another cita right before that was with another family who is kinda struggling. i got all teary as i told them that FAMILIES CAN CHANGE and families can be united and together and SO HAPPY... but only if they are ROOTED together in Cristo and His evangelio. I just feel so thankful for my familia!

bought my companion elote: corn on the cob.
mayo. chile. sounds disgusting. i refuse to try
it. but she was like a little girl on christmas.

• huge highlight: for about two months now sisters have been asking me and another sister if we were going to dance to the talent show. so here's the thing. how do you dance when a) you have NO time to even think about it b) out of shape much? c) in that room?!! where?! hahahahah so i was like uuuuh i have no idea. but i felt like i was burying my candle under a bushel (willy). so in my mind i threw something together, and the night before the talent show me and sister smith danced IN THE PARKING LOT, BAREFOOT, IN PIONEER DRESSES. in a much lesser scale than preaching the gospel and salvation and saving souls and baptizing, it was one of the funnest nights of my mish. just... what? who does that?! and actually doing it was so fun. hahah doing it once actually full out together first time--hilariously fun and felt soo good to move! don't worry, we've got videos--even of the parking lot love. so fun!

• on sunday one of our extreeeeemely less actives came. we've been promising her for MONTHS if she came to church she'd feel better... and wow. she finally came and WOW did she feel better! she said she felt like a new person. holy! and she made comment after comment and said her first prayer in church (after being a member for 30+ years!)... she felt edified afterwards. definitely!
• also. it was my recent convert weekend. i got to see hermano chavez--he frequently brings me fruit at the battalion. haha. he's doin well! karina is doing AWESOME!! she's almost had her callnig in the primaria for a YEAR and she loves it! and my chilean father and his sis/bro came into the battalion on saturday and it made my heart SO WARM to hear that not only did he receive the melchizedek priesthood last week, but he's preparing for the temple here in a few weeks. he is so wonderful. i feel SO BLESSED. i know these relationships will go on for eternity!!

and family, that's what matters. this. the gospel. the straight and narrow. we are asked to do the small, simple, little, seemingly insignificant things becasue it's THOSE THINGS--like going to church weekly to renew sacred covenants, reading daily, praying often--that keep us able to resist temptation and stay on the path of truth and righteousness!! Look at the picture in the october ensign (SO BOMB!!!) about the tree of life. we keep using it to teach lehi's vision because it's SO GOOD... SO VISUAL SO DEPECTIVE. So keep going! and remember that THAT'S why. i know sometimes it seems like a lot... but it's not. the more we understand that, the easier it is to LIVE it and then to invite others to do the same..especially if they've already made convenants. you know what needs to be done.