WELCOME HOME ELDER CHRISTENSEN!

Elders Monsen, Christensen & Young!

COUSINS!!!!!

Elder Christensen "Here He Comes" 3/26/2012



Hermana King, Elder Christensen and Presidente King at the airport!

Here he comes!

You sent your son we send you home a Man of God. You can be so proud he is wonderful.

This is a hard day for us but we are so happy he is going from our arms to yours.

Take care of our Elder "C" we love him so much.

"Go Homers Elders Monsen, Christensen & Young"

Have so much fun he has miracles to share.

God bless you all,

President & Hermana King

3/19/2012 Elder Christensen "This Is It"

We went to do SERVICE!! I LOVE YARDWORK
TONS!!! Get ready front yard!

I... am not really sure how to feel right now... It`s like somebody put all of the possible attributes into a blender and turned it on high for a few minutes... Just a jumbly mix of... emotions... I`ve been able to leave my Utahnic bubble for two years and put myself in the shoes of a Chilean... Living their culture, speaking their language, and walking their streets... The only difference between us and whatever person in the street is the eternal message, the good news, the beloved gospel of Jesus Christ that we have in our lives. It`s been hard.... I`m not exactly sure how to put 2 years of feelings into one last email to the friends and family.

I`ve changed. WE`VE changed... Why? Because we`ve all progressed. We`ve all experienced an emotional spiritual supercharge. I am SO grateful to my Heavenly Father for letting me serve a mission... For letting me call myself Elder Christensen and proclaim his gospel to his children here on earth... It`s so simple... So easy to understand and perfect to apply... I feel like the same person but at the same time I feel like... not at all. Now I`ve seen with my spiritual eyes.. Now I know how to set real, worthwhile goals AND acheive them... Now I know WHAT MATTERS. THIS is what matters. It`s not about who has the coolest phone or clothes or any of that garb... What matters is who we are now, and what we will become.. Then it becomes our duty to GET IT.

Birthday Cake!!! Peaches, cream and manjar.. Wow.

This week we`ve seen miracles... On Sunday we had FOUR of the inactives that we`ve been working with for some time now ALL show up. They are from different families... I was just. BLOWN AWAY when I saw one, then two, then three, then FOUR all show up at different times. Not to mention one of our investigators went as well. I was honestly overwhelmed with the spirit. We`ve spent time with these people... we`ve spent tears with these people.. But really, all we did was teach.. The spirit and the Lord did the rest. It`s amazing to know that one has played a part in God`s eternal plan and that HE is making a difference in their lives. 

I am so happy as well that I`ve had THE BEST family and friends supporting me through these two years. THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who did so much as send a little card or wish me happy birthday. The little push that I receieved from each one of you has helped me think, plan, and keep working here in Chile. NOW... I need your help here. I`m about to be LAUNCHED into some strange 4th dimension and put back into the real world.. Things are gonna be weird.. It will be VERY different. I will now be a very much more capable Elder Christensen in a very familiar yet different place.... I`ll need your help to keep the focus and move on. Life moves on right? It`s on to the next stage... EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY. Thats the plan. Teach, preach, HELP everywhere possible. Lift where we STAND!!

To be honest I don`t have more words than these to describe how I feel. I wish I could put it all into writing so you could truly understand... I KNOW with all my heart that this is the true gospel restored today on the face of the earth. This is GODS will that we are bringing to pass every day. He loves us and has an eternal plan of happiness for us.. Just like an inteligent father sends his or her daughter to school when they are young, our Heavenly Father has sent us here, to this earth, so that we can become great. Let us treasure this time... Let us treasure every minute of our earthly probation and do what it is that we were fore-ordained to do. I KNOW that God has put his prophet on the earth to lead and guide us.. He knows the fathers will... He knows the fathers plan... He knows the fathers face... Through the fruits that he shows, we can be lead by the hand of Christ all the way back to our fathers presence. I know that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ... Some of you know... many of you don`t... Before the mission I read that book in ONE WEEK... did I get anything? No. Did I understand it? No. Did I learn it all? No. I just read it so I could say I read it and go on a mission..... NOW I KNOW THAT EVERY WORD CONTAINED IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO COVERS IS FOR OUR BENEFIT. I spend 30 minutes on ONE PAGE now just analyzing and looking up other scriptures....Searching diligently.....Feeling the spirit.... KNOWING for myself that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I love this. I love this so much. There is no other way to be happy apart from this. THIS IS THE WAY AND THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. Thanks Nephi.

President, Sister King and I... Zone interviews...

I`m grateful for my family. I`m grateful for this church.... I`m grateful for all of the tools that we have that help us grow closer to our heavenly father...... I`m grateful for who and what I`ve become. I`m grateful for this 2 year experience of a lifetime..... "I know that my redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives"......... It`s been wild. It`s been great. It`s been true. The time has come to put it into practice now... My last words come from 2 Timothy.... 

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

See you soon. Love, your son, your friend, Elder Kurtis William Christensen.

3/12/2012 Elder Christensen "Here I Am"

My companion and I at church. Know you like the paisley!

Friends and Famliy!!! This has been such a great week here in the work of the Lord. As always, I`m happy to be here working and preaching our fathers eternal gospel. We had some POWERFUL lessons this week.. I had my socks ripped off by the spirit a couple times to be honest... Like wow..

My companion and I in front of a huge fountain!

1.) We had a huge miracle this week. We read the family proclamation to the world with an inactive man and his active family... They have hugeeeeee marital problems and many reasons why not to be happy.... Really sad... Anyways, this was like the 3rd or 4th POWERFUL lesson that we had with them regarding these things.... This time was sick. We talked all about satan... How his goal is to destroy the family and assure that we do not get our goal of eternal life together... The first presidency warns us of this... RIGHT THERE. Its so clear. I love the fam proc.. It`s amazing. We were at church the next day and to my AMAZEMENT, HE WALKED IN.. HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Miracle.. My jaw literally dropped wide open. Super emotional. Kinda sad though because his wife got up and bore her testimony.... really she just ripped him apart along with her kids.... I don`t think she saw him come in the back but I felt..... really bad..

Beasty sombrero much? Know you love that one Sister Tawny!

2.) Had a family home evening with another family that is all active... The 19 year old girl has NO testimony of the church and just goes because her mom obligates her.... She actually doesn`t believe in God at all... We figured that out just BARELY after out appointment had ended.. We taught them this day about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You all know it.. 5 steps, faith, repentance, baptismal, gift of the holy ghost, endure to the end... It was average at best.... We closed as usual and then we noticed that the girl was just laughing and making fun of the lesson.. You could almost say she was mocking God.... I got sick to my stomach and didn`t want to be there but my mouth opened and I asked..... " Usted todavía cree en Dios?" Do you still believe in God? She laughed and sputtered out a really cocky... NO. I DONT... In my head the entire lesson we had just taught disappeared and we started another one... We asked her about this life on earth... Why are we here? What do you think? She believes that we are all here on a "mission" and that once it is completed, we will all receive our rewards depending on the work that we`ve done on earth... ***The spirit hit me in the face at this point and told me to go to Alma 30... The story of Korihor... I actually had no idea why I was going there apart from the fact that I knew "satans doctrine" appeared there..... President King taught us all about "satans doctrine".... and as the promise is made in the scriptures, it was given to me IN THAT MOMENT what to say... We read from 12 to 18.... I was actually really really really mad... she was just LAUGHING at us... She said... "Oh so now I`m the antichrist like Korihor?" At first she was laughing, but that laugh quickly turned into DUMBSTRUCK. It happen to fall on me to read verse 17... Halfway through I realized that those were her EXACT WORDS.......
  "every man afared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength"

The spirit did some hard hard hard working right there.... Honestly.. God used my companion and I to give a very loud warning cry to one of his daughters here on earth. It was honestly... Insane.... We left her with the strong commitment to pray and ASK God if he existed.... ASK WITH FAITH and you WILL receive an answer.. Simple recipe... and it`ll never change.

My companion Elder Braddy and I in front of a cannon! Ignore the finger tip!

Those were some of our big highlights this week... I would tell more but I`m out of time unfortunately...... I just wanted to leave you with my personal testimony yet again... HE LIVES. I KNOW HE LIVES. I know that his gospel has been restored to the earth in its plentitud and its perfection. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. THIS IS THE WAY. I testify that the Lord really does work through small and simple things.... that he really does teach us LINE UPON LINE... That is how I`ve been built up during this time.. That is how the Lord has changed me. Slowly but surely. I know of a surety that these things are true and that this is the only way that we can actually be happy.... I hope that this week brings the best of results to all of you and that you can continue faithfully serving and building the kingdom of God on the earth.

My last leadership meeting.... Elder Monsen, Elder Lewis, Elder Barrett and I in the hall. SICK! 

 Much love,

Elder Christensen.

3/5/2012 Elder Christensen: "The Church and Coca Cola"

Okay lets get down to it. Not lots of time here...

First comes first... The title of this email... FUNNY STORY.. We get into this house right? Miracle! These people were amazing. Anyways, they start asking us questions about the church right? Then this one comes out... The dad told us that he heard our church was founded by coca cola... He heard that that was how we were able to achieve such a world-wide influence. I laughed out loud and just shook my head.... Did I tell you guys about the lady who told us that Joseph Smith was swallowed by a whale? She claimed Joseph Smith took credit for what Jonah did.... Ya... BEWARE of false doctrine much? Haha.

It`s been a rollercoaster ride this week. Not really sure how it already disappeared. We burned our totts off walking in the sun though. The members told us that it was 38 degrees farenheit here 2 days ago... Needless to say we are taking Lotsssssssssssssssss of cold showers. Also, we went to a guy in our ward`s house this week that you guys would LOVE. Mom it has a huge vineyard full of grapes.. I got some sick pictures for ya.

This is MY VINEYARD!!!

We`ve been working a lot here with the less active people as well as the leaders of the ward.... What is the difference between knowledge and inteligence? Kinda a weird question right.... There are LOTS of smart people in this world... The sad thing is, there are many SMART but INACTIVE people... I`ve run into people that are wayyyyyyyyyyy smarter than I am with the gospel yet they refuse to go to church and take the sacrament... Hmm... Where more is given more is required.... and he who doesn`t use that will have greater condemnation... Knowledge transforms into inteligence when it is APPLIED. For example.... I can KNOW that cafe rio has delicious salads.... But if I do nothing I`m going to die of hunger.. Correct? I need to put my knowledge into action, get up, and go get myself a delicious salad! THEN it becomes something inteligent.

Like my grape necklace?

First the funny example, and now the serious one......... I KNOW that the sacrament is something necessary in order to renew my baptismal covenants AND maintain the spirit with me.... That is knowledge.. As well it is a blessing. You could go as far as calling me STUPID or UN-INTELIGENT if I didn`t apply this knowledge and actually do what I know is right... It`s something simple, but its often looked over..... 

DyC 93:28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
31 Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light.
36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
37 Light and truth forsake that evil one.

Elder Monsen and I at Presidents House. You KNOW that tie is SICK!

We have the choice every day to receive and rejoice in the light. Like I said, lets be inteligent. Sounds funny, but behind it all it has a deeper meaning.... If you are in a fallen state, it is important to maintain a constant vision of what you want to become. Maintain the eye of faith and see the end results from the start... Thats one of the greatest lessons I`ve learned in my entire mission. SEE WITH THE EYE OF FAITH. Nobody sets your limits except yourself. Who says you can`t set a baptismal date in a contact today? Only YOU impede yourself.. So set your goal... Receive the KNOWLEDGE, and apply it. That is how we become inteligent....

Alma 32:40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word (Place your goal here instead of word), looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.

If we don`t see with this eye, all is impossible.. All is lost... Remember that through Christ we can become anything we want... He made it possible. I hope you all have a great week and that you can really think about your futures.... Today is the day to change.

Much love, Elder Christensen.

PICTURES!! FINALLY! YEAAAAAAAAAA!

Our group of.... Well.... Really old missionaries.....

2/27/2012 Elder Christensen "Small and Simple Things"

Hey there everyone. It`s been a great week of work ONCE again doing that best thing a teenager can do.... I`ve felt a lot of gratitude these last few days regarding my mission, and who I am. I honestly feel SO blessed for everything that has happened to me during this mission and as well for the things that happen every day... I read something interesting in Preach my gospel... I don`t remember exactly what it says but its like.... the best way to be humble to God is through gratitude..... I really liked that and it got me thinkin.

We did LOTSSS this week.. My comp had to get his chilean identification renewed so we had to head down to santiago... Can`t lie I felt like I was back in the office haha. We also found some sweet ties being sold right outside the registro civil... o sea... its like the government... I dunno. Can`t describe it.. Where foreigners go to become legal! But anyways these ties were cheap and sweet! It`s like a missionaries dream to find sick cheap ties so we were happy.... Also we got together as a zone and did whats called a cosechón... It means harvest in english... We just all get together and take the trash out on ONE sector... Thats a LOT of priesthood in one place hahah. Had some success there..

More than anything I`m grateful for where I am, and who I`m with. My comp is amazing. Step by step we`re seeing changes in the ward. One miracle is our mission leader. When I got here he was DEAD. Just going to church and that was it.... leaving after first hour... But now? We have our meeting with him EVERY week.. Also, we got him to come out with us! We had a MIRACLE and got into the house of a contact we did a few weeks back. It`s amazing to see the fruits of your labors.. This guy has cualquier enthusiasm and he`s excited now to work with us. I just wanted to share my testimony with you guys this week about doing the SMALL and SIMPLE things... In our ward we get like... 30 people to church every week.. I feel bad for our bishop because he has SO much on his plate.... Basically we`ve just gone to all the leaders of our ward and shown them our desire to WORK. To be PUT IN during the clutch moment. To lift where we stand and support everyone.. however we can. That`s what has sparked the change in the people.. You can`t just do something and expect instant changes. No. It doesn`t work like that. GOD doesn`t work like that. These things require time, patience, constant nourishment and attention. ( Alma 32:37-43. ) It depends on US. Our desicion to do what is right. AGENCY.. I KNOW that everyone thinks I`m that person who needs things NOW.. Mom I know you even put "urgent" as my ringtone on your phone...(By the way I heard that song this week and it brought a tear to my eye) But now? I know who God is.. I know how he works... I have a testimony that everything works out how it should and when it should.. Sometimes we want things our way right now.. but its not like that... Sometimes we want the results of hard work without actually doing any work.. but that? IS NOT FAITH. We have to be constantly looking forward with an eye of faith if we actually want to get anywhere in life. If we can`t see with that eye? We will NEVER achieve what it is that we want in this life. (Ether 12:19, Alma 32: 40)....

I just wanted to end with these scriptures that have to do with what I`ve written about today....

DyC 64:33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

In spanish it says... "No os canséis de hacer lo bueno....." DO NOT become tired of doing what is good..... We as members of the church are doing it! We are putting the foundation for the church in years to come. I know it`s HARD to be consistent with a calling... I know its HARD to have a real responsability in this church... But we can do it. We are all that the Lord has to build and fortify his church in these the latter days. Heres the invitation that King Benjamin gave in Mosiah 5.....

15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.
Lets do it. We`re a team. On top of that, GOD and his son Jesus Christ are with us. I can testify of this work. This IS the church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth.. The only way.... and there is no other way... (2 Nephi 31:20-21)

Hope the week is as good for everyone else as it is for us here in Peñaflor. Sigamos adelante con buen animo hermanos míos.... Yo se que Nuestro Padre Celestial está con nosotros y nos ayudará a que seamos ejemplos de los creyentes....

Elder Christensen.

2/20/2012 Elder Christensen "Busy Busy Business"

WOOOOOOOOOOOoooo! Changes have come and gone.... My new companions name is Elder Braddy from North Carolina.. I saw this kid get BORN in the mission! He has two changes less than I do and we´re already having a ton of fun here in Peñaflor. This week we walked like latter day children..... We walked and walked and walked and walked.................. Haha. The country is such a great place. Let me be honest... We just eat random stuff off of trees like plums, apple pears, and black berries... Its... wonderful. We were eating TONS of blackberries and then randomly we saw a dead cat on top of the bush... Definatelyyyyyy gross.... Spit it all out. Other funny things that happened...... I got bit by a german shepheard on the hand. My own fault for trying to play with it.. Everyones gotta get bit once in the mission right? DONT¨ WORRY THOUGH... I am already all healed up. I don´t have ANY rabies either... Last funny thing... This random girl like... proposed to my comp and I.... SUPER GROSS.... we just were contacting her sister and she was saying all kinds of stupid stuff.... The worst one was that one though..... "Just so you guys know, I´d get married to either one of you."................. Ahemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Ya...... We just laughed over that one for a few hours. 

Okay now that I got all the cuestiones locas out of my mind, let me talk about the gospel. Here in our zone, we have this initiative to take our pictures of Christ around and use them to get into peoples houses... On Wednesday, we were knocking doors and we found this guy who was ticked off with the missionaries... Apparently, one time some missionaries were really mean to him in his house so he HATED them from that moment on... Anyways, after a few minutes of conversation and testimony bearing, he let us into his house... We basically just talked about God... Who he is, his natural being, what role he plays in our lives... This guy was sick! Honstly super cool. He had a few particular things he wanted us to pray for... his family is pretty messed up and they live in separate places... so he wanted to ask God for unity and blessings in his work.... He asked me to say the prayer and we kneeled just like always... I dunno this was kinda weird...the spirit was STRONG there... you could have cut it with a butter knife... I don´t even feel like I spoke during that prayer. It was like God just took over and talked through my voicebox.. This man FELT Gods spirit. He FELT his love... He just sat there for several minutes and cried....We testified that it was his spirit...Super super fuerte.. After that he gave us the tour of his house haha. Kinda funny. We´re gonna pass by there this next week.

Just wanna end with a scripture.... 3 Nefi Chapter 13

     19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

     20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

     21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Try to see with celestial eyes this week. Often times we get lost and focus on things of this world.. We won´t take any of that with us to the next life..... We need to be constantly focusing on worthwhile goals.. CELESTIAL goals.... may we lay ourselves up treasures in heaven... Hope all goes well this week. Love you all! Elder Christensen.

Pics... I only took like two.. I´ll take some with my new comp this week and send them next week! Love you! Take care! Chaoo!