Monday, January 5, 2015

New Year's - Everlasting Beginnings


Hey Family

I hope everybody is doing really well.

I had a pretty crazy week.

Last Monday we had an appointment with a reference from mormon.org. The appointment was with a 19 year old young man. He told us that he had been raised Catholic but during his teenage years he stopped believing in God. One day while he was on the Internet he made friends with girl from Utah either through facebook or mormon.org. She began telling him about the gospel and invited him to pray. He told us that he prayed and that when he prayed he felt really good. After hearing this story we invited him to be baptized and he accepted. Yesterday he came to church and stayed for all three hours and tonight we will have a Family Home Evening with him and a young couple in the ward. This was a big answer to my prayers and a very special experience for me. As were sitting with him in sacrament meeting yesterday. I was touched by the way the Lord works and how He answered this young man’s prayer.

That same day we also found an excellent family. We shared with the oldest son and his sister. They didn’t accept the baptismal invitation but said they would like to hear more. I felt the spirit really strongly in this visit and I feel like they will get baptized soon. At the end of the lesson the mom came in to listen and told us that she was an inactive member and that her brother had served a mission. She had great memories from the Church.

New Years was great, other than the fact that our neighbors partied until 7:30 in the morning. Chileans don’t do too much for New Years, other than drink and party. It is not like other South American countries that have crazy firework celebrations everywhere. Fireworks are prohibited except for official shows by the city. I was lucky and got to see the city show from our window.

It has been insanely hot. The temperature really doesn’t say it is that hot. But the sun is extremely intense. Yesterday my companion walked around with an umbrella even though there weren’t any clouds in the sky.

I am grateful for the New Year and a fresh start. This year I set some different goals that I am really excited about.

Some of my favorite Scriptures right now:

Philippians 3
 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I have been frustrated with all of the trash in this world the past few weeks but today as I was reading in the Book of Mormon I loved the counsel of Mormon to Moroni after describing all the trash they had to deal with.
Moroni 9
 25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.
I loved this and it counseled me on how to deal with the trash.
There is also a great quote from President Uchtdorf about how there are no endings in the gospel, only Everlasting Beginnings. That is one of my favorites because I hate endings and love beginnings.
Anyways these are some of my thoughts. I love you tons. I thought of you guys skiing on Saturday while I was melting.
You are the best! LOVE YOU!
Elder Christensen


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