Yeah! No Transfer :)

Hey guys! We had transfers this week, and I’m glad to say that neither my companion or I got transferred. I like this area La Rioja, everything about it and I hope not to get transferred for a while. Since my companion didn’t go, it means that he will almost for sure go next month, but I’ll be here about 3 months more at least. One elder from our apartment did get transferred, elder carrion from Chile is going back to Cordoba, and a Guatemalan guy is coming to be our district leader. At least before Elder Carrion left he got  a baptism here, we had the service yesterday and it was really nice and everyone was happy! It was the first baptism that I have seen on the mission so far. 

We found 14 new investigators this week, which is the most I’ve ever had on my mission! Some of them families, some of them individuals but the families are most exciting because that’s what the gospel is all about. Families and the plan of salvation. One of the new families we found sells tortillas on the side of the road all day everyday. Some of them seemed really into our discussion. They had a child pass way, so we taught them the plan of salvation and eternal families and it was good. They gave us free tortillas even haha. Some others we found through service. She was trying to dig out a bunch of small bushes with a shovel, and we asked if we could help and she said yes. We worked there for a long time, and eventually she was really friendly and gave us food and we have a time to go back to her house. Service is really important for missionaries. I doubt she would’ve ever let us into her house if we hadn’t done the service, and I know she wouldn’t have given us free food. 

After our district meeting on Wednesday I walked back to the apartment with elder pace, the other new guy who is always getting hurt from crazy accidents. On the way home some girl had a mountain of groceries and she asked us to help her carry them back to her house because there was something wrong with her leg. Elder Pace doesn’t speak very well either so I talked a lot more than I usually do and it really helped to build my confidence, because I realized that I could communicate better than I thought I could. I also found out that the girl is 19 with 3 kids. Nice. She’s an investigator for the elders in the other area now (because she lives out of our area). 

Something bad happened, which was that the Hermana Rivadera got the job. This means that she works Sundays from 9 AM to 1 pm and she will never be able to come to our ward. Very disappointing, we found a kind of half solution though. There’s another ward in the city that starts at 6 pm, so we are going to try and take her there next week, and maybe she can become a member of that ward. She is keen on the idea, so we will see! 

Something good that happened was that Argentina beat Chile 2-1 in soccer, in Chile. The Chilean elder in our apartment has been driving us crazy all week singing his chants. All day everyday “VAMOS, VAMOS CHILEANOOOS, VAMOS A GANAR!!” and it was so annoying so everyone else was just hoping they would lose so he would stop. And they lost haha, and then he got transferred. Got em. 

Something strange yet awesome that happened was that we found a man to teach who is in love with America. He loves it even more than me and my companion. When we got there he was wearing an american flag hoodie and a los Angeles angles hat, and all he wanted to do the whole time was talk about obamas visit to argentina last week and how awesome it was. He teaches an English class at  school and we said we could come help him teach English sometime and he got super excited. He also spoke to us in English the entire time and next time we go he said he will make us an american breakfast. 

We also received a reference to teach a guy, and when we showed up he was very knowledgeable about the church. He knows about and believes in the great apostasy, and he even knows bout kolob. Weird! 

My mom said she missed having a scripture in my emails, so I’ll put one. Alma 44. The armies of the nephites are in a huge battle with the lamanites, and the lamanites have twice the number of men as the nephites have. The odds arent in favor of the righteous, and it may seem like their never are. But in reality, with God on our side the odds are always in our favor. The nephites crushed them in battle, and this is what Moroni says:

 3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.

4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

This is just another example of how God takes care of his people. If we do our part, then God will do his. 

I don’t have any new pictures this week except this one of me and a puppy, so there you go. 

Love, Elder Christensen

P- Day #12 - Last Week in Training!

Its getting cold here in La Rioja all of a sudden. “Frescito” they say. I don’t know if its just a big cold front or if it’s the seasons changing, but it feels great. I have one week left of training … then I’m on my own  I don’t feel like I’m ready to be done training, but I'm sure I’ll keep learning as it goes a long. We have transfers on the 27th, elder carrion from Chile will probably go and my comp elder packer could also, but we never know. If he leaves I will have had 4 companions in 4 transfers which is really weird. 

This last week was kind of quiet. Last pday, (I think I wrote a little about it last week) we went up in the mountains to this place SanAugusta, to go hiking and play futbol. We thought there was gonna be food there so we didn’t bring any food or water or anything. And we got there and there was no food or water or anything that we could buy so we weren’t able to eat or drink all day. By the time we got back we were all weak and burnt and my companion felt sick, so we kinda rested a lot the next day. 

We’ve been teaching Hermana rivadera a lot still this week. She is basically ready, she understands everything, she just needs to come to church before she can be baptized. And she wants to go, but she needs a ride. We had one set up for her yesterday but she wasn’t there. The sister who was supposed to bring her was acting all guilty and avoiding us and then left early so we never got to talk to her and we have no idea what happened. Something good happened at one of our lessons with her this week. We were just talking outside and one of her friends showed up. The friend is a member of the evangelical church, and she told us that she had been out doing some preaching of her own when she felt like she should come visit her friend, Hermana Rivedera. And of course we were there, and she listened to the lesson and we gave her a book of mormon and she wants to read it. 

We spend a lot of time with the rivaderas. On Saturday we were there all morning doing a service, which was to help make a bunch of empanadas. It was kinda cool to learn how to make them, I’d never done it before but its pretty easy. We were hoping to get lunch out of the service, but failed because they made them all to sell. Empanadas are sooo good. I bet if someone started an empanada delivery service in satellite beach it would take off. She told us that she applied for a job that would make her work Sundays. We were like nooo. She asked us to pray for her and we said we would. But maybe not the prayer she was expecting haha. 

The guy who stole his moms car and went to Chile finally made it home, minus the wrecked car. He brought us some juice packets from Chile which he said he bought for 1 peso each, but I sold them to a Chilean elder for 30 pesos each hahah.

Poor elder pace got bit by a dog yesterday and was all bloody on his leg. He’s the same one who crashed his bike and had to go to the hospital. He has the worst luck.

Something interesting that me and my companion were talking about this week was how the organization of the church is a strong testimony of its truthfulness. Lots of people we teach didn’t know that Jesus organized a church while he was on the earth. Lots of people think he just taught and performed miracles, but really he also organized a church, with the 12 apostles and 70s and everything. Isn’t it weird that none of the other Christian churches, not even Catholics, have a quorum of 12 apostles? God didn’t allow any of the churches during the apostasy to have a quorum of 12 apostles nor to take the name of “the church of Jesus Christ”. Doesn’t it make sense that The true church of Christ would have his name and the same organization that existed when he organized his church? For me that’s a testimony builder. 

That’s about all that happened this week. One of our investigators had her quinceñera* (no idea how to spell that) so didn’t come to church. We played a little tennis this morning. I hope you guys all enjoy spring break! 

Love, Elder Christensen 

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Tiny Bonus:

You guys asked about the food. Well, in Cordoba I had milanezas like 3/4 times a week, but out here in la rioja I've only had it once. They are way good, but the ones you cooked were more juicy than these normally. In la rioja we eat a ton of this stuff called choripan. The meat is intestines...it tastes mostly like regular beef though. And they just slice open a big piece of good bread and stuff the meat in the middle of it along with whatever toppings, like a hotdog. I like picante with mine. I don't have any pictures of the food, but I'll try to get them. We also eat a lot of tostados. They are these big foot long sandwiches that are toasted and they have egg on them and meat and they come with fries...we get that for about 1.50 US. We drink a lot of juice, as in sugar packets that people dump in water. They don't believe in plain water here. Also mate! People drink mate 24/7 here. I've only had it 3 times but its pretty good. The mission president allows it. 

P - Day #11 - Rely on God with Patience

This is my 11th p-day! That means that I only have 2 weeks left of being trained. I might get a new companion then, or I might not, but either way I don’t feel qualified to graduate my training yet haha. My Spanish has improved so much and I learn something every day, but there is still so far to go. Every time I start to feel like I’m getting the hang of it, I get humbled by talking to somebody and not being to understand a single word. But its improving poco y poco. 

Saturday we ate lunch with a member of this bishopric, Hermano Romero. He’s funny, he is a huge fan of this soccer team from Buenos Aires called Boca Juniors and every time we go to his house he’s wearing a full soccer uniform. Anyway, he asked me to give a talk the next day. In Spanish of course. I don’t mind giving a talk at all, I would just like more than half a days notice! The only time I had to prepare it was from 9:30 – 11:30 that night. It was stressful but I got it done. However in church the next day the talks they had before mine went way way over time and the meeting ended before I could give mine. Oh well, at least I have it prepared for the next time they ask me to give a talk on half a days notice. 

We only had 1 “investigator” come to church this week. We call him an investigator but he really isn’t, he’s a member. He’s hermana rivaderas son ( the one with the parrot ) and we call him an investigator because he didn’t even know he was a member of the Church haha. He was baptized 4 years ago he said but he hadn’t gone back since. We are going to check the membership records to see if he’s actually a member, because he knew absolutely nothing about the church before we met him. Either the missionaries who baptized him were super trucho and didn’t teach him at all, or he was baptized into a different church and he’s just confused. Me and my companion love teaching him just because of all the funny crazy stuff he says. For example, he thought we believed that Joseph Smith was God and that we believed in reincarnation haha. He also said that he thinks the name of the missionary who baptized him was José smith (that’s what they call Joseph smith in Spanish). But he’s very interested in either being baptized or reactivating, once we figure it all out. We were nervous that maybe he would be put off by the length of the meeting. Sacrament meeting went way over time, and two families (which is like half the congregation) got up and left after an hour. I was starting to get mad because they needed to be setting the Example for the visitors,  but I’m sure they had somewhere important to go. However after the meeting finally ended we talked to him and he was like “there’s no more?” he didn’t want to go home haha.

A couple sad things happened in the ward this week. There is this nice old lady who we eat with every Friday. She cooks very well, and she has an inactive son who is a chef. But this past week her son took her car and a bunch of her money and drove to Chile without her permission, got in a car crash, broke his leg and destroyed the car. So now the lady is here with no car, no money and her son is stuck in Chile with a broken leg in the hospital with no way to get back. Also, her sons college was supposed to start this next week. She was understandably upset, and we just wanted to help.  So I read this scripture, which applies really well to missionaries but I thought it could help here maybe. 

Alma 27: Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

But she somehow took it the wrong way and got kinda angry. She said she wasn’t sad, she was mad and that she’s never going to forgive her son. And then my comp tried to talk to her about the importance of forgiveness but it was just bad all around. I feel bad, we just wanted to help, I don’t know what else we could do. 

I know at least for me that scripture helps me feel better. Our investigators randomly drop us some times, and we are rejected every single day. Just like every single other missionary, teacher, or prophet in history . 

28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

When we rely on God, with patience comes success. 

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things;

This is how I feel. I make so many mistakes, with the language and everything and I often feel very weak,  but I do love to testify, or “boast of my God” because I know the messages we are sharing are true. 

We did something fun this p-day. We went up way up in the mountains, and it was a total desert up there with tons of cacti and stuff. There was a ton of cool rock formations and also a lot of dinosaurs all over the place. I got sunburned, but it was fun! 

Adios,

Love,

 Elder Christensen 

P - Day #10 "Parrot Troubles"

We are very spoiled this week!!

It feels like Christmas.....TWO LONG emails.

One did not send last week, and the other 

reason is below:

yes i got the tablet! I typed up the email before i came here which saves me a lot of time! I just have to add pictures to it now. Yeah we have zone conferences! They are always aweseme. But we only have one with the president every 3 months i think. He is soooo cool. He's really spiritual yet kind of relaxed at the same time. And he really knows the doctrine.

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Hello everyone, I've been in Argentina for 10 weeks now. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever, and sometimes it feels like I just got here. Time is really weird on the mission.

Last week, after I was done emailing we borrowed the other elders bikes for the ride home. The bike I was riding was from an elder named elder Pace, he is the same one that crashed last week and had to go to the hospital. Now I can tell why he crashed, his bike was in a really bad state while i was riding it. The handle bars where extremely loose, as was the front wheel. While i was riding the front wheel was wobbling like crazy and the handle bars where completely messed up. Sometimes I had to turn it completely side ways to go straight! And we were on a busy road so I was actually kind of scared, I just prayed that the bike would be alright until I got home. I made it okay, and then I kind of forgot about it. But later that night when elder pace went to ride it, the second he touched it, it completely fell apart. I mean really fell apart, the handlebars disconnected and the front wheel fell off. If that had happened while I was riding, I could’ve been really hurt. It was either really lucky or a miracle haha. 

We have a couple progressing investigators right now. A girl named Genesis who wants to get baptized but we have to get her dads permission. He is a member of the Jehovah’s witness church but he let’s his daughter go to our church every week. There is this Lady named Vanessa who has 3 kids, Ella es muy pobre, por eso she doesn’t believe in God. We taught her the first 4 lessons and she still says she doesn’t believe in God. But its only a matter of time, I think because its plain to see how much happier she is now compared to when we first met her. Its like night and day. She says she wants to come to church. And finally we have the Hermana Rivadera. She has a ton of faith in God and she wants to get baptized soon. She has come to church once, and she just needs to attend one more time in order to be baptized. 

The Hermana Rivadera has a pet parrot named Polly, and that thing is seriously of the devil. He does any thing that he possibly can to disrupt the lesson anytime the spirit is there. He is always perfectly calm until we are saying something important, then he starts freaking out causing a scene, trying to spill the sugar bowl, or pecking someone. Never more so than when we told the first vision. He was on top of the roof and as my companion began reciting the verses from the JS history when he has the vision, he does a flying attack and starts pecking the back of her neck and screeching really loud. Stuff like this ALWAYS happens during the first vision. Either a kid will start yelling or a phone will ring or something. This has really strengthened my testimony of the power of the words, because of how hard Satan tries to stop people from hearing it. The spirits always there when we tell it, and he doesn’t want anyone hearing anything about it. 

On Sunday we were expecting 5 investigators at church but only had one show up. That was Genesis. Its kind of frustrating, but everyone has their agency. What is frustrating though is when people say they don’t get an answer, but when we ask if they have read, prayed on their knees with real intention to act on an answer, or gone to church they say no, no, and no. Then we ask if they believe that they’ve done all they can to receive an answer and it gets them every time. They can’t lie, they just say “well, truthfully no”. Then they recommit, and things work out. 

Everyone needs to understand that reading the scriptures, praying and attending church are the keys to receiving answers and feeling the spirit. This is what we always tell investigators. And I mean fervent prayer, really talking to God. A mechanical robot prayer is like not praying at all. 

Moroni chapter 7:

 5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.

6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.

8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

Basically, if we don’t pray with real intent and show faith by following the commandments, we aren’t going to feel the spirit strong enough to receive an answer. First comes actions of faith, then comes answers. I know I say that like every week but its just really true. Faith isn't something we just have, its a gift from God that comes following actions.

I hope everyone is doing well! Love, Elder Christensen 

The Kindest Bus Driver - WEEK #9

Hola, Happy leap day, feb. 29th. My spanish has gotten so much better. I can understand almost everything. I still don't speak very well, I understand a lot better than i speak. But at least I know whats going on now!

On monday we had a meeting with the Jehovahs witness guys. Nothing interesting happened, they have their beliefs and we have ours. They contradict themselves with the scriptures they use to prove their points, but whatever. We are going to meet with them again tonight.

On Tuesday, I went on an exchange with an elder from chile. His area is really up in the mountains, so we had to use bikes. my first time using bikes on the mission. We taught a first lesson with this guy named Marcelo. He was really into it, and we invited him to be baptized and he said yes. That same day my real companion invited one of our investigators and her son to be baptized, and they said yes also. Yaaaa

On Wednesday, we watched a broadcast with Elder Bednar. He said some interesting things. He said that faith isn't just believing, its action. Some people say that they don't get answers when they pray. Elder Bednar said that we could pray all night and not get an answer, if we are just praying to know. We have to pray with intention to act, not just out of curiosity. If we don't intend to act on the answer, we won't get one. He used two examples from the scriptures. First, he used 1 Nephi 4:6-7. Nephi is trying to get the brass plates, but he doesn't know how. "not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth." Nephi didn't have his answer yet, but he was obedient anyways. After he had acted in faith he received his answer and was able to get the plates. 

The second example is from the Bible, Old testament. Joshua 3:15-17. The Israelites have the Ark of the covenant, and they need to cross the river jordan. The priests were told that the water would part for them to walk across on dry land, like moses parting the red sea. So what did they do? They didn't stand by the river waiting for it to part. No. They acted with faith and they carried the Ark and walked into the river until all their feet were wet. Only then did the river part. "we receive no witness until after the trial of our faith" Its always going to be like that. We have to commit to obey the commandments before we get answers. 

Anyways, after the broadcast we only had enough money for one bus ride. We get on one, but its the wrong one of course. We figured that out too late, and we didn't have enough money to ride another bus. So we decided to just stay on the bus until it went back to the city. And hour later, we are way out in the country, no idea where we are, and the bus stops because we are at the guys house. We were the only ones on the bus, and i believe the driver was going to take a break in his house. But we explained to him our situation and he was nice enough to drive us all the way back to our area. How many bus drivers do you know that would do that?

One of the elders who lives with us named elder pace crashed his bike this week and had to go to the hospital in an ambulance. He didn't run into anything, he just crashed. He is totally fine though, he didn't even miss a day of work. #dedication I don't know why they called an ambulance haha.

Thats about all that happened this week. 

Love, Elder Christensen

(this is a resend because it apparently didn't work last week) :( 

Zone p-day in this place called Dique, up in the mountains by a lake.

P.S. Ethan said he got one of our packages!!!  He finally has the family calendar from Christmas!!
At least he got it.....