Better Than We Ever Dreamed

September 28, 2011 8:25 AM

Hello my dear family,

I love you all. Today I was able to go to the Temple :) What a wonderful experience. I have learned to appreciate the temple a great deal as I have been out on a mission for the Lord. We can only go twice a year to receive the blessings found inside of it. As I walked in I could feel a difference in my heart. I knew that I felt the presence of the Lord and that I was walking on holy ground. I enjoyed the great blessing of renewing my covenants with Heavenly Father and I learned a few things too, of course :).

I have learned a lot about how to access the power of the Atonement in our lives. As we do our best in living the commandments then we are promised that the power of the atonement will work in our lives. For "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise" (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10). What I learned specifically is the meaning of "doing our best." As we move forward and gain greater light and knowledge we need to apply it immediately and never again live to a lower standard. As we do this the Lord is able to bless us with greater strength to accomplish His will and we are able to progress. We grow line upon line and precept upon precept and the quality of our lives progresses as our ability to act on revelation increases as well. Acting upon revelation as it comes draws us closer and closer to our Heavenly Father and in turn we are better able to accept the Atonement in our lives. I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ has true power to heal us and bring us closer to God. As we continually study the scriptures, pray, attend church, and follow the prophet we will be ae to feel Heavenly Father's presence more strongly in our lives.

I am excited for General Conference. I am excited to see what I can work on to grow in my abilities and better put on Christ. We haven't found any investigators this week but we do have an appointment with a woman who said that she would like to learn about the Book of Mormon. The woman's name is Eva and she was introduced to us a little while ago by a member. Recently Eva told the member that she would like to learn more about the Book of Mormon. We are excited to meet with her. We should see her on Thursday. I have decided to pray for two new investigators this week and I trust that the Lord will answer my prayer in His own time. I know that investigators will come I just don't know exactly when. I only hope that I can be prepared to teach them and bring them to Christ. I know that the gospel is true.

I met a sister from Taiwan today at the Temple visitor's center. It was great to be able to speak with her in Mandarin. I love being able to communicate with a culture that I have grown to love. I know that Heavenly Father has plans for each one of us. Let us be worthy to receive all of the blessings He desires to give us. They will be better than we ever dreamed. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Big Family History Activity

Hello my incredible family :)

I am so happy to hear about your week. I remember fifth grade camp at TAS it is a lot of fun. I am happy to hear about Jeff and his choosing to play the trumpet. Keep up the good work practicing kiddo ;) I like Mr. Abernathy too.

Sarah :) You're great and don't worry too much about the diagnosis. I know that Heavenly Father has put this trial in your life for a reason and He knows that in the end it will turn out to be seen as a blessing. I have had many trials in my life and I thank my Heavenly Father for each one of them. The trials I have faced have always led to my drawing closer to Heavenly Father and understanding even more the Atonement and how it works in my life.

I am excited for Matt and Anne. I remember just last week to have thought about her being pregnant. I thought, "Wait a minute I have been in Pleasanton for about 7 months and I remember being back in Fremont when I was told the good news." I figured she was due pretty soon. Congratulations. I am excited for you both.

Tanner and Ali, keep up the great work. Remember that the Lord desires to lift our burdens and make them light. "And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." (Mosiah 24:15) I love the Lord and I know that He is ever watchful of His children. I love you both as well.

What a great week. I loved seminary. This week I was able to bear my testimony about it and I found that in reading my scriptures the promise that mom made to her students came true. As I attended seminary my burdens were lifted. The power of the word of God is tremendous and it does gives us the strength we need to accomplish our daily tasks.

This week I was able to go do service and started talking to a woman there. I told her where I was from, Hong Kong, and she looked inquisitive. She said, "Did you attend an EFY in Fresno?" I said, "Yes."

"Did you have a roommate named Pace?"

(Suprised look) "Yes."

"No way, I'm his mom!"

It turns out that Pace is going on a mission on September 25th to Bazil. She asked me what words of wisdom I could give him. I said that the best way to prepare for a mission is through sharing your testimony. Through the baring of testimony ours is strengthened and others are able to feel the Spirit which testifies of truth. It was great to see her and she showed me a picture of him :) I love connections.

This week we were given permission to think outside the box with our area. President Watkins really wants to give us all that we need to move this area forward. I am excited we have made a few new ideas and will present those to him soon. We found a family last week from Beijing. They are cool and wanted to know how to become christians. Unfortunately, they leave tomorrow to go back to Beijing until March or April. We will be stopping by their house again today to try and see them off with a Book of Mormon and maybe some DVDs. We were able to get their email though and will do our best to keep in contact with them. Still no new investigators but a lot of potential. We need to find out how we can help the potentials become new investigators.

There is a big activity coming up that our branch is putting on. It is a family history seminar with someone from the Salt Lake Genealogical Library coming to talk about how to do Chinese family history on-line. We are excited for that too. We have high hopes that there will be a lot of people and that we may find many people who desire to learn more about the gospel and how it works with family history. This should be a great event and I ask for your prayers to help it along :) This is the Lord's work and I know that it will press forward in every language and among all people in the San Jose Mission and around the world. I know that God lives and that this is His church. I know that Jesus Christ accomplished the Atonement for us and lives this day as testimony that all He has been asked to do is complete. I know that the gospel heals lives. I know the Book of Mormon is true and contains the Word of God. There is power in the word of which I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Turning Comments into Invitations

Hello my dear family,

I love you all greatly. You are wonderful examples to those around you of how they can be happy. I know that others recognize it. This week we had an incredible fireside with Elder Packer (the area seventy for California, he is really cool) and President Watkins. Sister Watkins sang a beautiful song as well. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the song :( Anyway the fireside was all about Preach My Gospel and how to do missionary work. They talked about 5 things that we can focus on to help the Lord get involved in our missionary work. I will try to remember them, I left my notes at home. 1) The Lord Prepares. 2) Ward Mission Process. 3) Prayer List. 4) Comments into invites. 5) ?. Well, I remembered almost all of them. Anyway. 2, in the Ward Mission Process we work in Ward Council to talk about people and their needs to see how we can help them become more active and converted to Christ. 3, for the Prayer List we make a list of all the people that we have influenced in our lives and then pray continually to find a few friends who have been prepared by the Lord. I just remembered the first one and wrote it in, but it is, 1, that the Lord prepares. We don't need to pray that we may prepare people for the missionaries to teach, the Lord prepares them and all that we need to do is invite those prepared to act. 4, for comments into invites it means to take a comments that someone makes about the church or you and find a way to invite them to change that idea. For example, if someone says, "Why are you so happy?" in reply you can say, "I would love to let you know. Would you like to come to church with me on Sunday?" Someone may also say something a little more mean such as, "How many mothers (wives) do you have?" and you can simply say, "I only have one and so do the other 350 people who come to church with me on Sunday. Do you want to come and see?" These are two examples of how we can change comments into invitations. I can't remember the last one, but I learned a great deal from the fireside and thought that I would share it with you. I know that these 5 things ( Well 4) can help us in our own lives to find those that are searching for the gospel and need us to share it with them. These few things can enable to Lord to become more involved in our lives. This is what we all want. Who wouldn't want to be a tool in the hand of a master? Someone who knows you, how you work, what you can do, what you need, and what makes you happy. Heavenly Father gives us callings that we may serve with all of our hearts and by doing so find the greatest joy. This week has been another week full of contacting and visiting members. We haven't been able to find anyone who would like to meet with us yet but I know that they are being prepared by the Lord and He will bless us in His own time. I simply need to be patient. I know that the gospel is true and I know that we have a prophet on the earth teaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel has been restored! Let's share it with everyone we can. As we apply ourselves in the work of the Lord, He will bless us and make us grow. I know that this is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. I love you all :)

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

The Gospel Can Help us Through Any Trial

Hello my loving family,

You are all so wonderful and I want you to know that I love you dearly. You are very special to me and I thank you for the letter from Scott. I haven't been able to read it all yet but I read parts and it sounds great. I love being on a mission. I know that I am in the best place for me right now. I know that Heavenly Father can help me to overcome any challenges that I have in my life through my being willing and able to follow the commandments He has given me. I know that this is the same for everyone else. I learned recently that if we are absolutely faithful in the gospel and completely obedient Heavenly Father blesses us with the Spirit as our guide and protection. I know that the Spirit is one of the most important gifts that Heavenly Father can give us. There are many great blessings promised to those who have the Spirit of the Lord with them. As we understand these blessings we will understand more fully the importance it is to strengthen our ability to heed His council and strive to constantly be in His presence. I know that this gospel is true. We are still struggling in finding new investigators. It has been difficult for me to break away from the thought process that my mandarin isn''t very good. I know that it has improved dramatically, but I find that whenever I am complemented I feel I have to say no. I think this has played a part in my thoughts that I can't speak mandarin very well. I need to just get out and talk! You too ;) Just go out and speak the language with everyone you can. That is the best way to learn the concepts taught in your classes. I will do better :) I love you all. Recently Elder Egbert and I have felt that we really need to get in better shape. So, we have bought a few exercise things and set up some meal plans that we will follow. It should help a bit for our purposes and I know that getting into a routine of physical fitness will help me throughout my life. I was able to see Brother Pan this week. He is awesome. He has been going to church and I really have seen his trust and faith grow since I saw him last. It is amazing how quickly we grow in the gospel. I know that Heavenly Father pours out revelation upon us as we live up to His standards. I know that the gospel can help us through ANY trial and I know that there is a prophet on the earth today doing the will of the Lord. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

P.S. You are amazing :)

Let Us All be on the Side that We Know is Best

Hello my incredible family,

I love you all very much and I am ever grateful for your devotion to the Lord. I thank you for your examples of faith and commitment. I know that Heavenly Father blesses us according to our faith. If we are faithful the blessings of our Father can, and will, be poured out upon us and we will be able to receive great light. I know that through our diligence and obedience to the commandments we are worthy to receive the great blessings God has in store for us. This week we were able to meet a family of four. They are a great family! The mother really wants her sons to become the best they can through learning about Jesus Christ. We hope to help her in this goal. The father is a fun guy. They were able to go to Stake Conference and a Chinese Potluck with a family last week. We met them there and then this week we stopped by on Saturday. We were able to talk a little bit about the church and invite them to come. They came, and had a good time. The mother said she would come to church each week. She was a little embarassed about her kids being restless in the meeting (they didn't make any noise though :) ) but I think she enjoyed it. It was a special witness to me that all we had talked about the night before was testified of during the Sunday meetings. I can see that our Heavenly Father is revealing to others what the family needs in church. I prayed all throughout sacrament meeting that they would have a spiritual experience. I think that my prayers were answered. They are the Shi Family. I hope that this week we will be able to start working with them in their progression towards baptism.

This past Saturday Keeler was baptized! It was great to see him and his devotion to Heavenly Father. I know that Keeler is a special Son of God with a great work to do. I was blessed to be a part of the service. I sang a little. Keeler's friend Andy, who is also a recent convert, baptized him. I miss working with the faithful singles, but I am grateful to continue the work of the Lord alongside the Chinese Branch here in Pleasanton. I know that they have strong testimonies and I am grateful for their examples of faith and diligence as well in pushing forward the work of the Lord. I know that this work will not stop until it has sounded in every ear and touched every heart in a way that all may make their choice of Eternal Life or Eternal Death. Let us all be on the side which we know is best. I know that Heavenly Father lives. I know that Jesus Christ is His Son. I know that Joseph Smith was called as prophet to establish the Lord's church upon the earth. I know that the scriptures are true and that the Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion. I know that God watches over His children, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sincerely,

Through Music we are able to Reach Heaven

Hello my wonderful family,

We are still having a hard time but we have been blessed to see some light at the end of the tunnel. We are working and we were introduced to a chinese family living here in Pleasanton. We invited the wife to our Wednesday English Classes so that she can practice and learn English and the members invited them to make us dinner ;) I am excited for that day. The wife is from north east China and so she makes the best dumplings :D (At least that is what she told me ;) ). I love the Chinese people. Their culture is amazing.

This week was Stake Conference and I learned a great deal about what I can do to overcome the challenges that I am having in my life right now. I know that Heavenly Father constantly watches over his children and knows exactly what they need. As we have the Holy Ghost we are never left in the dark, so long as we listen. I know that Heavenly Father talks to us individually through His Spirit and through His servants. Those servants can be prophets, apostles or regular church members called to give a talk. Through that calling they are given authority to receive revelation for their audience and I know that there were many great things taught to me. Now, I simply need to apply it. I know that as we receive revelation and act on revelation we will be blessed and progress in the gospel.

I was also able to sing in the Stake Choir. It reminded me how much I love to sing and help others to learn of the power of music through my performance. I know that through music we are able to reach Heaven and bring it to the hearts of those who listen. I am glad to hear that all is going well and I am grateful for your constant efforts on my behalf. I know that this gospel is true. We don't have anyone we are teaching now, but we do have a lot of potential. I know that through our efforts Heavenly Father will bless us, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

We are Helping to Prepare Others to Accept the Gospel

Hello my magnificent family,

I thank you greatly for the time you take to write and let me know of your love. To be honest, it is something that a missionary looks forward to each week. I ask for your continued prayers on my behalf. I am having a little trouble with some trials right now and I could use it. I love you all.

This week we have decided to really do our best to learn about the Mandarin Branch that we are serving in. Through this we hope to recognize the needs of the Branch and be guided by the Spirit of the Lord in knowing how we can best use our efforts to strengthen the Branch. As we do this we hope to help the Branch members to grow in their faith and desire to serve. They do a wonderful job in striving to help the Chinese people in this area. I know that Heavenly Father will guide us. I was able to give a talk this week in another ward. We are going to all of the other wards to try and receive some help from them in expanding our ability to find chinese people in the area. As the other wards see and know that there are Chinese elders they will know what to do with their neighbors. My talk was specifically about Missionary Service and how to be more effective. Well this was topic that each missionary strives to learn every day and now I had to give a talk about it ;) I decided to look through Chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel and I learned greatly from it's pages. After reading through the chapter I wrote down a talk. I did my best to be in tune with the Spirit as I wrote. Before I stood up I pleaded with the Lord that He would forgive me of my sins the past week and enable me to speak His words. Because of the grace of our Heavenly Father I was able to feel the Spirit guiding my words. It has been a long time since I last gave a talk. But, I knew that I said what the Lord wanted me to say. I love being able to feel the Spirit work through me. I love being an instrument in the hands of the Lord. On thing that stood out to me from my talk was when I talked about how none of our efforts are wasted. I shared an analogy from a woodshop. In order to take a block of wood and shape it into something useful the wood passes through multiple tools. We are the tools and those that we meet each day are the pieces of wood. Whenever we talk to others and help them feel the love of our Heavenly Father through the Spirit it shapes them even more into what they need to be. Sometimes we are at the beginning of the spectrum, just starting to saw off chunks. Other times we are at the other end polishing and placing others in their proper order through helping them to receive their saving ordinances. No matter what we do if we act in the name of the Lord, or according to His will, we are helping to prepare others to accept the gospel. I know that through our efforts and faith we will find many who will desire to hear of the gospel and live within the bounds of covenants to help them be truly happy. I know that this gospel is the only things that fills our lives with true joy and peace and I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

P.S. I love your letters thank you for your dedication in writing to me. They are what keep me running through the week. :)

Continually Invite Your Friends

Hello my wonderful family :)

I love you all greatly. I was able to talk with Brother Pan recently and he is doing well. He has been working hard with school and I hope that he will be able to continue in striving to find ways in which he can continually nurture the word that he has accepted. We were switched out of the Singles Ward and so I haven't been able to meet with him since his baptism. We are working all Chinese now. It is a great blessing which causes me to have to use my mandarin abilities a whole lot more than before. I haven't been great at studying the language. Let's just say that I had become comfortable with where I was, but now I see how it hurt my ability to speak and express myself even more fluently. I love being able to serve a mission. This week has been great. We don't have any investigators but we have been working hard to try and find those chinese souls who are ready and willing to learn from us. It will be an interesting few weeks as we strive to help the area climb in speed and effectiveness. There are a lot of changes that we need to make. But I know that as we are able to trust in the Lord and use our time most effectively we will be blessed to find those who truly need the gospel. I know that this gospel is true. I know that the Lord will guide us in the work and help us to find success through our efforts. In Luke 10:7 "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house." If we study this and look at the footnotes we can learn that Jesus Christ is teaching us that we will only be paid for the effort we give. If our effort is small we cannot expect to have great blessings poured out upon us. But, if our efforts are to exhaustion then the Lord will bless us according to the work we provide. I believe and know that this principle is true. I have found that the days I work hard are the ones when I am able to receive the most blessings. On the other hand the days I work less I don't receive the same multitude of blessings which the Lord has in store for me, "the laborer is worthy of his hire." I know that only through the Atonement of Christ can we be saved and the only way to accept His atonement is through our following the true gospel of Jesus Christ and becoming a part of His kingdom here upon the earth, namely "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and I love them. I know that if we all open our mouths we will be able to receive great blessings. I would invite you to study the scriptures and look for the blessings that relate to missionary work. I know that through doing this our faith in missionary work will grow and we will desire to open our mouths to everyone. "Every member a missionary." "Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation." (Doctrine and Covenants 31:3) It is time for us all to open our mouths and proclaim the gospel. I know that we will receive blessings through doing so, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

P.S. (I repeat myself a lot don't I) I love you all! Continually invite your friends to hear the gospel and you will find true joy :)

Huge Smile on My Face

Hello my magnificent family,

I love you all greatly and thank you for your many prayers on my behalf. I know that Heavenly Father has placed me here for a reason and desires that I will be able to be my best. I have been working on that a lot. I love being able to work hard and yet there are times in which it is hard work ;) Right now we are in a situation where we are working hard mainly to fill our time with productive activities. The area is moving somewhat slowly in comparison to others but I know that as Elder Egbert and I work hard together we will be blessed to see success from our labors. I am happy with the successes that I have been blessed with. There have been times of doubt and discouragement but through all of the trials I remember most the wonderful days of others coming unto Christ. Sister Liu was able to be baptized and has been a strong member through her many trials. She has been able to go to church as often as possible for her situation and I know that the Lord has blessed her for it. She was baptized the first week I was out on my mission. Brother Jin was baptized and he has been able to baptize his friend into the gospel and pass the sacrament in church. David was baptized and has been able to completely overcome his addiction to smoking and find a way to make money off of something he loves to do. Justin Zhang was able to be baptized after moving back to Boston. I am sure that he feels now the peace that he has been searching for. Most recently, Brother Pan was able to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. I have seen him change dramatically throughout the course of our teaching him and I know that his desire to have the Holy Ghost will be a great drive for him to always follow the commandments of the Lord. He is a strong member and I hope that he will be able to share his knowledge with his family.

Each of these experiences have been wonderful. They have been filled with great joy and happiness. I can't help but have a huge smile on my face when I think of or see these people striving to do their best to follow Christ, even after the missionaries that taught them have gone. I know that they understand they are following Christ and I trust that Heavenly Father will continue to hold them in His hands and care for them. We can all be successful as we are able to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have Faith, Repent, be Baptized, Receive the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End through constant repetition of these principles. I know that this gospel is true. I have seen it work in the lives of others to make them happy. Also, this gospel is only made possible through the Atonement of Christ. Only through the Atonement are we able to be releived of the chains of any and all weaknesses to allow our progression towards becoming like our Heavenly Father. I know the Atonement is real and has power to heal, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Never Stop Praying, Never Stop Reading your Scriptures and never stop Going to Church

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011 4:25 AM

Message body

Hello my dear Family,

I love you all and want you to know a miracle that happened this week...

Brother PAN WAS BAPTIZED!!!!

I am so happy for him and I know that it was the best choice he could have made at this time in his life. I have seen a great change in him as we have taught him. His smile has gotten bigger and brighter. His excitement about our visits has grown each time. He has read the scriptures, prayed, and attended church when about four months ago he had probably never picked up a bible, let alone the Book of Mormon. He has also never worn a shirt and tie before. But he looked great and I know that he felt something different. I am sure that as he is able to listen to the word of the Lord he will be guided in his life decisions. Now he knows what answers to look for. I love him and I know that he has been a great blessing to my progress as a missionary as well.

Before that day I had never had to prepare a baptism, neither had our Ward Mission Leader. Everything was left up to me. It was difficult to know what to do. I am so happy that I remembered we were given a worksheet to know what needed to be on the baptismal program. We invited everyone we could and I know that Brother Pan will be taken great care of with the Home Teachers he has been assigned.

Brother Jin was also able to come. Do you remember him? He was the first person I was able to baptize back in Cupertino :) I hadn't seen or talked to him in about a year. He is still a great young man and I hope that this baptism reminded him of his own. Also, an investigator who I had taught in Cupertino came just because she heard that I would be there. It made my heart fill with gratitude that I could be that important to her. She still hasn't been baptized, but she comes to church and activities. I think a part of it is her daughter. She wasn't baptized before because she wanted to know what her daughter thought of the church. Now I think she wants to help her daughter feel comfortable in not believing as well. I hope that she also felt something at the baptism. It was a wonderful day.

Just before the baptism President Watkins, the new mission president, walked in. I was happy and nervous to see him. The baptism went well with a few mistakes but I am sure those will be forgotten as time goes on. The thing that I will remember most is the Spirit that I felt in the meeting and that is most important. I love President Watkins! He is a wonderful man who understands how to work with people. I am sure that is why he is such a remarkable buisnessman. I am sure he is doing well, along with his wife and family. The blessings the Lord has for him are being poured out as he is able to continue in faith.

This Sunday I learned more of faith and how our Heavenly Father works with us. We were talking of President Uchtdorf's talk from this past general conference "The Road to Demascus". As we talked my mind connected this talk with that of Elder Bednar when he talked of receiving revelation. One of the brothers in our Priesthood Meeting said that you can either be in an upward spiral or a downward spiral, whether you are obeying all of the commandments or not if you continue to have faith and use your faith you will be in an upwards spiral. You will constantly be progressing. Too often when we do something wrong we stop doing what is good because we feel we don't deserve it. Never stop praying, never stop reading your scriptures, and never stop going to church. These are essential for our progression in the gospel. I have seen in my life as I do things wrong it is because I have stopped praying or stopped studying the scriptures. This leads to less and less control of our lives..I know this to be true from personal experience. But, if we do something wrong and continue to do that which is right after our mistake we show the Lord that we desire more than anything to stop and never do it again. This brings me to the talk from Elder Bednar. Too many people desire to have all of the bad things taken away, everything to be made perfect including themselves. Relating this to revelation, they desire for the light in the room to be turned on. This takes away all personal growth. But, if we make mistakes and continue to do that which is right we learn and grow to understand the importance of keeping God's commandments. In relation to revelation this is the Sun slowly rising in the morning. If we stop reading, praying, and attending church we stop that sun from rising and allow it to set.

In the scriptures prophets such as Enos, Nephi, and the Brother of Jared are cleansed of sin, but a term that is used in each case is "because of your faith." It was because of their constant faith in allowing that sun to rise that they slowly were able to get rid of the darkness in their lives and fill it with light. They became more and more like their Heavenly Father and that is why they were able to hear the voice of the Lord, or, in some cases, see God. Their constan faith brought the sanctification of the Holy Ghost because of their accepting the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that as we are able to continue in faith, reading the scriptures, praying, and attending church, we will be blessed to "deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness" (Moroni 10:32) and eventually be "brought back into [our Heavenly Father's] presence" (Ether 3:13). I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I have seen it work in the lives of many others and I know that there is nothing that can keep us from growth in the gospel except our own choices. Choose to have faith and you will be blessed. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Excitement is Building

Hello my dear splendid family, (Hey that's a new one ;)!)

I love you all very much. We were able to see Brother Pan twice this week with our Ward Mission Leader, our Ward Mission Leader is wonderful, and we helped Brother Pan to learn about Enduring to the End. We taught him about those things and then answered any questions he had. He was able to pass his baptismal interview and will be baptized on July 23 at 8:00pm. He is excited and we are excited :D Also, this week we were able to meet with Keeler again. I don't remember if I told you about him. Well, he is a piece of gold that fell from the sky ;). A recent convert named Andy Black called us last week on Tuesday and asked if we could meet his friend the next day at 4:00pm. We said sure and had a great meeting.

Keeler is about 19 and has been a christian all of his life, but even though he was praying and reading scripture he never felt anything. We taught him a little bit about prayer and invited him to pray. He said okay and the next day we texted him and he said he feels that he has had an epiphany (if that's how you spell it) and wants to continue meeting. We met with him a second time and before we started to teach about the Restoration we invited him to be baptized. He said yes and accepted a date for August 13th. We then taught him about Joseph Smith and the First Vision and how through scripture study, prayer, and church attendance Joseph Smith was able to learn the truth. We also shared how the priesthood authority to perform baptism was necessary to access the Atonement. During the lesson the Spirit was very strong. Keeler has a hard time reading and has always had trouble understanding them. We invited him to pray for God's assistance in studying the Book of Mormon. Since that day Keeler has read through chapter 2 of 1 Nephi and has seen a great improvement in his ability to understand what he reads. Miracles happen, I know it because of Keeler's and Brother Pan's experiences with learning of the gospel. Keeler really wants to come to church and find friends, but he hasn't been able to for the past two weeks and won't be able to next week because he will be travelling. Please pray for him. He already knows this gospel has something different. He knows that the church contains the truth and he desires to join himself to it. Pray that the way will be opened up for him and that he may see more miracles happen in his life because of truth.

Brad is doing okay we haven't had contact with him this week because he has been out of town. I hope that he has been able to read the Book of Mormon. I think he is still not quite willing to move forward in fully immersing himself pursuit of truth. I know that prayer brings about great things and I know that through small and simple things, great things come to pass (Alma). Reading a book is easy to do, but reading the Book of Mormon brings about greater conversion in our lives. Prayer is a very easy thing to do, but prayer to our Father in Heaven helps us to truly know of His reality. Attending church each Sunday can seem like a chore, but it opens the opportunity to receive the Holy Ghost for the rest of the week. I know that this gospel is true and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of our Heavenly Father here on this earth.

We were able to give Ivan a Russian Book of Mormon last week and Panda accepted a Chinese Book of Mormon. We have also found a couple of members who speak Russian. We hope that they will be able to meet with Ivan and help him come our to church and understand the truth contained in this church. They will both come to church next week if they are able to. We will work on helping them grow in interest. Hopefully they will be able to attend the baptism this week. That will be a great springboard into more missionary excitement for the Ward and Branch.

Please pray that Brother Pan's baptism will be a day to remember. Please pray that all will go well. The adversary is real and doesn't want it to happen but with our faith I know that we can thwart his plans. We also taught about prayer this past week in one of our english classes and had three of our students ask for Chinese copies of the Book of Mormon. We are excited that the work is moving forward. I know that Jesus Christ lives and I know that His Atonement is real. This has been a great week and I know that the excitement is building in the Ward and Branch. I love being a missionary. I heard that Jing Hao hadn't been able to come to church for the past few weeks and so I invited him to come up to the baptism as well. Hopefully it will help him to remember his covenants and build his faith so that he can press forward and not lose hope. I love you all. I leave you my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Trials Help us to Appreciate the Good

Hello my incredibly amazing and wonderful family :)

This week has been absolutely amazing. It has been filled with blessings from the Lord and I know that there is nothing that happened this week without the Lord being a part of it. We had four people we teach come to church this week. One was a young boy named Andrew who's mother is less-active and his father is not a member. Missionaries have been working to help their family for a long time and we have been working to help Andrew be baptized into the church. He is a very, very bright young man and it was exciting to see him at church. It was the first time I saw him at church since I have been here.

Brother Pan was able to come to church this week and during the week we met with him 3 times :). On the third visit he said that he will be taking a test on July 30 and would need to change the date. We asked him when and he said, "What about next week!" We would have loved that but we knew that he still needed a little bit more time to be able to fully understand what we taught. So we moved the date from the 30th to the 23rd. Brother Pan knows that he will be baptized and he has already said things like, "when I am a mormon...". It is amazing to see the progression that he has made in the past two weeks.The thing that really helped his progression was coming to church and I am very grateful for the help of the members in the ward giving him rides. He is a special Son of God and I know that God has a work for him to do. I can't wait for his baptism!!!

The next person to come to church was Ivan. He is our Russian friend and this week when we tried to teach him a little more about the gospel he rejected it. But when he came to church he really started to ask questions and open up on some concerns that he has. It was a real testimony to me of how important it is to have people not of our faith come to church. We asked Ivan if he would like to receive a Book of Mormon in Russian. He said he would rather have english. But we explained that if we gave him both it could help his english and understanding. He agreed and we are working on getting him both an english and russian Book of Mormon.

The last person was Panda and her cousin. Well, with Panda she wanted to come to the singles ward and she came early enough for her and her cousin to just hit the last few minutes of RS in the Mandarin Branch. From that the members were able to invite Panda's cousin to activities and got her email address. It was cool. Then I sat with Panda during Sacrament meeting and taught her a little bit about the sacrament and it's significance. I had her read the Sacrament prayers in the Book of Mormon and she continued reading Moroni chapter 6 about baptism. I don't know if that hit her or not but hopefully she will come each Sunday for church and english improvement. After Sacrament meeting she her cousin came and picked her up. I don't know too much about how that affected her but I hope she was able to feel something different. It was incredible to see them all at church and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for his help. I know that His hand has played a big part in the things that happened this week. I am very grateful.

We were also able to find a new investigator this week. One of our recent converts named Andy called on Tuesday and said that he most likely had an investigator for us. Later he asked if we could meet with him and Keeler on Wednesday. We said sure, of course ;) and were able to meet with them. It was great! Keeler had so many questions and we helped him to see the importance of finding an answer to those questions for himself through prayer and scripture study. Keeler said that he hadn't been feeling anything from his prayers in the past and so we taught him a little bit about how to pray. He almost came on Sunday to church but through a series of events (he came and texted us that he didn't feel comfortable coming in but we had forgotten our phone and didn't know that he needed us to help him come inside) he wasn't able to make it to church. We called him after church when we saw our phone and apologized. He said that was okay and I asked him about his prayers. He said, "I think I'm realizing something and feel really good." I said, "Really! I am so excited for you! Have you been able to read the scriptures yet?" He said no and so I encouraged him to read the passage we left with him (Enos 1). He said he would and he is excited to meet with us on Wednesday. It is so great to hear someone say that they are excited to meet with us ;)

I love you all and I know that this gospel is the "only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..." (2 Nephi 31:21). I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and as we help others develop the faith to follow the commandments they will feel it's healing power work in their lives and desire to learn more. I know that Heavenly Father plays a large part in our lives. He guides us each and every day. I know that there is a living prophet today who leads and guides this church. I also know that we receive no witness until after the trial of our faith. (Alma) We have had some really tough weeks without a whole lot happening but because we were able t continue in faith we now see the great blessings that Heavenly Father was helping us to appreciate. Trials help us to appreciate the good that we have or receive. Think of those starving around the world and you will appreciate the food you have. Think of those who have lost limbs and you will greater appreciate yours. I look back at the trials that I have had these past few weeks and I know that I am much more grateful for the blessings because of my trials. I love this gospel and I know that Heavenly Father is the perfect teacher. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Better Grasp of Who I Am

Hello my amazing family,

You all look huge in comparison to my memory ;) Wow it's amazing how time flies. I love being able to be on a mission. I know that the trials I am having now are refining me and turning me into a much better tool in the hands of the Lord. It can be easy to be reluctant to change, but I hope that I will allow Heavenly Father's will to be done and I am sure that it will turn out better than I ever could imagine. I was able to have a great 4th of July with a big breakfast and dinner. Some of our English Class members were able to attend and the members did a great job in accepting them and sparking their interest a little more in learning about the gospel. Most of the English Class students think that all of our time is spent teaching english and we are working to change this thought and help them to understand that we bear a message of truth that can bless their lives and their families lives eternally. I know that the scriptures can play a large part in helping others to come unto Christ. We have seen it happen to Pan Zheng Yu as he now has a baptismal date for July 30th. He has said that he will work towards it and we are striving to help him make a solid commitment to baptism through helping him understand the scriptures and the doctrines of the gospel. "True doctrine understood changes lives..." (President Boyd K. Packer) I am learning more and more about the truth contained in this quote. As I have gained understanding of the doctrines of the gospel I have seen treamendous growth and change, even in areas I thought it would be very difficult for me to change. As Pan Zheng Yu has understood the doctrines of the gospel, he has been more willing to come to church and participate in personal prayer and scripture study. Pan Zheng Yu loved being able to attend church two weeks ago and when we were able to meet with him this past week he said that he had been reading the scriptures and praying every day. It was a miracle! He was also much happier than before and much more excited to be able to see us. I love being able to work with him. We are planning on calling him each day this week to help him be sure to read and pray since he wasn't able to come to church with us. We are excited for him!!

We have been trying to get a hold of Brad this week and unfortunately he hasn't been responsive. We hope that he will be able to meet with us this Thursday. We met last week and he said that he wasn't sure about meeting anymore. We then worked to help him understand the invitation of Alma in the Book of Mormon to experiment upon the word. Afterwards I felt he was still unsure, but he said that we could come back this Thursday. We met a man from Russia this week. He came to our english class and we weren't exactly sure how to teach him english, but his english was pretty good. We invited him out to basketball that night so that he could meet a few of the members and he said he wanted to come. We helped him get into the game and then sat on the sidelines while he played. It was cool to see him there and our Ward Mission Leader invited him to come to church. He said that for the 4th of July he would be gone but maybe the week after. The man's name is Ivan and we hope to be able to get a Russian Book of Mormon for him to read and ponder.

I have learned a lot about myself this week and I feel that I have a better grasp of who I am and how I can help myself to change. I know that this understanding has come from the trials I have been in and I know that this is the hand of the Lord working in my life. Heavenly Father understands what He wants me to be and I know that the Atonement can help to change me. I know that there is great power in the Atonement. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Share some verses from my study

Hello my incredible family,

I love you all so much. There is a new mission president coming in this week. We will be meeting him on Wednesday June 29. I am excited to meet President and Sister Watkins! We were able to meet with Brad this week and he had a lot of questions. He has more of an agnostic beliefs where he kind of just chooses to leave the idea of God alone. He has studied Christianity before though and he had many great questions about the Plan of Salvation and so we worked on teaching through that. We strove to answer all of his questions with the Book of Mormon to help him see that it contains answers to his questions. I think that the things we said really hit him and he seemed to think about the things we taught a lot. He would constantly say that the things we taught made sense and that the way we explained the gospel was something he had never heard before. He still has a few concerns that we will study for and receive revelation as to how we can best help him to find answers to his questions. Please pray that the spirit may work in his heart and help him to know that truth about God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that he has many questions we just need to get down to the source of the questions to help him really be able to put his full trust in the Lord. Pray that he may understand that importance of the message which we bear since it is the only message of complete truth.

Brother Pan was able to come to church this week for all three hours! :D I called him before church and asked if he would be able to come and he said that he wasn't sure since he had gone to a party last night and didn't finish all of the homework he wanted to. I just felt that he really needed to come to church and to express that to him I asked questions about what would keep him from coming. Eventually he said that he would come for all three hours but I had to promise to get him a ride home. That was the easy part ;). I was so happy to see him at church and he was able to see all of the members that we had brought to previous lessons with him. I asked him in-between blocks how he felt and he said, "Peace." I hope that he had an experience that will draw him back to church each week. We will be inviting him to baptism again soon. Hopefully for the end of July. It will be a wonderful day for him as he is able to truly receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Please pray that he may learn the truth of the Book of Mormon for himself. That he may understand the words and how they apply to him. He is very stubborn about only reading english.

I began a study in the Book of Mormon focusing on the power of the word of God. I have been reading through the scriptures searching for all verses that talk about the power of God's word and the affect that it can have on us. I would like to share a couple of verses from my study to help us learn of how the word can work in our lives. I know that there is power in the word of God. If we desire to change then the word can help us.

Alma 35:4 -- The Word of God destroys the craft of the wicked.

2 Nephi 9:40 -- The Word of God speaks against uncleanness.

Enos 1:3-4 -- Enos was moved to pray because of the Word of God.

1 Nephi 11:25 -- The Word of God leads us to living waters.

2 Nephi 33:4-5 -- The Word of God persuades us to do good.

Jacob 2:8 -- The Word of God heals the wounded soul.

Jacob 4:9 -- The Word of God created the world.

Alma 4:19 -- The Word of God pulls down pride and other sins.

Alma 26:13 -- The Word of God looses us from the pains of hell.

Something else that came into mind as I read was John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Through our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Word, we are able to receive all of the blessings that are talked about in these verses and more. I testify that I know this is true. The scriptures point us towards Christ. The scriptures, "talk of Christ, ...rejoice in Christ, ...preach of Christ, ...prophesy of Christ, ... that [all] may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26) That is why the Book of Mormon, the Word of God, is the most powerful tool in conversion. I know that the scriptures are true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Change of Mission President

Hello my dear family,

I love you all very much. I am excited and sad at the same time. In the next couple of weeks President and Sister Jackson will be headed home and we will be receiving a new mission president. I will miss them, but I am sure that I will enjoy working with President and Sister Watkins. This week has been another full of challenges and blessings. We found a great potential who's name is Brad. He is from Shanghai and attended an international school there. His roommate is a member named Baron. Baron said that we should stop by and introduce ourselves and so we did. We stopped by and he was wearing some shorts with a Chinese brand that Elder Christensen knew. Then they got on the topic of them both living in Shanghai and attending international schools. They had a bunch of people that they both knew. Then I heard a bunch of school names that I knew and asked if they were part of the IASAS program and Brad was just amazed to learn that we both had attended international schools in China. He was very impressed also that we spoke mandarin.

We asked if he would be interested in learning about the church and he said sure. So we will be stopping by this week helping him to learn more about how to rely upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We had an instant connection with him which worked out great. He has attended Youth Groups before and said that he almost became a christian but all of the sudden started to push away from religion. I ask that you pray for him to be able to grow in his knowledge of the gospel.

Brother Pan is doing alright. He started school again and so that is back on as his highest priority right now. We have finished teaching him all that we can and the choice is really up to him now. We are thinking of watching the Restoration DVD again with him so that he can again feel the importance of this grand event. Afterwards we will be working through the Baptismal Questions to be able to help him see where his testimony needs to be. Then we will just continue to pray that he will open up and share with us any concerns that he has about being baptized so that we can help him feel comfortable with his decision.

You should let dad know that I would love to go with him the next tour he has ;) I have been seeing all of these cyclists out here with amazing bikes and just wanting to be in their place. Anyway, this week we also were able to help a Less Active member in the Ward come to church again and he was very grateful. He is growing in happiness each day and I love seeing him at church. I enjoy seeing how the gospel helps others to grow in strength and character. I have seen it and I know that the gospel works if we but have the faith to experiment with it. I love you all.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation

Hello my amazing family,

I was skimming through the letter and I heard the news about Uncle Bob. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and for the blessings we receive through the temple for our families. I was able to teach about Eternal Families just yesterday in the Gospel Principles class and shared my testimony many times about the joy my family has been and the knowledge that I have that we can be together forever. I feel this was a great blessing that prepared me for the news today. I am sure that we will be able to see our dear Uncle Bob again. I am sure that he has been brought into a new world with an entire famliy waiting for him. His parents were there, ready and waiting to welcome him home. I know that we will see him again we just need to be patient.

This week we had another two lessons with Brother Pan, in the first lesson he had shown a very big change in his demeanor. He was humble and as we taught he was looking for the peace that comes from the Holy Ghost. He actually said that he would follow the Word of Wisdom when most of the time when we invite him to follow a commandment he says, "But I am not a mormon yet." We both felt that the lesson went a lot better than before. On Saturday we went back and he was back to his older self of being a little off topic but the lesson went okay. We have some great plans for the next week and we are hoping that Brother Pan will continue to learn and grow. Please pray that he will be sincere in his search for peace and pray that he may know the truth of the Book of Mormon. He says that when he knows our message is true he will be baptized and so we only need to help him find that answer.

We have many other goals this week that we hope to help us in our finding of new investigators. It has been a while and we have felt a little down about not finding any new investigators but we know that through our faith blessings will come. I ask for your prayers in helping me to have the strength to work continually. I am grateful for my knowledge of the Savior. I have started again in my reading of "Jesus the Christ" and it has been quite refreshing. I feel that I learn greatly the importance of the Savior. I learned this week the in John 1:31-33 John the Baptist testifies of Christ being the one who baptizes with the Holy Ghost. I thought of that and talked with my companion and I thought it was interesting how the Holy Ghost is what sanctifies us. The Holy Ghost brings the baptism of fire. The one who had authority to baptize with the Holy Ghost was Jesus Christ. I thought of when we are confirmed as a member of the church and we are commanded to receive the Holy Ghost. In Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-41, it talks about the oath and covenant of the Priesthood and how if we receive the priesthood we then receive the sanctification of the Spirit. Then if we receive the Spirit we receive Christ, and if we receive Christ we receive the Father, etc. This means that we can alternate the order a little bit and say that if we receive Jesus Christ then we also receive the Spirit because He is the one with the power to baptize us with the Holy Ghost. Just a little food for thought. I love reading in "Jesus the Christ" I also love reading in Preach My Gospel. It is like mining. As I read Jesus the Christ I learn a great deal and then as I read Preach My Gospel I am able to take those things I learn and relate them back to the foundation of simplicity found in the gospel and in a sense refine the doctrines. I love the gospel and I am grateful to be able to learn about my Lord and Savior through studying the scriptures.

I love you all.

-Jeff, I love you too little brother. You are awesome and I know that you have been blessed to have such wonderful parents. Remember to always listen to their counsel and follow their examples for that is how I became the brother I am today.

-Rebecca, I am glad to hear that you were able to drive the car okay. You are so talented and full of excitement. I am grateful for your example to me as well. You never give up and you know that the gospel is true. You are a beautiful daughter of God. I love you.

-Audrey, I hope that EFY goes well for you this week. I know you won't get this letter until after EFY but I just want to let you know that you are amazing and I love being able to hear about the many things that you accomplish. I love you.

-Sarah, "don't worry, just be happy". You can trust in the Lord because He stays true to His word. You can know that the gospel is true because it was given to us by our loving Heavenly Father. If you want to know how honest he is just read the scriptures. That is what they are for. Look for prophecies and how they were fulfilled, look for commandments and how those who follow them are blessed, then, look for how Heavenly Father has done those things in your life. There are blessings and consequences that come from our decisions each day. Just look for the blessings and your life will be filled with joy.

-Matt, Anne, Tanner and Ali, I thank you for your letter. I love you both and I know that families are where we build the future. Families are where our children can learn of faith, hope, charity, love to allow them to found their lives on the gospel of Christ. Children learn from the examples of their parents. Look at the 2000 Stripling Warriors and how they learned from their parents and their parents learned from the grandparents. There was a foundation of faith already set to allow these 2000 young men to have the faith and character they did. I know that you are each great examples to those around you and to your children (those who have them ;) ). I love you all.

-Mom and Dad, thank you for your examples to me. I only have the strength of character that I have today because you showed it to me. I love you both and I know that there is no calling more rewarding than parenthood.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Online helps

Hello my wonderful family,

You guys are great. I am so grateful to have you as my family here on this earth. This week, as you know, was fast Sunday and I was able to share my testimony twice. I love to share my testimony because it strengthens as I share it. I know that the same applies to all others who share their testimony as well. I would encourage you to share your testimony with as many people as possible. I don't know if the missionaries in Taiwan have shared with you about Mormon.org but I would like to let you know a little more of what it does for us. This is a great website.

http://mormon.org/

I would just like to tell you about the different things that can be found on Mormon.org and ways in which it can be helpful to sharing the gospel with our friends.

http://mormon.org/people/

At the above website you can learn about the lives of many different people around the world, their hobbies, trials, triumphs, and how they live their faith. There are great videos that share powerful spiritual messages with us. Here we can find people who have been through similar struggles or even interests as our friends and share those videos with them. This can spark their interest in learning more about the gospel.

http://mormon.org/faith/

On this website we can learn about all of the lessons that missionaries share with others. Through this we can grow in our testimonies and study again the basic doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some people enjoy really understanding the doctrine of the scriptures and would take time to really strive to understand what it is that we believe in. They can be led to this site by a simple invitation to check out our beliefs online. If people ask questions like "Do you believe in Christ?" "What do you think happens after we die?" we can share a simple testimony such as, "I believe that we will be able to live with our families again so long as we follow what Jesus Christ has asked us to do." Then we can invite them to learn more about our beliefs on this link.

http://mormon.org/values/

Here we can learn about the values of the church. Values found in "For The Strength of Youth" the "Young Women's Handbook" and the "Duty to God" are shown on this page along with how others can help out in it. If someone really likes our value structure and how much we care about the family we can also direct them to learning more about how they can build that same foundation in their own homes through teaching them about this site as well.

There are a few other links on the site but I know that there are some great tools we can use on these sites to share our faith with our friends. As we are able to help break down the walls of ignorance around the world we will find many willing to learn about the gospel and accept it in their lives. There are many out there just waiting to learn. "the field is white already to harvest, and lo he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not but bringeth salvation to his soul" (Doctrine and Covenants) I know that there are great blessings to be received as we share the gospel. Many of our family members have already seen these blessings through serving missions, but they can be constant throughout our lives if we just put forth the faith and effort God desires. I know that this gospel is true and that it changes lives. Brother Pan has said that he will get baptized when he finds out that the book of Mormon is true and this shows great improvement. I thank you all for your many prayers and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

You are All Sons and Daughters of God

Hello my stupendous family,

I am running out of adjectives to describe our family, I know that I have used a few more than once but coming up with a new one each week is hard ;)

PZY came to church this week!!! :D We were so excited that he made the decision to attend church and we had Elder Packard, the Area Seventy, "randomly" walk into church and share a few words with us. It was a great meeting. The spirit was very strong and I hope that Brother Pan paid close attention to his feelings during that meeting. We will be calling him today to see what he thought. He had to go just after Sacrament Meeting and we weren't able to catch him before he was gone. But, we are both happy that he was there. I love being on a mission and helping to serve others. We haven't had much luck with finding service opportunities in the community since a few of them you need to have certain certifications or they are outside of our mission. We are still working on finding random acts of service that we can do. It was a great week this week. We had a few days that were so full we didn't have very much time at all to think about what was happening, we just had to go from one activity to the next. Those were the best. It has been great serving with the members of our branch and I know that through service we are sanctified ( reference to one of the General Conference Talks). When we were able to meet with Brother Pan on thursday this week we invited him to a barbeque that we were having on Friday with a few members in the singles ward. He accepted and we were able to have a member drive him out there. On Saturday we went for our regular meeting with him and taught about the importance of church attendance. When we invited him to church he said that because school is out for a while he will come. Oh and a miracle that happened that day was that we had set a goal for 1 lesson with a member present and that day a member had just moved into our same apartment complex. We saw him and he asked if we needed anything. We told him that we had a lesson later that day and needed a member to come. He said that would be fine. I love miracles. Then on Sunday as I said before Brother Pan came to church and Elder Packard came and spoke. It was a great week. I love this gospel and I know that through faith in Christ, Repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end we can be cleansed of sin and become perfect like our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This week I decided to write a miracle journal. I started two days ago. I am taking time each night to be able to write down the miracles I recognize every day. I love being able to learn of the ways in which I have received blessings from Heavenly Father and my testimony of Him has been strengthened through this experience. Elder Christensen and I are working hard to find those we can teach. Also, we are working hard to teach the members we serve with how to teach. I love missionary work and I know that it is the work of the Lord. I love you all and other family and friends. You're all great Sons and Daughters of God.