Hello my wonderfully amazing family!
I am excited to be able to talk with you this week :) I love you all so much. Thank you for all the gifts. For the past little while I had been telling all of the elders that I never received mail since I had only received one letter in the past 7 months. I then was asked to help with collecting some packages for elders in the area and I said, "okay, but if anyone forgets I think I will just keep them." Well, when I got out to the truck and we started collecting the boxes all of the ones handed to me had my name on them. I was quite amazed! :) It was a great surprise. Except now I can't tell anyone that I don't get mail ;) Thank you very much. I have to confess that I opened the packaging for the pens and then found the note to wait until christmas. Sorry.
I love being on a mission. Derrick's baptism was great. We had a wonderful evening. He was baptized by one of his best friends Paul who is a returned missionary, but never had a baptism. He served in Germany. Now that he has come home, he has brought a couple of his friends to church and Derrick ended up wanting to be baptized. He was confirmed a member on Sunday and again I could not stop smiling. Derrick's grandpa confirmed him a member. There is great joy brought to our lives as we help others to receive the ordinances of Salvation and I know that the choices Derrick has made will bring him great joy. I learned that David , another recent convert is having a hard time right now. He has been moved into a homeless shelter a little ways from here and isn't familiar with anyone in the ward. He told the other Elder Christensen that it was difficult and he doesn't know anyone. I ask that you keep him in your prayers and help him to have a special christmas this year which he can remember throughout his life.
Schuyler is doing well preparing for baptism. We are excited for him and hope that we can make the timing of the baptism okay for many people to attend. Schuyler will be baptized on December 30th at 6:00pm. Pan is doing well also in coming to church and maintaining his faith in Christ.
I love being on a mission. Derrick's baptism was great. We had a wonderful evening. He was baptized by one of his best friends Paul who is a returned missionary, but never had a baptism. He served in Germany. Now that he has come home, he has brought a couple of his friends to church and Derrick ended up wanting to be baptized. He was confirmed a member on Sunday and again I could not stop smiling. Derrick's grandpa confirmed him a member. There is great joy brought to our lives as we help others to receive the ordinances of Salvation and I know that the choices Derrick has made will bring him great joy. I learned that David , another recent convert is having a hard time right now. He has been moved into a homeless shelter a little ways from here and isn't familiar with anyone in the ward. He told the other Elder Christensen that it was difficult and he doesn't know anyone. I ask that you keep him in your prayers and help him to have a special christmas this year which he can remember throughout his life.
Schuyler is doing well preparing for baptism. We are excited for him and hope that we can make the timing of the baptism okay for many people to attend. Schuyler will be baptized on December 30th at 6:00pm. Pan is doing well also in coming to church and maintaining his faith in Christ.
I am now starting a new study in the Book of Mormon with a couple of questions in mind. The study will be highlighting all of the passages of scripture that stand out to me of faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. The questions are, How can I become a better missionary through living the principles of the Gospel? and How can I grow in my knowledge of God through the principles of the Gospel?
The gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing. It is the Doctrine of Christ and the only and true doctrine of the Father. I know that only by making these principles of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end a part of us, are we able to return to our Heavenly Father's presence. We must become like our Father in Heaven in order to feel comfortable living with Him again and it is these principles alone that help us to become like God. I have grown in my understanding of how important these principles are through being on a mission. Through teaching others my testimony of these things has been able to strengthen more than ever before. I know that the gospel is a great tool for us to use. Faith in Christ leads us to starting down the path of becoming like our Father. We start to do something that we believe will bring us the desired outcome. Faith in Christ then helps us see where we fall short as well which leads to repentance. Through repentance we forsake the natural man and are able to become more holy. We stop doing what is wrong and continue to do that which is good. The things that are wrong stunt our growth in the gospel. That which is good guides us down the path of our desires. Repentance then fills us with such joy that we desire to make a covenant or promise with God that we will never do wrong again. As we do so we qualify ourselves for the companionship of the Holy Ghost which brings with it innumerable gifts which we are promised through our hard work. Thus, we see that there is much more we can change and adapt through diligent work which leads to our Enduring to the End. Enduring to the End means that we are anxiously engaged in the good cause of applying faith and repentance in our lives each day. They work together and lead to our receiving baptism and the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins. I know the gospel is the key to unlocking our ability to become even as God is. "Be ye therefore perfect even as I or your Father in Heaven is perfect." I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing. It is the Doctrine of Christ and the only and true doctrine of the Father. I know that only by making these principles of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end a part of us, are we able to return to our Heavenly Father's presence. We must become like our Father in Heaven in order to feel comfortable living with Him again and it is these principles alone that help us to become like God. I have grown in my understanding of how important these principles are through being on a mission. Through teaching others my testimony of these things has been able to strengthen more than ever before. I know that the gospel is a great tool for us to use. Faith in Christ leads us to starting down the path of becoming like our Father. We start to do something that we believe will bring us the desired outcome. Faith in Christ then helps us see where we fall short as well which leads to repentance. Through repentance we forsake the natural man and are able to become more holy. We stop doing what is wrong and continue to do that which is good. The things that are wrong stunt our growth in the gospel. That which is good guides us down the path of our desires. Repentance then fills us with such joy that we desire to make a covenant or promise with God that we will never do wrong again. As we do so we qualify ourselves for the companionship of the Holy Ghost which brings with it innumerable gifts which we are promised through our hard work. Thus, we see that there is much more we can change and adapt through diligent work which leads to our Enduring to the End. Enduring to the End means that we are anxiously engaged in the good cause of applying faith and repentance in our lives each day. They work together and lead to our receiving baptism and the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins. I know the gospel is the key to unlocking our ability to become even as God is. "Be ye therefore perfect even as I or your Father in Heaven is perfect." I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sincerely,
Elder Christensen
P.S. I am not sure about what time to call since I don't know when you are going to church. I will call you at 4:00pm my time (8:00am for Taiwan) to confirm a time when you would like to have it. If 8 works well then we can just talk then. If later would work better then let me know and I will call back later. Thanks.
