It Just Got Rhyl!

New Companion...Sister Madsen

Hiya/ Greetings from Wales. I already know some Welsh!

Bora da- Good morning

Nosta- Good evening

Iesu Grist- Jesus Christ

Sid y hie- how are you

and I got a welsh name badge! Well, I ordered it. I don't have it yet but it's coming. It was funny because we went to Stake conference yesterday and a man came up to Sister Madsen and me and gave us beef for having English name badges whilst serving in Wales. Cheeky. Just kidding, the Welsh people are so nice! I have never felt more welcome in a ward. The Ward Mission Leaders wife came up to me and just hugged me and said, "I already like you!" Sister Madsen and I have been friends since she came in the mission so she told the ward about me before I came and I guess they liked what they heard! 

We have had such a blast already! We went to the adult session of stake conference on Saturday in Chester, straight from Transfer Meeting. That was really fun. There wasn't enough room in the chapel, so the missionaries went to a classroom and watched it on a tele. We hadn't had tea either and a member brought us food so we were all eating and listening to the talks. President Ulrich talked and asked all the missionaries to stand up so Elder MacMeikan stood up and just ran in there and we all followed like we were going to battle. It was hilarious and so fun.

We went to Stake Conference the next day in Rhyl and that was really good as well. There was a girl who was home temporarily from the Czech Slovakia mission and she talked about how they were getting signatures from people to make our church legally recognized in the country. There was an elder who had been serving for about 6 weeks and couldn't understand the language at all. he dedicated his whole morning study to just be able to say, "I believe in God, the eternal Father, in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost." That is all he knew how to say but he got twice as many signatures than everyone else. I just love that story! We may feel weak and inadequate but Heavenly Father knows how to use those weaknesses and make them strengths.

I kind of said this before but the members here are amazing! I've loved the members in my last two areas but just everyone is so nice! Wales is to England what Canada is to America, They get made fun of but their still known as being super nice. Wales is beautiful and the people are great. We are going to go to a waterfall later today. A waterfall! This transfer is going to be so fun, I can't wait! I love love love Sister Madsen and we are going to "take out the trash" in Rhyl. ( shout out to my brother Andrew, who just got home from his mission)

I love you all so much! Hope you have a splendid week!

Much Love, Sister Christensen

Family Home Evening at Sister OKanes

Sister Christensen with her Trainer Sister Hansen and Sister Hansen's new Trainee..a new Sister Missionary who converted a little over a year ago from the Massachusetts Boston Mission!

Farewell to Stafford…Hello Wales

This week has been pretty crazy. We had a miracle on Monday, music on Friday, and we got transfer calls on Saturday.

Beautiful Tree we pass by each day

So Monday, we met a man last transfer who seemed very interested. We called by him and got a return appointment. He says he is not religious but it is a conversation that has been coming up with his wife and he said he would let his children decide for themselves about religion. He invited us back for tonight to learn more, so we're on the right track!

Dad will be proud to know that I used my violin teaching a lesson! We didn't know how to teach one of our investigators because she's not really a traditional investigator where we go in, teach the lesson, then leave. She usually just tells her everything that has been going on in her life and she expects us to give her spiritual guidance. We just teach a little section of a lesson and apply it to her. She needs to take it slower, little by little. We found out that she likes music and we thought we would teach her through the hymns! We sang Abide With Me, Where Can I Turn for Peace, and Have I Done Any Good. It was great to see the spirit work with her through music. She is very sensitive to the spirit and always acknowledges God in her life. So that was amazing.

Cutest Family...The Sherrard's

Sister Sika and I are whitewashing out of Stafford. Two Elders are replacing us and one of them is training a new missionary! So that will be exciting. Sister Sika is going to St. Helens which is close to Liverpool and serving with Sister Fetuli who is also Tongan! I will be going to Rhyl in Northern Wales, right on the coast! I cannot wait! It will be so cold but I've never lived by the sea before! I'll be serving with Sister Madsen. I met her when she first came into the mission and we're already good friends so I am so excited to get to serve with her! I love Stafford and will miss the people here terribly but the I know that the Lord sends us to where we need to be and I'm grateful for the time I've had to serve here. That is pretty much it for the week, it looks like everyone had fun in Moab! So jealous, but I love you all and hope you have a stellar week!

Love, Sister Christensen :)

BE HAPPY

You know what I love? I love that when you look back over your life or experiences (like serving a mission) and over time you just forget the bad things and only remember the good. Like, I have received emails from people telling me how much they miss me but if I was with them, they would tell me how annoying and weird and obnoxious I am. I can only remember the times I always got on with my brothers and sisters. I knew that we fought but I remember more specifically when we didn't.

I love being on a mission. Hard things happen everyday, all the time but you look back over the day or week or month or year and you can only remember the miracles you've seen, the spirit you felt, and how you've changed for the better. I think it is a natural thing to just be happy. I think the people who are miserable and don't want to talk to missionaries have to work really hard to stay that way. Maybe it's just me but I'll be upset and then I'll remember something funny and I won't be upset anymore. Sister Sika thinks I'm crazy because sometimes I'll just giggle to myself when that happens.

Exchanges with Sister Taylor

I studied a talk by Elder Christofferson this morning entitled "Justification and Sanctification". In his talk he says, "Righteousness (or obedience) leads to happiness and sin leads to misery." It is that simple and that easy. Just do what Heavenly Father tells you to do and you'll be happy. He is our loving Father in heaven and he would never ask us to do something that he didn't know would make us happy. He has done so much for us already to show his love. Elder Christofferson later states that we have access to the atonement, it has been given to us, we just need to CHOOSE to accept it. He quoted something that said roughly, "if someone gives you a good gift and you don't receive it, then it is no good to you or the person who has given it." The Atonement is a great gift that has been given to us and we need to use it everyday and it will take away our griefs and sorrows, so that both we and the giver of the gift can rejoice together.

I love you all and hope you see many miracles this week!

Love, Sister Christensen

Before haircut

after haircut
Thank you Sister Taylor

Quoting Amelia: #General Conference is Life

District Meeting

This week was a week of miracles. I went on exchange last week and I felt like a really didn't live up to my own expectations. I feel like I really have been lacking when it has come to travel contacting (talking to people whilst traveling or whilst out of my area). So we took the train to District Meeting last Tuesday and I talked to a woman from my old area! She was very nice and conversational. Even though she wasn't interested in religion, it was kind of a little note to me that I really do like talking to people and I just need to open my mouth and the Spirit will fill it for me. I don't have to be afraid to reach out a little bit.

We also did some finding this week and had an amazing lesson on the spot with a woman named Susan, who was a Jehovah Witness. So she wasn't interested either but she was willing to speak with us and she shared her conversion story and we bore our testimonies with her and we were very unified for that short while. It was a unique experience.

And....Conference! We went up to Newcastle-Under-Lyme for General Conference and went out on the town for an hour between sessions. A recent convert from the Newcastle Stake came with us and she stopped a man named Dan who we were able to teach and then invited him to come up to the chapel and watch the last session of conference with us. (It was the Sunday morning session but in England it airs at 5 pm so it was the last session shown at the chapel.) He came and he said he liked it! He is very opened minded and said he might come to church but not sure if he wanted to be visited by missionaries right then.

I just love conference! Sister Sika could tell you how excited it makes me :) I love how the main themes seemed to be: Having a testimony, Repenting, Keeping the Commandments, and of course the atonement is in all the talks. I love the Gospel, it truly blesses families. I know we have a living prophet today and he leads and guides this church. I love you all! The church is true! 

Love, Sister Christensen

It’s just part of the Plan

This week has been so fun! Sister Sika hasn't been feeling super good this week, so we didn't work too much at the beginning of the week but for the few hours we worked on Wednesday, we got two new investigators with return appointments, handed out two copies of the Book of Mormon, made a return appointment with a potential investigator we weren't sure was interested, and had three lessons! I just love that we go out and do what we can, the Lord will bless us, he'll provide for what we can do.

Thursday we went to Manchester and had workshops for the difference skills we use as missionaries. It was so fun and very spiritually uplifting. President Ulrich had a section of his training dedicated to having missionaries share scriptures that have helped them when they felt like they couldn't work any more, that they had had enough. I was able to share Alma 26:12, 36. I love these scriptures where Ammon and his brothers had suffered so much affliction and hardship doing missionary work but he glories in God. He recognizes his hand in everything and has a real understanding of the grace and mercy that comes from Christ's Atonement.

After the workshops, I went on exchange with Sister Nelson. She's from California and is the second to youngest of five children. She is so fun! We had a great time working together for two days. It is hard sometimes to go on exchange, you have to get used to the other person and work with them, hope they know what is going on, etc. We had no problems. She is such a good missionary. She's very obedient and very sensitive to the spirit. The biggest thing I learned from her is to look to people to learn from them but not to look at them and compare yourself to them. She helped me feel more confident in what I could do. 

Whilst we were on exchange, we got a little tied up. We were late coming out of a tea appointment, so we could no longer do our evening plans. So we sort of talked about it and decided to go call by a potential investigator named Clair. I was worried because it was dark and kind of late, I didn't want to make her no longer interested in the church. But we knocked her door and she let us in! We had a great conversation with her about her children and her mother that had passed away. We taught her a little of the Plan of Salvation and she went from saying she didn't like organized religion to committing to come to church on Sunday. She didn't come yesterday but we visited her again and she's committed to read the Book of Mormon. She's so cute, we were teaching her and she committed herself to do it. We didn't really commit her to do it. She is so good. I love watching the Spirit work with people the way it has worked with her and her family.

I love you all and hope you have a great week! The Church is true!

Love, Sister Christensen

Splits with Sister Nelson

Blackberry Picking

Shrewsbury District

In England (or at least in Stafford) they have blackberry bushes on the side of the street, just growing naturally. You can go and pick them and eat them, no problem. So sometimes we do! I have notice that the bigger and juicier the blackberry looks, it is actually more sour, and that the smaller ones are the sweetest. So it appears to be with missionary work recently.

We have been doing lots of finding this last while and when we think we've had a huge miracle, it never really works out. But when we have just a little miracle it becomes sweet. Also, when we have such big disappointments, it makes us appreciate those little miracles so much more.

Lost in Canneck Chase

On Saturday, we were doing finding and couldn't find anyone! On the way back home for tea, we thought we missed the bus so we headed toward the main road for the other bus stop and the out bus passed right by us! (that always happens) It was good though because whilst walking to the next bus stop we met a girl named Tegan.  She stopped and talked with us and is coming to church this Sunday! Such a miracle! 

It just made me think of Elder Ballard's talk about the flecks of gold. The little things add up to bigger things. (Alma 37:6) I truly believe that Heavenly Father will not give us more than we can handle but that he will definitely gives us exactly what we need to become the sort of person he needs us to be. He will also give us just the right amount of encouragement to keep going. 

Sister Dowd on Etsy @Donna Art

I love England! I love being a missionary! I know that the church is true and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love you all and hope you have a smashing week!

Love, Sister Christensen

Playing tennis with Michael before he moved to Birmingham

England!

                                       

Changes lead to growth...

Beautiful sisters who love serving together

                                   

This week has been great! It was transfers, so things got a little moved around. We are now in a totally different district and lots of missionaries got moved around. I'm excited though, because it will be fun to get to know and work with more missionaries.

I feel so blessed to be serving in England right now. I feel like I get more than I deserve. I have seen so many miracles in my first 6 months and I feel like I haven't done that much to deserve it! I have served along side some of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life. They face unfaceable odds with unwavering faith; both the saints of England and the missionaries. This mission is full of stalwart people who will change the world.

Thanks you to everyone who has prepared me to come and supported me whilst I've been on my mission! I love you!

                                   

Liz, my recent convert in my first area, told me that I am cheeky and the funniest American she's met. So, I think my letter was a little cheeky that I wrote home but I'm glad Jacob made it fun for everyone. Liz thinks we are related through the Cardwell line.  Check into that dad.  I love Jane Eyre! I am glad you watched it. One of my favourites! I saw someone in my last area this past week and we got talking about Austenland. I can't remember if you thought it was as funny as I thought it was but it was good to just have a laugh and talk about movies! No one loves quoting movies as much as me and Jakie-poo. 

Truman’s the sweetest, except that one time he punched me in the face. Happy Birthday Truman! I'm glad to hear you had such a great week! Sounds like everyone is having tons of fun!

I love you!

love, Sister Christensen

covers we made for our planners out of textured wallpaper

Cayleigh, our ward member...off to Scotland for University