Week 67 - Latta, SC - 10/20/14

Hello Everyone :)

It's Week 6 of the transfer! This transfer has gone by way too fast! I can't believe we're about to start a new one… but on to the things of this week!

We have been extremely blessed this week! We picked up a lot of new investigators, including some formers! Melissa is back on board! She had a lot of struggles in her life lately but after she read Alma 32, she felt so much better about everything! It shows how important it is to read the scriptures! They can definitely apply to us today even though they were written so many years ago!

Then we picked up Linda and Glomaine. They're the mom and sister of a recent convert, Ronald. They want to be baptized but the problem is that they don't have any transportation and they don't live near anyone to get to church. They actually don't even live in our branch's boundaries but they live closer to our building than to the neighboring branch's. We had a cool miracle though! We found out that Ronald's cousin goes to Marion every Sunday for church at the same time that we have our church services and they're willing to take all of them to church! With that, we felt more comfortable with putting them on date for baptism because they'll be less likely to fall off! They're on for November 15th, Ronald's birthday!

Then there's John and Faye! Faye is doing amazing! She has read through 1 Nephi and John's still in Alma. He's very excited to get to Helaman! Hahaha. We taught the Word of Wisdom this week and they are a bit concerned about not being able to drink coffee and tea... So that's going to be quite an obstacle to overcome. Please keep them in your prayers! We want them to continue to progress!

Brother Josh is still doing great! He blessed the sacrament for the first time yesterday and he was also interviewed for the Melchizedek priesthood yesterday! He should be receiving the Melchizedek priesthood next Sunday at Stake Conference.

Remember the 40 Day Fast we did in Boiling Springs? I'm bringing it into Marion! We brought it up in Branch Council yesterday and we suggested that the Branch Council did a trial period for next week to see how it goes. We want to get the branch excited for missionary work and opportunities and we feel like this will be the best way to do it!

That's about it for this week! It's been pretty good! I know that this upcoming week is going to be even better! Thanks for all the support and prayers! Love y'all! Have a blessed week! Now go write me some letters! ;)

- Sister Amy Christensen

Tracting in the Forests of SC!

This is my face when I receive one letter in two weeks "... Yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state." Alma 60:6.

Week 66 - Latta, SC - 10/13/14

Hello Family and Friends!

It's been an interesting week! Sister Parker and I were talking about how the days went by slow but the week went by so fast. Time is warped on the mission. I don't know how else to explain it.

Well, we had interviews with President Turner this week! I feel like it went pretty good. He did the interviews differently than President Holm. He asked us what we were studying, what our study methods were and what the most valuable thing we learned this week was. The interview was only about 10 minutes long. While Sister Parker was having her interview, I was talking to Sister Turner. I saw she had a picture of Sister Johnson and I asked how she was doing since I trained her. I guess she's still in West Columbia and she's training! I'm a Grandma! I never thought I'd live to see the day! I was excited for her!

We had a really good week with John. We finally got to meet with his wife, Faye and she's all on board! We've taught/re-taught the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week! Each lesson has gone really well, especially the Restoration. We brought Sister Weatherford with us to that lesson. She's a convert to the church and she used to be a part of the Holiness religion, which is what Faye's religious background is. The Spirit was so strong during that lesson! It was incredible! Then we went over last night with their next door neighbor and taught the Plan of Salvation! Faye said that everything makes sense and even John said that he learned something new! It was perfect!

So yesterday, we were just sitting in Sunday School while one of the elders started teaching the lesson. After about 10 minutes of teaching, his companion walked out of the room and this panicked look came across his face. So we got up to teach while he went after his companion. Before the mission, I don't think I could just pick up a spot in the lesson and start teaching. I would have been way too nervous. But it worked out really well for us yesterday! It was a great lesson about Charity. I'm glad that I've been able to learn how to teach while I've been out on my mission so I can be called upon in situations like that!

Here's some food for thought! Last night in our lesson with John and Faye, John started making a comment. He turned to his neighbor and said "I'm not sure if you've ever invited me to church..." and then continued on with saying how he's been going to a lot of different churches searching for the right one. That phrase stood out to me. How many people do we come in contact with, whether it's a neighbor or a co-worker that we can invite to learn more about the gospel? I want to invite y'all to pray for missionary opportunities and to have the courage to act on those spiritual promptings. We shouldn't be keeping anyone from having the chance to learn about the restored gospel!

Well that's about it for this week! I love y'all! Have a blessed week :)

- Sister Amy Christensen

This is what happy missionaries look like after they've knocked into a less-active whose records aren't in our directory.

Our "P-Day Eve" festivities start after we finish planning on Sunday nights and they include jamming out to music!

Week 65 - Latta, SC - October 6, 2014

In the words of Elder Christofferson, "Muy buenos dias!'

Got a lot of stuff to tell you this week and not a lot of time... So forgive me for cutting to the chase :)

First of all, Brother Josh was interviewed this week for the Melchizedek Priesthood by President Cabaniss! Wahoo! He's on track to getting the Melchizedek Priesthood by the end of the month at Stake Conference! We're excited for him!

We have been seeing this lady, Jenny. She's what we call a "church hopper" but she was very interested in coming to our church. We've left her a few sticky notes and she had them laying around her house. We went over last Monday and she said "I'm going to find your church tomorrow and put one of these sticky notes on there so you know I found it." Well we went over on Wednesday for branch coordination and we found the note! She actually did what she told us! We didn't believe it happened! Ha ha. We were pumped!

Then remember John, the guy who read half of the Book of Mormon? He called us last Wednesday! We got a voicemail from an unknown number so we listened to it and he said "This is John!" We were so excited! We thought we'd lost him! But we saw him yesterday right before Conference with President Cabaniss to teach him the first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It went pretty well! It went kind of long but that's because John has a lot of questions! I'm ok with that. He's just looking for the truth!

Also while the Elders were in the Priesthood session, they allowed us to go see our old investigator, Cherrie who moved into their area. I guess Saturday evening was the only night that she and her fiancé could meet with them so they let us go! Unfortunately, she couldn't talk for long but she was excited to see us! She told us that she would come to church if she got a ride... Needless to say, we got a ride for the Elders' investigator and she came! She loved it and said she was going to come back next week! Wahoo!

Anyway, on to Conference! Wasn't that amazing?! You know how I've been coming up with questions each Conference I've been out? Well I took these questions to heart this time around. I prayed and studied about which questions to ask rather than just having questions come to mind. Some of the questions were very unique and I was worried that they wouldn't be answered... But all 6 of my questions were answered! Even questions I didn't know I had were answered! Only the Spirit can do that! It's hard to pick a favorite though... They were all fantastic! I did love the talks by Elder Godoy, Elder Ballard, Elder Bednar, President Uchtdorf and President Monson however! They were great! To top that off, both John and Jenny came to the Sunday Morning session of Conference and Jenny even brought her cousin! It was fantastic! John thought it was interesting and Jenny and her cousin, Kim said that they were coming back next week! Perfect way to end the weekend!

I will say this though. I have thoroughly enjoyed my Conferences as a missionary. I feel like I've received a lot of insight and guidance for myself. I hope that I will continue to seek to have this same guidance as I continue on throughout my life!

Well that's it for this week! I hope y'all look over your Conference notes and see what you can apply better to your lives! I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today! He can give us the guidance we need for our lives and we will be blessed as we follow him! I love y'all! Have a blessed week!

- Sister Amy Christensen

Jenny was here!

Sad that Conference is over . . . .

Week 64 - Latta, SC - 9/29/14

Hey y'all!

How's everything going? I'm just going to forewarn you, it wasn't all too eventful of a week...but it was still a great week, nonetheless!

First off, we had exchanges on Tuesday and Wednesday! I left went to Florence with Sister Dougherty this transfer! It was way neat! I forgot what it was like to work in a ward and to work in a city! I've missed seeing sidewalks and street lamps! Hahah. I learned a lot especially about what we can do to help the area out. The Florence ward has been booming with baptisms so I asked what the big secret is... And I found out. They go out and find the people who are ready for the gospel and they particularly focus on finding families to teach instead of just single people. That's definitely something that we can improve on.

To go along with that, we've been cleaning out our area book. In Marion especially, people move houses and change numbers like it's going out of style so we've been visiting with formers and potentials to see if they are truly interested in our message. That way we're able to separate the wheat from the tare because ain't nobody (Yup. I'm using Southern slang now) want to harvest tares when they could harvest wheat! It's going to take us some time but Sister Parker and I are bound and determined to leave the area better than when we found it.

The General Women's Broadcast on Saturday was fantastic! One of the things that I love about Conference time is that I know that everyone around the world can hear this message from my family in Utah to me in South Carolina to Cody in England! It's just a neat way that we can all connect! I definitely felt that connection on Saturday! Also Stacee was there with us and I felt like every message was meant just for her! It was amazing!

One thing that Sister Parker and I have decided to do, which was inspired by the General Women's Broadcast is to memorize "The Living Christ" by Christmas time! As I was reading through it yesterday, I saw a scripture that I haven't seen for a while. In D&C 76:22, the Prophet Joseph Smith says "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" I love that it's as simple as that! I know that Christ lives! He is the head of our church and we have a prophet on the earth today, President Monson who is literally His mouth piece. We are so blessed for this opportunity we have to listen to our prophet's voice this weekend!

With conference coming up, I would like to invite all y'all to think of a few questions that you'd like to have answered and write them down. As you go into this conference weekend, pay close attention to the Spirit and I know that the Spirit will help you answer these questions.

Well that's it for this week! I love y'all! Have a blessed week and a wonderful time watching General Conference :)

- Sister Amy Christensen

Nothing like ending the night with hot chocolate and oatmeal cream pies :)

First off, thanks for the new journal, Mom and Dad! Second off, this was when I finally got caught up in my journal after at least 6 months! Woot, woot, double woot!

Week 63 - Latta, SC - 9/22/14

Hello Family and Friends :)

First off, I'd just like to say "Happy Fall, Y'all!" It's the first day of Fall and it sure feels like it! It's been in the high 70's and we're happy about that! So much better than the high 90's we were having a few weeks ago!

We've met with J a few times this week and he has been awesome! The spirit was so strong in the Restoration! The new senior couple, the Johnston’s, came with us and even they were amazed by the spirit there. Then we taught the Plan of Salvation and that went well too! He has a lot of deep questions about it! Hopefully he'll find his answers as he reads the Book of Mormon. We've invited him to be baptized but he says that he won't commit until he finishes the Book of Mormon. Totally respectable. On Friday, he told us he's on Alma 33!

This week, S decided to go cold turkey from some past addictions. This has been a huge step for her so we've been making sure to go over nearly every day to help her out. Most of the days, we were just reading scriptures with her but one day, she let us help her clean up her house! We were so excited to do some service! We don't get to do that much so it was great :)

Church was great yesterday! First off, Sister Parker and I got to speak together... literally. The 1st counselor of the branch presidency asked us to teach the Plan of Salvation to the congregation. It was kind of weird... But it went really well! We were pleased with how it went! I also don't know if I've told y'all this but Brother J has been passing the sacrament these past few weeks! Then R blessed the sacrament for the first time yesterday! It makes a missionary proud to see those things happen!

This week has been kind of an odd week... I've been chased by more crazy dogs and had more people try to "bible bash" us this week than probably my entire mission! I won't lie, it been a little hard to handle (especially out running the dogs! Ha ha). But it's reminded me of a quote in Preach My Gospel, "Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand." Throughout my mission, I've realized that we aren't here to bash but to help people come to know the truth of this message. As I boldly make my stand, without being overbearing or contentious, it's made my testimony even stronger! It's been a very eye opening experience for me!

Well that's it for this week! I hope y'all have a blessed week! Love y'all :)

- Sister Amy Christensen

Me and Sister Parker with Sis. Phyliss Blackmon from the Marion Branch

Me with my food from Little Tokyo! Notice the chopsticks! Totally ate with them!

Yes . . . yes, He does!

Week 62 - Latta, SC - 9/15/14

Good Morning Everyone :)

Well I hope y'all have a bowl of popcorn ready and are sitting down because this email is one for the books!

First off, this week started off kind of rough. Our appointments were falling through, no one was answering the door, nothing. On Wednesday, a quote from one of Cody's emails came to mind when I wanted to quit. "What are we doing to deserve miracles?" I figured that going back to the car wasn't going to help us so we kept working. Later that night, we had an appointment with a potential investigator, J. Previously we knocked into him, gave him a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment. When we got there for the appointment, he had just pulled up in his yard. He said "Listen, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I'm alive! ... And I've read about half of that book! The bad news is I have to reschedule because I just got sunburnt at work and all I want to do is sleep. But what happened to the Lamanites?" My jaw dropped! It was a miracle nonetheless! Our hard work paid off! We rescheduled and went back. We had a 45 minute lesson and when we told him we had to go, he said "Wait... That's it? I only get 45 minutes?!" We have another appointment with him tomorrow and he said that he wants to finish the Book of Mormon by then. Total miracle.

Also here's a scary story for y'all! Sister Parker totally passed out. We were out knocking and I go to put a pass along card in the door of someone who didn't answer. Well I turn around and I see Sister Parker kneeling and leaning up against the house we were at then all the sudden, she passed out. It was so scary mostly because it took me back to 13 months ago when I passed out... I was freaking out and then all the sudden I had the thought to do what I would have wanted to be done when I passed out, so I got the car and we went home for a little bit for her to rest. Luckily she doesn't have as many "battle scars" as I do from passing out. She's totally fine now though and we've been joking about it for the past few days. I'm grateful that she's had a good attitude about it!

So get this, we just got another senior couple in the branch! So now we have not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 sets of missionaries here! I didn't even think about how big of a deal it was until we saw R and S last night and S was like "Why aren't people announcing that there are 8 missionaries in our branch? Do they not know how big of a deal it is?" It's pretty neat to think about!

I also finished The Book of Mormon for the 4th time on my mission. This time took me a bit longer to study because I was studying "Because of Him." I've been reading it since Easter so I'm glad to have finished it. It was cool to read because I found out how much is possible because of Jesus Christ. I know that He is the reason for everything and that because of Him, I have this wonderful gospel to share with South Carolina!

Now for the moment that we've all been waiting for. I hope everyone's sitting down for this! Transfer calls... Sister Parker and I are staying together for another transfer in Marion! That'll be 4 1/2 months together! Our minds were blown! We were expecting for one of us to leave! And if that's not enough, the elders in our branch aren't leaving either! We'll all be together for 3 transfers at least. Man. I still can't get over it. I'm happy though! I know that Sister Parker and I have some great things to accomplish this transfer! We're just going to work hard so we can see all the miracles that God has in store for us!

Well that's enough mind blowing news for this week! I love y'all! Write me a letter or something! Have a blessed week :)

- Sister Amy Christensen

 

Check out my new planner! It's pretty great! (on the left is a photo of Sister & Elder Christensen's missionary plaques hanging side by side at our church)

Me and Sister Parker after the Stake Relief Society activity about the 10 Virgins

Week 61 - Latta, SC - 9/8/14

Hello everyone :) It's been a pretty good week in Marion! Nothing that Sister Parker and I can complain about, that's for sure!

We had ZTM this week and it was kind of an... interesting one. Mostly because our trainings were about district leaders and one training was about how sisters can have appropriate, non-awkward phone calls with their district leaders. It was kind of funny mostly because it totally happens. It was a good meeting but the trainings were very unique!

We've been doing a lot of finding lately. And by "a lot", I mean a ton! We are trying to find new people to teach but we keep finding people who aren't quite ready for the gospel yet. But we keep going! We know that our area is ready to baptize now! There's actually a quote by an apostle that says there are five people who are ready to be baptized in your area every day! Those five people can change from day to day but we just need to go out and find them! And that's what we're trying to do :)

But we do have some people that we're currently working with! One is R. She is the sister of a recent convert who was baptized last year and then passed away a short time after that. She's really sweet and totally understands what we're teaching her! We've taught her the first two lessons and she's on date to be baptized on the 27th of this month! She wasn't able to come to church this week though because of some health problems unfortunately...

And then there's M. We've been working with her for about a month to a month and a half. She's very elect. She's come to church twice already and she says she knows that The Book of Mormon is true! We've taught her the first three lessons, tithing (Because she had some questions about it) and the Word of Wisdom. We invited her again to be baptized last night but she said she's not ready yet. She has a history of finding a church she likes, joining it and then not going back. So we're just trying to help her become more comfortable with the church. Please keep her in your prayers!

You know, I love being a missionary! I love it so much! I've had a lot of great experiences with a lot of great people! At church yesterday, we had some members thank us for the visits and how much it meant to them. It really made me feel like everything I've been through, good or bad, on the mission has been worth it. I know that I'm here for a reason and it's great to be able to feel like I'm accomplishing my purpose - whether it's with members or nonmembers.

I love y'all! Keep on looking for missionary experiences! I know that y'all will be blessed for helping the Lord hasten His work! Have a blessed week!

- Sister Amy Christensen

I live in the smallest house in the mission!

Sister Hathaway, Sister Simmons, Sister Parker and me after our long drive from Florence for ZTM.

We totally made cinnamon flop last night after planning! It turned out pretty well :)