We had a wonderful Sisters Training Meeting this past week. It was an all day thing and it was combined with return and report (where the trainers and trainees talk "return and report" about what’s going on) except the Elders were uninvited at the last minute, but one set of elders didn't get the memo so they were there for a little bit.

We talked a lot about working with the Elders in our same wards. And soon there will probably be a set of sisters and elders in every unit, which will be cool, but they don't want us to separate the areas.  They want us to work together completely, basically as another companionship but separate. We should have the same area books and we should correlate everyday. It is really cool to do it this way. It's kind of hard in my situation though because we are working with two wards and the Stake President just asked us to help out the Spanish branch as well. So we are basically working with 3 sets of Elders. It gets pretty hectic. But it is really fun!

By the way, wasn't the Broadcast yesterday AMAZING!! It is so cool I am so excited! :) Though it really wasn't anything new to us except the new "digital age" of missionary work!  But now we don't have to work as hard to get the members to help us!   We can just say that it came from the first presidency and that missionary work is 100x more effective with the members involved. At least the wards I am working with are already pretty missionary minded so its just going to be that much better :)

I love missionary work!! It is so amazing! This past week we have had some plumbing problems in our apartment so we had a plumber come over and we were studying at the time and he was so impressed that we were studying the scriptures. We talked to him for a bit and gave him a book of Mormon. And we are still having plumbing problems (there is leakage problems in our walls) so Sister H is really excited that our plumber has to come back. It's really funny how excited she gets. She's awesome. Her excitement is pretty contagious as well. I love it!

Yesterday we had dinner with a Jamaican couple, they are so cool. They made us Jamaican food and were impressed that we tried a little of everything and liked them all. They also have this table cloth that they always have the missionaries sign. I referenced one of my (many) favorite scriptures when I signed it. Alma 26:35-37. I feel the same way as Ammon!

 I also love Alma 29:1 "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth and cry repentance unto every people!" I love the book of Alma.

I also love the Book of Ether. I was studying it this week and got really into chapters 3-8. So good! :) I encourage all to read. Love you all so so much. Thank you for all your love and support. The Lord's work is amazing!! Share it with everyone and you will see the many blessings it brings!

Love Sister Christensen

We had a really cool experience this week. Last Monday Sister Hinton and I went to the mall for lunch and when we were ordering our food, the Manager, Cesar, came up to us and asked us about our name tags and asked if we could help him become a better person. We talked to him for a minute and he gave us his number. Two days later we met with him and got a feel of what he needs and gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read and pray about it, we also invited him to church which is located across the street from the mall. We then met with him again two days after that and taught him the Restoration with a member who has a very similar background, which we had no idea. It was so cool!! We had a really good lesson with him and again invited him to church. He came! He stayed for all three hours and is planning on coming back next week and staying afterwards for a baptismal service the Elders are having! It was also the perfect church meeting he could have attended as his first one. It was all about the family, exactly what he needed to hear! It was amazing. I am so excited! The member that came with us to the lesson said that he is going out of town but we have to wait for Cesar's baptism until he comes back so he could baptize him. It was so great. We haven't even invited him to baptism yet! But I think we are going to this week. :)

President Packard spoke to the Stake Relief Society Saturday night and then spoke in the Trumbull ward yesterday. It was awesome! Except I had to get up and speak too.. What happened was that his family wasn't able to come with him so he called the elders the night before so they had something prepared to share. Then there was confusion and my companion went up to speak as well, so then after she sat down, President got up and asked me to add my testimony. So on the spot I had to walk up and bear my testimony. Even though I did not anticipate speaking in sacrament meeting, it was not that hard, and I wasn't that nervous! I of course wish I didn't have to but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I realized that it has gotten so much easier the farther I get into my mission. How great the mission is!

I just want to wish all the fathers I know a Happy Fathers Day yesterday! You all are wonderful people and examples to me. Especially my own father. Thank you for always helping me out and lifting me up. Thank you for all your love and for all you do for our family. I love you so much!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy the coming summer!

Love, Sister Christensen

BRIDGEPORT, CT

This week has been so crazy. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was saying goodbye to most of the people in the branch. And Wednesday was the busiest day I have ever had in Westerly. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner with members and it was supposed to be our p-day but that didn’t happen. We did service for the Garrett family because they are moving. We got ice cream with an awesome elderly couple in their fancy Rolls Royce car and I had to finish packing.  Then we drove up to Watertown, Massachusetts that night. Transfer was the next day and I played my violin for it, though it didn’t go as well as the musical fireside. But it was ok.

                                        

                                        

                                                Leaving Westerly, RI and saying good-bye

    

    

    

Riding in a Rolls Royce 

American Dream Street

                                      Saying Good-bye to Sister McCarthy and Sister Delaney

Sad to leave Sister Saede.  I love her so much!

 Transfer was crazy because we had to get a new phone, new car, and get the new apartment keys. And then we had to go up to the temple grounds for sister Hinton. Then we drove for the next 3 1/2 hours to get to our apartment... It took forever.

                                   

                       Sister Hinton, Sister Christensen, Sister Ford, Sister Jones, Sister Bingham at Transfers

                                   

Sister Christensen picking up Sister Hinton at the Belmont Chapel down the hill from the Boston Temple

This area is incredible. It is kind of scary in some places but I haven’t been around those places yet. We cover both Trumbull and Bridgeport wards even though they have a set of elders in both ward plus the Trumbull Spanish branch elders. That is our district, and we are all basically serving in the same area. It is really fun to be so close to other missionaries and to be working right with them. Both wards welcomed us in with much excitement. They have been waiting for sisters for years. I love this area and the people so much already I never knew I could feel this way! In my last area most of the reactions of this place was bad, but I love it here with my whole soul!!  There is so much work to be done here, we are going to be so incredibly busy. I am so pumped for this next transfer it's going to be amazing!

So I have a wonderful trainee. Sister Hinton is awesome. She is such a fabulous missionary and has such great ideas. I don’t feel like I am training her one bit. I am so lucky to have been placed with her and in this area. I love life right now. What could be better than serving in these two wards, with an awesome greenie, in the city where apparently the most dangerous neighborhood is located, serving the Lord and bringing people unto Christ!!  What is better than that!?

I love being here. What an amazing experience it is to be in this part of the country and serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I get to talk to people about Christ EVERDAY! I get to serve such amazing people and help them find joy and happiness through Christ's gospel. This work is incredible. The way it changes lives is extraordinary. I invite everyone to try and share the gospel with anyone, you never know who is searching or who is ready for the gospel. You will never know the beauty or the blessings of sharing until you do it!

I love you all and hope I get to hear from you soon. You are amazing and I am so grateful to have such a strong support behind me, such a strong foundation and wall to lean on. I love you!! Go spread the gospel :)

Love, Sister Christensen

                                 

                                Full Dinner Calendar in Bridgeport ( extends into July!  Yes!)

                                

                                                     My District in Bridgeport.

Walking by Faith rather than Sight

This week has been full of amazing experiences. First of all t-texts (transfer text) came on Saturday. Our zone always comes last so it was really scary for me to get the last text.... I am being transferred to Bridgeport Connecticut, in the New Haven zone. President called me Saturday afternoon telling me that I was training. Meaning I will be Shot gun training. Opening up a new sister area and training at the same time! I am so terrified. I do not want to leave Westerly. There is so much going on in this area right now, we are getting new investigators right and left! And now I have to leave my beautiful Westerly. I feel heart broken. I LOVE the people here. I wouldn’t mind staying here for a year! They are so wonderful. The branch is amazing and Southern Rhode Island/Southeastern Connecticut are the most beautiful areas ever! I am going to miss it like crazy.

Yesterday was an amazing day. Church, as always, was incredible. I have yet to be in a boring sacrament meeting, especially with the spirit of this branch. Everyone is so missionary minded and amazing people. I adore each and every one of them! We had a pretty neat experience at church. We have this awesome less active lady, Gabra, (she's not so less active now) who shares the gospel with her family everyday. She has a step son, Jovan, who loves to read so she encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon. Our Relief Society President went over to their house last Wednesday or Thursday and told him, he should come to church on Sunday and he said he would. We were there the following day and he mentioned he was coming! And he did! He said he felt right at home! He is 23 and since we have a small branch, he went in with the priest quorum. They talked about missionary work and he said he wanted to be apart of that. Our Young Mens President told him that he would need to be taught by the sisters first and he said he would love that. So then he came up to us and said he wanted to be taught the gospel!! He wants me to be apart of the first lesson so he said that he would see us before Thursday :) I am so excited about this area! Sadly, I will have to leave. But I am glad to leave it progressing so much. That makes me happy. We also taught our investigator, Elizabeth, Saturday morning. She is awesome. She just milks in the information and she believes everything we were talking about. It is so awesome.

Last night was the Missionary Musical Fireside at our Stake Center in Groton. Our zone invited over 400 less actives/non members. We had a pretty full house. I am not sure if we met the goal of 75 non members/less actives but it was about half and half with members. We were second on the program. I was so nervous but it went really well! It was such a powerful night. Perfect for non members and less active to be there. President Packard and family came and participated. President talked at the end and it was perfect, inviting them to come and feel that same spirit and let the missionaries in their homes to lift and strengthen them spiritually. I cannot explain in words how amazing that night was. There was not a dry eye in the place.

This week we are basically not going to have a p-day because we have so many appointments with people who want to say goodbye, which made me feel really good. There was a lady from the Groton ward who gave me a hug at the fireside. Let me tell you, she does not hug anyone. She has a HUGE bubble and doesn’t like people near her or touching her in anyway BUT she gave ME a hug!!! That is when you know she likes you :) It was great.

I am so sad to leave Westerly, But I am so excited to go to a new place, terrified yes, but excited. I cannot believe President is trusting ME with jump starting a new area. But luckily I will have a good support system there, there are Spanish, Portuguese, and English Elders there AND NOW sisters :) and my district leader happens to be an Elder who was just barely in my district a transfer ago. I am pretty stoked.

I love this place, this mission, this experience. Yes of course it is hard, but it is the best thing I have ever done. To be able to teach people about Christ and finding happiness and joy through Him is the most rewarding work in the world. I have seen so much of how the gospel can shape and change our lives. I know it is true. I know the Lord is looking out for each of us and knows exactly what we are going through and what we need the most to help us. He loves us. He has done SO MUCH for us so that we can have that chance to live in joy and happiness with Him for eternity. This church is true, there is no doubt about it, I feel so sad for those who look the other way and will not taste of the delicious fruit we have to offer. I wish we could help everyone see their worth and the beauty of this truth. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I love my family, and am so grateful for you and all you have done for me, to help me get to where I am now. I love you!

Love, Sister Christensen