Musings of an LDS Millenial
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It's Official, Tayler is Down Under!
It is 1:20pm and I just checked arrival times for Brisbane flights from LAX and it said that they all arrived 5 minutes ago--it is 6:20am on Wed there now.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Phone Call from LA-Monday May 25
We had a great 25 minute chat with Tayler as he was waiting at the LA airport for his flight to Brisbane. He said he had left the MTC at 4:30 PM with 2 elders and 2 sisters who were headed to LA to connect to their flight to Taiwan. He called just before 10:00 PM and was waiting near his gate for his flight which was leaving at 10:30. After 16 hours of airtime he will arrive in Brisbane on Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM--missing all of most of Tuesday in the process. He's traveling alone from LA to Brisbane!
It was good to hear his voice! He said he was feeling pretty good, but has had a cold, and was coughing a bit. The MTC has been wonderful, and he has a great attitude about getting out in the mission field. His days have been full with class, practice teaching, answering calls at the 'call center' (referrals from church media), and everything focused on teaching, not learning about the culture of Australia. I guess he'll learn about that when he gets there. We were pleasantly surprised to find out just this morning when he e-mailed that he would be calling. We'll get an e-mail when he gets to the mission office. We'll keep you all posted!
It was good to hear his voice! He said he was feeling pretty good, but has had a cold, and was coughing a bit. The MTC has been wonderful, and he has a great attitude about getting out in the mission field. His days have been full with class, practice teaching, answering calls at the 'call center' (referrals from church media), and everything focused on teaching, not learning about the culture of Australia. I guess he'll learn about that when he gets there. We were pleasantly surprised to find out just this morning when he e-mailed that he would be calling. We'll get an e-mail when he gets to the mission office. We'll keep you all posted!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Departing the MTC Monday May 25
Here's a quote from a snail-mail letter to Dad:
Hey Dad,
Well, It's p-day, and I didn't get to write you much on email. So here's this. :) But the MTC is GREAT I am so happy to be here. I am very well in body, spirit, and mind. I have a little cold, which my whole district seems to have. So I dunno who started it. But I have been very well besides. My companion Elder Dana is a workaholic, so we work out every night. We figure we'll do this our whole mission, so we'll come back NOT fat, ripped and with an Aussy accent. Irresistible, right? Ha ha. Anyway, he's a hard worker, and we've done well. We try to teach a lesson at least twice a day. I talk a lot, and he bares very powerful testimony. So we've trying to get him to talk more, and me less, and for me to bear testimony more often. We've improved a lot this week.
Also, something that might interest you, is that I got my flight plans this week. I'm leaving the MTC on Monday the 25th at 4:35, and flying to LAX where I have about a 2-3 hour layover. Then I'll fly straight to Brisbane, arriving about 5 in the morning for them. I'll lose a whole day on the flight. Oh, and the kicker, I'm traveling alone. Joy :P
I love you Dad,
your favorite missionary,
Elder Tayler Christensen
This is my district. The guys on top left to right are Elder Radford and Elder Edmonds. The Elders standing left to right, are Elder Deaux, Elder Dana, and me, sitting from left to right are Elder Haynie, Elder Finn, and Elder York.
My district at about 7:00 on Saturday...No exercise period, No P-day, and study ALL day! Needless to say we slept well that night. :)
Had to get one of these...:) [classic pictures]
This last winter was really cold I guess...
Hey Dad,
Well, It's p-day, and I didn't get to write you much on email. So here's this. :) But the MTC is GREAT I am so happy to be here. I am very well in body, spirit, and mind. I have a little cold, which my whole district seems to have. So I dunno who started it. But I have been very well besides. My companion Elder Dana is a workaholic, so we work out every night. We figure we'll do this our whole mission, so we'll come back NOT fat, ripped and with an Aussy accent. Irresistible, right? Ha ha. Anyway, he's a hard worker, and we've done well. We try to teach a lesson at least twice a day. I talk a lot, and he bares very powerful testimony. So we've trying to get him to talk more, and me less, and for me to bear testimony more often. We've improved a lot this week.
Also, something that might interest you, is that I got my flight plans this week. I'm leaving the MTC on Monday the 25th at 4:35, and flying to LAX where I have about a 2-3 hour layover. Then I'll fly straight to Brisbane, arriving about 5 in the morning for them. I'll lose a whole day on the flight. Oh, and the kicker, I'm traveling alone. Joy :P
I love you Dad,
your favorite missionary,
Elder Tayler Christensen
This is my district. The guys on top left to right are Elder Radford and Elder Edmonds. The Elders standing left to right, are Elder Deaux, Elder Dana, and me, sitting from left to right are Elder Haynie, Elder Finn, and Elder York.
My district at about 7:00 on Saturday...No exercise period, No P-day, and study ALL day! Needless to say we slept well that night. :)
Had to get one of these...:) [classic pictures]
This last winter was really cold I guess...[ya, they look like it was rough on them]
Me and Elder Dana jacking a golf-cart thing :p
Monday, May 18, 2009
The MTC is treating me well.
Well, the MTC is treating me well. It's way more studying than i have ever done in my life. I'm sure that doesnt come as much of a shock to most of you, but hey, its true. I've been able to teach several lessons for practice, (14 this week) and that has been very helpful. we just started lesson 2 this weekend too. its a lot of doctrine to be covering in one lesson, but thats ok. I like it. This last week has been amazing. I have really been able to bond with my district, and we're becoming brothers. yesterday, for sacrament meeting, we sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" as a whole district. Not gonna lie, it was amazing, and the spirit was so strong, we all had to fight the tears down just so we could finish. On a more funny note, I was in the Referal Center on Wednesday and Took a call from a homeless man in missouri. He was calling from a Hotel Room, and wanted the whole Mormon History. I Gave him a brief run-down, and we had a long conversation about various things. The funniest part was when he started talking about polygamy. He wasn't even fased that it had happened, he thought it was funny, and then when i told him that we didnt do it anymore, he was like, "good, its not a sin, its just stupid. You have to buy all of them jewlery and toiletries, and then they all start PMSing at the same time, and gang up on you..." among other things that i wont repeat. I have to say though, i Got a kick out of it, and so did my district. We listened to it again later in the week. Anyway, thats the week's run-down. Thanks for all the letters, i really appreciate them, keep them coming! :)
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
what? has it been a week already?
what? has it been a week already?
May 11, 2009
well, no, it hasn't, but its close enough right? :) hey family! how's everyone doing? i would send this to cara too, but i dont know her email, so if someone could forward this to her so i can get it that would be great! anyway, the MTC is great. the beds are at least semi-comfortable, the food is dang good, (but nothing compared to mom's home cooked meals) and although there are no wheaties for breakfast in the mornings, there is almost always something that i can drown in syrup, and there is an endless supply of LIFE! haha anyway, on to more serious matters, my district is awesome, we all just clicked right away, and my companion, Elder Dana, is a great guy. one of the elders in my district, Elder Radford knows Aubrey Pape, so that was kinda cool.
This week has been one of the best hardest weeks that i have ever had. It was really tiring. On saturday alone, we had 12 hours of classroom time, 9 of which were with an instructor. it was good though, we practiced door approaches, and once everyone did well, it started getting goofey. But the rest of the week has been full of spiritual experiences. I have learned (at least a little bit) how to teach by the spirit. It's been amazing. My companion and I practiced teaching one of the teachers the first discussion. We had planne how we were going to teach it, and had all the points we were going to discuss ready to go, and i think we might have used 2 of the 9 things we wrote down. It really was amazing. Yesterday, we were able to attend priesthood and sacrament meeting, which was really good. In priesthood, we talked about the atonement at length, and I gained a new appreciation for it. Later in the evening they showed a bunch of films, and my distict saw "The Mountain of the Lord." I know we own this movie, but this time, when i saw it, it really touched me, especially knowing what I know now about the temple, it was a very spiritual experience, and especially since I am focused on the missionary aspect of it, that part really interested me. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, just watch the movie for FHE tonight, and you'll get it :)
Anyway, just so you know, you can give my email out to people, but tell them to include their mailing adress with the email that they send, because I can only reply with snail mail, but anyone is allowed to send me email.
I love you all so much, and I wish I could have seen you all on mother's day yesterday. I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!! (you can post that part with the blog if you like:P) But i know that I am where I am supposed to be. This truly is a marvelous work, and the field is white all ready to harvest. I will very soon be thrusting in my Sickle with my might.
Collin, Keep doing what you're doing, you're on the right track buddy.
Cara, if the guys aren't planning on going on missions, they aren't worth your time.
Anna, Keep being cute, keep growing, but stop when you get to like 5'7" or something. Be good! :)
Dad, thank you so much for being the greatest dad ever, you have taught me well, and it WILL pay off.
Mom, i love you so much! thank you for teaching me how to do all those basic house keeping things... I am discovering that there are very few here who have that kind of training.
Give Gabe and Rochelle and Marissa my love.
Elder Tayler Christensen
May 11, 2009
well, no, it hasn't, but its close enough right? :) hey family! how's everyone doing? i would send this to cara too, but i dont know her email, so if someone could forward this to her so i can get it that would be great! anyway, the MTC is great. the beds are at least semi-comfortable, the food is dang good, (but nothing compared to mom's home cooked meals) and although there are no wheaties for breakfast in the mornings, there is almost always something that i can drown in syrup, and there is an endless supply of LIFE! haha anyway, on to more serious matters, my district is awesome, we all just clicked right away, and my companion, Elder Dana, is a great guy. one of the elders in my district, Elder Radford knows Aubrey Pape, so that was kinda cool.
This week has been one of the best hardest weeks that i have ever had. It was really tiring. On saturday alone, we had 12 hours of classroom time, 9 of which were with an instructor. it was good though, we practiced door approaches, and once everyone did well, it started getting goofey. But the rest of the week has been full of spiritual experiences. I have learned (at least a little bit) how to teach by the spirit. It's been amazing. My companion and I practiced teaching one of the teachers the first discussion. We had planne how we were going to teach it, and had all the points we were going to discuss ready to go, and i think we might have used 2 of the 9 things we wrote down. It really was amazing. Yesterday, we were able to attend priesthood and sacrament meeting, which was really good. In priesthood, we talked about the atonement at length, and I gained a new appreciation for it. Later in the evening they showed a bunch of films, and my distict saw "The Mountain of the Lord." I know we own this movie, but this time, when i saw it, it really touched me, especially knowing what I know now about the temple, it was a very spiritual experience, and especially since I am focused on the missionary aspect of it, that part really interested me. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, just watch the movie for FHE tonight, and you'll get it :)
Anyway, just so you know, you can give my email out to people, but tell them to include their mailing adress with the email that they send, because I can only reply with snail mail, but anyone is allowed to send me email.
I love you all so much, and I wish I could have seen you all on mother's day yesterday. I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!! (you can post that part with the blog if you like:P) But i know that I am where I am supposed to be. This truly is a marvelous work, and the field is white all ready to harvest. I will very soon be thrusting in my Sickle with my might.
Collin, Keep doing what you're doing, you're on the right track buddy.
Cara, if the guys aren't planning on going on missions, they aren't worth your time.
Anna, Keep being cute, keep growing, but stop when you get to like 5'7" or something. Be good! :)
Dad, thank you so much for being the greatest dad ever, you have taught me well, and it WILL pay off.
Mom, i love you so much! thank you for teaching me how to do all those basic house keeping things... I am discovering that there are very few here who have that kind of training.
Give Gabe and Rochelle and Marissa my love.
Elder Tayler Christensen
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