Another Week

Hey family!
ok, so new idea. you should take all of your questions and combine them into one list so i can go through and answer all of them! haha I'll do my best. Also, a re-emphasis on the fact that Mom or Dad are supposed to be the first recipients of any mail i send. President Richards said specifically that that included siblings- sorry to be a kill joy, but i've recently been finding out how many blessings come from complete obedience. Ok, now I'll try and answer all of your questions. :)
Leticia is Ethiopian, her last name is Bandibombe. Gorgi's last name is Askham, she's English. Jay's last name is Singh. he's nepalese. Jay is THIS close to quitting smoking, and we hope to getting baptized. Leticia is waiting for her mom to get into Aus. so she can show her what the church is all about. We're reteaching all the lessons to make sure she understands. Gorgi, made some decisions about her defacto relationship that we weren't thrilled about, but we then taught her a lesson about obedience, and i think she figured it out. We also gave her a blessing of Comfort and counsel. it was really good. So we'll see if she figures it out this week. Also, This week we had 8- count them EIGHT investigators at church INCLUDING a family of 5 who is muslim. The mother is so Christlike. she asked for a BofM after church, and they committed to come to church next week. Thats a very delicate position though. The Mission president has to interview any Muslim Investigators before we start teaching them becuase many of them are refugees and if they go back to their native countries being any form of Christian, they can be tortured and/or killed. But before that they have to be progressing and keeping committments. So they have to read and Pray about the BofM and be coming to church for 3 weeks straight before the interview can even take place, and before we can formally teach them. so that will be an adventure. The members here are great. Every sunday at church, there are 2 or 3 people who just walk up and ask us to come over for dinner. and then during the week they call us up too. The ward mission is AMAZING and the Ward Mission Leader is the best I have ever heard of. Even my trainer is impressed, and he's been out for 18 months! And am i being fed? haha... lets just say that a good portion of the ward is POLYNESIAN. :P that ought to answer that question. I'm pretty sure I am slowly making my way 140 lbs. Oh, and i remember Dad asking about my companion... Go to RubberBall.com and type in NERD. That would answer a few questions. :) but i recently went on trade-offs with one of the zone leaders and he told me that Elder Power is legendary. Most missionaries hear of him long before they ever meet him apparently. And since then, he's not the only person i've heard that from. So i guess i'm pretty lucky. :) He's also one of the funniest people i have ever met- sort of reminds me of collin. but in a marissa sort of way... If that makes sense. :P Ok, this is funny. so yesterday, it was about 15 degrees. so like 60ish. Everyone was walking around it sweatshirts and coats, and even Elder Power had on a sweater. I was walking around in my short-sleeved shirt. Everywhere we went, people invited us in because it was "so cold." oh man, i nearly died every time i realized that they were serious. :P oh, funny thing about driving here. you do about 50 in residential areas, about 60 in the cities, 80 on the highway and anywhere from 80 to 110 on the freeways. Faster if you're in the middle of nowhere. ok, now take all of those numbers and convert them from KM/H to MPH. and imagine that the speedometer has no MPH on it. makes driving really fun. or something. :P Wow dad that's really cool about Brynn! I do remember her. Tell her Hi for me. :D
Cara! so who's surprised you got a 4.0? raise your hand- anyone? anyone at all? No? ya. Me neither. :P haha im glad to know that you're still doing so well. and the telethon thing... haha i know ALL about answering phones for extended periods of time. fun, aint it? Oh, and i DO have pictures for you, but i'm getting a bunch of other stuff to send home too- there's these cookies that they have here- called tim tams. kind of like those fudge-covered graham crackers mom used to buy, but so much better. We do these things called "tim-tam slams" they're fun, you bite off the opposite corners of the tim tam, and then suck hot chocolate through it, and then when it starts to melt, you slam it into your mouth. its way good, i'll send home a pack so ya'll can try it.
ah, the breakfast cereals are lacking. you know how we have like whole isles devoted to them? ya they have half of a short isle on one side in a BIG grocery story. But they have this cereal called crunchy nut- its like honey-nut corn flakes, way good. some culture stuff- people dont say "how you doing?" they say "how you goin?" the police cars look like checkered race flags, they have their own car dealership called Holden, which makes cars much like Toyota and Ford, but way cheaper. Everyone is really laid back. Even the worst rejection i've had has been really polite, and ended with, "have a good one mate." oh, there are no j-walking laws. so you can cross at cross walks, but ya dont have to. oh, and "far out" is the latest term for "cool." there's a bunch of other slang that i've picked up, as well as some of the accent, but that would take pages to write. We'll just say that when i call home, you'll be entertained I'm sure. :)
Collin- sorry to hear your piano recital was kind of a bummer, but knowing you, you prolly rocked the house anyway. The high school really does need mom's help. :P
Anna- Glad to hear you did so well at your dance recital. I bet that'll be a life-long enjoyment for you. I'm excited to see how you'll be when i get back. :) i hope someone took video.
Whitney- sounds like you had a blast at graduation! I'm happy for you! Keep up the good work. :) i sent you a letter a little while back, and I'm sending another one soon, so hopefully you get those soon.

Ok, well, i gotta go, I love you all so much, and i Know that i am where i am supposed to be. Keep up all the missionary efforts!

Elder Christensen