Christmas Call is coming! (MOM's blog title!)

hello family and friends!
well, its been a crazy week, but its been a good one. we had the mission christmas party yesterday, which is why i didnt email yesterday, but it was really good, very fun, and i got your package! :D anyway, i have little time to write this email, but i need to set up whats going to happen for Christmas call! so the family who's letting us use their phone, asked if we could do skype, which we asked president if we could, and he said yes, we can, so thats an option. we can also do the conference call if that works better for everyone, i'm not too bothered either way. just email me back soon, and i'll just buy the phone card, and if i dont need, i'll just give it to another missionary for mother's day. so i'll check my email briefly before i call home. also, i will be calling on Chirstmas day for yous. which is the 26th for me. so i'm looking forward to talking to yous! quick investigator update- jade came to church this week, which was awsesome, he's pretty keen. so we'll have a lesson with him this week. :D ok, thats about it. oh! had a good experience with answers to prayer this week. i've been driving the car around lately to learn the area faster, and it's working good, but i havent driven since forest lake- like 9 months ago, so i was a lil rusty... but i went around another car by going up on the angle curb, but failed to miss the big hole on the other side of it, i scraped the bottom of the bumpers... ya... no visual damage done, but when we stopped the car, there was a very fast drip coming from the bottom of the car, and i flipped a switch... so we called the car coordinator, he told us to take it in the next day, then we stuck a bucket under the car over night to see what it was... it was just watery, so we figured it was coolant from the radiator... ugh. but all night and that morning i was praying that it would be a quick fix because we had a lot of appointments that day in the morning, so we told the car co. everything, then he called half way through the car ride but i didnt hear it... but we were driving on the motorway, and i felt prompted to turn off the AC and just roll the windows down... radiator problem i thought. so the car co. left a message that he thought it might just be the condensation from the AC dripping from the bottom, which would be completely normal... well i checked under the car, and with no AC on, there was nothing dripping from the bottom! :D prayer answered. we wasted a few K's but it was worth it. i obviously needed a little lesson on prayer, and that was a good way to teach it. anyway, thats just a few highlights from the week. i'll talk to you on chirstmas though! :D love you all so much!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

December

hello my family and my friends!
this has been such a crazy week! firstly becasue it rained. and rained. and rained some more. its raining right now. not that i mind the rain here. its warm! nothing like oregon rain. but i suppose its more like the winters that i know, so it SORT OF feels a bit more like christmas than it did last year at this time. i keep walking in to people's houses and seeing their trees up, and going, oh ya, it's christmas time... yay. its just so weird with it NOT being cold. i'm kinda glad i wont live here forever, but at the same time, i think christmas next year would be fun to come here! we'll see though. anyway, sounds like everyone had a good week. Dad, i totally feel your pain with being sick but being uber busy. its no fun. although, i'm probably not as busy as you, but there are some days when i feel like it'll take a miracle to get me through the day. especially the days when we're on the bikes. but i survive, every day. honestly dad, in response to your questions, i'm tired. i always try to not be worn out, or at least act like i'm not wearing out, but i feel like giving up some days and just sleeping for a week. Its pretty hard sometimes too, having the motivation to get up and go to work in the mornings, in light of the fact that i havent had a single baptism for the entirety of 2010. and now, i feel like i'm running out of time. the end of the year seems like it's my cut-off point, even though i have until the end of march. so that's what is REALLY going on inside my head. i know that being a sower is just as important as being a reaper, but sometimes i just wish the reapers would let me help once in a while. but while all this runs around my head sometimes, i have nothing to complain about. i certainly didnt expect my mission to be a "bowl of peaches," so all things considered, i am still very blessed to be here, and i feel the lord's blessing every day. it is ALWAYS there. my patriarchal blessing instructs me to "trust in the lord. do not doubt him, or fear." i've learned that these are quite serious instructions, and they're not always easy to follow, but when i follow them, i have NEVER been let down. and so it has been a week full of blessings. first off, nearly everyone who even sort of knows me in the ward, said happy birthday to me yesterday at church, so that made me feel good. then this last week, we were tracting, and i've been really working on getting out of my timid ways while tracting, and had a chance to be bold. i knocked on a door, and no one answered, but we could hear them around back of the house- normally i feel like i'm intruding walking around to the back of someone's house, so i normally dont, but that day i just felt like i had had enough of being afraid of people. the message i share is more important than whatever they're doing. so i walked around the back of the house, and there were 2 men and a woman, and a little boy. one of the men and the woman are partners, and the boy is their son, and the other man was a friend of theirs. and they were suprisingly warm and friendly, and even though at first all of them said they werent that interested, all of them perked up at some point, as they allowed us to teach their almost 8-y-o son the first lesson. then, the dad, who was very atheist volunteered to take his son to church not this week but next week, and they invited us back for another lesson this week! so that was good. that was probably the best thing that happened all week. the other awesome thing that happened, was that we went to a family called the Wolffs for dinner this week, and they had a good referral for us that from the sounds of it, is golden. so we're excited to be able to teach her, but the other thing was that Bro. Wolff is a physio! but he's not just a physio, but apparently one of the best in Australia, and FINALLY someone told me what was wrong with my back! basically, all the joints in my back got sprained when i had the open heart surgery, and all my muscles got "confused" and then tightened up, and then i subconciously favored those parts of my back, and now they're all out of wack, and my back muscles are significantly weaker than they should be, and way too tight. so he gave me some stretches to do, and recomended this thing called a thoracic back extension rack. he had one at his house, and i tried it- basically its just an arched piece of plastic with two ridges on it, and you lay on it, and it digs into the muscles and loosens them up. he said that its the best thing out there for this type of problem, and is supposed to be used basically for the rest of my life. intitially, every day, but once i actually start to heal up, it'll peter out to about once a month. it costs something like $150 australian to get one, but for a lifetime tool, i think it's not too much, so i asked him to order one for me, and i'd pay for it. but i wanted to run it past yous, especially dad, first. so just let me know. i want to fix my back asap. and bro. wolff is also giving me free physio sessions starting in a couple weeks to help me heal up completely. its awesome! then on saturday, there was district leader council, so elder prina went to that with the other DL and the zone leaders for the Gold Coast zone, and i went on a trade off with the other comp. they're the chinese missionaries in gold coast, and they had a lesson, so we went to it, and i pretty much just sat there, cause the lesson was in chinese, so i didnt know what was going on, but apparently it was a good lesson. anyway, that was pretty much the week. not too much else exciting happened. just hoping to find, teach and baptize someone ASAP! your prayers would be much appreciated. :D anyway, i hope yous have an amazing week! i love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Crazy Week-Dec 2 Post

Hello family and friends!

well, this has been a VERY interesting week. Elder Prina is the new district leader, and he's been doing very well, he's so humble, but he knows his responsibilities, and does his best to execute them. We have had some better luck this week, with teaching people, we met most of our goals, and had some good laughs on the way. we also had our share of disappointment, but at least it wasnt more than our share. and it soudns like everyone had a good thanksgiving this week! man, yous are lucky, 2 dinners in a row. Guess what i had for thanksgiving dinner? Pizza. Australians really dont get the whole "feast" thing- turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, the lot. Pizza. :P it was actually a good dinner, and the family that fed us were a less-active part-member family that was moving to brisbane the next morning, so we cut them some slack on that one. oh dad, i had some questions for you, first, Elder Prina came out from Provo, and wants to know where you lived when you were in high school, and i need to know what the name of your Mission was, and the years you served. if you could let me know in your next email, that would be great :). well, this week was, as i said before, Very interesting. it started with a visit that we made to a potential investigator's home. we biked hard to get there, and it started pouring rain on the way, so we got there and we were soaked, then she wasnt there, but her less-active partner was, so we talked to him, and then she showed up, but she wouldnt talk to us, and her partner didnt really know what was up, so she gave us the cold shoulder, and we had to leave, so we were biking back, still wet, and now frustrated, and we were on a pretty busy road, and as i was biking, trying to make it back to our flat on time, out of nowhere, i got blind-sided in the face by a flying bottle, thrown from a very fast-moving car. luckily, it was plastic, so all it really did was startle me. But usually stuff like that makes me mad, and i cant stop thinking aboiut it, and things i'd like to do to that person for like a week, but for some reason i just laughed, and went back to what i was thinking about before that. later, i was reminded of Peter, when he rejoiced that he was able to suffer for the cause of Christ. and i thought, ya. i'm taking some very small things for Christ's sake, and really, its not that bad. the other really interesting thing that happened this week was that we went on trade-offs with the zone leaders, and we taught this lady, whose son is a former investigator, and he was there, but he didnt sit in on the lesson, but he could hear what we were saying from where he was. for most of the time, i was watching him, and he was listening intently, and i could tell that he was feeling the spirit. then i had to use the toilet, and when i came back, his entire countenance had changed, and he was now staring at the fellowship that we brought, with this kind of evil smirk on his face, and his entire body tensed up. it was kinda scary. we found out from him, and from his mum, that and evil spirit possessed him occasionally, and that it had been gone for a few months now, but as he said it, "I was feeling the spirit. thats why HE came." it was kinda scary, but at the same time, i could still feel the influence of the Spirit, so all feelings of fear were gone. Elder Jensen, the zone leader i was with, said that he would bring some people over later, and they would give him a blessing, and get rid of the evil spirit, and the guy was very grateful, and even agreed to come to church the next day. that was cool. but that was pretty much the week. i hope all has gone well for you, and that you all have a good week! I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

2 letters one day

Hello Family and Friends!
how is everyone? from your emails, sounds like everyone is back to normal, and not sick anymore, ya? Dad, i didnt have time to answer your questions last week, so i'll answer them now. yes, we have the 15 names program here, it's a world-wide program- unfortunately not many wards actually have a fully functional one, including Mudgeeraba. and as for who is senior companion, we're actually co-senior, so we're supposed to switch off weeks being senior comp, but we get along so well, that we just kinda dont have one senior comp, whoever has the better idea is the one that calls the shots. so it jumps back and forth between us multiple times a day. anyway, thats so exciting that the tree business is starting to take off! i hope it does well for sure, imma be broke after the mission! :P and yous are going to utah for thanksgiving! are you going to the gray's again?
My week has been... well... for lack of a better word, interesting. we were all over the place trying to contact everyone. it was so hard! no one seemed to be home, and i think i've lost weight for all the biking as fast as i can up hills, and whatnot. then, we set up 2 appointments for saturday, which were supposed to be really solid, in member's homes and everything, and then everything fell apart on us friday night- we're getting fed up with people around here, so we're just going to find some new investigators. p-day was fun last week though! we played baseball! it was fun, but a little sad, cause the sister i came in to the mission with was there for her last p-day. she's way cool, and today is transfer day, so tomorrow she goes home to new zealand. that leaves me as the ONLY one left from my intake! so since i go home earlier than i would have been, no elders will go home the transfer after i go home. oh well. thats probably good, cause the intake i go home with, theres like 20 of us, so that'll be a big hit the mission. speaking of transfers, we found out on sunday night that neither of us are getting transferred, so we'll be in mudgeeraba through christmas and new years! we're excited for that. i had a few kinda cool insights this week while studying though. one of them hit me pretty hard though. i was reading the last chapters of mosiah, about the sons of mosiah leaving on their mission to the lamanites. this time i looked a little deeper at what might have been going through their minds and through mosiah's mind. a few moments of looking a dates and events, i realized that mosiah sent his sons on a mission to people who were his enemies, and one year later, died, 13 years short of their arrival back in zarahemla. of course they must have known he was nearing the end of his life, as i'm sure he probably did too. i think of the missionaries who's parrents or other famiy members die while they are on their mission. how hard it is for them to stay on the mission! and for another 13 years! how difficult would that be for them? it helped me gain a deeper appreciation for the kind of men the sons of mosiah were, and mosiah himself. anyway, i have to go again, i'm being kicked off AGAIN. so i'll talk to yous next week!
Love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

so i got kicked off earlier, so now i get to finish the email from this morning. after we got stood up this last weekend, we had a good day of church, we taught the lesson again in gospel essentials, and then had a good chat to neel prasad- the less-active guy whose wife and daughter are the ones we're trying to teach and baptize. then we had dinner at the Ryan's house. they're a way cool family, and they have a PING PONG table!!! i was so excited, and bro. ryan gave me a game, and i beat him in overtime! so i'm still not too bad at it, which means collin, you better watch out! :P then yesterday, we went out to visit a bunch of people, and it was raining all day, except for when we had to be on the bikes. it always seemed to stop for us. we even went to dinner, and as we pulled up, it was just starting to spit, and as soon as we were in the house, there was a massive cloud burst, and it went until about 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave, and then started again a couple minutes after we got home. it was sweet. many tender mercies. oh, last week we had someone back into our bikes while we were using the car, and they didnt leave a note or anything. the only damage was my front wheel was bent, and elder prina's back wheel was bent, the tire popped, and a spoke was broken, and we later found out, so was the gear thingy. so we carried our wheels to the shop, and had the guy take a look at them, and he had them until the next day in the arvo, when we got them back. that same day, we GQ'd an older guy who immediately just said that he would buy us a coffee, and talk to us, so we sat down with him, (dont worry we didnt actually get any coffee) and he "gave us 20 minutes." well turns out he's anglican, and he wants to teach us. so we talked to him for almost an hour. afterwards, Elder Prina asked me why i didnt say much, and i had to say because i couldnt think of anthing nice to say to this guy- he couldnt "accept a church that was based on the book of mormon and 'prophets.'" it was all i could do to counter that with how HIS church started... it was kinda frustrating... but kinda funny, and then the classic statement when the converstaion turned to politics- "Obama is doing wonders over there, he's such a good president." i wanted to spew. but we had a good laugh about it afterwards. anway, that was the week, so i'll talk to yous later! love yous!

love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Some teaching! yae!

Hello my family and friends!

this has been a bit of a trying week, with lots of little tender mercies mixed in. yes, I still have my cough, unfortunately, but it hasnt affected me as badly as last time. i found that cough lollies (drops) work well for keeping the cough down, so i almost constantly have one in my mouth. i went through like 5 bags of them this week. it was kinda funny, but they worked well. also, my brakes on my bike pretty much didn't exist any more, so i had to replace them too. i'm SO glad i learned how to fix bikes- biking high adventures are a MUST for any young man planning on serving a mission. if you cant take care of your bike, you are stuffed! anyway, i also went on a trade-off with the district leader this week- Elder Paki. he's pretty cool, and his area extends down into New South Wales. so there's a round about that is half way in Queensland and half way in New south wales, and we drove around it like 6 times and i took video- funny thing is, NSW is on daylight savings, and QLD doesnt do daylight savings- so on the one half, it was 5 o'clock, and on the other, it was 4 o'clock. it was funny! if the video fits i'll attatch it to this email. and i'm sending that jump drive home soon, cause it's full! 4 GB of photos and videos! anyway, on a more serious note, we were finally able to teach people this week. we taught violet and her family this week- she's a fijian lady who is very spiritual, and also happens to be a pastor at some church in robina. but she committed to read the book of mormon, and to pray about it, and when we asked her if she would be baptized, assuming she got an answer that the book of mormon was true, she accepted! so we were happy about that. no date, but we can work with that. then, the same day, we had a lesson with the prasads- he's a less-active member, who is fijian-indian, and his wife and daughter are non-members- they've been taught before, but anny, the wife was always to preoccupied with her studies, so it never really went anywhere, but she's done now, so we asked if we could start teaching her and zinia (the daughter) again, which they accepted, so we taught the restoration, and it went well! we also had them come to church this week, and they've done that before, but they leave after the second hour- i think because anny is shy and doesnt want to go to RS by herself- but this week, one of the ladies in the ward came up to her after our gospel essentials class, and invited her to RS, and she went! and then after church, like every lady in RS was surrounding her, and talking to her and she was having so much fun! i was like, YES! answer to prayer! it was so good. yesterday we actually taught gospel essentials, and Elder's Quorum. and it was funny, mum, we were teaching about the Holy Ghost too! isnt that amazing how organized the church is? we're on opposite sides of the world, preparing the SAME LESSON! anyway, i'm being kicked off, so i have to cut this short... i love yous so much!

Love, Elder Tayler Christensen

Hello November

hello family and friends!
what a week this has been! Cara, i totally forgot to say happy birthday to you this last week! Happy Birthday! i hope it was a good birthday, and from the sounds of it, it was. and you turned 19! i turned 19 while i was at BYUI! it was awesome! and mum sounds like that convention thing was really good! lots big mormon names there. and larry's not doing too well is he? thats not good. hope he gets feeling better. i hope things continue to go well for you dad. soudns like being bishop is bringing you a lot joy, being able to help people, and be an answer to prayers. it always feels good when someone tells you that you are an answer to prayer.

anyway, this week was another frustrating week for me, everyone who we were going to teach baled on us. the sad thing is that they had like no remorse- they literally said, "i'll have to cancel on yous" without any explanation or excuses- ugh so annoying. common courtesy just doesn't seem to exhist anymore. oh well. but we did have a lesson with an inactive girl in the ward. she's the daughter of a couple that just recently became active again. she's been anti before, and hasnt ever really given church the time of day. but we started teaching her daughter the discussions (her daughter is only like 4, but it was a way to indirectly teach her mum). so ashleigh finally sat in on the lessons, and this last week she actually came to church! it was AWESOME!!! she even came to our gospel essentials class. it was way good. so hopefully we'll be able to get her back on track. we're excited to see what could come from that. besides that, i havent really had too much going on this week. it was Elder Prina's birthday on sunday, so that was fun. we just did something at the flat, and had cake and ice cream. it was really good. but that is basically all that happened this week. oh, and i have my cough back, so your prayers on my behalf would be greatly appreciated- i know you all pray for me regularly, and i am so thankful for that- i need all the help i can get. ok well, have a good week, i love you all!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Re-dedicating

Hello My Family and my Friends!

Well, sounds like everyone has had a very fun week! my week was decent, and very spiritual for me. i learned a lot this week, and made a few decisions. so the first thing i know you'll want to hear about is whether or not the extension on my mission got approved- well i'll tell you about that. it's quite interesting. so after i asked president and told yous that i was trying to extend for as long as i could, i began to feel a bit uneasy and not sure it was the right thing to do. i began praying very hard to know if it was really the right thing to do, including in the celestial room in the temple. i didnt have any answer for a while, until friday morning. i was taking a shower of all things, when the answer came. see, i was expecting this spiritual experience with this, the way i usually feel the spirit- that is, with tingles up my spine and goosebumps and the works- what i kept failing to realize was that the spirit works in different ways, not only with different people, but with different times and answers in the same person's life. so im in the shower, and i'm thinking about it, weighing the pros and cons, and then out of nowhere this voice comes into my head- not my voice, which doesnt really happened when i'm thinking- and basically just said something like this: "i gave you your mission call when i gave it to you on purpose- i delayed you coming out because i needed to, but that doesnt mean you get an extension- come home when you're scheduled to come home." and that was that. i wont argue with God. so even though i would love to stay longer, i think God has other plans for me. this was the first time i'd ever felt like i was finally doing what my patriarchal blessing tells me to do- that is to constantly seek the lord's will concerning me throughout my life- finally i understood, and now i'm applying that to myself.

anyway, this week was kinda frustrating in the work side of things. we taught zero lessons to non-members this week, though not for lack of trying. everyone decided to cancel on us, or just not show up. the highlight of the week was the ward halloween party- the first "trunk or treat" party the Mudgeeraba ward has ever had. pretty cool. it was fun, and we got lots of good pictures. i'll have to get them off elder prina though, my camera was dead- oops. so that was fun. church was also pretty good, we had a good lesson about the priesthood in the gospel essentials class, which elder prina and I taught, so hopefully the 2 recent converts from last transfer will be all good with that. besides that, there's not a whole lot to report this week- it was just really frustrating, but elder prina is that man, and has managed to keep himself and me optimistic. i'm glad to be serving with him, it has really made my life easier, and has helped me recover from the stress of Emerald. anyway, thats the week. I love yous all so much! Cant wait to hear from you next week!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

ps- i would attatch pictures this week, but the computers at the liabrary are retarded, and wont let me upload from my camera, so i have to go get a card reader- so there will be photos next week.

Photos from the Gold Coast--New Area

Week and a Half

Hello My Family and My Friends!
what a week and a half this has been (haha, get it? its actually been a week and a half... :P). anyway, it has been a long week. We started the week off pretty good, getting a lot of work done, but we weren't finding anyone, and it was starting to get really frustrating. so we were listening to a recording from Elder Prina's twin who is serving in hawaii, and he recorded almost the whole of a day he referred to as his "windows of heaven day." he basically left at 8am and tracted all day in the rain until 9pm. so we decided to do just that the next day on saturday. so we left at 8am and promptly got called by a less-active member to come help him move a desk. so we went over there, and he fed us breakfast, which was nice. then we spent the rest of the day tracting. we got a lot of weak potentials, the "ya sure, you can come back and see how the reading went" but we knocked on one lady's door, and shared a condensed restoration with her, and she was happy to have us come back this week. while we were at her door, she had a friend inside who lived in the same complex, and so when we finished the rest of the complex we saw that lady go back to her flat which we hadnt knocked yet, so we knocked it too. she came out, and was all excited to see us, we didnt even share anything with her, and she's already inviting us to come back and share the message with her! so we have an appointment with her tomorrow (thursday) and her friend at the same time. so we're really excited about that. well, you wanted to know about Elder prina- he's from detroit, MI but left from provo. he's a way cool guy, with lots of very fun quirks. he's like 6'2" and is a very hard worker. we have had so much fun together so far, and we're looking forward getting lots done this transfer. anyway, you were asking about the letter elder Purser wrote. yes, i knew about it, no, i didnt read it. it was obviously something meant for your eyes only. i had thought of writing a few of my companion's parents, but havent yet- it is a good idea though. and speaking of mail, my flat address, is 16 arbour ave. Robina, QLD 4226. i havent gotten mail in ages! please send lots! :D oh, and the reason the email is delayed this week, is because i got to go to the temple! and that always happens on wednesdays. also, we had interviews with president Langeland. i asked a lot of medical questions, to which he was very helpful, and then i asked a question i've been thinking about for a long time- i asked if i could extend my mission. not heaps, just until my visa expires, which is like 2 or 3 weeks after i would go home anyway. but i decided i wanted to stay as long as i possible could. so he said he would look in to it, and let me know what the area presidency says. so i dunno if that throws any plans off, but that would mean that instead of march 30, 2011, it would be april 16, 2011. so it's not set in stone, but it's in the works- if that throws off some family plans though, let me know, and i'll see what i can do. but i really REALLY want be hear for as close to 24 months as possible, and so an extra 2 weeks sounds really good to me right now. lemme know what you think.

The Gold coast is very nice, and i've enjoyed it here so much! it's a nice change from emerald, and it's closer to the ocean, so it's a little bit cooler, which i'm happy about. you can look up the Gold coast online, it's like the most famous beach in Australia and high up there in the world. i live in robina, so you should be able to find it pretty easy.
anyway, this has been a good week, and i look forward to hearing from ya'll next week!
Love you so much!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Oct. 3, 2010

hello family and friends!

it sounds like you have all had an eventful week! man, its been ages since i went to the beach, that sounds like so much fun! thats definitely on the list of things to do in like 6 or 7 months. oh, speaking of which, 2 milestones happened this week. as of the 30th of september, i have exactly 6 months left on my mission, and by the way, i am the only one who is allowed to talk about that, dont tell me how much time i have left in your emails please! the other one is just kinda funny. as of sunday, elder purser had been out on his mission for as long as i have left to go- it was the "crossover" point. :P anyway, everyone asked about general conference. i dont know exactly when we'll get to see it. its kinda a sticky situation at the moment though... we definitely wont be getting it this next week. possible the next week. BUT, transfers happens this week, so if i get transferred, in all likelihood, i'll miss it in emerald, and since everywhere down south gets it a week after, i'll miss it down there too. so i'm just downloading it, so that if i do get transferred, i can listen to it while i travel down. so that should be good. i got all my bases covered i think. and i know it was awesome, we watched Jefferey R. Holland's talk last night at dinner with the Watene's. it was so good. i loved it. such a contrast from his last 2, but just as powerful. i'm looking forward to listening to the rest of conference.

well, my week was a little bit harder than i had expected. i have some form of pink-eye, thats been bothering me for some time now. i keep getting the antibiotics, but they seem to only be temporary relief. it just keeps coming back. so we'll see if i can get anything else that might be stronger... also, the floods are still out. nothing has really gone down, and 4 WEEKS of RAIN are predicted starting next week. and to be perfectly honest, i would LOVE to be here for it. but we'll see. we had another lesson with Eli this week, and tried to set a baptisimal date, but his parrents said no, so we're thinking of ways we can help them understand how good this will be both for them and for Eli. so hopefully this week we'll be able to do that. we also went to virginia's house again- she's the lady who's partner recently died, and she's been having massive trouble with the estate. we took bro. McKay with us, and he has a law degree, and so he got her all sorted, and on the right track, so she was very grateful. it was really good, and the barrier is basically broken down now, so we are asking her this week if she wants to take the lessons. so we'll see how that goes. and thats bascially been the week. oh, yesterday, we had fast and testimony meeting, and it was so good. i bore my testimony about the savior- i found myself saying things in ways i had never thought of, and it just flowed. it was awesome! i noticed a few of the youth, and one in particular who is pretty wayward, really perk up and listen... it was kind of shocking. but it felt so good, and i felt the spirit confirming everything i said. :D i love it. the church is so true, i cant believe it! anyway, thats the week. I love you all so much! have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Oct. 12, 2010

Hello my Family and My Friends!

well, this has been an interesting week. We weren't able to get a whole lot done due to partly my back, which flared up pretty painfully most of the week, and also to the fact that really everybody cancelled on us. BUT, this weekend, we were able to get 2 new investigators at church, and a referral came through that was pretty strong as well. now here's the problem: i got transferred, as you are already aware, so i wont get to participate in any of that. but, i suppose there's no use crying over spilt milk. anyway, yesterday, at 6:55 my plane left from the Emerald Airport, but there were some complications at the airport before that, in that i was over my weight limit, AND when the mission secretary paid for my ticket, the credit card he used got declined. so, i was in a panic, i called the mission secretary, and he gave the number over the phone, which worked thankfully, and then he just waived the penalties for going over the baggage limit. so it was all sweet. so i got on the plane, with no dramas. an hour and a half later, i was in brisbane, where the missionaries in brisbane city picked me up. i got to stay the night with them, in the flat i was trained in! it was fun! then, we went to transfer meeting, and it was weird driving through brisbane... so many people, lots of cars, big buildings... it sorta scared me. :P anyway, at transfers, i got moved to mudgeeraba (muj-ruh-buh), which is on the Gold Coast. My companion's name is Elder Prina, and he's way cool. he was my district leader when i was in emerald the first transfer, and he was in rocky. he's been out just 6 weeks longer than me, so another one that i would have come out with in march, but with whom i will be coming home. so that should be good. the flat is really nice- small, but well equipped, and very comfortable. we live in walking distance from the library and shopping center, and we have a part-time car! yay! :D so that's pretty much been the week, and as for everyone up in Emerald, i gave them my business cards, and they will be keeping me updated with the happenings there, so i'm happy about that. i was very flattered when some people started crying that i was leaving. i really loved being in Emerald. when we come back, we are going there- and when we do, we'll like double the size of the branch, but thats ok, they'll love it. :D anyway, that was pretty much the week. we dont have a whole heap of time right now because transfers took forever, and gold coast is pretty far away from the city, so p-day is almost over, but next week there will be much more to tell i'm sure! aparrently it's a massive ward down here, so i'm kinda scared about that... but i'll tell yous all about it next week.

love yous all so much!

Rain and Floods

hello family and friends!!!

Cara, your book of mormon discussions are awesome. i'm so glad you get to study the book of mormon the way you are. it really is the best text book on life there is. it just doesnt get any better than that. i had the opportunity to prepare a talk this week on the book of mormon. it was going to be awesome, and i did heaps of reading and preparing for it, but then i found out on sunday that i was the back-up, so i didnt end up giving it, but i LOVED preparing for it. i learned so much. i focused on 1 nephi 19:23- the likening scriptures one. and then i talked about the 2,000 stripling warriors. in the heat of battle, they "observed to obey every command with exactness." it would have been easy for the ones right next to helaman to obey, but what about the ones who are 100 men away? they can barely hear, and they might think, "he has no idea whats going on over here" but even they, were straining to hear, and obey. so like them, we need to pay attention to the spirit, it may be hard to hear, but it's there, and if we listen for it, we will hear it, and then, if we obey with exactness, we are blessed. we dont "die." we wont necessarily be left without wound, but we'll be safe. so it was a good study.

Rochelle, i really enjoyed your email, that story was funny [editors note: from Pres. Monsons talk at RS broadcast about the lady who criticizes the neighbors laundry, only to discover she is viewing it through her own dirty windows], and very applicaple as well. i found that to be the case on my mission. its easy to find fault with companion, leaders, and members, but its harder to look at yourself, and ask, "what do i need to change?" its not easy, but has massive dividends.





One word [for the week]: FLOOD. oh yes. we had rain, hard rain, most of the week- 4 days straight, and on and off the other days. today was the first dry day. it was so fun to work in the rain, but then the main bridge that we use to get to a lot of our member's houses got flooded- like massively flooded, the creek below it usually barely moves, and is like 2 meters below it- now the water is like a meter and a half above it! yes, i have pictures. apparently more rains are coming this week too, so we'll see how things go. also, to top if all off, on sunday i locked us out of the flat- luckily we were able to break in with the help of the watene's. apparently all you have to do is drill into the doorknob where the key hole is and then stick a flat-head in there, and turn. we have to get a new door knob, but hey, it worked, considering there were know locksmiths working on sunday, and the real estate agency wasnt open either with the spare keys. anyway, besides that, we werent able to have our lesson with the Gundersons this week, because they were gone to brisbane, and the rains had flooded 2 bridges between us and them, but we had a good lesson with Eli. well, 2 good lessons with him. he's learning a lot and asking very good questions. very intelligent for an 11-year-old. then, on sunday i was asked to give the lesson in priesthood because none of the elders quorum presidency were there (there's only 2 of them). so we discussed president Uchtdorf's talk from last General conference, the one about charity, where he talked about germany after world war II and how the church helped and the resulting growth of membership, but the resentment towards those who joined because of the food. it was quite good, and i'm glad i had the opportunity to stop and go and discuss as i pleased. surprisingly i had a lot to say, and was able to ask the right questions to the few in priesthood to have a very meaningful discussion. it was SO good! anyway, that has been the week, i love you all so much! have an amazing week!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

A lot Done

Hello Family and Friends,
Well, you all will be glad to know that this week went much better than last week. it hasn't been easier, but we have managed to get a lot done. we taught the gunderson's family again this week. it was a very good lesson. we taught the restoration, and watched the movie, and it went really good! everyone was obviously touched, and we committed them to baptism! YES!!! but we dont have a date yet, so its not set in stone, but we're going to baptize these people! i'm so excited for that! and we've been working with this 11-year-old kid called Eli for a while now. we've been teaching him since i got here, because he's way good, wants to get baptized and everything, his parents just are getting in the way, so its just been kinda laid back for a while, but this week we got serious again, and brought him to church... yes, by "brought" i mean we biked to his house, and then he biked with us to church. we must have looked pretty funny. 2 guys in suits, a little kid in civies, all biking to church. but it was good. then we had a cottage evening. it was way good, and very fun as well. its such a good idea to introduce people to the church in a laid back way to show people that we're normal, not a bunch of high-strung holier than thou people. so that went well. besides all that, its been a pretty slow, but hard working week. and yes, dad i found that i've started just being more the point while talking to people. beating around the bush just isnt cutting it for me any more. it seems like the more i do it, the more opportunity i lose, and the more opportunity i give people to shut me down. its hard to be bold and to the point, but i'm getting to that point where i just cant worry about it anymore. anyway, thats basically been the week. i am so happy to be here. i am learning so much, and finding such joy in seeing other people change. even people who are already members. its so amazing how this gospel changes people. ok, well i think that about sums it up. i hope all of you have an amazing week! i love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Sept. 12, 2010

Hello my family and friends!

what a week this has been. for lack of a better word, we'll call it Interesting. unfortunately, not much got done this week. we just couldnt get anything done. but this week we have a real excuse. elder P. has been running on basically no sleep for a little over a week... and having experienced that and how dangerous it can be, i wasnt about to let him get on a bike. it was when he started having memory problems and the inability to think of common words, that i finally forced him to call someone. that didnt really help either though. they told us stuff we already knew, and told him to get a sleeping pill, which we already did, and even at the maximum dose, only gave him 2 hours of sleep. but he wont get any more help. its kind of frustrating.. i dont know what. but i'm sure i'll think of something.

anyway, thats been the not fun bit of the week, the fun bit of the week, was that we went to rocky for zone conference! but this one was special, it was also a mission tour- elder Callister from the Area Presidency (and 2nd quorum of the seventy) came too! it was awesome! he's the one who wrote "The Infinite Atonement" which is the one that i asked you to send me, and which i am currently reading. And to top it all off, he gave a lecture on the atonement, and it was based on his book! so i knew what he was talking about! yus... (picture me doing the napolean dynamite thing... :D) and the trainings that came afterwards was awesome. i got to do a role-play with elder Callister, or rather, TO elder callister, and after giving me some improvements which were sorely needed, he said he was impressed! i could have died! its amazing what a compliment from the lord's annointed can do for your confidence. so i came back with a new resolve to be better, and to actually do something to make it happen.

anyway, this weekend was also pretty fun. we had a branch activity, "the emerald chocolate factory." we didnt make any chocolate, but a member has studied the history and the art of making and testing chocolate, and she knew what she was talking about. and she made HEAPS of chocolate, all different kinds, and we did a proper chocolate tasting, so i now know how to tell if chocolate is quality chocolate, or if its just cheap yuck stuff, by looking at it, tasting it, touching it, and even listening to it. it was cool. guess who were the first people to have chocolate? the jaredites and the nephites. ya, its native to central/south america. i thought that was cool.

anyway, then we went to w--- for dinner that night, and that was interesting. they have basically adopted us, and they treat us basically like family. but they have a daughter who's kind of a problem child, and she's been giving them a lot of grief, and whatnot, and they had an argument while we were there over some pretty big stuff... it just made me reflect on the fact that i come from a family that is tight-nit, and gospel centered. i cannot tell you what an eye opener that was. we have it SO good in our family. i know we're not perfect, but i'm so glad we are what and who we are. i love how close we are. it makes me so happy!

i'm praying for you!

i love you all so much! have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Sept. 5, 2010 when the going gets tough... i suppose it's time to get going. :D

Hello Family and Friends!

how is everyone? thank you for all of your mail, i really appreciate it. I cant believe school is starting again! thats the last time it will while i'm on my mission! WEIRD!!! and today, the 5th of september, marks my "sweet 16 months" mark or something like that. :P anyway, i hope all goes well with the remodel. Cara, thats pretty rough with your friend. i was sorry to hear that. I'm sorry i cant really say much to console you at this point, as i'm sure all that can be said has been said. but perhaps i can at least give my 2 cents. I dont know your friend, but Christ does, and he loves her. she is covered by his atonement, and she will have the opportunity to accept it. but you already know that. the important part though, is that the atonement, in this case also extends to YOU. remember in the book of mormon that the atonement is often referred to as "the arms of his [Christ's] love." or when someone was repentant, they were "encircled about by the arms of his love." just they could be, so can you be. true, complete healing comes with time, but that time can be significantly shortened when the atonement is used for ourselves, and then we can feel, quite literally, the embrace of the savior. i know we can, because i felt it, and i have had healing happen much faster than it otherwise could. i encourage you study that, and take advantage of it. The atonement covers anything negative in our lives. whatever it is, christ suffered it, and he can help us through it. [editors note: her high school friend was killed in an accident this week]. anyway, Dad its good to hear from you. just yesterday (today for you) was father's day for Australia. i had the opportunity to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. i get to do that now that i'm in a branch. Everyone was talking about their Dads and how much they appreciate them and whatnot, and i couldnt help but do the same. it kind of took me by surprise, how well it all fit into the gospel, and how our relationship has been much stronger in the last couple of years. then i was able compare that with our heavenly father, and how basically the same thing has happened. i concluded that i was so grateful for my dads. the full force of everything didnt hit me until just after that though, while we were singing the closing hymn. i found myself all choked up and unable to sing (a first for me) as i reflected on how much you've done to impact my life for the better. how i find myself trying to figure out what you would do in certain situations. i am so grateful for you, Dad. I love you.

ok, emotions back under control, i'll tell you about my week. it was difficult. although, in a different sort of way. we were, however, able to have the lesson with the Gunderson Family like we had anticipated. The Gundersons are a very active family in our church, and are from the states, here temporatily for with sister gunderson's family who are Kiwi. none of them are members, but almost all have, of late, expressed interest in the Gospel. Most of all, sister gunderson's sister-in-law, who was the one who got the ball rolling for us. however, she was unable to be there this last tuesday, but we were able to teach her nephew and his partner, and her niece. we taught the plan of salvation, and it was awesome. just before this, we were trying to decide if we should teach the plan of salvation, or the restoration. usually, the restoration comes first. but for some reason i couldnt shake the thought that the plan of salvation needed to be taught. but i just wasnt sure. i kept praying for confirmation, but didnt seem to be getting anything. then, we got a call, out of the blue from sister gunderson. she told us that those that we were teaching had recently lost a Grandfather who had been a major part of their lives, and asked if we could do the plan of salvation for them. it was such a simple thing, and yet it made a world of difference for me. again, close to tears. God really does answer prayers, and he answered mine. and the lesson went very well, and all 3 people are still very interested to learn, and we are excited to teach. that was the best part of this week. unfortunately, the rest of the week was a bit harder. we decided to make this transfer better than the other 2 we've had together, and have made the appropriate efforts, but as we all know, satan has so many ways to divert us from what we need to be doing. if he cant get us the way he normally does, he'll work through someone else. and so he has. this week seemed like we were constantly arguing. nothing major, nothing like a massive fall-out, just little arguments over little things that dont matter. it's quite frustrated me, because this is a problem that i havent really ever experienced. sure, one or 2 arguments here and there, but never like this. I found mostly that it was I who had the short fuse in most cases which also frustrated and concerned me. but we are fixing that as well. this transfer we are going to baptize some important people, and satan doesnt want that, but thats not going to stop us. I'll change everything about me if thats what is required to do what needs to be done, but this time- THIS TIME i refuse to lose. i dont need to see the baptism necessarily, but i need to make sure that it happens. and i certainly will. and by "I" i mean with God's help, God willing. so that's basically how this week has been.

Anyway, thats basically all for this week. I love you all so much! i know this is where i'm supposed to be, and i know that this is God's true church. there is no denying it, it simply could not be the church of any other person, thing or entity. the joy is too real, the change too complete. this is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!

love you all!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

August 29, 2010

Hello Family and friends!

well, this has been a very interesting week. it was the last week of the transfer, and i was very uneasy as to whether or not i was getting transferred. i had mixed feelings, but overall, i wanted to stay. and so i stayed. i have at least another 6 weeks in Emerald. which means that the next time i get transferred, it will probably be to my final area, which is probably the most scary thought i have had in a long time. so i'll be working hard, thats for sure! and the blessings are coming. this last week, we had little meeting with Virginia, the lady we did all that service for a couple months back. she's ready for the Gospel, now all we need to do is show her that that is what she is missing in her life. so that should be good, she really likes us, and she's the sweetest lady. from that conversation though, we learned that she is in some deep financial trouble, which was caused by the fact that she was in a defacto relationship, and then her partner died, which froze all her bank accounts, so she's hurting. but that conversation just led me to another conclusion- i am NEVER going into that much debt, and i will make sure my family is taken care of, no matter what happens to me. anyway, we also had another lesson with the Bams- someone REALLY does not want them to learn or hear any more. we just watched the Testaments with them, but their DVD player wouldnt pick the first channel Audio (the dialogue. so we used their laptop instead, but it couldnt take it, so we ended up using 3 different Media players, to just barely make it to the end of the movie, and then, at the really crucial part of the movie at the end, their kids made so much noise, it wasnt even funny. it was quite frustrating. but they're still open, so we'll try again later this week. the awesome day though, was yesterday. we finally had the Gundersons come up to us and tell us that not only was their sister-in-law interested in the Gospel, but that they had set the appointment for us this coming wednesday. its been a month or more since we first heard about it, and now its finally happening! yay! we also have another appointment with a former investigator, who is newly interested tomorrow, which should be good. we are very excited, and plan on BAPTIZING this transfer! :D the church is so true, i cant believe it. :P

anyway, sounds like yous had an eventful week. Cara, you are finally grown up! how does it feel to be old? :P i hope you get that job, sounds like it should be a good one. good luck lil sister! you'll do awesome!

Anna- you have done what we try to get people to do every day. its awesome. the spirit really does work, doesn't it? just as in Alma 32:28, once the seed of faith has been planted and nourished, the last bit a the end of the verse says, "yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." the more you get the more you want. you experienced that. the spirit feels SO good, that being without it begins to be depressing and discouraging, but the more you have it, the more you love it, and the happier you become. it is truly an amazing experience, that i am glad you had at such an early age. I didn't have a decisive experience like that til i was preparing to come out on my mission. when i finally had read and prayed, the answer came as more of slap up side the head. it was the, "you know this is true. you have known it for a long time. But what took you so long to finally ask me?" so ya. good on ya. :P I'm proud of you.

Collin, the only thing i could say right now to warn you about sophomore year is that it just gets harder. don't let that deter you though. its also very fun. especially when February rolls around- i hope your winter formal is after your birthday. :D good luck with XC, I'll think about starting to run again... p-days are usually chucked full of stuff to do, so running doesn't generally happen, and there just isn't enough time in the morning. but I'll see what i can do.

Dad, when i read your email, i was floored. GRANDMA WAS TALKING TO SISTER RICHARDS?!?!? that is awesome! i LOVE sister Richards! and that was a boost to my confidence as well. :D and Gabe and Luke sound ADORABLE!!! i cant wait to meet Luke! and become re-acquainted with Gabe as well! :)

Mum, i hope everything you're planning goes well for you. i liked your looking ahead thought. it really is hard to look ahead at the unknown, especially after a major change, but it's so rewarding as well. i cant believe how difficult my mission has been, and yet how incredibly rewarding as well. it really is true that as we continue to look forward with faith, the blessings flow. dwelling on the past, no matter how good it was, never helps is progress. to remember is good, to dwell, is demeaning.

anyway, i hope all is well with yous, and i love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

ps- Rochelle, remember that thing you found about "swooping season"? share that with the family- cause its happening now- i got swooped hard on the way over here to do emails. :P

August 22, 2010

hello Family and Friends!

thank you all for all the of emails and mail, it makes my day when i open my email and there are 10 emails there! i love hearing from all of you. sounds like you had a very busy weekend and have a very busy week ahead. i'm glad both weddings went well, and that everyone was happy with it. tell Ann and Jeff and Birgitte and Stephan congrats from me, i'm happy for them. :D and Cara is seems to be the woman in the hot seat! man, i cant believe you're already going to college! when did that happen? everyone is growing up without me! and Anna- since when were you an awesome public speaker? i was VERY impressed by the talk you wrote. very well written, and i'm sure it was well delivered.

well, this week proved to be harder than expected for us. we werent able to connect with anyone that we had appointments for, besides the members. so that was kinda discouraging. But, i got mail this week, and the package from mum! thank you! have any of you read "The Infinite Atonement"? it is amazing! I am learning so much about it. its the most exhaustive study of the Atonement i have ever seen. it is really good. i'm only like 30 pages and i'm already learning new stuff. so thats awesome.

anyway, the work is going a little bit slower than i would like, but we have some good things coming up, with a few members starting to talk to their families and just a lot of good people asking questions, so thats good. we're working on getting a baptisimal date with someone this week. thats the main goal. so wish us luck, and your continued prayers would be appreciated. :D

other things of note- i need to get more serious about my exercise, i edged someone's lawn this week with a weed wacker, and my right arm has been sore for the last 2 days. that is sickening. unfortunately thats about all that has happened this week though. pretty boring, laid back week. but, as always, i keep going. i cant not keep going. the longer i'm out here, the more i love the work, and increase in my testimony of the Gospel. I know, more than i ever have in my life, that this is the true church, that the book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ in that Quiet, Sacred　Grove. but most of all, and most importantly, i know that Jesus Christ is my savior. He suffered for me personally, and knows how to help me through any and all trials i face. I know that this is the true church on the earth, we have all elements of the true church that has always been present and true of God's church. It is the true church. of that, i have no doubt.

I love you all so much! have an awesome week, travel safe to Utah!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Rain, rocky, BAM!

hello family and friends!

well this has definitely been an interesting week. we've started to pick up the pieces from the last couple of weeks, and things are starting look up more. with the bams this week, we delivered their book of mormon to them, and they were quite happy to take it, and talk to us. they didnt have anything against us, they just wanted to call it quits on the lessons, but we set up another one with them just to watch the testaments with them, to see if we cant make a bit of a difference. So that was good. we also had a mini monsoon this week. it poured all day one day, and it was the day that we were planning on going tracting most of the day- so we did some house keeping things in the morning to see if it would clear up by afternoon, but it just continued, so we just went out in it. it was flooding in some areas, so there were some BIG puddles which, being me, i couldnt resist riding through them. i got absolutely soaked, and enjoyed every minute of it. :D Elder purser wasnt a fan, and had to find his own way around all the big puddles. but we werent able to contact eveyone that we wanted to, so maybe this coming week will be a bit better. But, this week we had district conference, so we went to Rocky again, and president Langeland was there, as well as president Nielson from the area presidency. it was such a good conference. Elder Nielson talked for a solid hour 2 nights in a row with no notes or anything prepared. it was probably the most inspiring thing i have ever seen. the talks were absolutely amazing, and the spirit was very strong. then last night, we had another training with president Langeland, and lots of things are changing. there is a LOT of new things that we're doing, so it'll take some adjusting. but it was very good, and i really enjoyed it.

anyway, that should about do it. I love yous! have an awesome week!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Hello family and friends!
what a week this has been. not a whole lot really happened, a few disappointments though. and when i say disappointment, i mean i was crushed. the Bams decided to drop us. they want to just leave it that, and pray about it or something like that. but we will be trying to get them back. we ordered a book of Mormon for them in Afrikaans, and it just barely came, so we're going to drop that around to them this week, and see if we cant repair some of that damage. but we also have had some successes. we were asked to give talks in sacrament meeting yesterday on missionary work, and we decided to just basically teach the restoration and Plan of salvation in our talks. we weren't really sure why. but then, it turns out there were like 5 non members that came to sacrament meeting. one was the close friend of the sis. smiler, the lady who was helping us with the Bams, who normally attends the AOG (Assembly of God) church. so that was really good. it was good. and then one of the elderly ladies in the branch had her entire family there as well, so there were some less-active members and then some non-members there as well, and they really seemed to enjoy it. it was a good sacrament meeting. so that was really good. during the week, not a whole lot exciting happened. just work as usual. but on Saturday, we did some service again, this time At Bro. Watene's house. He's basically re-modeling a trailer, so we helped him rip it apart and start putting it back together. so it was a manly day, cutting steel with a grinder and in a few cases, a gas Axe. that was FUN. oh, and apparently the sparks from the grinder are hot enough to catch your pants on fire... and the ground around you... watch out. don't worry, it didn't burn much, i just have a cool new souvenir on the ankle of my jeans. nothing major. but, it was really funny, and everyone told me to stop lying for the rest of the day... :P [editors note--so it took like 5 minutes to figure out his allusion to "liar, liar pants on fire" ha--funny) so that was fun. and as dad said some time ago- hot steel: that's man glue. but yes the week was a bit boring, but good at the end.

i hope yous all have a good week, and dont worry, my back is doing just fine this week, i started my physio homework again, and it's helping heaps. ok, have a good one! i love yous!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

hakuna matata. what a wonderful phrase

hello hello family and friends!

well, it sounds like everyone had a busy week, and this week isn't looking much more relaxing. :P sorry about the late email, our branch mission leader took us out golfing this morning- it was pretty shocking, it took us 3 hours to play 9 holes... it was pretty embarassing when a girl about 15 years old drove her ball not only further than me, but we're talking like twice as far as me... ya. sad. anyway, thank you for all of your emails, they have made my day. it seems that good and bad weeks have formed a pattern here. and seeing as last week was a good week, that means this last one not so good. my back kinda flared up on me again, and i wanted to shoot something, but it restricted work, and was quite discouraging. we also were supposed to have a lesson with the Bams, but they cancelled on us about an hour before the lesson. we're not sure why, but hopefully something actually did just come up as they said. but the week wasnt all bad. sacrament meeting was amazing. for possibly the first time ever, i was so excited and happy to fast. it was just a good reset for the month, and brought some very good spiritual upliftment. and i enjoyed a good week of studying, and also again, using a jack hammer to cut through concrete and steel. it was awesome. oh, and transfers happened last week, and nothing happened for us. we stayed in emerald. so we're going to make the most of it, i'm doing my best to not get too burned out, but to continue struggling upward so i can finish strong.

Dad, hope church went well for you today. i'm praying for you every day too. and i'm praying for the family as well. anyway, thats about all i have time for. i love you all so much!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

i love p-day

Hello Family and Friends!

well, this week has been a step up from the last one. we actually taught a few more lessons, and finally had the sense to have a member come with us to the Bams for a lesson. It was Awesome. we brought a lady called sis. Smiler. she's a Maori Lady, and she teaches Zumba- i dunno if there's much of that over in the states- but its like a type of dance/ workout thing. apparently pretty fun. but maria had been to a few classes, and so we decided to bring sis smiler. she was a hit. she was able to explain things to them in ways that were just perfect. she even confounded phillip without sounding like she was confounding him! and then she gave us a bunch of advice afterwards- solicited by us, but it was much appreciated. so, Richard, to answer your question, if your missionaries are actually seeking to be their best, advice from you would not only be appropriate, but i'm sure appreaciated as well. i always ask RMs for advice. they always have good stuff. anyway, besides that, we havent really had any new investigators, but we contacted a referral from a member, and turns out that they are recently re-activated J-Dubs. however, we've met them before and they were actually really nice, and we had a very good discussion with them, in that they ended up wanting a book of mormon, and committed themselves to reading! so it was good. hopefully we'll be able to start teaching them soon. sunday, we had an awesome sacrament meeting- good talks. i was asked to give a short testimony and include some personal experiences- its funny how new stuff dawns on you when you bear testimony. you say that you know something, and then all of a sudden, you're like, whoa... i actually DO know that... which means... i know THAT and THAT... and... oh! THAT!! ripple effects are fun. :D

so that was my week. mum had some questions, so i'll answer those.

Are you still spending a lot of time tracting?

yes and no. depends on the day. we've actually kept quite busy this week though.

What service opportunities have you had this past week?

oh, heaps. we helped our EQP re-stump his house... i dunno if thats done at all in the states, but probably not. He lives in what's called a "queenslander house" basically its a one-story house, but raised on pillars to protect against snakes, bugs, roaches, floods, and the like. his house was supported on very old concrete stumps, which he is replacing with steel ones. obviously, this is not the easiest of jobs, as we have jack up the house, break the stump off, dig the rest of it out of the ground, and then dig the hole deep enough for the steel stump to go in, and for the concrete to go in around it. but the best part: we got to use a JACK HAMMER!!! that was fun. :)

Have you done anymore sight seeing?

not really. not much to see in Emerald.

anyway, sounds like yous had a fun week. that hike sounds like fun collin- haha. :P and sounds like your pioneer Day was a good one too. I'm Glad you're having so much fun!

hey, what track did Matthew end up getting at BYU-I?

anyway, thats the week.

by the way! Rochelle, i did NOT forget about your birthday last monday, i just forgot to say something about it... Happy belated birthday! you're 25! Yay! :P glad it was a good day for you. :D

Richard, thanks for the email, its so true that the word repentance is the most hopeful word in the christian vocabulary. i quite agree. :)

ok, well, my time is short. I love yous all, have a good week this week!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Happy Independence Day

Hello my family and my friends! How are we?

well, this week was a good one for me. it wasn't chucked full of lessons or anything, but things were just good. i loved it. we had another lesson with the Bams. we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. they loved that, and maria finally had her "ah ha" moment that she actually HAD to pray about the Book of Mormon. so they'll be doing that this week hopefully. we had a good fast for them yesterday too. so that was nice. we dont have another lesson with them until this coming sunday though, so hopefully that will be a good lesson. we'll see. also, we have gained a lot of trust with the members, and we got like 3 new referrals this week that we will be chasing up either this week or next week. one of them lives in blackwater, which is about an hour away, so we have to wait for the family that referred them to give us a ride. besides that, our week has been pretty low-key. today we actually had a decent p-day though. i learned how to play squash- kinda a watered-down version of racquett ball. small ball, not nearly as bouncy, weird racquets, and lines on the wall that you have to hit between. it was fun, but racquett ball remains the favorite of the two. then we went to the white's house. they're a young couple, and bro. white is the branch mission leader, as well as first councilor in the branch presidency. we played like 5 games of monopoly deal- the card game version of monopoly. it's way fun. and very addicting. but that was our p-day. some funny things that have happened this week... we got threatened by a drunk highschooler- they're on holidays at the moment- but as soon as we stopped our bikes, he hopped back in the car he got out of. we had a good chuckle about that. and yes, dad, we laugh a lot. especially right now with 4th of july- apparently the british call it "good ridance" day. to which i replied, that we could call it the exact same thing. and a few joke arguments ensued. [remember Tayler's companion is British] making fun of each other and ourselves, and just being 20 year old guys. it was pretty funny. and we have a lot of fun with our music- we have some dances that always happen to certain songs- its pretty funny- one of the things that if anyone else saw it, we would be so embarassed we would... i dunno-- swap name tags and hope that worked. :P but yes, we have plenty of jokes and laughs. also, this week we did some more service. we finished building a wall, hanging a door, and finishing a bathroom. it was fun. and with all the service we're doing, i'll be a qualified tradesman by the time i leave emerald. :P pretty funny stuff.

well, it sounds like yous had an awesome time in yosemite. what i would give to be allowed in a POOL. but hey, two years, no big deal. i'll get over it. oh, and the pictures i sent last time... i cant remember exactly which ones i sent, but the once of the writing with light were done with a flash light. sparklers would have been cooler, but we were stuck in the flat that day. we also figured out how to take "ghost" pictures... i'll send a few of them as soon as we finish them. so thats that.

anyway, the joint we're at is about to close, so let me know if i left any questions unanswered, and i'll answer them next week. love yous!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

2 Recent Pictures

Tayler with Pres. and Sister Richards

I guess Tayler hasn't lost his sense of humor in Australia....

June 27, 2010

hello family and friends!
wow, sounds like everyone has been having a blast. that trek sounds like so much fun. i kinda wish i could have gone on another one. but all good. maybe next time i'll get lucky and get to be one of the leaders or maybe i'll just convince someone to let me go, cause i love that stuff. Collin, way to go keeping the christensen rep going at that dance- :P and cara, i bet you were a good ma- i bet your kids just loved you. oh, and by the way i was in the Doty company last time- or as it came to be known, the "bewildered" company. hills are bad, but having to get permission to go through an indian reservation and then having all of them stare at you as you pass through, is pretty nerve racking. :P anyway, this week was really good. we started the week out in Rocky, so that went for like 3 days-ish... we didnt leave until wednesday... so we didnt get any work done until thursday, which was a good day, we had another lesson with the Bam Family. Maria is still just eating up every word, and phillip is getting progressively harder to teach. he's pretty sure he knows everything there is to know, and wont pray about the book of Mormon, which is frustrating. "the word" (the bible) is all he needs apparently. but, we're working on it. we've come up with a few really good things. i finished my atonement study this week as well, and learned a few very important things. when i started it all, my intent was learn more about the atonement, and be able to understand it on a deeper level, and maybe get some deep doctrine out of it. however, i think the most important thing i learned from it was that the atonement is, and is supposed to be, simple. so instead of understanding it deeper, i understood it simpler. which is kinda weird, but i learned to understand it simpler. interesting, that the more you learn about something, the simpler it becomes. and why shouldnt the atonement be simple? the gospel is simple, and if the Gospel is centered on the atonement, then it should be simple too! for some reason, that was like the coolest discovery i have made in a long time. it made me happy. and my testimony of the Atonement has grown so much from it. yes, it's simple, but it is also very involved. I love it though. the more i learn the more want to share it. and funny enough, thats my job. :D so i'm having a ball. but that's basically been the week.
on a more polical note, i heard that Obama just gave like a bit of Arizona to mexico... please tell me that is just a rumor. anyway, before i get carried away with political stuff, i'll just stop it there. i'm glad yous have all had a good week, and no one got hurt. i love you so much! have an awesome week, and have fun in Cali.
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen

Another Week

Hello My Family and My Friends!

i Just have to start off by saying thank you for all your emails this week. i had another very frustrating week, which seemed to just drag on and on, and i couldn't seem to get anything done. so this was such a nice contrast to the frustration i've been feeling all week. Anna, yours stories were awesome. thanks for sending those to me. i've never actually heard from any of the siblings what they were thinking and feeling during my surgery. just mum and dad. that was so sweet, thank you. Mum and dad, you've done it again, just wrote out exactly everything i've been needing to hear. its amazing how God's tender mercies come at just the right time. well, i suppose you'll be wanting to know why my week has been so frustrating. thankfully, Elder Purser was NOT a source of frustration at all. in fact we've become fast friends, and it just never gets old, bantering back and forth about England and America. anything from the revolutionary war to today's events. its pretty entertaining actually. and mixed in there have been some really good discussions about the Gospel. so, my first impression is officially false, and there are no problems there. the real reason why this week was so frustrating, was because i still dont know the area as well as i would like to, and i still ended up getting lost a few times this week going places that i've been many times. it was sad. also, we had one investigator that we've been trying to have a lesson with, and we tried 3 times before we finally gave up this week, because he went back to work, so he's gone for the next 5 days. it was LAME. we did a lot of service this week though, and got to get pretty dirty doing it, so that kinda eased my tension, which was nice- I learned how to tile stuff. it was cool. that's a messy job that i enjoyed as well. its funny how satisfying it is to get dirty doing service. its totally different from how missionaries usually are. so that was fun. but, most of the week was spent with fruitless tracting, GQing, finding, following up with potentials that werent really interested. the one AWESOME thing that happened though- we followed up with a family- phillip and maria. they're south African. maria was all over EVERYTHING we were saying. hanging on every word. it was awesome. i did most of the talking... i tend to talk a lot when it comes to teaching... been trying to get over it... but Elder Purser was also a very good addition the sorta all in one lesson we had with them. but we set up an appointment with them for this wednesday... which is tomorrow for me. so we're really excited about that. oh, and there last name is Bam... i know how cool is that?! then yesterday was the Queen's birthday, so it was a public holiday, so we couldnt shop or email because everyone is closed! so it was a prime finding day. so we didnt find anyone new, but we made another return appointment with lady that we found last week. so that was good too. but thats basically been the week. this next week will be zone conference. it's be a bit different than last transfer, because President Richards goes home soon! the 1st of July. so for some reason its going to be this coming monday, which most likely means that i probably wont be emailing that day. so just so's you know. but thats it. oh, the new mission president's name is president Langland. he's from Utah (shocker) and he's a delivery doctor, (i forgot the actual name for it...) so thats that. the week. Dad, your prayer sounded like it was awesome. i'm sure it touched a lot of people's hearts. Mum, you did send that CD and i know just the song you're talking about. i listened to it on sunday. it was way good. and whitney, i got your letter, so expect a reply sometime in the next week or so.

ok well, i Love you all! have an amazing week!

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Tracting in the Rain

Hello Family!
Well, its been just another week here in emerald... nothing too exciting... Got some sort of food poisoning again on saturday... that wasn't fun. spent all day with a majorly cramped up stomach, ... it was yuck. but that was the worst of it. we were only able to teach one investigator this week... i'm sure you'll know what im talking about when i tell you we were SUPPOSED to have like 8 lessons this week with investigators, but as luck would have it, they all cancelled on us excpet one. but it was a good lesson. His name is Collin, he's in his early 50's and he a miner. I think he does both Coal and Sapphires. anyway, we had a lesosn with him where we watched the restoration DVD, and he really liked that. it really appealed to him. so we have another lesson set up for this coming wednesday. hopefully all our other appointments for this week actually go through. we'll see though. oh! on tuesday it rained and poured ALL day, and once we got soaked, we had a ball riding through puddles, drifting around corners, and hitting trees so that they let a lot of water fall on each other. but we got a lot of good work done that day, and tracting in the rain certainly has it's blessings. it was a good day. so that was basically the hightlight of the week. the rest of the week was basically a finding week. we didnt really do much else. but we had a bunch of less-active lessons and yesterday at church, 3 less-active members we were absolutely sure we would never see at church all showed up! it was great! and the branch just took them under their wing, and it was just great! but that was basically the week.
sounds like all yous had a fun week- rain is fun... exept for when its cold. yuck. and cara, you have fun in Disneyland. that sounds like fun, and come to think of it, i think you actually have mentioned it before. have fun. :) Anna banana, you're funny. and dont worry, its ok to miss a week of email. oh, Marissa, i got your letter last week and i just sent the reply today, so you should be getting it in like a week or so. Whitney, i still havent gotten your letter yet either, but it should be coming soon. Dad, i know EXACTLY what you mean when you say you wish you could pound the power of the atonement into some thick skulls... probably not in the same you deal with it, but still... its frustrating, ay?
anyway, its getting to be that time. time to go. sorry this email wasnt very entertaining. :P but i'll talk to yous next week!
love you all!
Love
Elder Tayler Christensen

Stacked the Bike

Hello Family and Friends!

well, it has indeed been a very interesting week. sounds like it was for you too. as for the rain, i've forgotten what it looks like. :( we had it sprinkle here one day, but that was basically it. it was sad. man, that father's and son's sounds like so much fun! its been ages since i was able to actually get dirty in the dirt and the mud. and cara, whats this about you going to disneyland with your friends?! i must have missed that memo, HOW did you pull THAT off? haha well i hope you have fun. dont do anything i wouldnt do. :P

anyway, yes, this week has been fun. on wednesday i stacked my bike for the first time on my mission! :P it was a lame stack though, i wasnt even going fast, and it only happened because i wasn't going fast enough to take my hands of the handle bars and i did anyway, and my front wheel did like a 160, which stopped the bike, but not me. Luckily, i came away with only a bruise on my left hand, a small road rash on my right hand, and some light scrapes on my arms. but, it wasn't nearly as scary as the last time i fell off a bike (and a cliff). Also, i got chased for the first time by a big dog. But i remembered a bit of training at Dad's office and i just swatted his head away with a Book of Mormon, which seemed to stop everything. Elder Mahoney got a kick out of the whole thing.

I also gave a 15 minute talk at church yesterday- assigned on saturday. turned out to be 18 minutes, and it wasnt anything extremely special, but it did the job. Its pretty sweet when you give a talk based on about 6 lines of notes that lasts for as long as you need it to. Apparently it was very well received. I just commented on elder Oakes' talk using my surgery story as the example. it was good. :)

anyway, we didnt get to teach much this week, but i dont remember if i talked about Tim in my last email or not, but we met him last sunday, and we had an appointment scheduled with him for thursday. so on tuesday, we were tracting around where his fellowship lives, and decided to knock on his door, and he invited us in, and told us that he had been meaning to call us all day, to reschedule the appointment for that night, because both he and Tim would be in the Solomon Islands starting Wednesday. lovely how the lord works. we werent even going to tract his street, but we decided to for some reason. anyway, we had another lesson with another investigator, then booked it back to teach this lesson, which went really well. Tim is really good, and very sincere. we'll see how it all goes. but he really liked us, and decided to take us out to dinner at Eagle Boys. (pizza shop) we also learned a lot of cool things about him, like he's ex-CIS (equivilent of our CIA) he knows Josh Groban personally, and for you siblings, you know the song "Home" by Doughtry? came out like a little over a year ago? ya, he wrote it. and there's another song that i've never heard before, called "Kiss the Rain" that apparently made it pretty big, he worte that too. so he's a talented guy, and very interesting.

So that's basically been the week. on Saturday we did basically a full day of service. we helped a lady in the branch put up a shade cloth on her back veranda, which meant that i got to climbe on the roof :D and we did that under the direction of Bother Watene, who happens to be like the coolest member here, and then since brother Watene does so much for us, and since he has had a back injury as of late, we mowed one of his lawns- he lives on a bunch of land. but i got to use a riding lawn mower, :D and the field was very dusty, so I got REALLY dirty :D. so it basically made my week to get out and do my kind of labor. amazing how much satisfaction i got out of working, especially for the benefit of others. it was just great.

I also started that study on the atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm writing down all the references to the Atonement that are in the Book of Mormon, and seperating them afterward based on if they talk about WHAT happened or WHY it happened. I havent quite finished 2 Nephi, and i already have like a page and a half of references the Atonement. its going to take a LOT of paper. :) which is kinda the point. anyway, that was the week.

anyway, thats the week, i hope you all have an amazing sunday and an amazing week!

love you!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

Happy Birthday Anna

G'day my family and friends! what a crazy week this has been! I loved talking to you all, and hearing your seemingly VERY American accents. i dont know if i sounded any different, but dont worry, i was being sorta self conscious about it, and i am further along with it than i sounded on the phone. :) And Anna banana! Happy birthday babe! you're like what, 21 now? haha jk, 12! ears pierced and make-up?! oh dear, you'll have to send some photos of that, i'm just not seeing it- not my baby sister. well, i hope you have a good day today, and that your first day of young womens was a fun one. :) anyway, if there was a vote, or if my vote counts for anything, i vote we keep the tractor for mowing and rototilling, and maybe it will last for more than a year. :P just my vote though. Cara, congrats on your scholarship and making honour court. thats pretty sweet. :)

anyway, this week was interesting. we had zone conference. normally, zone conference includes a couple of zones at one place, all of which travel something like 40 minutes max to get there. zone conference up north, is very different. we got on a bus thursday afternoon, arrived in Rockhampton 3 hours later, got to go play some laser tag with the other missionaries besides myself, had dinner at the chapel with some members, then we all went to the rockhampton missionary flat. with 8 missionaries in one flat, they had a bunch of inflatable mattresses that we all slept on. now, the next morning was hectic. between 6:30 and 8, 8 missionaries had to shower, iron shirts, and eat breakfast. One shower, one iron one and a half litres of milk. we're lucky we made it. zone conference was held in a class room at the chapel, and we all fit around a couple tables. the training was done by president and sister richards, and it was REALLY good. president gave a really good training on the "Doctrine of Christ" it was way good. i really liked it, and learned a lot. And we also had interviews. My interview was really good. I ran my theory about the love of God that i told you on the phone past him, and he confirmed it. So, I did something right in that study. :) so now i have started the next study, which has to do with the atonement of christ and WHY it happened. so it should be good. um... OH! i ended up conducting sacrament meeting yesterday. it was interesting, and kinda nerve racking. our branch presidency were all gone, or sick, and we had district speakers there! (the equivalent of high council speakers). But, it went alright, and in a small branch like that, no one really minded. and i actually know everyone who was there, so it was all good. Anyway, thats basically it for now. I love you all so much! have an awesome week.

love,

Elder Tayler Christensen

New Area--One Year this Week

Hello my family and My friends!

This week has been awesome. the area is massive, but there's long stretches of nothing between the towns that are in the emerald branch, so we just stay in emerald, and we are full-time bike. no car. but emerald is small, so it takes like 10 minutes to bike from one end to the other. no worries, plus, it's good for me, my heart is in fact doing much better now. i have a lot more endurance. and as for being out for a year already... technically thats not for another 2 days the 5th of may. i'm not terribly excited for it though, because if there's one thing i have learned while i am out here, it is that i love being a missionary, and the thought of coming home is... scary and uninviting- not anything to do with the family, i just cant picture myself as not a missionary... it weird now, wearing p-day clothes... kinda feel naked. and they told me that when you get realeased, they tell you take off your badge... might as well rip an arm off! Bleh! but ya, not that i'm not excited to see yous but, man... scared. so ya, i'm stomping on the brake at the moment, hoping that time will go a bit slower, but as we all know... the first half to the mission goes slow... not the last half... but i'll be in denial that i have to go home at all til i get there... just because, i have grown so much. i know the pictures make it look like all fun and games, but the reason why i dont have pictures of the work is because you dont feel like stopping while you work. you want to get as much done as possible, and so getting pictures of the work happens only rarely... its an amazing thing to feel the spirit testify of little things you say to people, even when it's not land mark stuff- just little things like, "i know this gospel can make you happy" and "the book of mormon can bless your life in more ways than you could count." its just amazing. the fear of people is gone, "for perfect love casteth out all fear." i wont say that my love for the people here is perfect, because its not yet, but i'm leaps and bounds ahead of where i was at the beginning of my mission. anyway, some interesting stuff that has happened this week- got accosted by a big group of aboriginal Kids asking fo rmoney... we're not allowed to give out money, so we had to say no, but they wouldnt leave us alone... finally a cop pulled over and the kids scattered... i dunno if thats a common practice of theirs, but apparently they can get in big trouble for it... got actually threatened the other day, but it was by a drunk guy who couldnt really stand up straight... but the best part was teaching a guy called Rod. he's wasy cool, pretty young, and has accepted most everything we've taught. he may have a word of wisdom issue, but seriously, who doesnt in australia? but i think we'll be able to hit it on the head here pretty quick. we're on the verge of a couple other baptisimal dates with some kids of an eternigator, but so far we have just been doing a lot of finding, and getting to know the members... there arent that many, i've already met almost all of them. it's a pretty tight-nit branch- like unto a dish- :P and the meeting house.... haha i'll send you a photo, it's tiny, but it's respectable... it's an old fish and chips shop... but ya. anyway, thats been the week... oh! and i'm almost done with the study that president gave me, and i figured out the difference between mercy and grace- yes, there IS a difference... but i'm running it by president richards before i tell everyone just so i make sure i'm right... but it was an awesome day when i figured it all out. :)

anyway, my time is running out, I love you all so much! mum, good luck with your concert this weekend, you're in my prayers! and Cara, dont worry, I got a 3 on the english AP Test- and we all know you can do at LEAST as good as me, so dont worry about it. :D

ok, love you all!

Love,

Elder Tayler Christensen