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!