It has been my pleasure to have met, known, and loved Tiffany Higgins. Let me back up and though, and tell you about a tragically beautiful story that involves yours truly, and this amazing Woman.
Coming into this semester, I knew that i would be tested, tried, and that i would also receive help. I was reminded of the line in my patriarchal blessing which stated that i would be given guidance in the selection of an eternal companion. i came into this semester expecting to not really give anyone the time of day, and just focus on my studies. And then one day, probably the second day of Social Dance 280, we were instructed to cross the great divide and ask a young lady to dance. I had my eye on a girl, and as i was walking over to ask her, my gaze suddenly shifted to a different girl, who then drew my attention wholly, and i ended up asking her to dance. She was polite, and accepted the offer, and turned out to be a great dancer. i myself am nothing special, but i DO know a good dancer when i see one. She was a good dancer. After that class, I asked her if she wanted to go to latin night later that week, with me, and she consented. I got her number, and then began texting her. As it turned out, my plan fell through, as she remembered some plans previously made, which she had forgotten about. I didnt mind too much, it was an honest mistake, and hey i didnt really feel like getting my cha-cha on that night anyway. so then a whole week goes by, and i see her in class a few times, and decide that i really must get to know this girl. so That friday night, me and the roommates went to a party, which was really not that great, but i began texting tiffany. She was by herself, and wandering around campus. I went out to meet her, and we had a pleasant walk and talk around campus and close to where she lived, which as it turns out, wasnt far from where i lived. This first meeting turned into the beginning of something that i will never forget. I immediately, upon getting dropped off suggested that we do dinner the following night, Which she immediately accepted, to my utter satisfaction. I could hardly wait for church to get over the next day. I waited and waited. Granted, i shouldn't have been so eager for church to be over, but i was, and when i got home, and realized that there was still 2 hours before we were supposed to get together. I sent her a text, that said she could come now if she wanted, and she did. That night, we made spaghetti and garlic bread, and it was great. We finished the night with a walk, and a movie. From that night on, we have been together every day. It took only another few days for us to realize that we needed each other. I thought this was the beginning of something very good, and then she told me about her missionary. She had already been engaged once while he was gone, but had since broken it off, and after much prayer, decided that she needed to wait for this missionary to come home, and see what would happen. Somehow, I knew that I would never Be with tiffany permanently.
2 weeks into this relationship, we both realized, with some trepidation, that we were falling in love. For me, it was way too fast and hard, but in all honesty, i loved everything about her. And at this time, we both finally acknowledged it. We had no idea what to do. Now, i know this sounds like puppy love, or something else, but let me explain exactly what was going on. Those of you who have been, or are, truly in love, know that real love means that you're willing to do and sacrifice anything. ANYTHING for that significant other. Well that's what i felt. I knew that she would ultimately be happier with her missionary, and even though i knew that my heart would be ripped out and then placed in a blender, that was, and is, ok. Because she was going to be happy. sound crazy? Maybe. But for me, it was both scary, and liberating. So THIS is what love is supposed to feel like? Well, if this is what it's supposed to feel like, sign me up. I know i'm going to be hurt. And i know that i'll be devastated. But if i can feel like this all the time, I want it. I need it.
Now, words are cheap. I dont know how many times i've said this before to other girls. And while it was true to some extent, i knew that if it came right down to it, it, i really wouldn't do anything and everything to make me happy. There was always the "me" aspect of things. Why could i never mean it before? I dont know, but this time, i meant it for real. And she kind of scared me when she said, "I know." She indicated that so many guys had said that to her before, but she always knew they were lying, but when i said it, she said she could feel it, that it was real, that i meant it. I've heard it from a few girls myself, and i realized that there had been something missing those times. This time, when Tiffany said, "I love you, and I'll do anything for you." I knew she meant it. sincerity. it was real. And this is what it was like to be loved?! for real?! how did i ever live before? this incredible feeling of being truly loved, was almost more than i could stand. Will this really have to end? Really?
It does. Eventually, and probably sooner, rather than later, it'll end, and i'll have to find someone else. But why you ask? why not fight for her? because there's a plan. God answered my prayers, and he answered her prayers too. And she needs her missionary in the long run. So if i truly want to be happy, i have to let her go, right? Right. So, to be completely cliche, I'm letting her go because i Love her. But She'll remain my best friend. She has taught me so much, and i've changed so much. You know you're in love when you decide that you need change so that you're worthy of the person you're falling in love with. That happened to me. She never once has asked me to change. But i realized that there were lots of changes i needed to make, and i proceeded to make them. They say it takes 2 weeks to form a habit. I've done it. Twice. My mom always asks if gospel discussions happen ever. I love that about my mom. But it's true. I love talking about the Gospel, and its kinda weird when i can't talk about it with a girl i'm interested in. But in this case, it comes up frequently, and we talk about anything and everything. I love that we can have spiritual experiences and conversations together.
So what's the bottom line? The bottom line is this: I Fell in Love with an amazing woman who has taught me, inspired me, and helped me become who i want to be. But She needs someone else, and so, here i am, still with her, but ready to let her go so she can be happy. Does it hurt? Of course. Is it worth it? Definitely. I now have a standard. I know how love is supposed to work now. So now, i will never be able to settle for less. Thank you Tiffany, for teaching me how to love.
Musings of an LDS Millenial
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
home and away.
well this has been a very interesting 2 weeks. I arrived home 2 weeks ago tomorrow. the last couple days of my mission were very emotional, and i really didnt know what to think or do with myself. saying goodbye to everyone was so hard. all my old companions and my companion that i had just trained... it was hard! but finally i pulled myself away from the chapel at transfer meeting, and left with the other departing missionaries. i was happy to be able to visit a family i had worked heavily with , and become very close with whilst in forest lake (my second area). we had a nice visit and then we had to book it back to the mission home so we could have our exit interviews. I had a pleasant visit with some the missionaries that I had known and loved my entire mission, and then got called in for my exit interview. It was a wonderful interview, and President Langeland spoke very frankly, and he gave me some great advice. After the interviews were over, we had a big dinner that included the office couple and the AP's. It was an AMAZING dinner! SO good! and then we sat around and talked for a bit, and then we all gathered downstairs for a testimony meeting. We went around the room, and i could feel the power coming from each elder has he bore his testimony, told a joke, or relived a favorite memory with another brother. When it came time for me, I stood up and was immediately overcome with emotion. This was not my original intake of elders, yet they all welcomed me in, never once judged me for "going home early" and they all just acted as if i was one of them. I expressed my gratitude to them for that, and they just shook their heads as if it was a given. My Testimony has grown so much, and I bore it to them as best I could through my tears. We ended that testimony meeting with "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." Its one of those songs that you think is so cliche your entire mission, and then you get to the end, and you mean every word of that Hymn to every brother standing in the room.
The rest of the night was spent getting all our stuff ready, making sure we weren't over the baggage weight, and then finally settling down in the basement, watching church movies, and finally falling asleep, though quite restlessly. When it was finally time to wake up, I rolled out of bed, and put my bedding away, and wandered upstairs for one last Australian breakfast. Crunchy Nut cereal with milk from a 3L bottle, that came from grain-fed cows. And toast. And then sister Langeland also made cinnamon rolls, so that part was actually pretty American, but none of us were complaining. After that, we had to get 17 missionaries through the shower, into their clothes, which was actually faster than expected.
Then, I got a call from the office, which was just telling me that my ecclesiastical endorsement had already gone through and I didn't need to worry about it. So that was a stress reliever. It had begun pouring rain just an hour before we were meant to leave, and didn't stop for us, so a tarp was purchased at Bunnings (something akin to Home Depot) and we got everything in the trailer, and the tarp fashioned just so that nothing could get wet. I had the good fortune of having all my stuff in the middle, so it didn't get wet. And with that, we were off to the airport to say goodbye to Australia, and Hello to the 13 hour plane ride home. It was a long plane ride. I watched Tangled. It was funny. Haha, anyway, so the real tension happened when we got into LA airport. I was told to take my stuff to the terminal, while everyone else got to re-check their bags right away. They were all going to Utah. So I lugged my stuff around until i finally found where i was supposed to check in, and the guys in front of me were being made to lighten their load, and pay an extra 30 bucks! i knew i was over the US weight limit, and i only had Australian money at that point. But as i got to the counter, the lady behind it, told me to put my stuff up, and i watched as the blinking numbers told her it was overweight, and not by just a little, and she just took off the scale, and put it on the conveyor belt, and handed me my boarding pass! I was shocked! The Lord takes care of his missionaries. So then I waited for another little while in my terminal, and then finally got on the little 747 that was going to take me home to Portland. This was where my nerves started to fall apart. I knew that as soon as i stepped off that air plane, that my mission was done. over. the thought was painful, and i wanted to make the plane stop, turn around, take me back to australia, but what about my family? Oh, how i missed them and loved them! yes, i would go home, just to see them again. that was worth it. but then i wanted to go right back out. no questions. Just as the plane was getting ready to land over this city that i loved, i realized something... i REALLY had to use the toilet! So I got off the plane, which was actually the first time i had ever disembarked straight onto the runway, and went straight to the toilet. i was very glad i took care of all that when i finally ascended those stairs. I kept following the signs, and eventually, I came out into the general Airport, and it seemed that all others from my flight had already come this way. But it seems that my family knew i was coming, no matter what, and there they were, so close, and yet so far away! I heard Anna Say it first- "Tayler!" Then everyone saw me. It all I could do to keep from breaking into a run, dropping everything, and getting over to them as quickly as possible. But I held onto my dignity and walked very quickly, up to them. THEN I dropped my stuff, and hugged my mom, and everyone, including the laptop that had Marissa and Cara on skype, and then Uncle craig and Aunt Helen and matthew. These were my people! i was HOME!!! i couldnt have been more happy. And then my mom asked if i wanted to go to Panda express. Then i realized i was so giddy, that i really had no desire for food whatsoever, so we went home. HOME!!! I remembered everything exactly how it was, outside, except Maui. She has gotten fat. Poor dog. I need to talk to Collin about putting her on a diet... anyway. I got the grand tour of the house, with all the new editions, and even had my own bed waiting, and made for me when i got downstairs, and to my delight, there she was. My drum set. oh, i would be whole again! and then i sat and talked to my family for the next couple hours, and then we finally did go out, and get My Panda Express. Talk about a party in my mouth! it was a great way to get ready for official release that came right after that. We drove to President campbell's home, where he invited me into his office, and talked to me for a bit, and then he told me to take my badge off. I went silent. It hurt more than i ever thought it could, and then, like a second dagger, he said, "the other one too" i hung my head, and reached inside my jacket, and took off the badge that was also on my shirt pocket. he then told me that i was formally released as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was liberating, as well as depressing. I felt the mantle being lifted off my shoulders, but I so desperately wanted it to come back. I realized then that a mission was, as a good friend of mine once said, just like a roller coaster. It was so fun! and you wish you could go again, but you dont, cause if you do, you'll throw up. Ok its not totally like that, but its kinda accurate. anyway, after that, we drove home, i make a phone call to a special girl, which made my day, and then spent the rest of that night talking and celebrating with my family. All this was done on March 30, 2011. it was quite literally the longest day of my life. i was awake for a total of 35 hours. and it was Still all one day. But what a GREAT day! I am so glad to be home now, and to be able move on to the next stage of my life. that is, life itself!
The rest of the night was spent getting all our stuff ready, making sure we weren't over the baggage weight, and then finally settling down in the basement, watching church movies, and finally falling asleep, though quite restlessly. When it was finally time to wake up, I rolled out of bed, and put my bedding away, and wandered upstairs for one last Australian breakfast. Crunchy Nut cereal with milk from a 3L bottle, that came from grain-fed cows. And toast. And then sister Langeland also made cinnamon rolls, so that part was actually pretty American, but none of us were complaining. After that, we had to get 17 missionaries through the shower, into their clothes, which was actually faster than expected.
Then, I got a call from the office, which was just telling me that my ecclesiastical endorsement had already gone through and I didn't need to worry about it. So that was a stress reliever. It had begun pouring rain just an hour before we were meant to leave, and didn't stop for us, so a tarp was purchased at Bunnings (something akin to Home Depot) and we got everything in the trailer, and the tarp fashioned just so that nothing could get wet. I had the good fortune of having all my stuff in the middle, so it didn't get wet. And with that, we were off to the airport to say goodbye to Australia, and Hello to the 13 hour plane ride home. It was a long plane ride. I watched Tangled. It was funny. Haha, anyway, so the real tension happened when we got into LA airport. I was told to take my stuff to the terminal, while everyone else got to re-check their bags right away. They were all going to Utah. So I lugged my stuff around until i finally found where i was supposed to check in, and the guys in front of me were being made to lighten their load, and pay an extra 30 bucks! i knew i was over the US weight limit, and i only had Australian money at that point. But as i got to the counter, the lady behind it, told me to put my stuff up, and i watched as the blinking numbers told her it was overweight, and not by just a little, and she just took off the scale, and put it on the conveyor belt, and handed me my boarding pass! I was shocked! The Lord takes care of his missionaries. So then I waited for another little while in my terminal, and then finally got on the little 747 that was going to take me home to Portland. This was where my nerves started to fall apart. I knew that as soon as i stepped off that air plane, that my mission was done. over. the thought was painful, and i wanted to make the plane stop, turn around, take me back to australia, but what about my family? Oh, how i missed them and loved them! yes, i would go home, just to see them again. that was worth it. but then i wanted to go right back out. no questions. Just as the plane was getting ready to land over this city that i loved, i realized something... i REALLY had to use the toilet! So I got off the plane, which was actually the first time i had ever disembarked straight onto the runway, and went straight to the toilet. i was very glad i took care of all that when i finally ascended those stairs. I kept following the signs, and eventually, I came out into the general Airport, and it seemed that all others from my flight had already come this way. But it seems that my family knew i was coming, no matter what, and there they were, so close, and yet so far away! I heard Anna Say it first- "Tayler!" Then everyone saw me. It all I could do to keep from breaking into a run, dropping everything, and getting over to them as quickly as possible. But I held onto my dignity and walked very quickly, up to them. THEN I dropped my stuff, and hugged my mom, and everyone, including the laptop that had Marissa and Cara on skype, and then Uncle craig and Aunt Helen and matthew. These were my people! i was HOME!!! i couldnt have been more happy. And then my mom asked if i wanted to go to Panda express. Then i realized i was so giddy, that i really had no desire for food whatsoever, so we went home. HOME!!! I remembered everything exactly how it was, outside, except Maui. She has gotten fat. Poor dog. I need to talk to Collin about putting her on a diet... anyway. I got the grand tour of the house, with all the new editions, and even had my own bed waiting, and made for me when i got downstairs, and to my delight, there she was. My drum set. oh, i would be whole again! and then i sat and talked to my family for the next couple hours, and then we finally did go out, and get My Panda Express. Talk about a party in my mouth! it was a great way to get ready for official release that came right after that. We drove to President campbell's home, where he invited me into his office, and talked to me for a bit, and then he told me to take my badge off. I went silent. It hurt more than i ever thought it could, and then, like a second dagger, he said, "the other one too" i hung my head, and reached inside my jacket, and took off the badge that was also on my shirt pocket. he then told me that i was formally released as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was liberating, as well as depressing. I felt the mantle being lifted off my shoulders, but I so desperately wanted it to come back. I realized then that a mission was, as a good friend of mine once said, just like a roller coaster. It was so fun! and you wish you could go again, but you dont, cause if you do, you'll throw up. Ok its not totally like that, but its kinda accurate. anyway, after that, we drove home, i make a phone call to a special girl, which made my day, and then spent the rest of that night talking and celebrating with my family. All this was done on March 30, 2011. it was quite literally the longest day of my life. i was awake for a total of 35 hours. and it was Still all one day. But what a GREAT day! I am so glad to be home now, and to be able move on to the next stage of my life. that is, life itself!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Baptism! March 20 letter
hello my family and my friends!
what a fast week this has been. sounds like everyone else had their share of interesting this week too. This has been a very unusual week. tuesday, we went down to our district leader's area for a trade-off and had a fun time with them. i ended up spending the day with the DL's comp and we pretty much tracted and did follow-up visits all day. it was fun. then we stayed the night there again, and got up at 2:30 am the next morning so we could be on time for our train at 4 that would take us down to brisbane where we were having zone conference/mission tour with Elder Hamula of the area presidency/seventy. it was so good. very insightful. he's very knowledgable. one of the things that i really liked that he said, that has applied to me on occasion, and to almost everyone, is "if you say, 'thats just how i am, i cant change' you are damning yourself." pretty strong language i know, but i think the missionaries needed to hear that, because after the meeting, everyone was like, "man, that smashed me..." so it was really good for the mission. then we spent all day traveling home, missed our dinner appointment by 2 hours, ended uip with the last yucks from k-fry, and went to sleep ASAP when we got home. it was a LONG day. but it was a good day too. then we spent most of friday getting ready for becky's baptism, since everyone else was gone to the youth temple trip, including Becky's daughter, Tarsh. so then saturday everything seemed to fall apart. except the baptism. but we had like 4 other appointments during the day, all of them cancelled, and i just sorta flipped out... i get so stressed around baptisms... there's so much to do, and it seems like everyone just turns their phones off or goes walkabout at just the time i need to talk to them. it is ever so frustrating. so needless to say, everyone just saying sorry, cant do it on saturday just pushed me over the edge... i just went and had a long talk to God, took a nap, squared my shoulders and went out again. we got emma to come to the baptism, and the baptism itself went well... besides the fact that Becky is deathly afraid of water going over her head, and the first time i baptized her, her elbow was still up... so doing it the second time, she was a little freaked out, but she went all the way under, and it went good. Emma really enjoyed it too. it was good. so then yesterday, we had church, and Emma AND Bill came. finally! Emma really enjoyed it, and Bill liked the gospel essentials class. it was good. and Elder Nai confirmed becky too! it was a good day. then we were able to have lessons with becky and bill and emma after church, and make it to our dinner appointment on time too. it was good. :D so now i'll just be working my tail off to make sure Elder Nai has people to teach when i go, and not leave him with nothing. so we'll see how it all goes. but thats pretty much been the week. its been good. and i'm out of time, so i'll talk to yous later!
love you all so much!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
what a fast week this has been. sounds like everyone else had their share of interesting this week too. This has been a very unusual week. tuesday, we went down to our district leader's area for a trade-off and had a fun time with them. i ended up spending the day with the DL's comp and we pretty much tracted and did follow-up visits all day. it was fun. then we stayed the night there again, and got up at 2:30 am the next morning so we could be on time for our train at 4 that would take us down to brisbane where we were having zone conference/mission tour with Elder Hamula of the area presidency/seventy. it was so good. very insightful. he's very knowledgable. one of the things that i really liked that he said, that has applied to me on occasion, and to almost everyone, is "if you say, 'thats just how i am, i cant change' you are damning yourself." pretty strong language i know, but i think the missionaries needed to hear that, because after the meeting, everyone was like, "man, that smashed me..." so it was really good for the mission. then we spent all day traveling home, missed our dinner appointment by 2 hours, ended uip with the last yucks from k-fry, and went to sleep ASAP when we got home. it was a LONG day. but it was a good day too. then we spent most of friday getting ready for becky's baptism, since everyone else was gone to the youth temple trip, including Becky's daughter, Tarsh. so then saturday everything seemed to fall apart. except the baptism. but we had like 4 other appointments during the day, all of them cancelled, and i just sorta flipped out... i get so stressed around baptisms... there's so much to do, and it seems like everyone just turns their phones off or goes walkabout at just the time i need to talk to them. it is ever so frustrating. so needless to say, everyone just saying sorry, cant do it on saturday just pushed me over the edge... i just went and had a long talk to God, took a nap, squared my shoulders and went out again. we got emma to come to the baptism, and the baptism itself went well... besides the fact that Becky is deathly afraid of water going over her head, and the first time i baptized her, her elbow was still up... so doing it the second time, she was a little freaked out, but she went all the way under, and it went good. Emma really enjoyed it too. it was good. so then yesterday, we had church, and Emma AND Bill came. finally! Emma really enjoyed it, and Bill liked the gospel essentials class. it was good. and Elder Nai confirmed becky too! it was a good day. then we were able to have lessons with becky and bill and emma after church, and make it to our dinner appointment on time too. it was good. :D so now i'll just be working my tail off to make sure Elder Nai has people to teach when i go, and not leave him with nothing. so we'll see how it all goes. but thats pretty much been the week. its been good. and i'm out of time, so i'll talk to yous later!
love you all so much!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
March 13--Spring Ahead
hello my family and my friends!
im short on time this week, there were lots of emails, and i had to take that quiz thingy...[for BYUI] im glad everyone had a good week! mine was pretty good. found some new people, taught some lessons... sorta. we are teaching becky all the lessons again, but she's had them twice, plus the times when her daughter took them. so we've been having her teach us, which has been really good. all we do is make sure she understands everything, and we just fill in the gaps. its been good. one thing that sorta made my week, was that yesterday we had ward conference, and the stake president got up and talked about the missionaries in the gympie ward for like 5 minutes, and had nothing but praise for us both, as well as me specifically- i dont really know the stake president, but he must have talked to my zone leaders because he mentioned a few things that he could not have known just from our brief meetings... so that made my day/week. besides that we also had a bon fire for a ward activity, and we got Emma to come. not bill though, he had to work... it was kinda a bummer. but she really enjoyed it. i also made cookies because they had a priesthood bake-off... it was kinda funny. didnt win, but got "honorary" 1st place or something like that... :P anyway, thats pretty much the week. sorry this one is short.
ok i love you all!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
im short on time this week, there were lots of emails, and i had to take that quiz thingy...[for BYUI] im glad everyone had a good week! mine was pretty good. found some new people, taught some lessons... sorta. we are teaching becky all the lessons again, but she's had them twice, plus the times when her daughter took them. so we've been having her teach us, which has been really good. all we do is make sure she understands everything, and we just fill in the gaps. its been good. one thing that sorta made my week, was that yesterday we had ward conference, and the stake president got up and talked about the missionaries in the gympie ward for like 5 minutes, and had nothing but praise for us both, as well as me specifically- i dont really know the stake president, but he must have talked to my zone leaders because he mentioned a few things that he could not have known just from our brief meetings... so that made my day/week. besides that we also had a bon fire for a ward activity, and we got Emma to come. not bill though, he had to work... it was kinda a bummer. but she really enjoyed it. i also made cookies because they had a priesthood bake-off... it was kinda funny. didnt win, but got "honorary" 1st place or something like that... :P anyway, thats pretty much the week. sorry this one is short.
ok i love you all!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Monday, March 7, 2011
March Progress
hello my family and my friends!
well, this has been a very interesting week. it was pretty slow to begin with, but the last couple days were pretty hectic. it all started on thursday. we were a little late leaving the flat after lunch, and i was a little grumpy with myself for being slow, but as we said the prayer to leave the flat, i felt calm, and i was thinking about what order we would see people in, and the thought that we should go see the H.'s (less active family) first was strongly impressed on my mind. so we went there first. Good thing too. we go to visit them at work, because they live really far out of town. turned out sis. H. was on the verge of breaking down. she was over-exerting, and her daughter j. had recently been through a very traumatic experience, and was not handling it well. she asked us to come around on Saturday to give her a blessing, and we agreed. and then she just talked to us. i dont know what happened exactly, but it seems pretty intense. so we just helped her off-load and then we went and took care of out other errands. then we drove down to kawana waters (and hours drive), and stayed the night, and then elder Jensen (DL) and I went to the leadership training meeting. far out. i know why i was never in leadership. those leaders are intense, and they're like the best teachers ever. i got smashed by them! it was a little scary how inadequate i was feeling. it was a good introspection opportunity though and i have made several goals for myself to achieve before the end of my mission. so that was good. then it took us 3.5 hours to get back to kawana waters from brisbane, because we had to pick up bikes for me, cause gympie doesnt have any, and then crutches for another missionary in the district, and then it was pouring rain, and peak traffic. it was yuck. it should only have taken us an hour to get back. we ended up having to cancel our appointments before 6, and then i got to drive for an hour in more peak traffic, with heavy rain, and a trailer with bikes in it. that was fun. that was friday. then saturday we did our weekly planning, and went and gave the blessing to j.. it was kinda a cool experience. i got to be voice, and i was praying hard to be the mouthpiece of God for j., and i felt the spirit so strongly while i gave the blessing. i felt kinda like how Richard explained it to me- i could FEEL what God wanted me to say, but then i had to put it into words. that was the first time that i really felt that. it was really cool, and they were all very grateful. so i set them up with the bishop and a few other people that they trust in the ward, to really get the ball rolling to help j., and the family recover. so i felt very helpful. then that night, we had dinner with b.. it was such a good visit. if you remember i told yous about her when i first got to gympie- she's the one with multiple personalities (17) and who pretty much is a dry mormon. we've been trying to help her decide to get baptized for ages. like over 6 months. so finally after dinner, on our way out, she gave a tie to elder Nai (i already have one from her) and told him he had to wear it in 2 weeks, and that i did too. she'd been going on about what she was going to do in 2 weeks all night, and i had just thought it had something to do with me going home or something, but we finally asked what she was going to do in 2 weeks, and she said "i dont want to go through any more missionaries." at first i thought she was dropping us, and then i realized what she meant as she said,"so i'm getting baptized in 2 weeks. the 19th." i was in shock. i was totally speechless. i had NOT been expecting that. so that was pretty sweet. she was like, i need 2 weeks, because i'll have both kids with me in 2 weeks, and i have to stop smoking for 7 days, so i have some medication and the 15 step program, and i'm going to do them. and then she pulled out her own copy of preach my gospel, told us she read the whole thing, and then told us that she would be able to answer all the interview questions. shock again. i think i might actually hit my 4 baptisms goal. we have a few other people lined up, that we just need to commit. hopefully it goes well. i'm way excited. so that was pretty much the week.
anyway, times up, gotta go. i love you all so much! have a good week!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
ps- mum, thanks for taking care of college stuff, its really taken a load off of me. really appreciate it. love you!
well, this has been a very interesting week. it was pretty slow to begin with, but the last couple days were pretty hectic. it all started on thursday. we were a little late leaving the flat after lunch, and i was a little grumpy with myself for being slow, but as we said the prayer to leave the flat, i felt calm, and i was thinking about what order we would see people in, and the thought that we should go see the H.'s (less active family) first was strongly impressed on my mind. so we went there first. Good thing too. we go to visit them at work, because they live really far out of town. turned out sis. H. was on the verge of breaking down. she was over-exerting, and her daughter j. had recently been through a very traumatic experience, and was not handling it well. she asked us to come around on Saturday to give her a blessing, and we agreed. and then she just talked to us. i dont know what happened exactly, but it seems pretty intense. so we just helped her off-load and then we went and took care of out other errands. then we drove down to kawana waters (and hours drive), and stayed the night, and then elder Jensen (DL) and I went to the leadership training meeting. far out. i know why i was never in leadership. those leaders are intense, and they're like the best teachers ever. i got smashed by them! it was a little scary how inadequate i was feeling. it was a good introspection opportunity though and i have made several goals for myself to achieve before the end of my mission. so that was good. then it took us 3.5 hours to get back to kawana waters from brisbane, because we had to pick up bikes for me, cause gympie doesnt have any, and then crutches for another missionary in the district, and then it was pouring rain, and peak traffic. it was yuck. it should only have taken us an hour to get back. we ended up having to cancel our appointments before 6, and then i got to drive for an hour in more peak traffic, with heavy rain, and a trailer with bikes in it. that was fun. that was friday. then saturday we did our weekly planning, and went and gave the blessing to j.. it was kinda a cool experience. i got to be voice, and i was praying hard to be the mouthpiece of God for j., and i felt the spirit so strongly while i gave the blessing. i felt kinda like how Richard explained it to me- i could FEEL what God wanted me to say, but then i had to put it into words. that was the first time that i really felt that. it was really cool, and they were all very grateful. so i set them up with the bishop and a few other people that they trust in the ward, to really get the ball rolling to help j., and the family recover. so i felt very helpful. then that night, we had dinner with b.. it was such a good visit. if you remember i told yous about her when i first got to gympie- she's the one with multiple personalities (17) and who pretty much is a dry mormon. we've been trying to help her decide to get baptized for ages. like over 6 months. so finally after dinner, on our way out, she gave a tie to elder Nai (i already have one from her) and told him he had to wear it in 2 weeks, and that i did too. she'd been going on about what she was going to do in 2 weeks all night, and i had just thought it had something to do with me going home or something, but we finally asked what she was going to do in 2 weeks, and she said "i dont want to go through any more missionaries." at first i thought she was dropping us, and then i realized what she meant as she said,"so i'm getting baptized in 2 weeks. the 19th." i was in shock. i was totally speechless. i had NOT been expecting that. so that was pretty sweet. she was like, i need 2 weeks, because i'll have both kids with me in 2 weeks, and i have to stop smoking for 7 days, so i have some medication and the 15 step program, and i'm going to do them. and then she pulled out her own copy of preach my gospel, told us she read the whole thing, and then told us that she would be able to answer all the interview questions. shock again. i think i might actually hit my 4 baptisms goal. we have a few other people lined up, that we just need to commit. hopefully it goes well. i'm way excited. so that was pretty much the week.
anyway, times up, gotta go. i love you all so much! have a good week!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
ps- mum, thanks for taking care of college stuff, its really taken a load off of me. really appreciate it. love you!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Good bye February
hello family and friends!
well this week has been a good week. we were able to get a lot of work done, and are starting to move forward with a few people. it has been a good work week though. first off, i'm sure you're all wondering about the baptism. well. we had a lesson with Edward this last week on wednesday, and it went really well. we just went over the rest of the commandments, the baptismal interview questions, and then made a baptism program. he asked me to baptize him :D. so i did. the baptism was on saturday at one o'clock, and it was a very spiritual experience. i enjoyed it, and when edward and i were changing he kept saying how happy and light he felt. then, that morning i was trying to decide which video to show while we were getting changed, and remembered the John tanner story on the new D&C DVD. so we watched that and Edward and I walked in with enough of it left to figure out what was going on and be there for the real tear jerking part. the spirit was so strong and there was not a dry eye in the meeting. it was so good. i'm excited to keep working. and Elder N. is progressing very quickly. i was so scared i would run into some pride issues with him, but he's been very humble, and has the attitude of obedience, and learning. so i've really enjoyed that. it sounds like everyone else had a good week too! Anna, what a great experience that workshop. i'm sure that will have an impact on the rest of your life. you asked how to be a good missionary. i think you were talking about study... well the best way to study missionary work is to just look for all the missionary everything in the scriptures, and then when you read Preach My Gospel, its good to know the lessons, but since you probably wont be teaching full lessons, chapter 1 and 2 are the best, where you study your purpose as a missionary and then study how to study. those are good chapters. those are the only ones new missionaries are allowed to read for the first 3 months in the ABM [Australia Brisbane Mission] as well. so that would be a good start. I'm sure Dad and BJ and Richard could give you some good suggestions as well. Anyway, times up, i've got to go. i love you all so much! have a good week.
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
well this week has been a good week. we were able to get a lot of work done, and are starting to move forward with a few people. it has been a good work week though. first off, i'm sure you're all wondering about the baptism. well. we had a lesson with Edward this last week on wednesday, and it went really well. we just went over the rest of the commandments, the baptismal interview questions, and then made a baptism program. he asked me to baptize him :D. so i did. the baptism was on saturday at one o'clock, and it was a very spiritual experience. i enjoyed it, and when edward and i were changing he kept saying how happy and light he felt. then, that morning i was trying to decide which video to show while we were getting changed, and remembered the John tanner story on the new D&C DVD. so we watched that and Edward and I walked in with enough of it left to figure out what was going on and be there for the real tear jerking part. the spirit was so strong and there was not a dry eye in the meeting. it was so good. i'm excited to keep working. and Elder N. is progressing very quickly. i was so scared i would run into some pride issues with him, but he's been very humble, and has the attitude of obedience, and learning. so i've really enjoyed that. it sounds like everyone else had a good week too! Anna, what a great experience that workshop. i'm sure that will have an impact on the rest of your life. you asked how to be a good missionary. i think you were talking about study... well the best way to study missionary work is to just look for all the missionary everything in the scriptures, and then when you read Preach My Gospel, its good to know the lessons, but since you probably wont be teaching full lessons, chapter 1 and 2 are the best, where you study your purpose as a missionary and then study how to study. those are good chapters. those are the only ones new missionaries are allowed to read for the first 3 months in the ABM [Australia Brisbane Mission] as well. so that would be a good start. I'm sure Dad and BJ and Richard could give you some good suggestions as well. Anyway, times up, i've got to go. i love you all so much! have a good week.
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Happy Single-Awareness Day!
Hello Family and Friends!
this has been a very interesting week for me. we were able to teach Edward again on saturday, and again on monday. the baptismal date is still on for this saturday! there's a lot of logistics that i have to sort out though, so hopefully it all goes well. the other investigators havent really made heaps of progress but they're doing alright. we're having a lesson with cameron and naomi today, and emma and bill are happening sometime later in the week. um... we did some service this week too... i got to use a CHAIN SAW! it made my day. thats pretty much it. nothing too much exciting during the week. the weekend however, and the last few days have been absolutely crazy! as you are probably aware, it was transfers this week, and although i was hoping elder Itaea would kill me off, he got transferred. we found out on sunday night. so we spent monday packing and going to see everyone in the ward so he could say good bye. then at 10 pm on monday the APs called me... they asked me to bring some extra clothes so i could stay an extra day in brisbane... that only means ONE thing... and i knew what it meant so i freaked out a little... so we went to transfers yesterday, and it sounded something like this: "Elder Christensen as been serving in Gympie with Elder Itaea. Elder Christensen will continue serving in gympie with...... a... trainee." so normally trainees dont come in at all until wednesday, and trainers dont pick them up until wednesday night. however, i got a call after transfers that the missionaries coming from the New Zealand MTC actually had already arrived and the one i was training was in that group, so i went to mission home, met him, and then we drove back to gympie. which by the way, is a 2.5 hour drive. anyway. his name is Elder Nai, he's samoan, but he's from sydney. he's awesome. humble as. love it. so this last transfer i dont really have a choice. I HAVE to do and be my best. so prayers in my direction would be very helpful! :D ok well, thats all the exciting news for the week. i love you all so much! thank you for all that you are doing! have a good week. this church is true. i know it is. because i'm the happiest i have ever been in my life. love you all!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
this has been a very interesting week for me. we were able to teach Edward again on saturday, and again on monday. the baptismal date is still on for this saturday! there's a lot of logistics that i have to sort out though, so hopefully it all goes well. the other investigators havent really made heaps of progress but they're doing alright. we're having a lesson with cameron and naomi today, and emma and bill are happening sometime later in the week. um... we did some service this week too... i got to use a CHAIN SAW! it made my day. thats pretty much it. nothing too much exciting during the week. the weekend however, and the last few days have been absolutely crazy! as you are probably aware, it was transfers this week, and although i was hoping elder Itaea would kill me off, he got transferred. we found out on sunday night. so we spent monday packing and going to see everyone in the ward so he could say good bye. then at 10 pm on monday the APs called me... they asked me to bring some extra clothes so i could stay an extra day in brisbane... that only means ONE thing... and i knew what it meant so i freaked out a little... so we went to transfers yesterday, and it sounded something like this: "Elder Christensen as been serving in Gympie with Elder Itaea. Elder Christensen will continue serving in gympie with...... a... trainee." so normally trainees dont come in at all until wednesday, and trainers dont pick them up until wednesday night. however, i got a call after transfers that the missionaries coming from the New Zealand MTC actually had already arrived and the one i was training was in that group, so i went to mission home, met him, and then we drove back to gympie. which by the way, is a 2.5 hour drive. anyway. his name is Elder Nai, he's samoan, but he's from sydney. he's awesome. humble as. love it. so this last transfer i dont really have a choice. I HAVE to do and be my best. so prayers in my direction would be very helpful! :D ok well, thats all the exciting news for the week. i love you all so much! thank you for all that you are doing! have a good week. this church is true. i know it is. because i'm the happiest i have ever been in my life. love you all!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Good bye January
hello family and friends!
haha, i love how i get on to read all the emails, and when i go back to my inbox to read the next one, theres a new one at the top, and then that happens twice. makes my day. :D ok, well i tried to read fast so that i could write in a bit more detail. this week was so good. not in numbers, just in awesomeness. Australia day was on wednesday- something like the 4th of july, except not. we were meant to proselyte that day, which we did... in Tin Can Bay. which is kinda a resort town, but we have a few members that live there, and we did some tracting, and then had a lunch-dinner party thing with some members of the ward- i played cricket for the first time... its harder than it looks, but i thought it was still just as boring as it looks... probably wont play again... unless yous all want to learn... ya. but it was fun anyway cause we just mocked each other the whole time, and it was fun. then on thursday, we had interviews and training. my interview with president was short. i only had a few questions for him, and he got all the information about the area from Elder Itaea. so it was quick, in and out. and i also had a temple recommend interview after all the other interviews were done. so i have another one. but its only good until june or something like that. so dad, book me in for another temple recommend interview soon after i get home! :D anyway, the training was REALLY good. the zone leaders gave a mean training. i had the opportunity to do some real plays with some newer missionaries, and was very entertained both by their greeness and by their amazement at how elder Itaea and I teach... its really nothing special, we just applied what we were taught like 2 minutes before that. i kinda like being an "old" missionary. except for the fact that everyone tends to remind me how close i am to going home... not helpful when i'm trying to focus everything on the work. but hey, whatever, i gave LOTS of old fogie missionaries crap for going home soon, so its about time that i copped it. hmm... oh, we had a lesson with cameron and Naomi this week. it was good... there was a serious lack to question asking though, and therefore a lack of the spirit... it was sad... i left non-plussed. however, they came to church yesterday, and seemed to enjoy it- however, i will NEVER sit in the back of the chapel with an investigator again. so much noise. anyway. we did heaps of tracting this week, and also did some service, helping some recent converts move house. it was good, i havent met them before and they're really cool. um... what else. went to poached baptism yesterday.... lady living in my area, being taught by the zone leaders... grr... oh well, she had really good fellowship down there, and is down there more often than up here... but they asked us to come so that we could introduce ourselves to her, and get her to get confirmed in Gympie ward next week... she straight up said no, but we are going to see her tomorrow. so hopefully we'll be able to convince her. so that was pretty much all the missionary stuff that happened this week. we went out to tin can bay again this morning to feed the dolphins... unfortunately you have to get in the water to do it, so we just ended up taking pictures of other people feeding them, which was still good, i got some good ones.
the best thing, is that we started doing all of our follow-up visits/calls yesterday, and we have like a bajillion lessons set for the coming week. hopefully we'll be able to make some significant numeric progress. i still have 4 baptisms to go with almost exactly 2 months to go. i'll get them. i know i will. got some REALLY good potentials this week. anyway, i am so happy to be here! i have been blessed with the spirit so abundantly this week! Dad, its true what you say- on the mission God had you over the fire, and does all the pounding there, and the sharpening and honing come later. but i love it here. i love everything i have learned. i KNOW the church is true. i KNOW the book of mormon is true. no doubts. the priesthood of God is on the earth, and the members of this church are the sole possesors of it. we have all the keys needed for salvation. no other church can claim that. this is it. and guess how i know it? not because i've been "indoctrinated" from childhood, not because mum and dad have testimonies, not even because i'm a missonary. its because the holy ghost whispered to me that this is true, and I do NOT have to rely on ANY earthly evidences whether it be man's word or text to know, that what i teach is true, and that it brings the only true and lasting joy you can have. i love it. :D
ok, well, i'm out of time. i love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
ps- ran into some JW's the other day- had a good conversation with them about their "literal" translation of the bible as opposed to our "loose" translation of the bible... then i showed them in their bible the word "marshmallow" (job 6:6- compare it, its funny) and was then very entertained as they tried to explain that one, especially when they concluded that it must be some type of plant. :D ended the conversation as quick as i could after that. anyway. just thought it was funny.
haha, i love how i get on to read all the emails, and when i go back to my inbox to read the next one, theres a new one at the top, and then that happens twice. makes my day. :D ok, well i tried to read fast so that i could write in a bit more detail. this week was so good. not in numbers, just in awesomeness. Australia day was on wednesday- something like the 4th of july, except not. we were meant to proselyte that day, which we did... in Tin Can Bay. which is kinda a resort town, but we have a few members that live there, and we did some tracting, and then had a lunch-dinner party thing with some members of the ward- i played cricket for the first time... its harder than it looks, but i thought it was still just as boring as it looks... probably wont play again... unless yous all want to learn... ya. but it was fun anyway cause we just mocked each other the whole time, and it was fun. then on thursday, we had interviews and training. my interview with president was short. i only had a few questions for him, and he got all the information about the area from Elder Itaea. so it was quick, in and out. and i also had a temple recommend interview after all the other interviews were done. so i have another one. but its only good until june or something like that. so dad, book me in for another temple recommend interview soon after i get home! :D anyway, the training was REALLY good. the zone leaders gave a mean training. i had the opportunity to do some real plays with some newer missionaries, and was very entertained both by their greeness and by their amazement at how elder Itaea and I teach... its really nothing special, we just applied what we were taught like 2 minutes before that. i kinda like being an "old" missionary. except for the fact that everyone tends to remind me how close i am to going home... not helpful when i'm trying to focus everything on the work. but hey, whatever, i gave LOTS of old fogie missionaries crap for going home soon, so its about time that i copped it. hmm... oh, we had a lesson with cameron and Naomi this week. it was good... there was a serious lack to question asking though, and therefore a lack of the spirit... it was sad... i left non-plussed. however, they came to church yesterday, and seemed to enjoy it- however, i will NEVER sit in the back of the chapel with an investigator again. so much noise. anyway. we did heaps of tracting this week, and also did some service, helping some recent converts move house. it was good, i havent met them before and they're really cool. um... what else. went to poached baptism yesterday.... lady living in my area, being taught by the zone leaders... grr... oh well, she had really good fellowship down there, and is down there more often than up here... but they asked us to come so that we could introduce ourselves to her, and get her to get confirmed in Gympie ward next week... she straight up said no, but we are going to see her tomorrow. so hopefully we'll be able to convince her. so that was pretty much all the missionary stuff that happened this week. we went out to tin can bay again this morning to feed the dolphins... unfortunately you have to get in the water to do it, so we just ended up taking pictures of other people feeding them, which was still good, i got some good ones.
the best thing, is that we started doing all of our follow-up visits/calls yesterday, and we have like a bajillion lessons set for the coming week. hopefully we'll be able to make some significant numeric progress. i still have 4 baptisms to go with almost exactly 2 months to go. i'll get them. i know i will. got some REALLY good potentials this week. anyway, i am so happy to be here! i have been blessed with the spirit so abundantly this week! Dad, its true what you say- on the mission God had you over the fire, and does all the pounding there, and the sharpening and honing come later. but i love it here. i love everything i have learned. i KNOW the church is true. i KNOW the book of mormon is true. no doubts. the priesthood of God is on the earth, and the members of this church are the sole possesors of it. we have all the keys needed for salvation. no other church can claim that. this is it. and guess how i know it? not because i've been "indoctrinated" from childhood, not because mum and dad have testimonies, not even because i'm a missonary. its because the holy ghost whispered to me that this is true, and I do NOT have to rely on ANY earthly evidences whether it be man's word or text to know, that what i teach is true, and that it brings the only true and lasting joy you can have. i love it. :D
ok, well, i'm out of time. i love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
ps- ran into some JW's the other day- had a good conversation with them about their "literal" translation of the bible as opposed to our "loose" translation of the bible... then i showed them in their bible the word "marshmallow" (job 6:6- compare it, its funny) and was then very entertained as they tried to explain that one, especially when they concluded that it must be some type of plant. :D ended the conversation as quick as i could after that. anyway. just thought it was funny.
you are GOLDEN
hello my family and my friends!
well, it has been a very good week this week. we had a lot of lessons and we found a few new people to teach! so it has been a very good week. we found a young couple called Emma and Bill. we just tracted into them, and they thought we were J-Dubs, so they started to just tell us they werent interested, and then they started asking us questions, and then they invited us in once they found out that we were mormons, and that we werent trying to force them into anything. so, emma is only 17 and bill's not much older, and both of them have have had very little if any religious instruction. they really enjoyed the message of the restoration, and they had a lot of questions about the plan of salvation, so we gave them sort of a movie trailer of the plan of salvation, which really got their attention, and then told them we had to go, and we'd have to schedule another appointment- they wanted us to come back ASAP so we went back 2 days later, and taught the plan of salvation. they really liked that, and it answered all of their questions. we invited them to church, but they werent able to come. but they said that they would love to come next week. they decided that they really liked us, so last night they also invited us to a bon fire at their house... but we met one of their friends who's pretty much in the same boat they are, and who we were able to talk to about the gospel, and now they're interested too. so its all good. :) then the really big thing that happened this week was a guy called Edward. he's the boyfriend of a recent convert, and he's GOLDEN! he has already read most of the Gospel principles book, and prayed about it and received an answer.(!!!!!) so when we taught the restoration, he was like, ya that all makes sense, i believe that. then we asked him to read the book of mormon and pray about it, which he readily accepted. then the coolest part happened. we usually try to get the investigator to pray on the first lesson we have them. its usually not very easy to do, but in this case, before we go to that, Edward was like, "i feel like i want to pray to close this up... is that ok?" after getting over the shock, we were both like, yes! yes! that is DEFINITELY ok! please! so he prayed. and it wasnt anything special, it had no flowery language, but it was heartfelt and sincere, and the spirit was present. it was awesome. we then set a baptisimal date with him for the 19th of february! :D :D YES!!!!!!!! i am so excited. i've always wanted to teach someone who was golden. :D so its good. anyway, the rest of the week. i know all of you have hear about the massive cyclone that hit northern Qld. yes, it was massive. they're saying its rivaling or exceeding the strength of hurricane katrina. we still arent quite sure of the damage done, or the safety of the missionaries up there. we havent heard anything from our leaders. however, you have no need to worry about me. the cyclone didnt even come close, and it was far enough away that we're not even getting the low pressure front from it. so i'm all safe. i'll update you when i know what happened for sure up north. the weather down here though, has been so hot. and it's been like 1000% humidity. makes tracting mean something. it's great though, almost everyone we talk to offers us water. so we're staying hydrated! yesterday, we had a special training from president langeland and the APs. (thats why i'm late emailing yous) it was really good. president and sister langeland put together a slide show about joseph smith, and the qualities of a prophet, and how he exhibited each one, and gave specific examples. it was really good. then, the APs gave a training on committing investigators to pray, and read the book of mormon. we real-played it, and there was an odd number of companionships, so we got to real-play with president and sister Langeland. that was great. i was really nervous, but president langeland complimented me on my real play, so that was nice. :D thats pretty much been it. ok. well, thats all i can think of, so i'll wrap it up. i hope yous all have a great week! i know this is the true church, and i know that "a man can get nearer to God by abiding by it's precepts." the church is true. the book is blue. :D love yous!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
well, it has been a very good week this week. we had a lot of lessons and we found a few new people to teach! so it has been a very good week. we found a young couple called Emma and Bill. we just tracted into them, and they thought we were J-Dubs, so they started to just tell us they werent interested, and then they started asking us questions, and then they invited us in once they found out that we were mormons, and that we werent trying to force them into anything. so, emma is only 17 and bill's not much older, and both of them have have had very little if any religious instruction. they really enjoyed the message of the restoration, and they had a lot of questions about the plan of salvation, so we gave them sort of a movie trailer of the plan of salvation, which really got their attention, and then told them we had to go, and we'd have to schedule another appointment- they wanted us to come back ASAP so we went back 2 days later, and taught the plan of salvation. they really liked that, and it answered all of their questions. we invited them to church, but they werent able to come. but they said that they would love to come next week. they decided that they really liked us, so last night they also invited us to a bon fire at their house... but we met one of their friends who's pretty much in the same boat they are, and who we were able to talk to about the gospel, and now they're interested too. so its all good. :) then the really big thing that happened this week was a guy called Edward. he's the boyfriend of a recent convert, and he's GOLDEN! he has already read most of the Gospel principles book, and prayed about it and received an answer.(!!!!!) so when we taught the restoration, he was like, ya that all makes sense, i believe that. then we asked him to read the book of mormon and pray about it, which he readily accepted. then the coolest part happened. we usually try to get the investigator to pray on the first lesson we have them. its usually not very easy to do, but in this case, before we go to that, Edward was like, "i feel like i want to pray to close this up... is that ok?" after getting over the shock, we were both like, yes! yes! that is DEFINITELY ok! please! so he prayed. and it wasnt anything special, it had no flowery language, but it was heartfelt and sincere, and the spirit was present. it was awesome. we then set a baptisimal date with him for the 19th of february! :D :D YES!!!!!!!! i am so excited. i've always wanted to teach someone who was golden. :D so its good. anyway, the rest of the week. i know all of you have hear about the massive cyclone that hit northern Qld. yes, it was massive. they're saying its rivaling or exceeding the strength of hurricane katrina. we still arent quite sure of the damage done, or the safety of the missionaries up there. we havent heard anything from our leaders. however, you have no need to worry about me. the cyclone didnt even come close, and it was far enough away that we're not even getting the low pressure front from it. so i'm all safe. i'll update you when i know what happened for sure up north. the weather down here though, has been so hot. and it's been like 1000% humidity. makes tracting mean something. it's great though, almost everyone we talk to offers us water. so we're staying hydrated! yesterday, we had a special training from president langeland and the APs. (thats why i'm late emailing yous) it was really good. president and sister langeland put together a slide show about joseph smith, and the qualities of a prophet, and how he exhibited each one, and gave specific examples. it was really good. then, the APs gave a training on committing investigators to pray, and read the book of mormon. we real-played it, and there was an odd number of companionships, so we got to real-play with president and sister Langeland. that was great. i was really nervous, but president langeland complimented me on my real play, so that was nice. :D thats pretty much been it. ok. well, thats all i can think of, so i'll wrap it up. i hope yous all have a great week! i know this is the true church, and i know that "a man can get nearer to God by abiding by it's precepts." the church is true. the book is blue. :D love yous!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tracting...and More Tracting
hello my family and my friends!
well this week has been pretty good. to put it the Aussie way, i've been getting "stuck in to it". really, this week has been full of finding. lots of tracting. lots of GQing. and very little teaching. its been kind of frustrating, but then, Gympie is a tracting area. always has been. so at least i'm not surprised about it all. and hey, i've been getting some of the best sleep i've had in a long time. its been so long since i've come back to the flat utterly exhausted. kinda funny. but it's good. Elder Holland told me on the first day of my mission to go home on a stretcher. well... if i keep this up, i just might. :P dont worry mum, i'm fine. anyway, the sun has been out, it has been getting hot, and getting to be more like last summer. so i'll start getting a mean as missionary tan. so ya, this week we went on trade-offs with the district leader. we live like an hour away from them though, so they came up for the night. it was fun. the next day, we all worked in gympie, and both sets of us were doing heaps of tracting. i was with the district leader, elder Jensen, and we had a very interesting day. we met a a guy in this really sad complex... we think it might have been drug-recovery complex, but the guy had smoked or drunk or drugged himself out of is mind. he still had his faculties, but he must have been like 60, and was speaking and acting like a 5-year-old, and he couldnt read. my heart went out to him, and i was shocked at the poverty of the people in this place... it was so sad. i wanted to help them, but they were there for a reason- they didnt want out help. it made me appreciate all the blessings that i have. i've taken so much of the blessings in my life for granted, and its sickening to me how thoughtless i have been sometimes. really opened my eyes. then after that, we tracted into a guy who was massive, and had a few mental issues- not crazy, just a few things he has deal with. he's been taught before, and even had a book of mormon, and said that he had prayed before, and recently his prayer had been for help to cope with his relapse back to his issues. to which we responded that we were the answer to his prayer. we could help him quit smoking, and get back on track, so its good. anyway, my time is up, so i have to get going. i love yous so much! have a good week.
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Monday, January 10, 2011
Flooding
hello my family and my friends!
well, this has been an interesting week indeed. first of all, I'll let you all know that i am totally safe from flooding, although Gympie is getting hit pretty hard. we are affected a bit, in that there are a few bridges between south side, which is where we live, and the other side, which is where the rest of town is- all the shops and the library and stuff. and the last bridge went under water last night. so we're stuck on south side. however, we saw it coming, and we prepared, and bought extra food and supplies, and whatnot, so we're all good. plus lots of the members live on this side of the river, so we have a good support network. and yes, all the rumors you have heard about the flooding in northern QLD are true. the area that is covered by water is bigger than Germany and France combined- or more than the entire state of texas. Emerald was hit pretty hard. the missionaries there were evacuated, but the water only came like 2 or 3 inches over the floor for them, and they are living out at the Watene's place which is like a little island right now. so as far as i know, the people that i know in Emerald and Rocky are alright, but there is heaps of clean up to do. as far as i know, no one has been evacuated out of home in Gympie YET, but we'll see. right now, the river is 17.3 metres deep, as compared to it's usual 2 or 3. so its REALLY flooded. we've been taking heaps of photos and video, so it will be well documented. ANYWAY, this week has been fun. i met most of the members from the visits we did and also because there was a wedding that we were meant to help at, for a few members of the ward. so i met lots of people. then sunday they asked me to speak for 5 minutes by way of introduction, even though only like half the ward showed up because of the floods. but then the second speaker didn't show up, so they asked me to try and make it a bit longer, like 7 minutes- i tried to do it, but i just couldn't keep it that short... haha JUST kidding, i think i barely made 3 minutes, but it was all good, because the third speaker had a long talk. and it was really good. we also did a few hours tracting in the rain, because it pretty much rained non-stop all day every day. oh, and just for you geographically confused people, Gympie is only 2 hours north of brisbane, as compared to the 15 hours emerald is away from Brisbane. and we had to drive to district meeting on a thursday, which is an hour's drive on the crappiest highway i have ever driven on. and then on the way back, it was also pouring rain. so i could barely see, and i had to keep up with traffic, which was still doing like 90, and i wanted to cry. it stressed me out a bit, but we made it home safe, and i was smashed. it tired me out. so that was fun. then we also had 2 lessons this week. one was with a younger couple called Cameron and Naomi, and they were really good, and they were planning coming to church but they weren't able to because of the floods, so that was o.k., but they are also reading and praying about the book of Mormon, which is good. we also had a lesson with a lady called Celine, who was very receptive, and invited us back next week, and committed to read and pray about the book of Mormon. so things are going well on the proselyting part of things. anyway, that's pretty much the week. oh and mum, you're right, the post and trucks cant get in or out of Gympie, the main hwy is closed, so ya... it'll be a little while before any mail comes through. anyway my time runs short. but it is going well for me, so don't worry! we're safe, and we're still able to work. life is good. :D ok I love you guys so much!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Christmas Phone Call
Tayler--Elder Christensen, called us on Christmas day in the evening, and right before church for him. We had him on speaker phone with Rochelle and BJ on one cell phone, and Marissa and Richard on another cell phone and we recorded the whole thing. He sounded so good! Here's the highlights of the phone call:
He will be coming home on March 30, 2011.
- Christmas Day (the day before) He had breakfast at the YM pres house, lunch with some widows, dinner with the Burlowitz(?) family, and evening with the Gilgan family. He said he got his package with us on Monday, and opened the non-wrapped parts of it, and it was his mission party that day, so that was fun. Apparently customs unwrapped the Wheaties box though, so he got that before Christmas, and had much of it eaten by Christmas! He said he hadn't sent his Christmas package to us yet, but he told us the gifts he had purchased. We're looking forward to receiving it. He said he was reminded it was Christmas when he went into people's homes and saw their decorations, but since it's summer it really felt different. The weather was "dumping cats and dogs", so it felt kind of like home, but not really. He said not everyone has a Christmas tree, and most people don't put anything on top, like a star or angel. They go to the beach, swim and have BBQ's. The dinners he had had cool ham and turkey instead of warm meat.
- Missionary Days--they study in the morning till 10 AM then go tracking or GQing (Golden Questioning on the street) for 2 hours. For GQing they go to bus stops--especially over by Robina Town Center, and parks and also talk to people they see when they are out biking. They also visit less active and part member families. They try to do service, and it's usually yard work for widows. There isn't as much to do as in Emerald. They usually have dinner with members 5 days of the week. They always leave a spiritual thought like asking everyone their favorite scripture. He shares Ether 12 and his heart surgery story, or does a object lesson with kids where they blow a crumpled paper ball around, then a rock, and he reads Helaman 5:12 about building on a rock and withstanding the devil's mighty winds. They also play Bible Dictionary Baulderdash and compare that to Joseph Smith not guessing to translate the Book of Mormon. Sounds like good family-missionary interaction to me! He said they also add to a book they are making with ward member pictures, hobbies, interests and availability for teaching in their homes. This leads them to ask members who they know that could be taught. He says they have a lot of ward activities, and they encourage members to invite their friends to them.
- Funny Stuff--Recently they road their bikes in the rain to a members house. They were so muddy and soaked they had to change into Bro. N's clothes. Sister N. said she would get the stains out for them, so they road home with Tayler in a shirt that looked like a night shirt since it was so big on him, and his companion had Abercrombie and Fitch sweat pants on.
- Interesting Australian slang, "giver 'er a fair suck at the siv" or "give a fair shake at the sauce bottle" both mean give a fair chance. "Chuck a turn" means "take it easy". Red heads are blueys. He think it's funny that little kids say "be your pardon". Some people have said he sounds "oddly", but he's all for dropping the "American r's". He can really notice it on the missionaries fresh from the states, and it bothers him. Ha ha. He informs us that the proper way to say Australia is Ustralia, not AHstralia He has an Australian slang dictionary.
- He said there was a baptism in Emerald 2 weeks after he left. It was a self referral that came from Rock Hampton, and he had only met with them once. He felt that Eli would be baptized soon. (editorial note--he got transferred before that happened).
He will be coming home on March 30, 2011.
Happy New Year Transfer
hello my family and my friends!
well, this has been a VERY exciting week. NOTHING like i expected. we had transfers today, which is why i didnt email yesterday. and the news is that i got transferred?! ya, i was incredulous. i was absolutely sure i was dying in mudgeeraba, but no, elder prina gets to have 9 months there- with a trainee. anyway, now, i am in a little place called Gympie. its as far north as you can go, and still be part of a stake, and not be in the northern zone. its a very interesting place. nothing like gold coast. my new address is: 2/12 loder st. Gympie, QLD 4570. so Elder Prina knows where to send it if you've already sent stuff, and for all future mail, just send it to that address. oh, and i'm back with Elder Itaea, the one rom kiribati that i was with in forest lake. :D
anyway, we had a mean as lesson with jade this week. he's progressing very well. He's making friends, and he's excited about learning. its working out very well. he will get baptized. we dont have a date for him yet, but they'll get it. that was about the only exciting thing that happened.
new years was good, we stayed up for it, and then missed it because we were talking and making a new area map- its laminated! pretty sweet. anyway, new years day was really fun- we spent the day cleaning a little bit, and then a member of the ward, brother Gilgen, took us to his studio, and elder prina has written a parody to a creed song called "6 feet from the edge" and re-named it, "six months from the end of my mission." its not a trunky song. i sent the link for the music video, which we also had a blast making. so that was our new years day.
anyway, i'm running short on time, so i'll talk to yous all later! i'm sure i'll have lots to report next week.
anyway, we had a mean as lesson with jade this week. he's progressing very well. He's making friends, and he's excited about learning. its working out very well. he will get baptized. we dont have a date for him yet, but they'll get it. that was about the only exciting thing that happened.
new years was good, we stayed up for it, and then missed it because we were talking and making a new area map- its laminated! pretty sweet. anyway, new years day was really fun- we spent the day cleaning a little bit, and then a member of the ward, brother Gilgen, took us to his studio, and elder prina has written a parody to a creed song called "6 feet from the edge" and re-named it, "six months from the end of my mission." its not a trunky song. i sent the link for the music video, which we also had a blast making. so that was our new years day.
anyway, i'm running short on time, so i'll talk to yous all later! i'm sure i'll have lots to report next week.
love you all so much!
love,
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