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