Monday, November 24, 2008

Five Months is nothing Sent: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:57:03

hey fam
so yeah crazy week this week. and by that i mean that it wasnt the best,
companionship wise, ivestigadores, members, anything haha but i will
explain, and really everything is good, i just need to work harder. but
first shout out to everyone! haha the air force game sounds pretty sweet
not going to lie, i would totally have loved to have gone. next time
though haha and britton because you were a first time writer, ill answer
your question. yes the angel moroni does have the golden plates under his
arm. i thought i sent pictures of it two weeks ago but i think i screwed
up so i sent them again today, hopefully they work. also jen, hope
graduating feels great haha and that twilight was everything and more than
you wanted it to be haha but seriously i don´t need an essay about it haha
coop, sorry about the stubbed toe man, glad you took it like a man though
just like i taught you haha it was wonderful to hear from everyone! and
yeah danielle, sorry about the roomates but this semester is over and you
can find some others. maybe you have learned everything from them that you
are going to haha jk
ok my week really fast,
so yeah my companion... he is a great guy, he really is. just kind of
difficult at times. like now he is mad at an elder in my district because
he is dead, or not working, because he is going home in five weeks, but
than i pointed out to him that this dead missionary still brought twice as
many investigadores to the capilla as we did, (2) speaking of which, all of
our investigatores dropped us, we stopped by and all of them said, yeah we
dont want you anymore... so yeh that was way frustrating but i know this
week is going to be better. also church was rough, we got chewed out in
ward council cause we didnt bear our testimonies in one of the wards. they
were like, never in my life have i seen missionaries just sit there. it
was ridiculous but im trying to be humble about it, not working very well
haha pride before the fall i guess. the funny part is that my zone might
be dan jones! which is jsut an award for having the most baptisms, from
worst to best haha also about the cultural event, its online somewhere if
you can find it one the church website and if not, youtube haha or thats
what my members tell me. so cool stories, first, i gave my first blessing
ever! in english, but she is a school teacher so she understood most of it
but i was way nervous when i started but than the spirit took over and it
was sweet haha but really i was pumped to do it and next time is in
spanish... haha and the second cool story is that one lunch appointment we
had, the family was watching the other side of heaven, which i would like
everyone to watch again, or any other missionary film haha and yeah guess
what my new nickname is? kolipoki! haha all day yesterday at church haha
tmoney!! i know you are in there right now buddy, but really the mtc is
pretty good haha you have a letter coming so be patient and it is like i
said in the letter, you aremy example of a missionary already. and if you
could be with me for 9 months you could be with anyone for 6 weeeks haha
alright everyone, i lvoe you tons and forever and a bunch. i hope that you
are all doing well and staying warm. this week was so cold!! but this
weekend was like 80s haha so yeah mexico. but i pray for you all every
day, tell dan i love him and he is stronger than he thinks.
to the moon and back...

con amor
Elder Westley Gene Christensen

Monday, November 17, 2008

Tercer Cambios.... Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 11:10 AM

Hola Familia
Just really quick,love you guys haha what is going on? i feel like i just wrote you and there went another week. Almost done with november and i cant remember the first half very well haha anyways again I am writing in response to everyones letter from last week so if i seem old and out of the loop, you know why. but yeah i saw cooper this week!! thats is what i am talking about bro, showing a little love haha now i can buy you that sick jersey. but thanks to everyone that wrote and yeah i am going to try to answer some questions real fast.
weather. well this whole week was blistering hot. no clouds, no wind, just sun and it was nice to enter some houses to just sit down. and than this morning, total fog, could see thirty yards, freezing. I would say it was like 30 below but that is a little dramatic.... probably 20 haha but i enjoy my sweater at nights. hasnt rained since my first cambio.
health haha so i checked my weight again and it said i was 160 163 so i feel bettter than before because the one before told me 155 and i was like heck no haha i have not been below 160 since sophomore year haha but thats all good. my knee. honestly i do streches every morning and excercise when i have time but really some days, i forget that that leg is my bad leg and than other days i have to do a little more streching.... but running and hiking make it feel strong again haha and the scars are almost faided away. other health, doing great. i think that that last illness was the thing that i get every fall and it just happened to occur the same time as some bad food but now im perfect, not the slight nose or throat problem. so much easier to work haha
quick word to jen (i wrote him how it frustrates me when people in my ward dis on the elders)
i had to laugh when you got mad at your ward haha i love the respect though. hopefully your missionaries are worth sticking up for. there are a couple here that i wouldnt mind seeing getting told off by their ward. but thats just me, you are alot more loving than me.
also danielle, glad to hear the roommates are better, glad i could help?... haha
mom i got told that my packages are in the office but some one else signed for them and that is why i dont have them. apparently someone opened them too but i dont know that for sure. so hopefully the next conference. and no, once i lost my father, elder tolosa, i was no longer the trainee, had to grow up with elder slade real fast haha he is like me in that he has little patience sometimes... haha
speaking of which , we just got new cambios today. im still here and with elder slade. elder arnett the other american in my district, going to elder tolosa in prados, elder tapp, his son is staying and scared stiff because he doesn´t know anything like me haha im trying to comfort him. elder shill, from mesa, went home honorable today. he was alright and yeah elder arnett´s new companion is elder farmer from my district in the mtc haha i know you guys dont really understand but trust me, someone is going to die in that companionship haha
this week we found 14 new investigadores, pretty awesome. also had two baptisms. issac and uriel, two awesome young men that are going to go places. elder slade did the ordination so that was cool just to watch. so that puts me at 8 at the end of my second cambio.
and the rest of the week was just alot of work and meetings with members.
but now on to the main event. The cutural event satuday. thrid largest stadium in teh world, estadio asteca, not so big haha just simple and they cram people into it. but yeah like 120 thousand members with the Prophet and President Eyring. Their talks were pretty good, the best part was that President Monson sang a spanish song for like a minute haha it was so awesome. the crowd went crazy haha but yeah the rest of the presentations were pretty awesome as well. something like 9000 youth all performing the history of mexico. we only got to see half of it cause than we had to leave to prep for our big moment. which really only consisted of walking out on the field but yeah, pretty amazing to be part of an army of elders, standing on the field in front of the president of the church with 120000 members screaming. really just felt good to be on the field again haha got to see all my boys again. elder heap and elder memott are doing great and elder farmers dad was one of the elders sent home last week.... so yeah
sunday was the dedication and that was really nice. President Eyring gave a bomb talk and talked about the blessings of the temple and his family. and than he got mad at the translator because they kept on interrupting him haha but it was wonderful to be a little part of that dedication, but i cant remember my last temple dedication... idaho something?
ok one cool story, last night we were walking back from tracting, with elder arnett and elder tapp, and we saw to guys pushing this vw van and we were like yeah lets help. we pushed that van 2.5 miles haha over hills and mountians and through jungles haha but it was funny cause every time we went down hill we would jump on and start singing the jamiacan bombsled theme song haha and all the mexicans were like.... stupid americans haha living the dream

hope things are going well. love all you guys. i don´t know where i would be without you but i got to run and be amazing so yeah, trying my best to make you all proud of me, you are always in my prayers.
President Monson said in the stadium, the Lord gives us June Flowers for the Decembers of our lives,
you are my flowers and i hope i can be yours haha
to the moon and back

Con Amor
Elder Christensen

Monday, November 10, 2008

Two Americans Rollin in Mexico Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 12:49 PM

Hey guys!
so this time i am doing it a little differently. I only have a half hour to write so i am going to just write for all of it and than print all of your letters at the end to read later. so yeah if it seems like i am not answering any questions or saying how awesome anyone is doing, it is because i dont know anything haha but yeah i am going to go ahead an talk about my favorite topic, me haha really i am sorry that i am terrible with this whole email thing but i am going to figure it out one of these days.
anyways, my new companion. elder slade. from mesa, like every missionary from arizona, con excepcion with sterling haha that is so cool man, i know you are going to rock it. just dont be a stupid missionary that your parents wouldnt be proud of. there is an elder here going home in a week and yeah has the maturity of a 16. just know a mission is the closest to real life you will ever get. anyways my companion, he is actually really great. he can be a little blunt at times which makes me feel kind of dumb but i always end of loving him anyways haha for example he told me that i speak spanish like a gangoso.. look it up haha its funnier in spanish. anyways, he loves to work and be obidient. he got upset this week when we only found 6 news, he really wants to work, its wonderful haha we worked so hard that i totally missed the first week of november, cant remember anything. but yeah he comes from a rough family background where his two older brothers both did something while filling out their papers and werent able to go on missions. so yeah even more impressive that he wants to be a better example for them. we will definitely be together for next cambios as wellexciting things of the week.
two bautismos!!!! give me some love haha there were two girls that were friends with a member in our ward and thats i how we met them. but yeah, they are going to be great in the future. funny story though, so yeah i was going to perform it and i was getting into the font. totally ate it on the first step and crashed into the pool. the doors to the font were closed and so the crowd could only hear chaos and english words being yelled. its ok, only elder slade understood them haha jk but yeah that started it off well and than i couldnt say their names haha it took like 5 times each one and the bishop was just standing over me as a witness making be feel dumb and calling me a dumb gringo haha but we finally got it done and yeah, so pumped about it. we have another baptism for this friday for issac, awesome kid. he came to us last week and was like, i dont know what to do, i want to continue with the church but my grandpa said he would disown me if i did ( his dad died a while ago, so yeah the father figure) and it crushed me. i just told him with all my heart that God loves him and will provide a way if he asks for help. Came up to us tuesday with a big old grin and was like, i dont know what is gonig to happen but i have all this courage and love and i am going to talk with my grandpa but really, i just want to be baptized. how awesome is that!! best feeling all week, the Lord totally answered my prayers and his.speaking of this week.
Giant Cultural Event in the second largest stadium in the world? with the Prophet and President Eyring? yes it is going to happen and i am pumped! five missions are going to sing and they told us that it was going to be broadcasted so yeah... look for me haha and than sunday, temple dedication, already got my ticket haha it is going to be an awesome week, and we are going to find so many people and teach them and yeah.... i am just grining thinking about it haha
one more funny story, elder slade had been talking with a couple of elders one night on the phone about things the next day and whatever and he hangs up and comes to bed. the phone rings again and he, thinking that it is one of the elders that he was just talking to, says "whasup!!!!!" and the next thing i hear is..... "... oh Hermana Nancollas. how are you? i didnt think it was you...." haha i just bust up laughing. good times. she had called to talk some medical things with elder slade.
yeah thats all ok guys, i love you all and am grateful for your prayers and fasts. you are all my testimony and my strength.
(sterl, you are going to rock it man, you have such a good attitude and a way of loving people. The lord knows that and he is going to use that gift. Best two years. )
do great things, and remember who you are and dont let it get you down =) haha
love you all with all my heart
to the moon and back....
con amor
Elder Christensen

The Temple and other pictures
















The pyramids




Monday, November 3, 2008

Big news in mexico! Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 4:45 PM

hola familia,
well first let me say that there are not going to be pictures again for another week because i just came from bowling, which i dominated, and i thought we were going to pass by our house again before but whatever. i am really sorry cause they are some awesome pictures and i keep on talking about them but got nothing to show for it... I am making a promise right now, next week, or you dont write me. ok that is a little dramatic, ill remember

anways the big news! last night we were just about to crash in the beds, well me cause i ahve been sick again..., haha its getting old really, but this is just a header ache, cold, fever thing... anyways we were about to crash and than elder tolosa gets a call. emergecy transfers. he left this morning at like 12. yeah crushing. it is becuase the president is sending people home now, six so far, and yeah he had to swith some things around to make it work so yeah my new companion is elder slade. he is the step cousin of an elder in my district haha very interesting but i like him. he is a good bowler and yeah wants to work and do the right thing. it made me sad reading all the letters from you guys and how obvious it was that elder tolosa and i werent getting along. we actually had a talk two night ago and yeah we totally let everything out. it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me right now. obviously he told me i need to work on my patience and how if i really am not a unhappy person that i need to show it. i know you are all knodding your heads so you can stop it haha but yeah got to put that smile on, because really, i wouldnt want to be anywere else. so yeah i will see him tomorrow for a conference, long time no see

ok exciting things of the week
we hiked montaña zero last monday. the first part was fighting man size spiders and the second was rock climbing mulan mountain. you will understand when you see the pictures haha but it was fun because i went with the elders that i dont spend much time with in the zone and yeah got to know them

second we went to the pyramids! bien chito! i was sick but yeah still fun because it was like hello! lamatines, christ coming! obvious! haha but yeah we met the head lady and she is lds so anyone that picks me up gets a free tour. i have pictures of the pyramids too. two things real fast. one of the smaller temples, called the temple of christ.... could it be more obvious haha and the second is that when we were on the top on the temple of the sol we were taking pictures and stuff and these two girls ask me if them can take a picture with me and i am like what? haha but yeah everyone just laughed at me and i just kept my hands in my pockets and smiled and prayed for elder tolosa to help haha what can i say, still got it haha jk sorry

found a lot of nuevos this week but no baptisms, but we gat two lined up for this week. thank you for your fast. also going to send a package next week with little things. and cooper... idk i am going to remember this... haha love you anyways
also want to apologize for being so whiney in last weeks letter
i am doing awesome

love you all and sorry i cant write more

elder christensen