Letters from Teach in Texas

It was Teach's 23rd birthday today, her second one away from home. She is dealing much better with the separation this time. Last year we had a party here for her and sent her pics and stuff. This year I emailed her this morning and sent her a package last week. She seemed quite happy!

(: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUILT. (: (: (: It was so unbelievably perfect. I loved it. I'm 23 years old. Weird, right? 

I got my plane ticket this week. :/

Guess what, I learned how to curl my hair today all by myself! (: (:
 It sounds like she was blessed with a fantastic birthday week.

God is good. He really does labor here with us and He knows us perfectly. I have a testimony of this. This week my faith that the Lord is directing this work increased as we saw miracle after miracle.

So we can't leave names of non-members so that we don't get sued... so they get nicknames

Lady #1  This is a story of Work of Salvation at its finest. So we were given an opportunity to teach the 4 missionary lessons in the homes of active members of the church. The first 5 names the High Priests gave were themselves. So over the course of a month we taught the High Priest Group Leader and his wife the doctrine of the lessons and pointed them back to missionary work. We are finally starting to actually get into a swing of things with these lessons so they get better and better with each family. The Youngs were the first. We finished teaching them and worked with Sister Young as she reached past her comfort zone. We offered to help her with contacting a friend and she began to truly trust us as we followed up with her. On Wednesday she called us and told us she had a friend coming over that night for dinner and she would like us to stop by for dessert and teach a mini Plan of Salvation lesson. We were thrilled, but we took the time to communicate exactly what Sister Young was expecting and what we were planning to do so we were all on the same page. This is the secret to member work. You MUST be on the same page as the members (just like with your companion) so you can teach and testify in unity. Long story short... Lady #1 recently lost her husband and is looking to help her daughter cope with the heart ache. The Plan of Salvation resonated with her and she would like for her daughter to learn more. The best part was to watch Sister Young throughout the lesson as she took confidence in sharing what she knew to be true! At the end of the lesson Sister Young said to her friend, "Well, you read from this book, and you and I will come back together in a week and talk about it." It was wonderful.
 

Angel - The Lord puts us in the right place at the right time. My companion and I felt prompted to visit an older couple who is home bound on Friday. We decided to walk there to get some exercise and contact on the way. We reached our contacting goal that day and taught a lesson to a wonderful woman. But the real miracle occurred when we reached the home of this family. This couple has a 20-year-old Angel who helps them physically because of their poor health. She brings them to church on Sundays and we have seen her consistently for the last 3 weeks. The first week she came in her scrubs. The last two weeks she is dressed in Sunday best and even singing the hymns! They invited us to stay for lunch and as we were helping Angel make sandwiches she says, "So, I've been thinking about becoming Mormon." We were so excited. We asked her why and talked to her about it. We gave her a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment to teach her next Thursday. 

 

Mr. Man - While walking out the door of a less active family we saw a man working on his truck. We were already late to an appointment so there is that split second in your mind where you justify not talking to everyone. But, the Lord would have none of that nonsense because before we could even choose to ignore him the man yelled out, "Hey, what church do y'all go to??" Needless to say, we went and talked to him. We invited him to church and set a return appointment for the next day. Mr. Man comes from a really rough background. But he is showing signs of true desires to change. He wants to be better. That night the ward had a Book of Mormon fireside and he attended. Our ward mission leader gave him a ride and I guess Mr. Man confided in him that he has been charged of a felony - so baptism will be a long process- but the Atonement reaches farther than any of us can fall. We are going to be sure to teach him in members' homes or at the church and explain to him that the road of repentance is strait and narrow, but there is peace and healing to be found through Christ. 

 

Blessings are real. This work is so grand. I love it. I can't even believe the joy that comes from all of this.I'm so excited to spend one more birthday in the service of the Lord. (yet, it'll be fun to have p-day activity on my birthday!) I love y'all. beyond compare. (:

love always,
Sister Christensen

Yeah, she is already having a party. Just a different kind of party.