MTC roommates posing with Michael back in Albany
Hey there, it is wonderful, as always, to hear from each of you this week. It's so great to hear that things are continuing to go well for each of you. I enjoyed the pictures from Palmyra and other New York sites. That is quite the experience this week with President and Sister Bulloch in Ithaca. I had no clue that they were there - they go all over the place - but how cool about the note. And I'm pretty surprised he promised/said that I will see Paige/Ben before my mission is through. I'll just remind him that one of the questions for a temple recommend is whether we are honest or not, ha. How crazy. Thanks for the family history stories (I got the letter and big envelope already)! I looked over all of it briefly and it looks great I'm excited to really read it and become more familiar with these relatives. I think I kind of remember that crazy Lake Powell trip - I definitely can picture the family picture on and around the houseboat in our shirts and we're up on the roof sitting (if that's the same trip). Family is the best. That's pretty cool, too that you talked with Elder and Sister Timothy in Ithaca and Elder West, etc. Thanks for the information about smokers - I was just curious, not planning on using it for any specific reason. Thanks, Papa and Nana, for the package! It arrived safely and everything inside is great! I'm happy to hear that Jordan Richardson did a good job with his homecoming talk. What is his address, so that I can write him? To answer Brayden: Lois is a nonmember-woman, and she is getting ready to be baptized on November 5. The weather here is getting cold, about 48 degrees this morning I think. Colder when we went out running earlier this morning though. And Logan: on Sundays we go to church, teach people, and continue to find new people to teach.
This week has flown by. It really is crazy how the days, weeks, and months all melt together. Although not everything worked out as we had hoped and looked forward to this week, it definitely was still successful and enjoyable. I'll share some of our cool experiences. First, we are teaching Sarah, a sister of a recent convert. She is 19 and her brother, the member, is 22 (married to a member). We were reading from 2 Nephi 31 and discussing the doctrine of Christ and emphasizing baptism. Sarah said how she wants to be baptized and feel the Spirit more in her life. She has really seen a change as she is starting to pray, read the scriptures, and for the first time yesterday come to church. We invited her to prepare to be baptized on November 26, a day we told her we felt good about. She smiled and told us how that sounds great and she really looks forward to it as it is her 20th birthday. Another cool experience was on Monday night. The week prior we tracted into a woman who initially was disinterested entirely and didn't want to hear our message. We quickly told her about family history to see if that perchance would spark her interest and it just so happened that she was very into it and has a name she's been trying to trace back but is having difficulty. We explained familyseach.org and about the local family history center and she told us she actually really enjoyed speaking with us and that we can stop back by and see if she had any luck on familysearch. Monday night we went back and she didn't have any luck on familysearch; we explained other resources, etc. We get to talking a bit and I felt like asking the 'random' question if she likes to read (which was pretty out of left field for the topic of the conversation at hand; obviously a prompting from the Spirit.). So I heeded the prompting and asked. Long story short, she has agreed to read the Book of Mormon and showed good interest in it (a woman who was initially very quick to say she is Catholic and "all set"). It sounds simplistic but I love the simple promptings of the Spirit that help us move the Lord's work along in His way. It's our opportunity and responsibility to be worthy to 'feel' and act on them. Lois will have her baptismal interview tomorrow; it should go great! We're continuing to increase the amount of teaching here, which is great.
Thanks for all the nice things you do for me; I truly feel your love and strength where ever you may be.
Love,
Elder Christensen
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