12/21/2015: Week 14 - Feliz Natal

Hello and Feliz Natal!

This week has been really busy. We had splits, the ward Christmas party, and got locked in the chapel! I am really looking forward to this next week (CHRISTMAS), and for the opportunity to talk to my family. :)

Splits: I was able to spend the day with the lovely Sister L! She is our Sister Trainer, and I was a little bit nervous to show her the area and to teach with her at first. However, we had a blast and were able to teach five lessons and gain six new investigators in one day. That was a miracle. I was able to gain more confidence in my teaching, and my Portuguese as well. All in all, it went crazy well and I loved Sister L.

Ward Christmas Party: As always, I enjoyed the ward Christmas party. One member gave us Panettone, which is a type of fruitcake. Thankfully, he gave us a chocolate flavored one, because I am not too fond of the fruit variety. Brazilians are crazy about Panettone. Anyways, the party was full of salgados and cakes and all sorts of good food. We also took a picture with the bishop.

Locked in the Chapel: One night, Sister G and I, along with the other sisters, were in the chapel calling people and confirming appointments for the next day, All of a sudden, we see a random man yelling "moças" (young women/girls) from outside of the church. Sister G ran to the door and locked it, and we hid in the church for a good ten minutes until we were able to call a member to drive us home.

I hope you all have a very very Merry Christmas, and have a good time celebrating the birth of our Savior. I love you all!

Sister Christensen

12/14/2015: Week 13 - Christmas Challenge

Hello world!

This week we had the opportunity to go to the temple with A and A! We talked with them about temples, and about eternal families. I always love teaching about families. There is no greater blessing in this world than our families. I love my family more than anything, and I love being able to share the message that we can live with our families in happiness for eternity. And there is no better place on Earth to talk about familes than at the temple! 

This week was also a bit sad. The father of one of our investigators, R, forbid us to teach him anymore. It was even more sad considering his baptism was marked for this week. But as Sister G said, God will watch out for him. I hope that he continues to make good decisions and that some missionaries will find him in the future. He's a good kid.

We also had a lesson this week with a teenager and a ten year old member. As we were teaching the teenager, she expressed doubt about the Book of Mormon being another testament of Jesus Christ. We didn't have time to explain before the ten year old took over the lesson and said "I told you, you have to read and pray about it. Thats the only way you are going to know." I am pretty sure she could have taught the lesson better than I could. I love hearing the simple and profound testimonies of children. You could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice that she knew the church was true -- and she wasn't afraid to share it with her friend. 

So here is my invitation. Share the message of Christmas with someone, whether it is at work, with friends, or even online. If you don't know how, mormon.org has a bunch of wonderful videos about the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas that you can share on Facebook, Twitter, etc. At times we tend to forget what Christmas is really about. The world likes to change the meaning of Christmas. Christmas isn't a time of recieving, it isn't a time for buying. It is a time to give, to spend with our families, and most importantly to remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for each and every one of us. #NasceuoSalvador 

I love you all and Merry Christmas!

Until next week,

Sister Christensen

12/7/2015: Week 12 - Crazy Week

Hello! 

This week has been a crazy one!

Let's start with Sunday. This Sunday started out normal -- we listened to messages, sang hymns, partook of the sacrament, all that good stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until we were about to leave and I forgot about a little something called gravity. A.K.A., I tripped and fell (in a dress) in front of about ten people, and bled, and thoroughly embarrassed myself. So you know, that's always good, ​but in all honesty, not exactly out of the ordinary.  

We also had a WEDDING! One of the sisters in the ward was finally married. She was wearing a pink gown and had all of her kids with her. It was super cute and super sweet. 

I am pleased to say that the heat has subsided this week, but only because it has been raining constantly. The rain here is crazy. I am pretty sure the person who made up the saying "raining cats and dogs" has never been to Brazil. It rains more like hippos and elephants here. The other day, we were working far from home and got caught in one of the thunderstorms. We ran to a bus stop and waited there for about an hour for the torrential downpour to stop. While we were waiting, a man came up to us and introduced himself.  He said that he was an inactive member, and we conversed with him for a little bit. He left, and then returned about thirty minutes later with two chocolate bars. It was super super sweet, and we shared a message with him about the Plan of Salvation and about faith. We are hoping to meet with him again soon.

We also had the opportunity to teach a woman named M, who goes to another church. However, she had a lot of questions that we were able to answer, and is a bit annoyed with her pastor (long story and slightly funny -- ask me when I am back.)  No matter how many people casually don't show up for appointments or lie about their addresses...we always seem to have one ray of light during the week. 

I hope everyone is preparing for Christmas (I am)!

Love, 

Sister Christensen

Sisters

Princess Art

Papai Noel

 

Christmas Lights

Rain!