Dear Wonderful Family

This last week has been incredibly busy, but such is the life of a productive Zone Leader I guess :-) It's stressful though, just because we only got full studies maybe 3 days this week.

Anyway, things are looking up. Munday was a bittersweet day of Book of Remembrance signing at the church with the Zone and a final lesson with Bro. Bangga that night before Elder Lundquist flew out the next day. Bro. Bangga is the husband of an active member, Sis. Puni, and a long time former investigator before Elder O'Bryant and I picked him up again. That last lesson was very touching for him, it was completely focused on Enduring to the End and the Testimony we have of our Savior. 

The next morning Elder Lundquist left for America, two weeks early as he requested to have his exit interview with President Mains whom he served with personally for a very long time as Assistant. It was a simple fairwell, we walked him out to the Przybyla's truck and embraced one, last, time.

Tuesday morning had one of the most ridiculous District Meetings I've ever attended. It was hard to focus, Elder McCown was transferring to K.L. the next day for some various personal issues and that there was that mini transfer with the new President. Elder Ee came up from Stampin to be Elder Stowell's new companion as Elder Call moved up to replace Elder Lundquist. It's been a pleasure working with him, he was in the Airforce ROTC and is from Sandy Utah with an Indonesian mother and an Orang Putih father.

Thursday and Friday we were in Singapore, and got back late because of delayed flights.

HOWEVER, M.L.C. was astounding. It was an amazing opportunity to meet the new Mission President and his wife, President Simmons. The M.L.C. was mostly taken in discussion of the current state of the mission, the culture of the mission and the countries, what concerns we had and what directions the mission needed to take. They are an amazing couple, both R.M.'s and with three children either just returned, on, or starting missions right now. They work together in complete unity, we are lucky to have them.

Later in the week we had some miracles. Elder Call and I were able to meet Bro. Bangga again and review the commandments with him Friday night, and Saturday morning we had the baptismal interview. I went with Elder Stowell so the others could do studies, and I sat in the living room as they did the interview in the kitchen. It was Elder Stowell's first (and possibly only) interview he did in his mission, and he did a great job. Bro. Bangga passed and is on date for this next Saturday. He's come an incredibly long way.

That afternoon we met Bro. Jihap's family, they are still doing great, we read Joseph Smith History with them through the first vision, and also when Lehi was called to be a prophet to start their Recent Convert lessons. I love that family so much.

At Church everyone was there, and it was great. Bro. Bangga stayed for three hours, Kevin and Augustine (Jihap's sons) got interviewed for the Priesthood, and we had a great day of lessons and Testimonies in Fast and Testimony meeting. That afternoon we prepared for Zone Meeting and had a great correlation meeting with Bro. Devalee, starting to patch up our relationship with him after no contact with him all last transfer.

Zone meeting tomorrow will be great. I know this church is true because of the wonderful gift of revelation that is always a prayer away, and we never need to go without it.

Love you all!

Dearest Family

This last week has been one of the strangest, most challenging, and gloriously guided weeks of my mission. Here's the discourse.

Last Monday, as you well know, we went to Bako. It was incredible! It was fun! The Zone had a blast, but our Chinese Elder, Elder Wimmer, had taken a fall on the sand. He injured his knee and the next day went to the hospital to get it checked. His companion, Elder Lundahl-Wulford, decided to get an M.R.I. as well after he spoke somewhat with the doctors there. He'd had an accident involving a horse before the mission on his ankle, and they found some issues with his ligaments. 

Long story short both the Chinese Elders needed to be sent home for medical attention.

Elder Wimmer was expecting that, so he went to Singapore for medical attention with all his luggage, where Elder Lundahl-Wulford was not. He was sent back for a day or so, and entered our companionship as a threesome. It was very bittersweet, he was not happy to be going home, but the best possible thing for him was to be with Elder Lundquist. They had known each other from previous areas and were already good friends, and they were able to talk it out a lot. It's an added blessing that they are going home together.

Also, there was a mini transfer this week with some missionaries leaving and such. Elder McCown is going to K.L., Elder Stowell will be District Leader in his place for his next two weeks. Elder Ee will be his companion, Elder Call is stepping up to replace Elder Lundquist. That will be strange.

This last weekly planning involved a lot of discussion of his first meal, first date, first trip to the temple, first fruit, first hug with his mom, first day back, first movie (Captain America 2), Kuching will not be the same without him.

I was able also to go on exchanges with Elder Davie in Matang. They are doing work out there, and doing it well! We met an investigator, incredibly smart, named Erwina. She had written in English a summary of each chapter of the Book of Mormon she was reading in Malay, but felt scared to pray. We shared 2nd Ne. 32:8, and she did pray at the end of the lesson, but after the prayer she opened up to us a very hard and sensitive back story, but asked and prayed for guidance.

Bro. Bangga continues to do amazing though. This last Thursday when we came to his house, he had written us a thank you letter. ON HIS OWN he apparently stopped smoking before Zone Conference, and was on track for his own baptism in a couple weeks. Elder and Sister Przybyla had gone with us, and we had a great lesson where they were able to bestow some gifts that they had prepared for this family that they had helped to come to the temple last year. Bro. Bangga asked Elder Przybyla to baptize him, the Przybyla's go home in two weeks.

Other then that, there was a lot of interesting happenstances. Bro. Jihap was able to baptize his sons this last week, and it was a glorious experience. He was so happy. It was just a little struggle before hand, our branch mission leader is literally rebelling against his calling although he told us he would handle it all. Accordingly we had to literally throw together the program, but it was wonderful. Sister Slider bore a beautiful testimony about baptism, and Sister O'Boyle did a great talk on the holy ghost.

It's hard to see Elder Lundquist go. He has changed me forever. We were meant to be together and I am sure we will meet again. If anything else, I have thought over and over again about how much God's hand is in everything, our part is to let it guide us. We've had some amazing discussions about the Second Coming that have brought amazing peace to my soul, and that peace did not leave this week, even when we caught news through the grape vine that the Supreme Court was seeing rainbows this week (by the way,in teachings of the presidents: Joseph Smith it says there will be no rainbows 1 year before the second coming. Significant much?)

I love you all more then I can express! Thank you for all your support and prayers!

Dear Wonderful Family!

This week has been crazy, but here we go!

So last Monday we had a way fun day playing rugby next to a huge tree in Merdeka Plaza. We were sore for days.

Not to mention that we went to Bako again today. That was ridiculously fun, but draining.That's why we are late emailing today :-)

Anyway, this week has been interesting. A lot of administrative stuff has happened, some things I can't really say much about now but next week can, but it's all just dealing with Elder Lundquist going home next week (sniff). I'm going to miss that man.

WELL, Jihap's family is doing amazingly well. He is so sincerely devoted to the gospel and Christ already that he is more then prepared to receive, and his family sincerely has no desire to do anything but follow Christ. We had a wonderful District Conference this last Saturday and Sunday, it was the last time that President Mains will be in East Malaysia, and he taught them effectively about the Temple and how to prepare for it. It was a very bittersweet experience for Elder Lundquist, because also Augustine and Kevin (anak Jihap) have overcome smoking and passed their baptismal interview, they are on date for this next week!

They will be the last baptisms of his mission, and he deserves it!

Bro. Bangga is also doing quite bagus. He is also overcoming smoking, consistently coming to church, and on date for July 7th. He will really need to understand the priesthood and recieve some member support, but we know he will do well.

Other things, we had some great exchanges back in Stampin, it was fun to see my old area and to be with Elder Ee. We visited Bro. Dion and had a great lesson with him, he's a long time investigator with a long history of why he was not baptised, and with everything else he was still not confident in his skills to pray. Elder Ee did an amazing job explaining 2nd Nephi 32:8, and it calmed a lot of his fears.

We had a miracle with Freddy and Sylvia, we dropped the chinese Elders off at their house and they are apparently already on date :-) They are amazing.

I'm sorry this is short, but we don't have much time. I love you all so much, I love the Savior, and I know he is increadibly involved in the details of our lives. I have been so guided this last week personally by some great suggestions my mother made to me last week, and some great ideas that Elder Przybyla has given me.

I love you all so much!

Hello everyone!

I have a stop sign.

I don't know how to get it home.

Anyway, Life is so great isn't it? So strange to see life passing so fast at home without me, but that's no problem at all! Congratulations Nate! You're so awesome McKay! Happy Fathers Day Dad! HAPPY FRIEKIN' BIRTHDAY MOM! THAT IS SO FRIEKIN' AMAZING! DON'T FRIEK-okay I'm done.

I was going to write you all a letter this morning but this next Saturday and Sunday is President Main's last District Conference ever in Kuching and I wrote them a nice thank you letter. I love you all though!

This last week was crazy. Tuesday morning was Zone Meeting, and Elder Lundquist and I worked a ton to get ready. It was very interesting how we were inspired to do it, we wrote out instructions on several pages and then we did not say anything the entire activity. We literally had everyone stay silent and ponder such things as Spiritual Gifts and guidance, and our true purpose as missionaries. It was very interesting to see how much everyone got what they put into it.

That night we met Bro. Bangga, husband to an active member, belum a member himself. He had expressed a desire to be baptized, so all we did was draw a calender to make a plan to help him stop smoking. He counted for a while on how much he was smoking daily, then chose July 7th. We thought that was the day he wanted to be done smoking, but he said "No Elders, this is my baptismal date. I want to be done two weeks earlier." His desire is there, and we followed up with him at church, he's been working on his own plan :-)

We met Jihap's family with Bro Govin and Sis. Helen, we taught him and his sons about the Priesthood. He was so touched by the idea that he could bless his own family that he started crying. His sons, Kevin and Augustine, and both on date for the 27th of this month, and they are on track to stop smoking. That family is vitalizing the branch.

We had an amazing miracle yesterday. A former investigator, Sister Mariana called us and asked if we could come that day, she was suffering a lot. She and her husband had been dropped because the husband Ifan had refused to progress because he couldn't stop smoking. She had a baby this last week that was stillborn and asked us to come and share some comfort.

When we arrived the wife and husband were there, as well as the mother in law whom we had met the week before or so when I was on exchanges with Elder Allen. We prayed and talked together, and shared a message about Temple Marriage and Moroni 8. It was a beautiful lesson, very much guided by the Spirit. We asked if Temple Marriage was one of their goals, and Sister Mariana said it was something she had always wanted. Ifan was half paying attention, but we gripped it back and he said it was still hard for him to stop smoking. I told him that right now we were working with three people all that were stopping smoking, and that God had the power to help him stop. We committed to pray daily until we could come back.

Last night we stopped by Sis. Penuvuri, the Hindu Indian lady. She had struggles communicating, but told us that she desperately wants us to come back when her husband was there so we could teach him. She was confident that we could heal her family members that were sick and bring peace to her home, but she was the only one home at the time.

Other then that, it was a long week of cold rain and lots of people dropping on us, but amazing miracles as well.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

-Elder Christensen