A SURPRISE LETTER

Sorry that I wasn't able to finish writing on Monday, we just got caught up with everything so we never really had time to write. But this week we had some amazing things happen.  So just like you know Elder Zacher and I will be staying together again and I am really happy that I get to stay here in this area. I feel like I have come to love this area so much only in the last few days! Just a few days before this transfer I was really hoping that I was going to get switched back to Spanish but just in this week I found so many reasons to love this area that I was taking for granted this whole time! I am just loving being out here in Chicago.  My favorite part of this week was that on Sunday I was able to go to the Liconas house for dinner and the Vazquez family came over! It honestly was such an amazing feeling to be with them and with the Liconas. I always love going to their house because there are two families that always come and then also la Hermana Alfonso.  It is always just a blast at their house and I have came to love it so very much! I cant wait for you to meet all of these families!! You will love them all so much!

So transfers were great! We only had 4 new missionaries come in so it felt so easy because it was so small and everything went smoothly! Then this morning we went and dropped of the departing missionaries at the airport.  It was pretty sad to see them go because I have served around all of the missionaries quite a bit and one of them, Elder Cuevas is like one of my best friends out here! It was shocking to me because normally when we drop the missionaries off it doesnt phase me because it is so far away but now it is all starting to become so real!

Aly is doing so amazing though! She texted us this week and told us that she just finished reading the Book of Mormon and that she prayed and pondered it and she felt really good about it! We are so excited for her and we just love her so much! We have a lesson with her tomorrow with our Bishop so that will be great!
I am loving it out here though Mom! I just wanted to thank you for everything you do! I am so grateful for you sending me that package and I am just grateful for you! I know that I dont tell you that nearly enough but I have just felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for you today so thank you! I love you Mom and for all the love you share for me! I love you and I hope that you have a great day! :)

ps for Mothers Day I am not sure yet, but you dont need to change conducting because our church starts at 12:30 so we wouldnt be able to do it during then as well.

I'LL EMAIL YOU LATER . . . .

Mom! I just wanted to let you know that I am okay and doing great! Elder Zacher and I will be staying together again so that is sweet! Today we have the new missionaries coming in so I will write later because I don't have very much time right now! But I was just wondering if you could send me some benzaclin or however you spell that stuff? I love you mom and I will email you later!

Von and Carolyn Christensen : WHAT TIME IS IT?

We know it's transfer time when we see these two great young men in our office quite often.  The APs come in to help President Woodbury make decisions about transfers

THE LORD HAS GIVEN ME MORE THAN I COULD EVER WISH FOR...

This week was absolutely amazing! So on Monday when I got to see the Vazquez family - it was the best! I love their family so so much! We just went over to their house and they had pizza and we had an amazing lesson afterwards. I just feel the spirit so strongly in their house and I love them so much! The best part of it was that because I was there Elder Richards and I were able to teach the parents a lesson and Elder Randall was able to stay in and talk to the son and talk to him personally and the son totally opened up to him! They are starting to come together so much stronger as a family and they all came to church this week.

I had a lot more to tell you but today has been crazy so I have no time.   But I am okay here, the Lord is giving me more than I could ever wish for. Also, transfers are this week so for writing next week I am not sure how well I will be able to respond. I think that I may leave but I am not sure yet so I will let you know then.  I am sorry again for not being able to write but I love you more than anything mom!  Have a great week!

ps I got the chicago sign picture just for you :

 Tate (elder Foster), Whitley, Greg, Emily, Sarah and Ryan from right to back and snaking around.

TORNADOS AND A FANTASTIC WEEK.

We have had a fantastic week! The work is really starting to pick up in our area! But with the tornados, there was a pretty big storm this week but the tornados didn't make it into the city only a few hours to the southwest! So it was kind of freaky thinking that it could happen but we were all safe here! It's funny because we just got new emergency kits and instructions like a week ago so we were just thinking here's a call to repentance for all of those who didn't read it! But there were no problems at all!

And for your questions

1.     How come you’re not on facebook? 

2.     Have you dry cleaned your pants/suit?  If not, I am going to send you a new suit.  Heeheehee – but seriously!!!  Are you wearing your blue suit?

3.     Do you have any pictures?

1. Because we were a pilot program before and we just got new iPads a few weeks ago so they wanted us to take a break and study the rules again and to refocus up before jumping right in.  So we should have it back in a few more weeks!

2. yes I have been dry cleaning stuff so please don't send me another suit!!! I already have more than I can handle! I am going to start sending some winter stuff home by the way too! That's a good threat though because you knew I would do it ;) but yes I do wear my blue suit quite a bit!

3. Yes I will send a few today!

I am so excited for tonight though! I have been talking a lot with the missionaries in my Old area in Chi 4 and with President Woodbury, so tonight I get to go back and visit the Vazquez family so I am pumped!! I miss them and love them so much!! The weather here is perfect now too and the missionary work is going great! Just enjoying every minute of things! I love you mom and I hope you have a great day today!

But for the trip back here any time works! I think thanksgiving the weather would be fine or in October so I am fine with whatever!

These are the Abbots, they just barely left for home this week!
 It is so crazy that they are leaving because they have been here most of my mission!

 Our panorama from the view of this member's apartment!This is Alison with her dog Bitsy  It is so amazing! There are quite a few members that have sweet views like that!  Chicago is amazing!

Von and Carolyn Christensen: MISSIONARY TRAINING

New Missionary Training, 2nd session.  They come to this training with their companions for a 6 hour training session by the President and AP's.

FROM THE CHRISTENSENS:  The New Missionaries are Awesome.  We love rubbing shoulders with these new missionaries and feel of their love of the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as our own testimony that we are part of God's Army spreading the gospel throughout the world.  Missionary service is the best.

We're so grateful to be serving with these wonderful missionaries.  Their personalities radiate outward, 

as well as their testimonies.

All of the Missionaries are singing the "Lunch Song" to the Senior Couples, 
as they fixed the lunch.

Von and Carolyn Christensen: ZONE CONFERENCES

 Zone Conferences are a twice yearly event.  We are so glad we were able to attend during our first two months.  Four Zone Conferences in a row were held throughout the mission, from upper Illinois (Lake Villa) to upper Indiana (Valparaiso). 

Two zones meet together for each day.

At each Zone Conference, a local Relief Society prepares a lunch.  In our Spanish branch, they view this lunch as a way to honor and help the missionaries.  Almost the whole branch came to help. This was the main course.  Soup, rolls, and desert came along with it.

 

We always get excited after lunch when it is time for the missionaries to sing the lunch song.  The first time we heard it, We had helped prepare the lunch, and the song brought tears to our eyes.  The missionaries punch the word "bunch" when they sing it.  And they sing it like they mean it. 

GENERAL AND ZONE CONFERENCES

I am glad to hear that her funeral was so great! I love that there was eclairs, the oreo cookies and haggandaz hahaha. She would have been so proud! But everything here is going great though. The gospel truly does bless our family so much! It is crazy because I have felt the joy and comfort of the Gospel so much!  I know I will see her again!

And yes we got the easter packages, thank you for sending the shirt and the tie! Please no more candy though, we are still loaded up from Christmas even so all of the stuff from Valentines and St Patricks is just piling up so we have way more candy than we would eat in our whole missions hahaha! 

This week we had a fantastic week though! We went to all of the zone conferences so we got to go to all of the different parts of the mission. We went to Buffalo Grove which is the northern suburbs and we also got to go down to Indiana. I think it was my second or third time going to those places ever haha. My favorite part of all the conferences was this week on Wednesday when we got to go to the Chicago zone conferences which is the stake of the south side.  On Tuesday night I was thinking that I really wanted to see Karina who is a recent convert in Midway.  I was thinking that I could text the elders in my last area and to tell them to tell her to come to the church or to maybe see if we could stop by after the meeting and say hi to her. I really wanted to see her but then I kept thinking oh she's not in our area anymore and we will be busy so I just felt like we shouldn't text her. That night though I just prayed that she would know how much that I love her and her family! Then the next day when we got to the meeting and when it was lunch time we walk into the gym and they announce that the Midway Ward was the one who provided the lunch. It was amazing because Karina came and I also got to see a lot of the other members! It was honestly one of the best moments ever! So after lunch I got to talk to Karina for like 20 minutes and she is doing so well! She just barely went to the temple and she Loved it! I told her though that she answered my prayers by being there and she talked about how it was a crazy thing that she ended up there! The Sunday before the meeting they said they just need men to help serve so she was going to offer but then thought she couldn't but then on Tuesday she was talking to the relief society president and was like are you sure that you don't need anybody to help and then she was like oh yes! So she ended up coming and it made me so happy!!  She just made my week so much better! I miss her family so much!

Our area is really starting to pick up also! We had six investigators come to conference this weekend so that was huge! Conference was great as well! We watched most of the sessions at the Foster building but we watched one at the house of a member named Stein Ingerbretsen, he is friends with John Ellis and his uncle is the doctor named Rich who is friends with Leslie.

It was sweet because we brought one of the members in Chi 4 who is YSA to a lesson with us and she invited our investigator to come watch conference at the Foster building because her family was doing something after conference there so we got invited too! :) they had a bunch of food between sessions and it was one of the ladies birthdays who we call Obispa. In the Hispanic tradition they always push your face in the cake but she snuck around it so one of the Elders went to get her with a plate of whip cream and he got her so she came to get him back after and he reached for him and he blocked it and so the whole plate of cream went onto my companion’s suit and everyone just started dying laughing! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen!!

I love Elder Zacher a lot though! We are working so well together and we are such great friends! We are loving working together and starting to see lots of success!

It was a great week this week and I am loving being here! Have a great day today mom!