June 18

Hey momma!

 

So. I heard about Aunt Lea and Uncle Darron and I'm SUPER excited for them. :) Also looking forward to that flash drive, and please wish Dad a happy fathers-day for me. :)

 

Also thanks for the rest of the news. I'm praying for all of you, all the time. I really enjoyed your spiritual thought too! That's actually something that I've been trying to work on, so you may definitely have been inspired to write that to me.

 

My week. Was. Awesome.

 

We have a listing in our Area Book for a man named Jimmy that lives in the appartment next to us and was SUPER interested in the gospel, but the phone number he gave the missionaries didn't work. So we have a first name, and appartment building, and a note saying "find him!".

 

Right.

 

We haven't given much time or effort to finding Jimmy, but we were in that appartment complex this week doing our neighbor missionaries a favor and checking on one of their investigators, Nounouche. (She would be in our ward, but she only speaks French and we have an English ward.) We went to see her, but she wasn't there. Her husband was though! And her husband has, according to our neighbor missionaries, been making a bit of a fuss about his wife investigating the church. So we decided to sit down with him and talk to him about it. By the end of our talk, we'd found out that he isn't opposed to the church, he just doesn't know much about it because he can never be there during lessons (he works exact opposite shifts from his wife.). We committed him to read the book of mormon, and he agreed. We asked his name before we left. Any guesses?

 

Yep.

 

We went back to start teaching Jimmy a few days later, and he told us that he'll be baptized if he gets an answer to his prayers about the Book of Mormon. A beautifully golden investigator... for the Gatineau ward. :P

 

Then, on Thursday we knocked into a man named Justin! (Hey, that's me!) Our conversation at the door went like this: Justin- can I help you? Us- Yeah, we're just in the neighborhood sharing a message about Jesus Christ. Justin- cool, want to come in?

Us- well if you insist. ; )

 

He didn't have a ton of time right then, but he's just been laid off so we asked if we could come back the next day and he said sure thing. The next day we came back and started asking him about his life, about his beliefs, about his family, etc. He told us about being in and out of Jail as a kid, and how he'd always be in solitary confinement for fighting and stuff. In solitary all he had was one tiny window, and a bible. :P Out the window all he could see was a little white-barked tree. He told us about one day when he'd been so angry at life and everything that he'd been talking to this tree and telling it that he was going to go insane and kill everyone if it didn't bring him chocolate milk, hamburgers, corn on the cob, and a bunch of other stuff. That day the juvenile hall had a bunch of volunteers throw a barbecue, and since Justin was always in solitary the guards knew him really well and knew he wouldn't be out in time to go, so they brought him all the leftovers. With all the food he'd asked his tree for. He freaked out a little bit, but fortunately managed to associate that blessing with Jesus Christ, not the tree, and ever since then he's had a huge desire to follow Jesus and a knowledge of the love that Christ has for him. He was even baptized once, but the priest that baptized him was arrested a couple of years later for child molesting, so he feels like that baptism wasn't valid and he wants to do it again. We told him we could help with that.

It gets better, he showed up at church on Sunday with his Girlfriend and kids, and they loved everything about it. He is the most golden investigator I've ever heard of IN MY LIFE. Also he's moving back to London Ontario in two weeks.

A beautifully golden investigator for the missionaries in London Ontario. :P

 

Don't worry, we're both a lot more concerened about getting these people taught than about WHO it is that does the teaching. :)

 

I could go on, but I'd take all day. This week was pretty incredible. Also, we got transfer calls on Saturday. And the results are.... (Drum roll please) I! Am staying in Chapel Hill. Elder McLean is going Zone Leader in LaVal East, just north of the island of Montreal. My new companion is named Elder Odle, the Elder who just finished training Elder Bangerter, my MTC companion. I'm going to miss Elder McLean a TON, but I'm super excited to start this new friendship with Elder Odle, and I'm incredibly grateful that I was given another transfer in chapel hill with all the people that I've grown to love so much!

 

I wish I could take all of you up here and introduce you to all of my investigators, my ward members, all of my friends. They feel like a big extension of my family, I love the people here with all my heart. When the day comes that the Lord calls me away, it will be difficult. But! No use thinking about that yet, I've got six more weeks to work my shoes off in OTTAWA!

 

Thanks again for all the love, support, and prayers! It makes a difference. :)

 

I love all of you! The church is true! If you want a spiritual boost this week go read chapter twelve in the teachings of George Albert Smith (It may have been your lesson in priesthood and relief society recently...). And please! Pray for opportunities to share the gospel. All of you normal people have the potential to influence lives on a much more personal level than those of us wearing a black tag, and don't you forget it!

 

Love,

-Elder Christensen