525,600 Minutes

A little over a year ago, I was on a long train ride with Spence from Florence to Milan, Italy. I recall that it was late and most of the passengers were sleeping. Spencer and I were discussing the adventures and challenges that awaited us in the mission field. I remember asking him if he was nervous. Of course his answer was no. I, however, was scared to death. The initial romantic notion of a mission had been replaced by fear of the unknown and the reality of the commitment was daunting. I questioned if I really actually could handle a mission. 

One year later, I am happy to report that I am still alive. This Thursday I will complete one year in the Dominican Republic! It was been a year filled with sweat, prayers Spanish flashcards, laughing, struggling, exchanges, cooking beans and rice, and holes in my shoes from the miles and miles of walking. It’s been a year of growth and clarity. My eyes have been opened to how truly blessed I am. 

I also can’t believe it has been a year since I have hugged my parents, or laughed with my siblings, or hung out with my friends. I miss you all so much but I am so thankful for the letters and prayers and encouragement. I am so grateful to be here and I don’t regret choosing to serve - not one bit. 

And the report of the week: it was a good week but it dragged a little. 

We have one investigator that has now gone to church six or seven times. He is an artist and he thinks profoundly about spiritual questions and always has deep, deep questions. I really enjoy visiting him. The lessons are more like conversations rather than us just talking at him. 

We also have one teenager than has gone with us to church two weeks in a row. The ward doesn’t have many young men and they are so excited and everyone has befriended him and invited him to their houses. The ward is so wonderful and they help us out continuously. The teenage boy is really excited and said that he wants us to teach his friends as well. All of his friends happen to live outside our boundaries and so the other hermanas are going to teach them. The boy went out with them to introduce them to all his little friends; the hermanas said he took the guilt trip approach with his friends; "You dont want to talk about God?? You need to make time for God in your life." Haha he is great. Hopefully he can continue to progress and join the church and then one day be blessed with a mission call. 

Our other friend isn't progressing. He didn't come to church yesterday. Sometimes I don’t know where the line is between respecting someone's agency and trying to push and encourage them. It’s been kind of difficult to see him progress so much and then start falling. 

Congrats mom on your new work schedule! Cate looked so gorgeous for her dance. You all are celebrities getting on the news! As always, thank for the updates. Have a wonderful week. 

Hermana Meg 

Happy Birthday Cate!!

My MTC Pals

Family! First off, happy birthday Cate! I miss you so much and always laugh about crazy memories with you. The big 18. I think you can now buy dried ice. Don’t get too crazy! 

Another week here in the D.R. Sorry that I didn’t have any photos last week.

This week we had another hermana meeting this past week. An meeting exclusively for the hermanas. We got there early to help set up and it was so hilarious watching all the hermanas pile in and say to all their fellow hermanas that they havent seen for a while. Hermanas are so peppy. I really do enjoy reuniting with my hermanitas. It’s especially fun to see the girls from our MTC district. We laugh and talk and catch-up as if we were old time friends even though we only spent six weeks together in the MTC. I really love those girls and know that we will always be friends. 

My Sistah's 

The theme of the meeting was boldness. We talked about being bold and where our value lies. Hermana Hernandez said that when we are timid we lose opportunities. It is so true that our self-doubts, fears, and shyness can prevent us from growing. We listed all the things that scare us in the mission field.  Then with that list we talked about how we can overcome our fears. We have a mission psychologist and she also gave a presentation. Something she said makes me laugh: she said that when missionaries come in who show signs of depression - they take that missionary through a questionnaire. One of the questions is "do you feel unattractive?" She said that without fail all the hermanas answer yes they feel ugly and the elders answer no; they know they are attractive. 

I love living in the house with three other hermanas. It feels like a college dorm room. We do each others’ hair and nails and relate all the funny stories that happen to us during our day. 

In this country it isn't uncommon to name two of your kids the same name. I’m not sure if it’s because they can’t think of more names or maybe the parents just really like the name. Anyhow, we are teaching two brothers - both named Juan. 

A highlight of my week: There was a big centipede in our room and when my companion saw it, her first reaction was to say, "Oh my gosh!" I am so proud. I have been teaching her English phrases. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have much of an update on Carlos. I’m not really sure how to help him at this point. Keep praying for him. 

I got my package!!!! I love it so much!!! Thank you for all the treats and dental supplies and Meish - thanks for the pearls. You know me too well. I love them!!!!

Love you all so much. Have a wonderful week!!! Xoxoxo

Meg

Font With No Water

Hello Family! Thank you for all of your updates. I love Reading your emails.

Carlos is still a little hesitant. He is going through that transition proccess. Change is difficult. I love that mom wrote about time. Things can take time. Time can bring us clarity and can make things right.

The other sisters had a baptism on Saturday so we invited him thinking it would be good for him to see a baptism. Well, the baptism turned out to be a little chaotic and interesting.

First off, when we got there, the gates of the church were shut and we had to wait for a half hour outside so of course the service started late. The Font was filled earlier in the day but the drain doesn't work well so water had been leaking out. There was very little water in the Font. The worst part was that in order to fully be submerged in the water, the Elder had to dunk the lady really far down. She ended up hitting her head hard on the stairs. When she came up from the water she grabbed her head and it started to bleed.

Unfortunately, the head fiasco overshadowed the baptismal service. We were hoping that Carlos would see the service and the beauty of baptism. Sadly, it had a different affect. My companion said; "Well at least she won’t ever forgot her baptism." But then one of the elders said; "she might forget it with that wound on her head."  It is my goal to have a baptism in the ocean. Maybe we better fine a quiet lagoon.

We have a dog that is giving us a lot of problems. He lives in a park that we pass every day. Recently, he has been getting aggressive when we pass the park- he snarls and follows us. Luckily people help us and chase him off. I will never own a dog. Dogs are the worst.

Most people we visit don’t quite grasp the message we share about the restoration and scripture written in the Americas. There was a lesson we taught this week that I really enjoyed. The woman really understood the uniqueness of our message. She was awed by the concept of the Book of Mormon. She said she has always been intrigued that there were pyramids in Egypt and in Central America. She said she has always felt that there was contact between the nations. It can be fun to incorporate history with the Book of Mormon.

Yesterday we had a cool coordination meeting. It was with all the bishoprics and ward mission leaders in the East Mission. The zone leaders and sister leaders were also invited. One thing that I really liked is that they focused on the Atonement. They want us to talk about the Atonement as often as we can.

Thank you so much Gram for the package! That was so thoughtful. I opened it in the office so I shared some of the fudge with other missionaries. They were so curious who made the fudge because it is SO DELICIOUS. It was so fun to receive the package. Thank you!

Hope you all have a good week. Love you tons

Hermana Christensen

She Turns 21

Thank you for all your emails and birthday wishes. It is so fun to have a birthday and receive all this love.

I have been spoiled today. My companion surprised me with a delicious chocolate dessert for breakfast. It was a mix of cake and chocolate mousse... ricisimo. And she also gave me a shirt that says I Heart DR. We then went to a mall with a handful of other hermanas for lunch.

We had a good week. There was one morning that we tried contacting in the wealthy neighborhood. It was the longest morning of my life. We did a bazillion contacts and did not get into one house. I am sending lots of sympathy to my cousins in Europe and New England - proud of you. 

The downer of the week was that Carlos felt like he wasn't quite ready to have his interview like he was supposed to. We are going to wait a little longer. He is super solid and ready but he has made so many changes in his life so he wants to give it a little more time. Baptism is also a huge leap of faith. It can be daunting to try to start walking in a different unfamiliar road. He doesn't want to fail. 

I have been thinking a lot this past week about how times I have failed in my life. That sounds negative but it has actually been very productive for me to think about it. I have thought about all the different situations in my life that have been new and difficult and uncomfortable. In the beginning I usually struggle. On my mission, I have seen that the fear of failure can be one of the most hindering emotions. I have seen it with investigators and I have seen it in myself. If we fear failure, we are unwilling to be stretched.  One of the best things I have learned out here is to laugh at myself and not get down on myself. 

I am so grateful for the good friends and family that I have. The richness of my life comes from the relationships I have. I am so grateful for the love and support I have from all of you. Love you all so much. 

Hasta Lunes

Megan 

P.S.  Thank you for all the info about our new mission president - super interesting! I told Hermana Thomas and she said she is happy to have a "brotha" enter the scene. 

This Dog Wandered in to our Apartment

Progress in Gazcue

MTC Pals

I’m staying in Gazcue! We found out last night that Hermana Morales and I will be staying here in Gazcue together for another transfer. I am very content to hear that nothing will change. 

I can’t believe it’s been a whole six weeks since we began here. I remember those first couple of days when we contacted hundreds of people. It was absolutely exhausting. The good news is that from all those people we contacted, we found Carlos. 

Reconnecting with Sister T. at Leadership Meetings

This week we had a great appointment with Carlos. We had a member with us and he was telling the member about the changes he has seen in his life since he started receiving us. As he has been following through with the commitments we leave him and putting in his part, he has seen that he can grow and progress. It has empowered him. He now wants to improve his life in every aspect. He said he is starting to exercise, he wants to go back to school; he wants to have a family. As he shared the experience he has been having, I had to fight back tears. It makes me so happy to see him receive the enabling power. He has realized that his life is in his hands and he can become more than he thought was possible before. Carlos is super solid. He calls me Christie. He is the tall man in this picture. 

Carlos

Help - one weakness I have discovered here in the mission is that I have no rhythm. Somehow, I always get called on to lead music and I am so incredibly bad at it. Tell any youth that are preparing to go on a missionary to learn how to lead music! 

We had such a fun P'day today with the zone. We played sports, it was so fun to play soccer I miss it. And then of course the elders turned it into a water fight. It was super fun but I am exhausted. Happy birthday Grandpa Reed!!!!!!

con mucho amor, 

Hermana Christensen

Our District

MTC Comp

Thomas S. Monson

Happy 2014!!! I wasn´t planning on staying up until midnight to welcome in the New Year, but my companion wanted to. Hermana Manalo, Morales and I stayed up laughing and talking until midnight then gave each other hugs and went to bed. I am still working on my goals for this year. 

Carlos came to church again yesterday! He is solid and has a baptismal date for January 25th. We had quite a few investigators come to church yesterday! We also helped a mom haul her three kids to church and entertained them during sacrament meeting. During Sunday school she put her baby in my arms and ran out of the room to help her little boy. I just sat there rocking the baby, nervous to death because president was in Sunday school and missionaries’ are not supposed to hold babies, but secretly loving it. It’s a hard rule, not holding the kids. They are just so cute.

A funny experience that we had this week was we were teaching a woman the restoration. I asked her what a prophet was. She said something and then her teenage niece that was in the room smiled and said a perfect definition and said, "An example of a prophet is Thomas S. Monson." I was confused because it was the first appointment we had with them and no one has ever responded like that. I just looked at her and said, "what did you just say?" Apparently, she lives far away and is receiving missionaries in her house. 

Thought of the week: In the scriptures it talks quite often about knowing God. I have been thinking about how one comes to know God or Christ. It is interesting because in Spanish the verb to know is divided into two verbs Saber: to know facts or how to do something or Conocer: to be familiar or acquainted with someone or something. I like this distinction because we can know of Christ without really knowing Christ. So how does one come to know or be acquainted with Christ? 

Scriptures I like about knowing God:

Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

Alma 22:18 ...And if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee...

Caitlin sent me an awesome package with a Utes shirt (hence the photo). Thank you, thank you Caitlin. So happy for my girl Hillary... married! Sooo crazy. Love you so much. Have a good week. 

Meg

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

It was so incredibly amazing to talk to you on Christmas. I loved seeing your faces and hearing your voices. 

I’m sorry that it is so cold and you have snow. The weather is quite pleasant here right now. I am still always sweating, but just sweating less than before. 

We had a lovely Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to the bishop´s house for a huge dinner. It was super yummy; potato salad, rice and beans, veggies. Then on Christmas day we were invited to eat in the apartment of senior missionaries. The office elders are the elders that are in the pictures. We had a great time. Other than the meals and getting to Skype the fam, Christmas is a normal day in the field. We still went out to teach. 

We teach an English class every week in the church. I didn't realize before how much I do not know the grammar rules for English. Now I know the rules better in Spanish. What I have been doing is picking a topic i.e. how to give directions, food, animals... and we learn vocabulary and then we practice talking. I really enjoy teaching the class! We invite all of our investigators to attend. Often they are more open to the church because of the class. 

I love my companion so much. She is wonderful. We only have one investigator progressing right now. He is about 35 years old and works selling jewelry to the tourists. He is a super nice guy and has now gone to church twice. He loves his mom so much and she is slowly dying. He wants to change his life for her. He really wants to make something of himself. He feels like he has wasted some years and is now ready to realize some of his goals. I’ll keep you updated. 

I noticed there is a rice cooker in one of the Christmas pictures. I eat brown rice here nearly every day. So good! So, Meisha eats with her hands? What a little savage (Pocahontas).

Feliz ano nuevo! I can’t believe 2013 has escaped us. I am excited for this New Year. We are going to have to go in a little bit early on New Year's Eve because there is a lot of drinking and partying. 

Love you so much,

Meg