One of the Most Tender Moments That I Have Had...

Hello Everyone! It's been a sweltering week here in good ol’ Ephrata. The temperature has been in the high 80's and 90's all week! We had a really good week! We saw a lot of people and set up appointments with them for this upcoming week. I'm very excited to start teaching them!

Probably one of the most tender moments that I have had on the mission happened this week. Beginning with the start of my companionship with Elder Reed, we were walking in downtown Ephrata and talked to a homeless lady, Lorene. It was sad to see her like this and during the week when we would see her, we would stop by and chat with her. It was always so fun to see her light up, as we would take the time to talk to her. About 2-3 days ago, we made muffins for a family home evening that we were going to, but they ended up canceling. On the way back, we saw Lorene and decided to give her the muffins! It was such a neat experience to give those to her. I know that as we care for the needy and the afflicted, the Lord will not withhold the heavens from us. Truly, when we are in the service of others, we are in the service of God.

I hope that with General Conference coming up, we will walk a little closer with God and see His children, as He sees them. I know that those men are inspired of God and that their counsel will be of great value to us in our everyday lives. Thank you for your love and support! I hope you have a great week!

Hanging out at our last preparation day!

We took a tour of the Ephrata Cloister that we help out at every week.

It was pretty cool!

It was about this religious group that came over and lived a pretty

interesting lifestyle. It was neat to see all of the old stuff!

I Have Offically Hit The 17-Month Mark!

Hello Everybody! My week was somewhat crazy. It was pretty weird to think that I was leaving Elder Kershaw and leading out in Ephrata now. We had a good District Meeting on following the spirit and took some fun District photo's, as always. Then, it was off to transfers! I got to see Elder Nielsen, right before he left to go home! It's super weird to think that most of my old companions are now home! Gah! It’s even more weird to think I have officially hit the 17-month mark!

We were able to see our investigators Pam and Kevin this week. Only Pam was home when we saw her, but we quickly talked about the Book of Mormon with her. We asked her to say the prayer and she offered a great prayer about how she has felt better since she has been seeing us. It was so cool! Other than that, we have just been knocking on doors, trying to find people. We have a couple of potential people that we could start teaching soon, so we are hoping that those will go well!

With General Conference on the horizon, I have reflected on the words spoken by those who are called of God and I have been greatly inspired by them. I hope that all of us can take time to receive the counsel that they give and apply it in our lives. Thank you again, for your love and support! Have a great week!

Elder Reed!

District Photos!

Elder Nielsen!

I Love This Gospel and it is Truly the Way to Real Lasting Happiness!

Hello Everyone! Well this week was super, super, super hectic. I will try to hit all the main points. So, this week Elder Kershaw had to go to the John Hopkins Medical Center down in Baltimore.  Sister Christiansen, our Mission President's wife, offered to take us to the National Aquarium! She let us in and had to leave, but it was a ton of fun seeing all of the fish and different animals! It was super neat! Probably one of the coolest animals they had was a Sand Tiger Shark and a mini Hammer Head shark. I also got to pet a jellyfish! After the aquarium, we were picked up by Elder and Sister Hyde, a senior missionary couple.  They took us to the doctor appointment (which lasted for 4 hours, ugh! Long wait.) We ate out at the Shake Shack, afterwards!

The next day Elder Kershaw went to the temple with Elder Nielsen and recent convert of theirs, so I was left to run our District Meeting and try to get things done. The next day I was sick in bed all day and the rest of the week I have been trying to get over it, but nevertheless, it was a crazy week.

We did go to Shady Maple this morning! It was super good and we had a blast! Those Amish sure know how to make good food.  Yeah, that was pretty much our whole week. Elder Kershaw is being transferred this week. My new companion is Elder Reed. He will have been out in the field for either 6 weeks or 12 weeks. So, he will be the youngest companion that I have ever served with. I love this area still!

Lately, I have reflected on the spiritual growth that I have seen in myself and others and on the relationship that I have built with my Savior and Father in Heaven. I swell with immense emotions of gratitude and praise for what They have given me. I love this Gospel and it is truly the way to real lasting happiness. I hope you remember this and have a great week!

Sister Christensen

The National Aquarium!

Elder and Sister Hyde at the Shake Shack!

Shady Maple!

Mom Note: Sister Christensen sent these last two pictures to me in a text that said,

"We love these Elders!"

It always makes my day to get surprise pictures of my missionary!