Kissimme--Hellos and Goodbyes Week 5

31 October 2013

Hi Mom and Dad!

I hope your week has been fantastic. I love seeing your emails
throughout the week. (Yes, I can read emails any day, so any time I
can connect to Internet, it comes through. It's just a matter of
finding Internet.) Thanks so much for the packages! I love the sheets,
definitely needed the shampoo, and my companion and I have been
surviving off of the candy, haha. I shared it with my District, too.

And thanks for the water bottle! I left mine on a train in
Utah. We're mostly using bottled water because Florida water is
slightly swampy... But it'll come in handy as soon as the m&ms are
gone.

I can also listen to just about any music, as long as it doesn't
distract from the missionary purpose. So I would love love love if you
sent music to me. (If you could find that arrangement of "Precious
Savior, Dear Redeemer, that's not to the common tune... I would love
it. Can't remember what the tune is called or how it goes. :P)

Let me rewind time to over a week ago, back in the MTC. My last day in
the referral center, two people hung up on me, and the last call I had
said she didn't want a "Mormon Bible". I think I really needed the
experience with calling people, though. I'm much less stressed about
phone calls now. (We also have TONS of Bible referrals that haven't
been contacted, and it makes me so upset that they've been waiting for
months.)

Saturday was our last class day. We had our final classes with our
teachers and took pictures with them. Our last "investigator" visits.
Our final visit, the investigator prayed for Sister Sorensen and me,
that people would be nice to us in Florida and that we'd be able to
help others like we helped her. It was so sweet.

I played hymns for Sacrament meeting. I didn't get the chance to
practice AT ALL, so I was a little stressed. Sister Williams, the
Branch President's wife, made sure I got to run through them once, and
played one of them for me, which I was very grateful for. My District
did the special number, since we were all leaving. :( Sister Sorensen
gave her talk, and my goodness, I miss talking with her. She's just
really great at personalizing and relating things.

We had a little Sisters' Conference, and heard from Ann M. Dibb, which
was super cool. "I know when you heard that I was coming, many of you
prayed that my father would be here as well. Sorry, that's not
happening." She did talk about him, though. Her talk was "My Father,
the Prophet". She talked about attributes that President Monson has
that we all can and should strive for. He observes and remembers, is a
loyal friend, encourages others, is happy, loves his family, prays, is
a missionary, has great faith, and is a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I got a sketchbook in the bookstore and drew animals for my District
(minus two, so I'll have to find them out here and ask what they
want).

Nobody told us when to pack, so we were scrambling to get it done on
Sunday. My bag was like 7 pounds under, it was great. And I made sure
to say goodbye to the Sisters I was with that first day. They're still
stuck in the MTC for six weeks, going to Japan.

So we woke up at 4 am Monday morning, finished packing up, and Sisters
Page and Christiansen were nice enough to get up with us and help us
get our bags down to the travel office. They're in CA Ventura, so they
didn't need to leave until like 9 am. So sad leaving them. I didn't
expect a month ago that I'd grow so close to people so quickly.
We took a bus to a train to Trax to the airport, turning a 45 minute
drive into a 1 1/2 hour ordeal. I was so excited that there was a
Jamba Juice in the airport, and as I went to pay, some lady pushed
past me with her credit card. She has a daughter on a mission in
Brazil. She then insisted on buying something for Sister Sorensen and
Hermana Mull (the only other Sister going to Orlando, but there were 6
Elders with us and 1 that came from the Mexico MTC). Then none of the
airport phones would work with debit cards or coins, only with phone
cards. Which is why I called from a random person's phone. She noticed
Sister Sorensen and me asking if we could buy phone cards, and offered
her phone. Then she bought us waters, donuts... She was lovely.
I spent an absurd amount for plane snacks, haha. Mostly caught up on
my journal, a little bit of sleep, and talked to Sister Sorensen. I
wrote her a letter, too. I want to make a habit of handwriting a
letter to my companions. We had the smoothest landing I've ever
experienced on a flight.

President and Sister Clark fed us (homemade. pumpkin. roll.) he
interviewed us, we had a little devotional and tried not to fall
asleep... And the Sisters stayed with the Woods, who are in the
mission presidency.

Next day, we had a little orientation and met our trainers! I have
Sister Lamborn. She's great! We have pretty similar personalities and
humor. She's also an incredibly positive person. With everything crazy
that's happened this week, she's able to laugh it off and move on. She
gave me a little plush sloth ("To remind you not to be slothful.")
We're also whitewashing an area, which is interesting for a first
area, to say the least. The ward has two other Sisters (Angelo and
Parish), but they live further north where the active members are.
We're south, and there are maybe three active families. It takes 30
minutes at least to get to church from here, and some of the people
are fairly poor and don't have a way to get there. Honestly, our area
reminds me a little of home. There's Elders down here too, but because
we're here now, they've entirely shifted their focus to the Spanish
branch.

Sister Kober (who posted the picture of us :) ) drove us around
Tuesday and helped us get necessary items. (This is also why I didn't
have my bike at first; there wasn't enough room in her car.) Because
it's the end of the month, Sister Lamborn had very little money, and I
had about $36 on my mission card. So we had enough for a little food,
and Sister Kober was kind enough to buy us some cleaning supplies and
lunch. We're also the first in this house (it's a duplex) it smells
like cigarette smoke a bit, and it's filthy. It's been very
interesting. Certainly a process to get everything in working order.

Because of the smell, we were opening up windows to air out the house.
Wednesday, we did that once the sun was up. Left the room, heard a
REALLY LOUD CRASH. The window had swung down and shattered, haha. Like
I said though, Sister Lamborn is so positive. We just laughed, cleaned
it up, called the mission office, and went about our day.

Wednesdays are also our service days! So we left the wide open hole in
our house and left to the organization that we work with in this area,
Give Kids the World. It's an amazing place. They work with Make a Wish
to give sick kids and their families a place to stay, presumably while
they're going to Disney? Basically though, it's a mini park in itself.
Colorful and bright and fun. Everyone's happy and kind. It's a great
place to be.

I'll be honest, the first couple days I WASN'T upbeat. I was okay
during the day, because we're busy. But at night it was super hard,
because I've felt slightly useless and powerless. I cried a lot the
first couple of nights. I haven't been super homesick, but I was a
little MTC-sick. But my attitude and trust in the Lord has greatly
improved.

So since the chapel is 30 minutes away, getting to meetings is
interesting. We're starting to car share with the North Sisters, but
it's still going to be a bit of a struggle working around mileage
limitations. I think they're working on giving us more miles, and
potentially our own car next transfer. But we worked out getting to
District meeting this week... Though I forgot to put on shoes. Nobody
noticed, but it had me stressed out. Without someone like Sister
Lamborn to just brush it off, I probably would have been much more
upset. I didn't focus as much as I should have, but one thing that
stuck out from the meeting is that we need to apply the Atonement in
our everyday lives. Christ did what he did, for us, so that we can
turn to Him and constantly repent. Repentance is a great teacher.

I GOT MY BIKE AFTER DISTRICT MEETING. It's so pretty. It's kinda big
and getting on and off is awkward in a skirt, but I love it so much.
The roads are so flat, I can pedal like 3 times and then just coast
forever. I love it. There's so much wildlife to see, too! I wish I
could look up what all the birds are. There are sandhill cranes,
ibises, vultures, herons... Eagles and falcons, maybe? Tons of huge
black birds everywhere, but I can never see them clearly enough to
figure out what they are.

Because we're whitewashing, we didn't really have any investigators,
and very few potentials. The Spanish Elders transferred some of theirs
this weekend, so we have a few more now... But this week has basically
been trying to figure out the area and meet some members. There's
honestly only a handful of active families down here and people don't
always answer their doors. So we haven't had any actual, sit down lessons
yet. I'm trying to be better at streetcontacting... Lots of things have culminated
in me understanding how important it is, and the fact that it doesn't matter
how stupid Ifeel, because these souls are important and they deserve to hear 
the gospel. Literally everyone down here already believes in Jesus, so
there's that at least.

The mosquitoes are murder. I have bites all over my legs, and I've
been desperately try not to scratch. I also managed to drag my
kickstand over my foot, so I've got a huge gash on my foot now. But
the itching is definitely worse.

Church was great! It was the Primary program this week. The ward is
tiny. Very very diverse, but small. Apparently it's also a struggle to
get help with missionary work. The car share is a blessing in that
regard, because it's forcing the members to at least think about
helping. There are some fabulous members though, and our Ward Mission
a Leader is wonderful. We got a less active member to come to church.
She just needed a ride. She wants to go to the temple, and had so many
more insights than I would have given her credit for at first glance.
We told the ward of our plight, and one family invited us over to take
whatever and have dinner. They gave us some essentials and fed us.
Sister Lamborn and I were just beyond excited for real food. It was so
so good. Then another member today gave us some supplies and a $50
gift card for Publix, the main grocery store down here. The last 24
hours have honestly been the miracle after the storm of the past week.
We also had our money come through a day early so we're able to buy
supplies for the house and real food. We had one "real" dinner at home
last week. Pastaroni, broccoli, and chicken. After that, we were kinda
living off of apples and cereal, and the occasional gross pb&j. We've
got so many more options this week. :)

I just want to share with you the thought we left with the members
yesterday. 3 Nephi 13:25 says, "And now it came to pass that when
Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had
chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken.
For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this
people. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment?"

We've kind of had to live by this this week. Trying to stay positive
with everything thrown at us, trying to get places, trying to live off
of very little, and trying to get to know an area and people that
we're not remotely familiar with. And those people that have given us
rides, listened to our messages, fed us... They've been such
blessings. Things sometimes seem awful and strange and confusing...
And sometimes we just have to wait it out. As one of the people I used
to follow on Facebook would say, "Don't give up five minutes before
the miracle."

Have a fantastic week. I'll try to send pictures if I can find an
adapter today. I love you all.

Love,
Christine

Here's a pic of my MTC District and one of our teachers



Another one of MTC District with teachers. 



Goodbye and hello.

Sisters Lamborn and Stevenson

President and Sister Clark with Sister Stevenson
(Last two pictures sent by Sister Rasmussen)

President and Sister Clark, along with me and my super tired/pathetic smile.

Sister Lamborn and me!

Picture sent by Sister Kober.

Made it to O-Town Week 4

Hi Mom and Dad!

We made it safely to the mission home! The Elders are staying here tonight and we Sisters are staying with someone else. Tomorrow Tomorrow we meet our trainers. :) 

I got to play my one song for everyone here and they loved it.  Honestly the best stress release in three weeks.in three weeks. 

It's so gorgeous here. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Christine

Third Week in the MTC--Last MTC P-day

Mom and Dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW. I definitely didn't almost forget about that.

Thanks for the slips. I definitely needed more. Sister Page laughed so hard over the split slips. I haven't used them yet, but they'll definitely be useful. :) Oh, and the ink cartridges do work in my pen! I love the color and it actually bleeds less than the black.

Thanks for sparing me debate info, hah. Definitely haven't missed politics while being here.

Looove that picture of the Redlands temple. <3 The Provo temple is beautiful (and I have far too many pictures of it now), but that picture is just a perfect reminder of home.

And thanks for the notes from Stake Conference! I loved some of the thoughts in there. Also the news about the Englyngs! So exciting!

It's absolutely crazy to think that I'm flying to Florida in THREE DAYS. (I don't know yet when my P-day will be, but I know that I get to call from the airport on Monday, so keep your phone on. Flight leaves at 9:45, so it might be super early in CA time. I'll also email once I get to the mission home.) I'm going to miss everyone here so much. I love the fall weather here, but I certainly don't have super cold weather stuff. Walking to the temple at 7:30 today was freezing. We did initiatories, so we've done one of everything (that a missionary can do, at least). I love the temple so much. It's been awesome to go every week with people that I've come to see as family.

Saturday we taught the last lessons to our two investigators, and got new ones for this week. It's cool to see people's faith grow, awesome to hear them pray, and absolutely amazing to hear the words "I believe".

I caught a cold. It's not helping with how tired I've been. I would love an extra hour of sleep. We're planning on napping on the way to the airport/on the plane. :P Some Sisters are not obedient, and it's very hard to sleep when people are laughing/screaming in the halls. I've been trying to write in my journal throughout the day so I have a little more time to get ready for bed at night, but it doesn't help much. There's so much to do, so much to take in.

On Sundays, everyone is expected to prepare a talk. Then they pick a few of us to give them. (Thankfully, I wasn't chosen.) So Sunday mornings are basically District/companion/personal study time. In Relief Society we shared the ways we, individually, feel the Spirit. It's interesting to me how many different ways people feel the influence of the Holy Ghost.

Sister Sorensen and I taught District meeting. "Obedience: Doing the Will of the Father." The Mays (in our Branch Presidency) were in the meeting, and they love to talk, so they helped us along so much.

Sister May is still the sweetest human in existence. She held my hands and told me that I need to recognize how much value I have. The only thing about them is that neither of them have any sense of personal space.

I stumbled through "Come Thou Fount" for the special number in Sacrament meeting. I really didn't have much of a chance to practice, but the departing District was so grateful and sweet about it. I'm playing for Sacrament meeting this week, so I need to find some time to practice.

We tried to keep the Spirit on our temple walk more this week, by starting with a hymn and avoiding being silly on temple grounds. We also grouped up as a Zone and had a spiritual thought before we left. 

Choir is the coolest, I wish I could participate in it again. :( Brother Eggett is the best, he tells hilarious stories and focuses on feeling the emotions of the song. (He was gone on Tuesday and we had someone who focused on technicalities.)Sunday devotional we heard from Via Sikahema (sp?) who talked about the power of our influence, and told us not to take notes. :P Tuesday devotional we heard from Elder Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife. He talked about how we need to choose love, that it shouldn't be something to "fall out of". I loved her talk though. She talked about how we sometimes feel inadequate and like we can't succeed. But we are representatives of Jesus Christ, we were called to serve, we are adequate, we are qualified, and Christ sees so much potential in us.

Our new investigators have been... interesting. They talk so much, and it's a bit of a challenge to redirect the conversation to the lesson sometimes. The first one, we're honestly not sure if he's an actual investigator. He'd heard about the Atonement, but had never heard about Christ suffering for us, taking our sicknesses and sadness upon Himself. It struck him so deeply, he thought it was absolutely astounding that someone would do that for us.

The second also loves to talk. But she also knows all the doctrine already, as she's gone to church with her husband since they were children. She just has some issues with little points of contention, which has led to some very interesting discussions. We've been working on building her actual faith, because she's so focused on the logical aspect of everything. She's starting to realize that she needs to learn these things for herself.

With both of them, though, a 45 minute lesson seems like nothing. In fact, we've often gone 10 minutes over.

I've sent out quite a few Bibles in the Referral Center here now. But on Wednesday I had the longest phone conversation with one lady in Tennessee. She was so happy to just have someone to talk to. She's a CNA and works with old patients. I could hear the woman whose home she was in yelling at her. ("She's 95, she has dementia. She's mean.") Eventually she said that she tries to go to church when she's not working, so I asked if she had heard about ours. She wanted to know more, and had heard about the Book of Mormon before. ("I had one of those! It was interesting. ...I want another one.") So I sent her one of those too. THEN she wanted to know if there was an LDS meetinghouse near her. :D She's going to email me after Sunday, since I won't be able to take phone calls anymore.

The only other call I took that night was from a man who wanted a Bible, but DID NOT WANT the missionaries to keep returning after delivering it. He said more than once, "I'm a CHRISTIAN. I got my OWN religion."

And then we were 15 minutes late to class because Sister Sorensen always gets the talkative people. It's good, though, because she's really good at it.

Sister Olsen (one of the teachers, but not one assigned to us) told me something that she learned on her mission. She said to preach the gospel with your eyes and your smile. "Smile and love people."

I hate waking up for exercise time at 6:40. It's the worst. But I've been trying to at least walk a mile on the track, if nothing else. It's just the last thing I want to do to wake myself up.

The one thing I love is that sometimes people harmonize while showering. It sounds super weird, but I actually find it fun. Mostly hymns. Sometimes Disney.

Yesterday was In-Field Orientation. Learning about tools to use in the field, like Key Indicators, basics of street contacting, working with members... Basically a very very long day.

It's really been so amazing here. I'm going to miss it (though we're ALL excited to have real food). My District is the best, my roommates are wonderful, I love my companion... I'm sad to leave it. But my testimony has grown so much here. I've learned so much about seeking the Spirit, about studying and planning effectively, and about just learning to love and work with people. It'll be cool to teach and help people in the real world.

I hope you've had a good week. I appreciate the Dear Elder letters, even though you send them in emails too. It's fun to get physical mail. Have a fantastic week, and I'll talk to you Monday. :)

Love,

Christine

Just finishing up laundry for the last time here in the MTC. Going to start trying to pack today. Talk to you soon!​

  

It was Elder Merchen's birthday this week. Our teacher, Sister Brennan, wrote the main note and the balloon. Sister Christiansen did the penguin. And the note is a joke because our other teacher, Brother Droge, once asked how drawing on the board fulfills our purpose as missionaries.​

​Sister Brennan was distracted while writing this. We found it very entertaining.​

​Temple walk on Sunday was gorgeous.​

​So gorgeous.​

​The coloooooors.​

​Our Elders!​

​Most of my pictures are of the temple.​

​Moroni. This morning there were birds on his trumpet.​

​Gotta get them lens flares.​

 ​Sister Christiansen LOVES penguins. She drew our entire District as penguins 

(I didn't get a pic of the completed drawing)​

​The light on the mountains behind the temple this morning was stunning. 

Sister Sorensen has an eye for lighting, and points stuff out to us sometimes. :)​

​I'm going to miss this.​

Sisters Page and Christiansen informed me that I look like Sadness from Inside Out 

(which actually made me super happy). 

So I put on my blue sweater and did my best to look dismal. 

Not easy when laughing.

I've got a few more to send

Second Week in the MTC

14 October 2016



Mom and Dad, 

O-Town? Haha.

We've been so so busy this week. It's hard to believe only 10 days have passed.

On Saturday I felt absolutely miserable and sick to my stomach. I tried to just push past it and exercise, but kept feeling gross. And it turns out the medical center is closed on weekends (we're not quite sure what weekends are anymore). So I bought some Alka Seltzer... which is absolutely disgusting. Never ever use Alka Seltzer. If I didn't feel like throwing up before using it, I certainly did afterwards.

So I asked the Elders in my district for a blessing. I don't think any of them had ever given a blessing before. It was incredibly powerful. I've gotten comfort from blessings before, but this solidified my testimony of blessings of healing. I've felt mostly fine since then. I don't know if it was just stress or actually sickness, but either way, the power of the priesthood is absolutely real.

I also lucked out with my district. We've had a few little arguments, but for the most part we all get along amazingly. We can be stupid and goofy and laugh, but we have also all taught with and felt the Spirit so strongly in our little cramped classroom. We've primarily got two teachers, Brother Droge and Sister Brennan. They like answering questions with questions to help us figure things out, which is super frustrating sometimes, even though it works. There are four sisters (me and Sister Sorensen; Sisters Page and Christiansen who are going to California, Ventura) and 5 Elders (Elders Daines and Whitehead, who are capable of being spiritual but are also super bizarre and confusing sometimes, are going to Pittsburgh. Elders Heywood (also Pittsburgh), De Priest, and Merchen (also Orlando)). There was a 6th Elder but he had to return home. :(

Sunday was great. Sister Sorensen (with an "e", so I don't think it's the same as Liza's comp) and I are now in charge of picking music for Sundays. We walked around the temple (there are families who wait to see their missionaries on Sundays, and it's absurd and distracting. there are actually signs around the temple that say "Don't Write on the Sidewalk" because weird moms leave chalk messages). And I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting for the first time ever. I'd never experienced that "nudge" that people talk about until this Sunday. We also had a devotional from President Heaton on how repentance is not a bad word, we should be excited to teach about it.

My entire district participated in choir this week, which was SO COOL. Brother Eggett, the choir director, is hilarious. We sang an arrangement of "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer" (not the original tune). Tuesday night as we walked in to practice before the devotional, I saw Uncle Mike! Walked up and said, "I can't hug you" as I shook his hand. And then I heard "BUT YOU CAN HUG MEEEE!" So I got a huge hug from Alicia. :)

That night was so incredible too. There had been a rumor going around that the devotional speaker was going to be an apostle. As we sang the prelude hymns (Praise to the Man), Elder Bednar walked in. The Spirit as we sang songs about prophets with him was amazing. He and his wife talked to us about how to get more out of Conference talks, that the most recent General Conference "should be our walk and talk for the next 6 months".

I didn't actually get earphones. I've just been reading scriptures or talking to people. I looove the exercise bikes. I think the speaker just works with bluetooth. I've also heard a rumor that my mission president is super strict with music. :( Sister Sorensen and I are hoping that rumor isn't true.

Sis Sorensen and I got two new "investigators" this week (they've told us that most of the investigators we teach will be members, but some of them are not, and regardless they're all real people with real problems). It's been quite an experience learning to teach, teaching, and then learning more that makes us both feel like we did it a little wrong the first time. But absolutely incredible when we recognize that we weren't teaching, the Spirit took over and guided us on what to say (especially on the days where we've had about 20 minutes to plan a 45 minute lesson, and we just have a couple ideas, pray, and go with it). Sister Sorensen also has some AMAZING insights. I think sometimes we're both a little afraid to open our mouths, but we feed pretty well on each other when the other doesn't know what to say.

The biggest focus is obviously teaching with the Spirit, but they also emphasize getting to know your investigators so you can adapt the lesson to what they need to draw closer to Christ. It's challenging sometimes, but we're all improving.

We are in one of three Zones in the MTC who have the "privilege" of using the referral center. Starting this week, we're going in once a day to talk to people on the phone about their request for a free Bible/Book of Mormon. We're also supposed to give them a spiritual message. I hate phone calls. The first time on Wednesday stressed me out so so much. Sister Brennan noticed and gave me the chance to leave the room for a minute so I could cry and have a hug and pull myself together. I love her, she's a fantastic teacher and incredibly supportive. She gave Sister Sorensen and me a little pep talk last night on how we shouldn't expect to have an 18 month mission in a week, that she can see the Spirit working in us, and that if we have thoughts of inadequacy or doubt ourselves, those thoughts do NOT come from God.

The worst thing this week has been utter exhaustion. I've gotten to bed a little past 10:30 most nights, and most days we get up before 6:30. And we're busy, busy, busy all day long. The day closes with THREE HOURS of class time. So it's hit me a little harder the past couple nights, mostly because of how tired I am. The other worst thing is that the cafeteria promised shepherd's pie, but delivered chicken on top of mashed potatoes. So disappointing.

I was so excited to see Natalie and Aunt Michelle yesterday! It's awesome to know that I have family close by. (I keep running into Jaren too.)

I have loved the opportunities to get to know my district, and particularly the Sisters. We just sat and talked yesterday, because none of us had investigators to teach yesterday. It's interesting to me that people who might have never otherwise met, or maybe wouldn't have been friends in the "real world" can become so close and trust each other in just a week. We're actually incredibly similar, though that wouldn't be apparent at first glance. And I've told my District the 3 Nephi 3:7 joke. They all absolutely loved it. :D They're including it in their emails home.

We went to the temple again today and did an endowment session! It's been a while since I'd gone, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I love the temple. We got to see the sunrise colors as we walked there, too.

Oh, and I got roped into playing piano for the departing District in our Zone, because they're singing a special number in Sacrament meeting this Sunday.

Honestly, there's so, so much to say, it's hard to remember it all. I'm trying to write in a journal, but so much happens during a single day. I have to start carrying it with me. Basically, in summary, I've had some rough moments but I love it here. I love my companion and my roommates. I love our District. I love our investigators. I love the Spirit that's felt here, all the opportunities to study and pray. As our Branch President says, "There are more prayers offered per square foot here than anywhere in the world." I've been loving the fall colors and most everything. Except getting up at 6:20. Don't love that.

Thanks so much for the package! I laughed over the jerky. It's actually really good. And the socks are VERY useful. It's fun to get letters during the day, too. :) I'm glad you had more time with family and that you got home safely (though Imay have started crying when I read that you almost called me down for scriptures).

If I had any doubts before entering the MTC, I can now say that I entirely believe that the gospel is true. The power of the Spirit and the priesthood are so real. The Lord blesses us daily and is looking for opportunities to help us, if we reach out to Him. The testimonies of others that I've heard here are so strong and so powerful, and I've never had so many chances to share mine. There is strength in that. It helps us grow so much to share our own testimonies, and to listen to those of people close to us.

I hope you all have a good week. I love you. <3

Love,

Christine

1. The one is my district. Sister Sorensen, Elders Daines, Whitehead, Merchen, De Priest. Then me, Sisters Christiansen and Page, Elders Heywood and Feltner

.2. Sisters Christiansen and Page

3 and 4. I tried to be creative with mine and my comp's tags.

5. Walking to the temple before 8 am! So early! Such an unexpected hill!

6. Sister Sorensen and me after doing sealings.

7. Jaren! And presumably his District.

8. I needed a picture of one of the trees. The colors are amazing.

9. My District on Sunday. Note the gap between Sisters and Elders. (Page, Christiansen, Sorensen, Stevenson, Daines, Whitehead, Merchen, De Priest, and Heywood on the ground)

10. My Sisters :)

11. The Elders!

12. Me and my companion :)

13. Sisters again!

14. Sister Sorensen is NOT a fan of the food here, and her mom's trying to make sure she doesn't starve, haha.​