Sister Christensen's "Eh" Team
​Canada Edmonton Mission
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"It's like Out of the Movies!!"

12/27/2016

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HELLO ALL!

First of all, I hope you had a fantastic Christmas! It was so so so great to Skype you, family! I can't believe how quickly Christmas has come and gone. It's still July in my brain! Except for the whole freezing arctic winter weather. Haha But it was a great Christmas! It's been an insanely busy week for us! We've been running here, there, and everywhere! 

I got to go on exchanges with Sister W this week! She's only been about for about 2 weeks and talk about Greenie Fire! She is so excited to be a missionary. We really focused on street contacting and bold conversations. She taught me so much!  She just loves being a missionary so much! We had so really cool conversations with a lot of people. One that stood out to both of us was with a guy from Mexico. We were talking about the Book of Mormon with him, and then he asked me a very unique question, "why is Jesus Christ so important?" I was slightly taken aback. I hadn't really ever thought about that question before, He's always just been so important in my mind. After I gave it some thought, the conclusion I came to was He is the whole reason why we are here. If we didn't have the hope that His Atonement brings, there would be zero purpose to our lives. There would be no hope, there would be no joy. We would just exist. It sparked a really great conversation, and although he didn't agree to meet, we both felt that we had truly testified of the purpose of our message, to bring others closer to Christ.

Thursday morning was such an crazy experience! We had a lesson with a Recent Convert, P, and her friend, K. P's boyfriend, J, was there, and we all read the introduction of the Book of Mormon together. After reading the first paragraph, we asked J what is was saying. Without hesitation, he said, "this is the word of God!" We about fell out of chairs! He just knew it so quickly! It was amazing! The more we read in the intro, the more he loved it! We asked him at the end of the lesson, we asked him if he came to know that this was the true church if we would be baptized, and he said yes! Another almost fall out of your chair moment! He's agreed to meet with the Elders that cover his area, and we're so excited for him! 

We had quite a humbling experience on Christmas Day. We had planned to visit a less active woman from the Connor's Hill ward that we had been working with. We had the elders give her a blessing last week, and we had discussed in that visit that the Elders would be taking it from here. We felt like we had tried all we could to help her, and so we figured maybe a change would help her move forward. We had planned this Christmas visit to be our last and then the elders would take over. SO we came over, had our nice visit. Christmas is pretty hard for her because she's really struggling financially. At the end of our visit, we casually mentioned again that we've enjoyed our time with her and the elders will be in touch. She was so shocked!! It was like we had dropped a bomb on her. You could just see the hurt and emotion flood to her face. So we try to backtrack a bit, but there was no saving it. She was devastated and so upset. We left feeling like the biggest Scrooges in the world. We had dumped her on Christmas! We had to go back to our apartment to Skype our families, but after that, we knew we needed to go back. So we drove back and apologized for being so insensitive. We hadn't even considered how this would make her feel, and we hadn't really put much thought and prayer into this switch. We just assumed it would be the best thing for her. When we went back, she kept expressing how we don't realize the impact that we have on every person we come in contact with. We lift them in a way that's not tangible, it can't be measured or proven. That hit me pretty hard. I've been looking for tangible results my whole mission, and time and time again I feel that I fall short because you can't measure my success on a piece of paper. But she's right! More often than not, we will not see the fruits of our labors. Seeds take a long time to grow, and it takes continuous nurturing and care for that seed to grow. Some seeds grow faster than others, but it takes that consistency to help it flourish. I learned a very important lesson that day. I am truly humbled and penitent because of that experience. 

Some other things that happened on Christmas included a TON of caroling! I lost count of how many times we sang Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! haha but it was a blast. One house we stopped at was near some potential investigators that the Spanish elders had found. We saw that their lights were on so we went and knocked. As soon as this woman opened the door, her whole face lit up! She immediately let us in and started grabbing cookies for us! Haha she kept saying, "it's just like in the movies!" haha definitely a highlight of the night! 

Besides all of the calls and caroling and temporary Scrooge moments, the best part of Christmas was being able to attend Sacrament meeting. It just felt different, especially when the sacrament was being passed. It really hit me that this is what it's all about. This is why Christmas exists! Without his Atoning sacrifice and love, December 25 would be just another day. But because of Him, we get to celebrate the greatest gift that has ever been given. I am in complete awe of the joy and love that I feel from Him as I share His gospel with every person we meet. As you have read from this email, I am so so far from perfect. But I know that this work will be accomplished because it's His work, not mine. 

Thank you a thousand times again for your love and support! I wouldn't be where I am without it. And Happy 2017 to all of you!!!

Sister Bethany Christensen
#blessed
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Merry Christmas, Everyone!

12/20/2016

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Hello everyone!

It has been an amazing week for us! And it's been so amazing that
there's been zero time to write an email for you. Ha ha we went to the
Legislature building today with a few of the sisters in the city, and
so there wasn't enough time to write you all a big email.

I just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas! It truly is an
incredible time of year. I can feel a difference in the air as we talk
to people. I hope that each of you will try to make this Christmas
about our Savior, Jesus Christ. He truly is the gift. What an honor to
be representing Him on His special day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I love you all!!

Sister Bethany Christensen
#blessed
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It's So Cold My Eyebrows Feel Frozen!

12/13/2016

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​Hello Everyone!


It has been a cold and dreary week in the Great White North! Like so cold! Have you ever had it be so cold that your eyebrows feel frozen? yep.... that's how cold it was! With the windchill, it got down to -40 one night! Haha This is the Canadian winter I've been warned about. But despite the cold, it was a great week!

Wednesday was complete chaos! Although we didn't get transferred, we had to go to the transfer meeting to get our car! We know have a car full-time!! So blessed!! We had 20 new missionaries coming into the mission and 20 leaving. So there were people everywhere! I got to see all of my companions! We gave a training in the New Leadership Meeting, and it made me realize just how much I love being a Sister Training Leader! I love what I do! There is so many little details that keep this work going, and I'm gaining a stronger appreciation for it everyday. Later that day, we had a bit of time to tracting in the freezing cold! We decided we would knock on 10 doors and then get back in the car. A classic 4th Floor, Last Door moment! The last girl felt so bad for us being out in the cold that she let us in! We shared the Christmas video with her, and although she wasn't interested, the Spirit was there, and our feet got warm! haha

Thursday was my favorite day! MLC day! (Mission Leadership Council) I love it so so much! We spent the whole day talking about how to help the missionaries in our mission. I love that each of us have such a sincere desire to be better missionaries and to help others do the same. There is such power in counseling together to help our circle of influence. I have a testimony of councils! haha We have another MLC this week, so I'm excited to continue focusing on how we can build the mission. -End of missionary nerd moment. hahaha

Friday, we had our first meeting with our new ward mission leader in Forest Heights! Ok crazy thing- his name is Ri C. On Sunday, we also got a new ward mission leader in Strathcona, our married student ward, and his name is..... Ri C!! It's so crazy! They are both incredible men with a huge desire to work hard, and so we're really looking forward to working with them. All we need to do is figure out a nickname for one of them! 

Saturday was so good! We had a lesson with our new investigator, K K! He's from Korea, and he's married to a member. He's been taught the majority of the lessons by the Elders, but we found out he is a married student, so they passed him over to us. He has the best fellowshippers we could ever ask for! They set up the appointment, they invite him to other things, they translate for us because we don't speak Korean, and he speaks very little English. Haha We talked about the Book of Mormon and committed him and his wife to read it together. It's a bit of a challenge with the language barrier, but we're excited about him! 

Sadly, I've been battling a nasty chest cold for the last 5 days, and it has been such a pain! But despite the sickness, we were still able to get out and work every single day. I know that it wasn't my own strength that got me out each day, it was Grace! I literally couldn't have done it on my own! Being sick is no fun, and it is so hard to keep up the motivation. But I know that this isn't about me. And time goes so so fast! The weeks keep moving faster and faster, and I know that each moment is so precious. The last thing I want is to spend all that time lying in a bed sick! There are too many people to talk to and teach! Haha so I truly have a testimony of Grace, the enabling power of the Atonement. It can be for spiritual, emotional, and physical things in our life. And we don't always have to be worthy of it! It's just there, waiting for us to use it. I'm grateful for my Savior, that He has given this gift to me, unconditionally, and it will continue to be there. 

It is my hope that each of us can find a way during this Christmas season so give something back to our Savior. He's given us more than we can ever pay back, but whatever little thing we can do will have value in his eyes. 

I love you all so so much! Keep enjoying this Christmas season!

Sister Bethany Christensen
#blessed
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Mountains!!!

12/5/2016

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Hello from Jasper Winter Wonderland! ☃️🌲🏞 mountains and snow
everywhere! I'm in heaven.

What an amazing day and week it's been!

Last night, we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with
P! She tried her very hardest to pay attention, but it's hard when
you're 9! Haha she's progressing along so well. It's amazing to watch
her live the gospel every day. We got to teach Sharing Time in Primary
yesterday, and she was such a great example to her brother and other
classmates. We haven't set a solid Baptism date, but we do know it
will be sometime after Christmas. She loves serving people, and she
will grow up to be such a strong member of the church.

Friday night we had an incredible lesson with our investigator,
G. I don't remember if I've told you about him, but I'll give
you a bit of a run down of his story. He's from India originally, and
he's had quite the journey to get to Canada. While in India, he met a
woman who was Christian, and after studying, he himself converted to
Christianity. Sadly, his family was completely outraged, to the point
of disowning him, beating him, and beating his girlfriend and her
family. The persecution was so strong that he had to leave India!
After travelling through various countries, he found himself in a
prison in the US because he had no documentation. After a year in
detainment, he left the US and made his way to Canada. He has no
contact with his girlfriend, and he only speaks Punjabi. Which is a
language I had never even heard of until I met him! Haha he's been
through so much! And yet, he still has a strong belief in Christ. His
friend, M, who comes to translate for him, is Muslim, but he's
fully supportive of G being able to practice what he believes.
He really wants to know more about Christ, and he's willing to do what
it takes to make that happen. Sadly, the church doesn't have anything
in Punjabi except for the testimony of Joseph Smith. So it will take
sometime, but I know he's been led to Canada to find the gospel! I'm
astounded by his commitment to keep believing in the face of serious
persecution, and it inspires me to be more committed to what I know to
be true.

Tuesday night, we had a unique opportunity to help with a dinner for
the homeless. The Church works really closely with an organization
called the Mustard Seed. The Mustard Seed focuses on building the
community by providing services for the homeless, and we volunteer at
their donation center every week. They asked us if we could help cover
the dinner, and it was such an incredible experience! Almost all of
the volunteers had never met missionaries, and they asked us so many
questions! And being able to help these homeless people in such a
small way was such a blessing. It was humbling to see how little they
had. I'm so blessed! Sister A offered the blessing on the food,
and the spirit just swept the room. These people are in desperate need
of hope, and I think we were able to give them a glimpse of how the
gospel brings that.

We spent a lot of time finding this week, including going to an Art &
Craft Show and having a street booth at the chapel on Whyte Avenue.
This Christmas initiative is genius! It's such an easy conversation
starter! We went to this craft fair hoping to find some married
students that would fit under the demographic of our married student
Ward. What a hipster scene! People were selling concrete coasters,
handmade 1 string guitars, maintainable ecosystems that live in
jewelry. Hahah it was crazy! But we had some great conversations with
some of the booth owners. Sadly we didn't find any married students,
but it was still a success! The Whyte Ave booth was great too! I was
able to go on splits with a girl named M! She joined the church
9 months ago while living in Yellowknife, and she has started working
on her mission papers! We had such a blast together, and she is such a
natural! She talked to every person she saw! We had some great
conversations with people, and I learned so much from her about being
a missionary regardless if you have a name tag.

And to finish off the week, today was JASPER! Goodness I love this
place with my whole heart! The mountains, the trees, the atmosphere,
the people, ah! Life doesn't get much better! We were able to go
hiking along Maligne Canyon and drove up towards Maligne Lake. My
favorite moment of the day was sitting in a lodge, overlooking a lake,
drinking hot chocolate, and talking with our waiter about the gospel.
He's also from India! But sadly doesn't speak Punjabi. Haha he told us
about his experiences of how he came to work in Jasper. He gladly
accepted a Mormon.org card with the link to the Christmas video. We
met someone incredible today, and it has been such a blessing to be here
today, and enjoy the incredible beauty God has created.

It has hit me really hard this week just how quickly these last few
months will go. Everyday moves faster and faster, and it makes me want
to relish in every moment possible. I can't believe all the miracles
I've witnessed so far, and I know there are many more to come.
God is so good!

Have a great week! Check out the advent calendar on Mormon.org! Love you all!

Sister Bethany Christensen
#blessed
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    Aimee & Sheri
    Christensen

    We are Sister Christensen's mom and twin sister.  Aka: Mama S & Aimee  We will be updating this blog with emails, photos, and adventures from Sis. Christensen

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