Sent 5/05/14

Minha Familia! Hang Loose!

You guys are probably already in HAWAII right now! Swag Swag! That's so
sick! I love how most everyone tried to hide the fact or at least feel bad
about telling me and Westley was the only one to be straight up and say
that he is trying to plan more vacations in the future while I am still
out!! haha

Alright so first off my week has been stressful but incredibly fast. We
taught more lessons this week than we have any other week since we've been
here in Lewiston which is a plus but at the same time not a whole lot of
other people are progressing. Peggy's baptism had to be moved back to next
Sat. on the 17 and that is the LAST sat of the transfer so we shall see if
that holds up. Terry is the other guy we have on date for that day and
pretty much he is my favorite man on the face of the earth! He is the real
life version of HayDay.. He IS little house on the prairie! Love that man
and he sat next to me in church yesterday. Testimony meetings are always so
nerve racking when you have investigators there. Either they are really
good or just really awkward! haha But me and Elder Hansen get up pretty
much every time because we can't stand the long pauses when our
investigator's salvation is at stake! But it was all great. We are swinging
by his house this afternoon to help him out with his FARM. It's going to be
so sweet. We are working today and taking our P-day tomorrow so that we can
attend the Temple before some of the Elders in the Valley end their 2
years. It's going to be so legit with all of the elders here in the valley
going. I honestly couldn't ask for cooler elders in this area. Such great
bros. haha Cool spiritual experience from the week was our lesson with the
Carpenter Family. We got into this set lesson plan and we were going to
teach about the restoration and we brought a returning less active along
with us. We get into this weird sideways conversation on some tangent about
the color of the nephites skin or something and He (the father) kept saying
stuff like how we will ALWAYS just agree to disagree and we hadn't even
taught him anything yet! haha so That's when our Member spoke up and bore
the most simple testimony on the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ
(something he said that he didn't know how to teach moments before we went
to the appointment) and the father of the investigating family stopped
talking and looked at him and asked him to go on and teach more. I don't
know why he wouldn't hear us when we tried teaching the same materiel. I
don't know why we had decided to bring along that specific member. I DO
know however, that Heavenly Father will plan it out for us. He knows where
we are going to be. He knows what they need to hear and who they need to
hear it from. If you want to know how to teach the restoration simply, BEAR
your most simple TESTIMONY! Seriously, this man had come from twenty years
of inactivity and he was able to share the most sincere testimony in
Christ's church being restored, in it's fullness, back to the earth. I
learned that if you want to be sincere, be simple. I love serving my
mission. I love meeting new people everyday and we will see about this
family and if they will progress at all. Heavenly Father has a plan for me
in this Spokane mission and eventually in Brazil as well. Funny story from
the week is when we went to help out a radio station with a fundraiser they
were doing in the parking lot of the mall. We got to hang out in a vintage
firetruck! And draw the plan of salvation in chalk on the black top of the
parking lot haha! I wanted the guy to teach me to dive his old firetruck
but it was a double clutch so probably a no go (also probably against the
rules... haha)

Alright so #realtalk.. Mother's day we get to Skype for an hour. Probably
in the afternoon before we have dinner at a members house so around 5 or 6.
Which hopefully isn't too late for you guys. We will make it work I am sure
so. Expect it in the after noon. And don't try to hide the view from the
window. I know you guys are in Hawaii haha it's nothing worth hiding! Just
make sure you get some dope stories. 

So Dallin Parker leaves for the MTC on Wednesday right! That's sooo sick! I
am so pumped for him. He will be incredible. Also Burns sounds like he is
killin it from the normal civilian status! Send my love.
K you folks have an incredible time in Hawaii! Its going to be so sweet to
look at pictures next monday so make sure you take good ones!

Amo vocês muito!
ELDER CHRISTENSEN