Brotha Wang Makes the Dive

This week was awesome! 

A little rainy still, but we saw a lot of miracles and have met a lot of really solid people! We are stoked to be able to see each of them progress as we continue to focus on repentance unto conversion. 

We went to the ZOO!

We also had a baptism for Brother Wang Qi Ming this week which was exciting. 

I was able to introduce Brother Wang to the members at his baptism which was a great honor as he is one of the most humble and faithful men I have met. I also stood with Elder Dong as a witness of his baptism and was able to lay my hands on his head to assist in confirming him a member of the church. 

I have been blessed greatly this week. I am doing happy! Elder Robinson has helped me a lot as far as being positive goes. We keep each other happy and are loving our time together as companions! 

This week I also got to go on exchanges with Elders Hammond and Hamilton. I was really sick with a cold (and still recovering) but we still went on exchanges because of time and it worked out OK. I just kept going even though it was literally killing me. 

There was a sense of victory at the end of each day this last week and I am still alive so it was worth it. 

Those two elders, though nervous to be district leaders, are awesome! They have a lot of love and determination to help those they are serving. I learned a lot from them and I was able to talk with them and give them some new ideas of things that they could try that worked for me as a district leader. 

Also my companion and I took some time to do some training which was fun and we all learned. 

Exchanges are tiring but sure are fun!

    

Elder Henry David Christensen 

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head

We moved apartments this week and our new apartment is awesome! It is right by the mountains and the street name is pretty funny. It is Beetle-nut Road which is the Taiwanese version of tobacco, so it is a great coincidence that we moved here. 

Moving this week was fun but it did take out a lot of finding time because it was such a big project. You can imagine the filth and junk that piles up after five years of 19 year old teenage boys living in a small space with no desire or know-how to clean. It really was quite the project and we are excited to be done with it. 

We ended up throwing away all four desks and all the furniture and pretty much everything that we didn't bring ourselves because it was all broken and gross. Our new apartment is a lot better and more modern. Our toilets were made in Japan and have some cool functions. At night, it will light up and it will spray ya good when you are done to get you all clean. It's real nice. 

Besides moving, it was also a rainy week which sometimes means less people are out, but we were still able to see a lot of miracles and success despite the distractions and setbacks. We would come home soaked but happy because we were working hard and that is always satisfying. Our pants dry out pretty quick but my shoes have been soaked through for a few days and are still a little moist. The bottoms are falling off too but I think they will make it through to the end. I might bronze them after I get home haha. Anyways, it would be nice if it stopped, ya know?

We are also really excited for Wang Qi Ming, who is the brother that is getting baptized this next week, and we have been working a lot with him to overcome smoking. He called us the other day and said he had no more desire and that he was ready to get baptized! He had his baptismal interview at the same time as another set of Elders' investigator Sister Chen Bao Feng did. Brother Wang passed and so did she! We are all really excited for their baptisms coming up this next weekend. It was my first time doing a baptismal interview (I interviewed Sister Chen) but I wasn't nervous at all. I think it is just because I am an old missionary haha. It was a very relaxed and peaceful interview and the spirit was there. I was happy to be able to help someone make this step towards Christ, repentance, and baptism.

Thank you for your love and support have a great week! 

Elder Henry David Christensen

Robinson Crusoe

Adventures for days here in the Southern Zone.

I got transferred down here after only one transfer in the northern zone which was kind of weird. 

But I am still a zone leader and now my companion is one of my better homies from the MTC. We are the same age on the mission and will both be going home the same day. 

He is Elder Robinson and he is a skier from Bountiful Utah! We are homies!

It has been super fun and we have already seen a lot of success! 

I hope to not move again from this area but I got here right as we sealed a deal to move apartments so the other day we went and checked out our new apartment and it is on Beetle Nut Road. 

It is super nice and I am happy to be moving because our apartment right now is super gross. 

The paint is falling off the walls and the doors all don't close and etc.. It is the worst. 

We live with another companionship and it is fun to have more homies to chill with! It is a good life here. I couldn't be more excited and happy.

We have adventures every day. you can too.

Love,

Elder Henry David Christensen 

Yesterday

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though their here to stay. oh, I believe in yesterday. 

Yesterday was beautiful. It is easy to lose focus on the beauty of the work, but yesterday we were able to teach with the purpose of truly trying to bless others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Statistically, yesterday was not super great, but I felt the spirit many times guiding me and we were able to share with people in a very special way. 

I am doing pretty well, although I do feel quite a lot of pressure on my shoulders. We have been working so hard and just not seeing any real results so we are hoping to focus more on the spirit and Christ as well as the other mission initiatives. I know that tomorrow and today don't need to be painful or daunting. They are not meant to be that way. In a sense we need to just look forward and try our best relying on the Savior.

On another note I started noticing that soda was really making me feel gross so I vowed I wouldn't drink it anymore. So at least till the end of my mission I won't be. But I feel I could do it forever just to avoid that unhealthy feeling. Hopefully I can have more energy. 

    We had a fireside last night in Taibei which was pretty cool. We brought one of the less active members as well as a recent convert from our ward and they seemed to enjoy it. I was also able to see a lot of missionaries that go home this next transfer and I won't see them again soon. So that was weird. But I am pretty used to goodbyes now. 

All in all it was a 還蠻不錯的一個禮拜 (Quite good for a week). I am loving it here and trying to keep focused. My companion often mentions things about home so it is hard to focus but he is getting better about being sensitive as to what he talks about. haha

I am so grateful for you and your testimony. It has been a rock and foundation for me as I slowly have built my own beside yours. I fasted for you and dad yesterday and I hope you are doing well and healthy. I love you mom.

Love you all have a good week!

Love,

柯衡瑞長老