Elder Mitchell Christensen: November 2015

Week 10 - Spanish Town

This week was a pretty solid week! We got a new investigator who was taking lessons in Nagril and moved down to Spanish Town. She moved in with her boyfriend though after getting the law of chastity lesson. Kind of funny but we hope she will soon get married. Men here in Jamaica don't want to get married sadly. But Yaneek's boyfriend really wants to get married! And he also wants to raise a family in the gospel! Her boyfriend Dwane is a pretty cool guy. He lived in England for 15 years and he said that’s were he really found out how important family is. Family is so important to gods plan for us.

I got to go on a tradeoff this week with Elder Koegler. He is a great Missionary! I learned a lot from him. He is pretty funny in lessons and it makes the investigators be themselves when we are all laughing. He is going home at the end of the transfer though.

Street contacting this week had some pretty funny experiences. I went up to a man and we talked for a little bit and i asked him for his number so we can call him. He was about 25 years old and he told me that him mom said he can't give out his number to anybody. So we left and Elder Graham and I just busted up laughing. But another guy we talked to was the brother of someone Elder Graham was teaching before i got here. Hopefully he will come to church. He plays the piano! not many Jamaicans know how to do that!

I finished the book of Mormon on Saturday! I started on the 24 of September and finished the 14 of November. Never thought i could read that book so fast. I learned so much from it though. Now I’m reading it again. I got a new copy and am just focusing on Faith. One of the challenges President Brown has given us is to read 6 pages of the book of Mormon every day. If we do that we will finish the book of Mormon in 100 days.

On Sunday we get to church an hour and a half early. So i just start reading the book or Mormon or other church books. The 2nd counselor came up to me and said man you are always preparing a talk. I was joking back with him and said Yeah Just let me know when you want me to speak! I don't think he knew i was joking around because he told all the missionaries to write a talk on the importance of families. All the missionaries just shook their heads at me haha but I laughed and am excited to talk to the importance of Families! We got several families here on earth! Our family we are born into and our ward family! Families are important!

Hope everything is good back into the states!

Nuff Love

Elder Christensen

Elder Gardner Made Rice and Peas with Stew Pork and festivals! Super good!

Crazi Missionaries

Elder Pulsipher and Elder Christensen

Week 9 - Spanish Town

Wagwong Family!

This week we got to go to Kingston for P Day! We were going to go to bob marley museum but it was too much Money! 2000 JMD. Don't got that money yet saved up haha but soon come we will go there! I finished my First transfer though! I'm about 8 Percent done with the Mission! Today also is my 2 month mark! it has gone by super fast! I'm getting a little nervous about how fast it will be! In Kingston we ate at chilitos which is a Jamaxician Restront. It was supper good! Also went to the devin house and had ice cream! The ice Cream melts super fast here!

We had International day of service on Saturday. We did something called Chop Yard. It was more like Chop a whole farm field. We went to a special needs school and they have a farm and teach the kids little things. But we cut the grass out of this field and Macha trees which are worse that a cactus. Their needles are way sharp! Got my hand all cut up from doing this work!

Brother Price a member in the ward threw a party and invited a bunch of non members! I learned how to play jamaican Domonos. My favorite was the french version. Lots of rules though!

We got Tahni on date for December 27th. He said once he reads the book of mormon all the way through he will be baptized! Super happy for that!

Jamaica is awesome i"m so glad i'm serving a mission. A scripture from 3 Nephi 13:21, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We need to make our treasures not worldy things. Make them what god would want them to be and than we will be closer to him because thats where our heart will be! Love Serving the lord!

Nuff Love

Elder Christensen

Elder Gardner, Elder Graham, Elder Banton, Elder Pulsipher, and Elder Christensen

Fried fish - fried the whole fish

Service Day

Week 8 - Spanish Town

Jamaica has been full of rain this week! When it rains here it is usually a nice sprinkle or you get soaked and the rest of the day you are just wet! Thankfully i haven't been in a bad rain storm yet!

This week Elder Graham and I Had a goal to get 21 Potential Investigators. We got 22!! We don't always get to see the people we talk to because i think they feel bad if they say no i don't want to hear about this so when we go to their house they are never there haha but we met an man named Tahni this week. Tahni is such a smart Jamaican! never meet a man here that could read like him and remember as much as he can! Probably because he doesn't have a spliff in his mouth like everybody else! Tahni has about 1/4th of the book of mormon read. He has had the book for 4 days. He loves reading and he remembers everything and tells us what he has read. he will even call his wife who lives in Canada and teach her what we just teaching him! Really hope he will understand that even though he has been baptized that it didn't have the proper authority or that Priesthood. He is an amazing guy! Annie also came to church this sunday!! She said she is going to come every sunday! She loves the church. She had so many friends in the ward that she didn't even know were mormon! She really wants to be baptized but her boyfriend who has been living with her for 10 years doesn't want to get married... Jamaicans confuse me.

Elder Havali one of the Assistants to the President came to Spanish town and went teaching with Elder Graham and I. It was one of the best experiences so far on my Mission. He is an amazing teacher! I learned so much and he said he was really impressed with me. He said he has never seen a new Missionary just go up and talk to people. That night really took me to another level. Teaching people now we stop after a few sentences and check for understanding. It seems to be working so much better! I'm grateful to have that experience.

The food this week was... Interesting. I had Fried fish! The fish was cleaned out but after that they just deep fry it with the skin and head and tail. It was pretty good! I was surprised how good the head of the fish was! A little crunchy but good! I also had Brown Stew! It had rice and chicken liver! the liver was a little suprise! Tahni didn't tell us it was liver until after we finished all of it!! It was a little salty but it was full of iron he said!

I'm so grateful to be out here in Jamaica. Elder Graham and I talked to a guy on the street from Cali and he asked us how we liked it here. I said i loved it here and he said are you kidding me! It's so scary and crazy here! People die every day! I know my Heavenly Father is looking after me because i'm doing his work and i'm obeying the rules, keeping the commandments, and praying. Never forget to pray. I have become so close to my Father and have been prompted so many times. Inspiration is real and prayer is the way we ask for that! I love ya all! Keep up the work in the states!

Nuff Love!

Elder Christensen

Elder Christensen gets a haircut from Elder Graham

Irish Moss drink - tastes like a peanut butter shak

Halloween

Week 7 - Spanish Town

Hey Family!

This week has been great! I got to go on my first Exchanges on Wednesday. I was with Elder Knight for the day. It was fun to go to another area and to see some new people! There was some pretty great Sun sets this week! I tried a lot of different foods this week! I had Chicken foot stew! It was great! The Chicken foot isn't too bad. If you cook it just right it is the Best part of the chicken!! I also tried bone Marrow. You bite off the end of the bone and just suck out the marrow inside the bone! That is pretty good too! I also had some coconut water! Its good as well! Jamaicans have a different type of Ketchup. They put cane sugar in it and people just load up on ketchup!

This week we found some pretty cool investigators. One's name is Collin. He has read the Book of Mormon 3 times! He loves the book and knows it is true but doesn't know what to do now with this knowledge! We are going to teach him in 2 weeks because he went up country to visit some friends. We are also teaching Annie. A member referral from a recent convert. Annie is doing really well! She says when ever she reads the book of Mormon she feels joy. That's a good sign she knows it is true! We just need to get her to church. That's one of the biggest problems in Jamaica is church attendance. Not many people have cars. They all walk or take Taxis. It costs 2 dollars to get where ever you need to be. Its pretty cheep. Taxi's are crazy! most of them don't have AC you come out sweating like crazy!

We got Rain on Sunday! but the bad part about rain is Jamaicans are scared of the rain. when the rain comes down the Jamaicans go inside and the rest of our day stinks because they won't let us in and nobody is to be found on the streets!

Church was great this Sunday! One of our Investigators Erika who said she had a dream about the book or Mormon came to church. I have never seen her kids so quiet! It was awesome she was able to see how church is like and hopefully she keeps on working and getting to church!

I love the Book of Mormon! I'm so grateful to be able to teach others about this wonderful book! I know it is true! The more we read it the stronger we become in the gospel. The Book of Mormon has so many promises in it if we keep the commandments and we don't fallow the influence of the world. I love Jamaica and the People! I will just stop and sit down next to a man on the street and talk to him about the gospel and the Happiness that it brings to my life! I know that Families can be together forever because of the Plan of Salvation! I love and pray for each and everyone of you! Keep working hard and endure to the end!

Nuff Love

Elder Christensen