ELDER RYAN DALE CHRISTENSEN: January 2010

Hello My Beautiful Family!

It sounds like you guys are doing good! Yes mom thank you for sending those videos, it was really awesome to hear all of your voices. Now I don't know if you know that getting videos is awesome along with pictures. So if you can right now start taking more videos for me. No it doesn't make me homesick. And when it's your turn to talk tell me whats going on in your life. Sorry but I really want to hear the boys talk more, I still can't beleive how much they have grown up. Also can you please get a video of Max and Nick for me? I havn't heard their voice in years lol. Also if you can Aunt Pammy and Uncle Derek and the kids and Grandma and Grandpa. Hope that's not to much. I just love videos. So speaking of Grandma this is a funny story. Last night we were about to go to sleep and my companiopn walks in and hands me a letter from Grandma. A letter saying Happy Thanksgiving! I said where did you get that? He said in the room with all the luggage. I was so confused, until I realized I must of went in the luggage room to grab something, set the letter down walked away and forgot about it for 2 months!!! I felt really bad, I was wondering why Grandma didn't write me for the longest time and she would never miss a important holiday like Thanksgiving. Yes, I am getting around to thank you notes. Probably next week though cuz me and my companion are going bowling... by the way tell Grandma in chinese that me and my companion would be correct grammer!! haha I don't speak english anymore I don't care. lol. mmm right now I am drinking fresh banana milk! It's really good. Actually every drink is good in Taiwan as long as it isn't tea. I can't wait to treat you guys to a nice mango drink! mmmm.

ok anyways yes I am really proud of zheng but at the same time I want to ring his neck! Yesterday he didn't come to church because he went to bed that morning at 7! He is done with his test and never could get sleep, so we have to wait till next week to get him confirmed. During Sacrament I talked to the Zone Leaders they said do anything you can to get him confirmed today! So I asked President Rao if he could confirm him at the end of Sacrament, he said sorry but that is not allowed! I was crushed, I had to call the Zone Leaders back after I got a hold of zheng finally, and tell them that he wasn't going to make it to church today! They understood but we were all kind of sad and mad. Because it is not good when someone gets baptism and has to wait to be confirmed, earlier I fought to get him confirmed after his baptism but Rao President over ruled the decision. So now he has to wait 2 weeks. Tanner probably knows if these members don't get the holy ghost ASAP most likely they will never get it because satan works really hard on them, or they get it and later on go less active. I hope none of that will be the case. We met with zheng yesterday afternoon and he felt bad he slept in and promised after he gets lots of sleep this week he will not miss church again! I beleive him he is a good kid. So please pray for zheng that he can receive the holy ghost!

Hello dad! I love the new office looks really good. I am happy for you to be able to have a job again. You looked like a manager, and i am happy you are getting good at solitare. Mom is just jealous that you are getting good because she doesn't want you to be better than her! Right mom! haha I love the scar mom it doesn't look that bad.

So Dad to answer your question last week Moses is talking with Jehovah the premortal Jesus Christ! Am i right? As I was reading it at first I thought Heavenly Father but I remembered a while ago reading the Pearl of Great Price study guide and it said that Jesus Christ has the authority from Heavenly Father to act and speak like he is the Father!!! Also Heavenly Father has never appeared to man since the fall of adam and eve and or introducing his son like in the first vison! So I also remember before my mission I asked you how do you know who is talking in the scriptures? The answer is very simple, since the father and son are on in purpose sometimes it doesn't matter, but no the simple anwer is of course or savior jesus christ!!! I hope I just taught you something! lol hey please send another letter with new deep doctorine I feel I am ready to receive most of the stuff you want to share with me. If not I will wait till I get home and in the celestial room would be the proper place for father and son to strengthen and learn from each other. By the way dad I invite you to read the last talk that Russell Ballard gave last conference. It was in the preisthood session! I felt of your spirit while pondering and reading that talk again. I hope after my mission we will have those serious talks about my education career choice and who will be my eternal companion. Thanks Dad I love you!!! Ya Mom that printer you had was horrible please do send more pictures with better quality! Also don't use Alyeas camera it's really bad. Brinae!!! wake up lazy Alyea has an exuse she didnt write me shes sick your not! lol hey it was fun watching you and Evan by the way I listened to your song over and over thank you for taping that Mom! But ya Evan looks cool in my book but I couldn't see him that well! Take a video of him or a picture!! That was funny you both waved towards the end! But make sure he gets on a mission! We need more missionaries in Taiwan! Alyea I love you hope you feel better! Wow you look so grown up.be safe! Hey boys make me proud get good grades and make the JV team not Freshman ok!

So mom do you have a subscription to the liahona or ensign? The new one just came out. There is a article in there of a guy named chen here in Taiwan. He is a tour guide at the yu shan national park. The liahona is awesome please get it. Also last night I was reading President Uchtdorf talk and he mentioned his two twin grandsons! I thought that was so cool because I have met one of them! haha So ya that's about it for this week! I love you all and remember to pray every night as a family! The family that prays together stays together!

Love your son, Elder Christensen

January 4, 2010 - Letter and P-day Bowling

Hello My Beautiful Family!

Wow this week was awesome! Let me start with yesterday though. Yes my investigator Zheng is amazing! But he scared me so bad! Church got changed here and starts at 8:50 now instead of 9:10 like bfore. Also Sacrament is at 10:50 so everything got switched around to help us get more people to Sacrament because 10: 50 is not as early. So ya church started and Zheng didn't show up yet, I was worried and called his cell phone many times, then Sunday school started and he still didnt come, now in the Tai Zhong Mission investigators have to come to church 3 times in order to get baptized as of yesterday Zheng has only come twice! His baptism was scheduled to be after church last week, he knew it but I knew since he has been preparing for an important test he probably slept in. Then time came for Sacrament meeting, he still wasn't there, for the 4 weeks I have known Zheng Rong Xian he is always early and he has never fanged us, I mean uh...stand us up. So I was super worried he wasn't going to make it. Our Branch Pres. even had the water all filled up in the font and asked me where he was. I said I don't know but maybe he will answer if I use your phone... he didn't! Then he said, keep trying, and had to leave to start the Sacrament meeting. So when he left I offered a prayer to help me know what to do. At this time also my companion was really sick and he wasn't talking or doing much of anything. So it was pretty much up to me to get this guy to church. Immediately after my prayer I received revelation. I called our Zone Leaders to get permission after the Sacrament has been passed to invite a member to take us to his house. Elder Clapier said yes I can, and we need to do anything we can to get him to church. If he his sitting down with 10 minutes left or even the last 5 it still counts for him being present at the Sacrament meeting. But if we can prevent this they should be attending the whole time!

So I invited a member to take us after the sacrament was passed to help us get him baptized today. During the Sacrament I prayed so fervently to help us find Zheng and get him to church in time before 12:00. At this time I was also fasting so I am positive that helped out a ton! He was willing to drive 20 minutes to his house. We have been there before only once but my directions are really good so we got there really fast. When we got to his house he just woke up and i was right, he slept in because of his test, he felt really bad and got dressed really quick then followed us over on his scooter. He also said his phone was on vibrate and missed every call. The Zone Leaders even called his house phone! Anyways at this time it was 11:30 and we still had a good 20 minute drive back, so I was praying so hard that we could make it on time.

We arrived at the chapel at 11:45. And zheng wasnt there yet, after he told us we went to 7-11 to buy a towel and the white underwear for the baptism. We walked into church and sat down at 11:50. I waited for the next member to sit down from bearing her testimony and got up and bore mine for the last 10 minutes. I said, you all probably thought us missionaries ditched Sacrament everyone lauged and shook their heads yes. Also really quickI had some other gators I had to leave that were already sitting with me. One Dad named Liao that has promised me for many weeks he would come to church but never did. He finally did and I was so excited to sit with him and sing together but I had to leave so he was kind of confused of what was going on too! So I told everyone the story and tied it in with having faith and I shared with them one of my favorite scriptures 1 nephi 7:12 this is when he is talking to Laman and Lemeul and says have you forgotten what the Lord has done for you.....then it ends with let us have faith in him. Please read that tonight as a family before you go to bed! So ya then I said in my testimony that I am so happy that Zheng will be baptized into God's church today. Please stay for his baptism after church so you can support him! At that time our Branch Pres. didn't announce the baptism because of fear he wasn't coming. So I did that for him, later that day he thanked me for doing that and getting Zheng BAPTIZED! haha ya! His baptism was amazing. I had the opportunity to do it and as I was starting the prayer I felt Grandpa there Mom! It was like he is waiting for me to go to the temple for him!

So ya I dunked him once and he said when he was under water his feet didn't touch the ground. He thanked me for baptising him so smoothly. He said the bouyancy of his body and the water was perfect. He doesn't know how to swim yet and he is afraid of the water but after he was so happy it went smoothly. Then he bore his testimony. It was really short but so powerful his exact words were,"I dont know what to say, uh when I first met Sun Zhang Lao, Cao, and Xie Zhang Lao, they all helped me quit smoking. I can truly tell you all I have really quit smoking! This is my testimony name of Jesus Christ amen! haha he is a stud!

Then that night the Sun family treated us to dinner and invited Zheng with us, we had a great time with the Sun family. The Sun ma ma is so awesome. When I first walked in to their house I looked up at her preparing the table and thought I saw you Mom! I told her she looks like you Mom. She laughed and said call me your mama then I said, no you are my Taiwan Mom instead. She is 48 and was jeaulous to hear that she is older than you Mom. I showed her a picture and she swore she thought you were Taiwaneese. I will get a pic of her and show you later! After dinner we went tracting with her 16 year old son! The kid brake dancing and Zheng accompanied us, they both did great even though towards the end of the night many people rejected us! I hope Zheng decides in one year to serve a mission he will do great! So i'm almost out of time I want to send you the pics! I love you and hope you enjoyed the conversion story of Zheng!!!!!!!!!

Love your Son,

Elder Christensen