Ups and Downs and BAPTISMS!

Okay so this week as I say almost every week has definitely been full of ups and downs, but just a little more dramatic this time.

First off our Zone Conference was really great and really sad. I always leave those conferences feeling excited and motivated to just work, work, work! Every conference they give a time for the missionaries to bear their testimonies, and every conference before I’ve never wanted to, but this time was different. When President Chavez told us the time was ours, I jumped up first and walked up there, President was still doing something with the microphone and nobody else stood up, so for a second I though I misheard him and that our time for testimonies wasn’t at that moment. I asked President if it was okay to give my testimony cuz I was a little confused why when I got up to the stand nobody else stood up and President was still at the microphone. He laughed and said yeah go ahead. As I was talking I really felt so much love for President Chavez and his wife, by the way if you didn’t already know they end their mission this week and heading back to Santiago. As I told them how much they meant to me in my time as a missionary I had a hard time continuing cuz I just started crying, I didn’t realize how much they meant to me until I was up there. I really just felt so sad that they were leaving and yet happy for the time they gave us and felt tons of motivation to be better and work harder. Honestly before that Conference I always thought of the day I returned home as the best day of my life (don’t get me wrong I love my mission but I miss some stuff back home) but after how I felt seeing President Chavez ending his time and the other Elders I’ve seen leave lately that have meant so much to me, I realized when that day arrives where I have to give my goodbye testimony here, it will be a sad, sad day indeed. It was a strange yet comforting realization, because it showed me that I’m maturing and I really am loving my time here as a missionary.

Our new President, President Humphrey arrives tomorrow with his wife. They’re from California, I’m not gunna lie it’s going to be hard for them to replace President Chavez and his wife cuz they’ve done so much for this mission. When President Chavez arrived 3 years ago the mission was baptizing an average of 40 people a month, and about 500 or less in a year. Our goal as a mission now is to baptize 150 every month, and in 2009 we baptized 1004 people. In the conference he spoke of the Prophecy that President Hinckley gave when he told the church that we had baptized about 300,000 people that year. He said it was a great milestone, but was not enough and that with the combined work of the missionaries and members we would double that number. Well President Chavez told us that that prophecy has been completed seeing as in his time we doubled the amount of baptisms, but then he told us that it’s not enough. Great, great man, I’ll miss him

Then as you all know disaster struck. After our Zone Conferences, as a tradition, all the missionaries go to McDonalds to eat a nice American Dinner. As I went to pay I realized my wallet was missing and just felt sick. I called the Elders up at the church and asked them to look for my wallet. They showed up at Mcky D´s a few minutes later telling me they couldn’t find it. I had no idea where it was and was way bummed. I started to pray that I could have peace and just focus on the work, and that someone could find my wallet. I felt completely fine when we got to the house. I wasn’t sure if they’d find my wallet, but I was comforted. The next day an Elder down in Talca called me and said, ¨Elder Christenson have you been praying really hard lately? ¨ I told him I always pray hard, he laughed and told me they found my wallet, although the $14.00 I had in it was missing, all my cards and licenses were still there. That was a huge relief. Later that night I wanted to show a member a picture I had taken with my camera. . .but I couldn’t find the camera. I searched all over the house, my jackets, backpacks, everywhere, but couldn’t find it. I called that same Elder and told him, ¨Hey I have another treasure hunt for you.¨ They haven’t been able to find the camera, and so I’m pretty sure the person who took those $14.00 is currently in possession of it. Sad, sad day, I felt so much relief with the news that my wallet was found only to feel sick all over again finding out my camera was gone. I’ve fasted and prayed and accepted that there’s nothing I can do, just have to have faith and God will achieve the miracle. I talked to Elder Reynolds over the phone and asked him to make me a CD with all our pics together, and I’m going to call Elder Viana and ask him to do the same, so hopefully I can recover some of the damage that’s been done. On to the good news . . .

Fernanda and Kiara were baptized yesterday!!!!!! I had the honor of baptizing them both and it was just awesome to see how happy and excited they were together. The Oyarce family is pretty much the family that all the missionaries love here and thanks to two referrals they gave us (Kiara is their niece and is living with them right now, and Fernanda is Ignacio Oyarce´s girlfriend) we were able to bring two daughters of God into his true church. Awesome stuff! Afterward we went over to the Oyarce´s and had a BBQ with them and their extended family, and Fernanda´s parents. It was fun, but kinda awkward cuz not everyone knew each other so there’d be awkward silences every now and again, but we tried our best to stimulate the conversation. I asked my District leader if I could borrow his camera to take pics of the baptism, so I have all those on one of the other memory cards you guys gave me, I would send them right now, but the normal internet place where we usually go is closed for a ¨holiday¨ today as Chile plays Brazil in the World Cup today. Everyone here is so crazy about soccer, nobody’s working or going to school today just for that game. Drew wrote me and told me that Chile is gunna get destroyed haha we’ll see. I’ll send those pics to you guys later on :) Anyways that was my roller coaster this week haha, we still don’t know for sure if we’re having another conference next week, we’ll see. I hope so cuz i need a package soon, I’m suffering from lack of packages (I’m so freakin spoiled haha) I love you guys tons, tons and I’ll keep you updated on the quest for the camera, keep praying for us here. We’re achieving miracles and baptizing. I love, love, love it. My time as a missionary is going way too fast it’s sad, but what can I do, just work, work, work!!! haha I love you all.

Love

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