Fresh Start

April 25, 2018

Fresh Start

Que tal mis queridos?

We had a pretty solid week here in Hampton. Felt like I was back home because one day it snowed like a foot, then the next day and for the rest of the week it was 65 and sunny. So we are hoping the weather keeps up like this. Always nice to be out on the streets in spring weather. At the end of last week, the first couple days we got here, we were lost. Safe to say that at the end of this week, we still are...a little. Haha. We had Stake Conference this week, it was a little over an hour drive away and that entire drive blanketed in cornfields. So for two weeks now we haven’t even been able to get to know our members, have them help us out a bit, and get into the flow of things with the new branch. And most importantly, get all our awesome investigators to church!

We were able to meet with all of our investigators, get to know them a little and figure out what they need. We are working with some really awesome people and are excited to watch their progress (just need church to actually happen then we are good). But it’s also really fun because all of our investigators are really progressing, and have very different and unquie needs so it’s nice to “cover the whole spread”. At this point right now, we have four baptismal dates for each of them in June....so, we’re hoping once June rolls around we’ll be busy every Saturday evening.

One of these investigators is a Marcos. He’s a humble, super nice, and excited-to-learn homie from Guatemala (s/o to the boys down there) Marcos was probably the third actual door Elder Richardson and I knocked on when we got to Hampton. He was super intrigued by the Restoration Message but for some reason when I was walking away, I didn’t think anything special from it. (The Advesary try’n to work hard against us). A couple days passed and we were about to wind our day down, when Marcos just popped right into my mind and I had the strongest impression for us to stop by. As we stopped by, he opened right up and was excited to see us. As we started talking a bit, he casually told us that he had read the Restoration pamphlet with his wife, showed the pictures of Christ to his little daughter and just happened to flip to and read about Alma baptizing in the waters of Mormon....what?! He said he loved what he read and had all these questions about baptism, the B of M, etc. It was so cool; an experience I will not forget. LISTEN TO THE PROMPTINGS OF THE SPIRIT...without that, none of this would of happened.

With a new area and a really fresh start, we’ve been doing a lot of finding and talking with people. Making our presence known, building up our teaching pool to find that seed that is ready to be harvested. Mosiah 18:8-9, a scripture Sister Badger read at Stake Conference in her talk and something that sparked a flame for Marcos, “...as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that he be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that he may have eternal life.” That’s our mandate!

Love you all so much,

Elder Christensen