Week 13

New Companion Elder Cardenas

Mom, Dad, and All,

First off, I'd like to give a shout out to the man himself, Max ll! Happy Birthday this Saturday Dad! Thank you for raising me the way you did. I'm positive Grandpa is proud of the father, husband, and man you have become. I know he`s been cheering us on from the other side of the veil and I feel him with me here. I often wonder why you named me after him, for he was an amazing man. But I know if I become HALF the man you are, he will be proud. Love you Ole Man.

"While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior." -Henry C. Link

My new comp got here Wednesday night, so I stayed in Centro with Elder Clark Monday and Tuesday. It was a good time. My new Companion is Elder Cardenas from Ecuador. He literally doesn't speak nor understand ANY English haha. This will be good for me but different. Elder Shaq could almost always translate for me if i needed it in a lessons or in the store, and if I didn't know a word in Spanish I could say it in English and he could tell me in Spanish. This is not how its going to be with Elder Cardenas and that's okay. He has been out in the mission for 21 months, the exact same time as my last companion. We have gotten along really well since the first minute we met. Also, most of the Elders from the U.S. left this transfer so there is like 4 people in the whole Zone who speak good English and no one in my new District can speak or understand English. So its all Spanish 24/7 which is probably what I need. The only bad part is now no one can translate for me or save me from feeling really stupid. This is VERY humbling for me.

 About my Comp: From Ecuador. He danced ballet, Salsa, pretty much everything AND played soccer haha its awesome. He can cook anything with rice and make it taste good. He can also drink Chimichurri like me so I like that as well. He talks pretty fast so I can't understand him yet as well as my last companion but I do know he is pretty funny because I can understand him when he says that stuff. He also likes to sing obnoxiously loud to random songs (and dance of course), so we get along REALLY well (the Fam knows what I mean). Also side note, they are moving us to a different area tonight Chacra 13. We still go to the same church, just different pension and area. Its funny because my comp is brand new and I've only worked in Chacra 2.  It is an hour away on foot so neither of us know the area let alone how to get to church haha. So its essentially a white wash and we are starting from ground Zero. But we did teach Fernando in my old area for the last time. People like him are the reason I'm down here and he is already a great friend. I was able to speak the best I have since I got here when we were with him Friday night. When I told him we were moving to Chacra 13, he gave me a way cool Iron Man key chain and told me to come visit him one more time before I leave Rio Grande. Great Guy. Just out here working hard trying to prep the Patagonia for a Temple.

Much Love,

Elder Christensen

A few questions he answered for us.  Even thought the church is an hour away on foot, they walk and won't be taking public transportation.  They lost set of Elders in their district, so there are only 2 sets of missionaries in their district now, a set of Elders and a set of sisters. The sisters are going to be combining their area and Max's old area since they are both close to the church.  

 Broken chair #3 (and 2 beds)