week 10

Mommy & My Friends,

"Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt." -William Shakespeare

That is the biggest mountain I`m climbing right now., Not doubting that I can do this. I gave a 7 min talk in church yesterday on Faith. It helped me a lot because truly you can do anything through Christ. His mercy and grace an reach everyone if we truly try and strive to seek it every day. This work is great. I know only through pure faith (a lot of it ) can I become great enough to do a work like this. Its an amazing transformation.

Ushuaia was really cool. We just spend the day there and only stayed in the church. We did get to sneak away for a sec though and steal some pics. Minus the sea, it looks just like Cache Valley in the winter. Cool mountains with a fair amount of snow. I also saw Elder Harris and we caught up. He is doing great. President and Hermana Salerno are really cool as well. President speaks perfect English but Hermana Salerno hardly speaks any but she tried really hard for me during our interview because she wants to learn so that was nice. Besides the fact that we now can drink mate` in our pensions, no rules or goals changed from President Rogers to President Salerno. The goal is still a Temple on the Patagonia. 

When I got here, I couldn`t have cared less about soccer. But it is actually kinda cool haha I never thought I`d say that ever in my life. When I arrived, my companion told me that my team was Boca because that's his favorite team and if anyone asked me I`m Boca also. The 2 big teams in Argentina are Boca and River and you`re either one or the other and you have to hate the one you don`t cheer for. So at our lunch appointment on Thursday, the members asked if we were Boca or River. My companion said Boca, I said I didn`t care but got told I was Boca. So right then, the member went into his closet and brought out a River shirt for me haha. So now I am officially River, no longer Boca. My companion hates me now as well haha. Also, when he asked me where I was from and I said the United States, the first thing he said was, "Oh like Shaquille O`neal!" Its an honor to be put in the same category as him haha. 

One  of our investigators, Eufemia, is having problems and she gave us her book of Mormon back. I literally teared up. Also, we met with Fernando again. He only smoked one cigarette this time. I shared my adoption story with him. He really liked that and said I am very lucky. I also, for the first time since I can remember, talked about my sister, Amanda. He had a daughter that passed away with super rare disease at 6 months old. Amanda passing having only 3 months with the hole in her heart was a good connection.  He always has a lot of questions and we do the best we can. (Amanda actually lived a little less than 2 months, and was born with only half a heart, Caleb was born with a small hole, which is probably what confused Max.  Max was just barely three when this happened and Caleb was born just 2 days later).

Much Love,

Elder Christensen

Max and Elder Harris met up in Ushuaia at an area meeting to meet the new mission president

More Ushuaia

Elder Llactahuaman, one of the assistants to the president Elder Goodman, and Max

Photos of Max's district in Rio Grande (Thanks to Quique Marcos the ward mission leader)

Some more pictures from the MTC (Vader)

Week 9

 

"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him." -Abraham Lincoln. 

I read that quote on Wednesday and I really like it. It's what I strive to become. I also found out Wednesday that "Uno" here is still called "Uno". Although here, I call it "One." I got to try horse meat this week. Its pretty good really, and no different than regular meat. 

On On Thursday night we met with Fernando. He was an old investigator who was a reference from a ward member. He was pretty nice to us and he also finished 3 cigarettes during our lesson. He had a ton of questions for us (mostly Elder Llacthuaman because he talked really fast and I couldn´t understand haha). I was able to testify multiple times though and at the end of the lesson I invited him to read 2 Nephi chapter 2. So I would also like to invite all of you to read it as well. Its a good piece of scripture. 

We don´t have any progressing investigators but we have a ton of new people but we rarely have lessons. Maybe 1 or 2 a day. Its interesting here because if people are sleeping, cooking, or eating (which is LITERALLY like half the day) you don´t get in. It was a little frustrating at first, but I´ve gotten used to it. The members here though are amazing and really nice and patient with me. Milanesas are fastly becoming my favorite food with pasta being 2nd because we eat a ton of both. The members gave us so much every day last week it seemed. This week we´ve done a lot of reactivating less active members. A lot of visits like that but still waiting on some results which is okay.

We are going to Ushuaia tomorrow (the most southern town on earth so LITERALLY the end or bottom of the world) to meet the new mission president, President Salerno. Besides that, not a lot to report this week!

Much Love,

Elder Christensen

P.S. I must be gaining weight because I snapped my chair in half just sitting down last night.

Answers to a few questions we asked

We attend the church not in centro. I think there are 12 total missionaries here. There are about 100 members in our branch. Elder Shaq is great he´s super funny and helpful and a good cook as well. He also likes music and art. We mostly walk, bus, taxi. We see the missionaries in our district probably every day and the zone every Monday. We´re the only missionaries in our apartment building but the 2 hermanas in our district live in the one behind us.

His apartment complex (Right next to the church)

They actually this one

Old pictures, but just sent today

week 8

Mom & Mis Amigos,

Happy 4th of July!! It took me till about 9:30 to actually realize what day it was. I hope everyone enjoys the parades and fireworks. We woke up to snow this morning with a -15 degree wind chill, definitely feels like a Cache Valley winter.  haha. Everyone who reads this has to eat at least 4 pieces of candy for me please. 

For me personally, its been a little hard here. Just a little mental and emotional struggle and adjustment. Yet there are 2 things that keep me going. One is all the emails and support from home. You guys are amazing. The other is a simple poem titled, "Upon Leaving Home" given to me before I left by an amazing man, former coach, and great friend Kirk McRae (Alex McRae´s Dad). It goes like this:

"I left my quiet harbor in favor for another, I know not where.

But first, There are seas to cross and storms to brave.

How could I prefer the foreign deep to the encircling arms of my bay?

Because, some things can only be learned at sea.

Yes, my craft is watertight, I can navigate the unknown, And, O, THE WIND THAT BLOWS MY SAILS BLOWS 

FROM HOME." 

There are things in life I could only learn here. This is harder than any practice or math class. Yet I can call it amazing because I´m learning about myself and growing my knowledge in areas I had not before. God, and my Savior Jesus Christ have given me EVERYTHING. They also gave me Argentina. His children here in Rio Grande, I love them. And I want to bring them Home. Brother Balboa (Rocky Balboa) once said : "The world ain´t all sunshine and rainbows, it's a mean and nasty place and I don't  care how strong you are it will beat you to your knees and leave you there if you let it...it ain´t about how hard you can hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." 

Our main investigator, Aimara, left a note for us on her door Saturday pretty much saying "Thanks for everything, but I´m done." Out of nowhere! We were both shocked. We had a baptismal date and everything. 

The members are super nice and we eat lunch with one family every day, but the Spanish is getting to me a little. Everyone wants to talk to me and I feel so bad because I can't understand them (especially the little kids ) so I dont know how to respond. But I guess I talk in my sleep. The Elders in the MTC and Elder Llactahuaman have both told me I bare my testimony in Spanish when I sleep. Crazy stuff out here. haha. The first time in my life I talk in my sleep is in Spanish. I´m truly learning to put all my faith in God.

Dad, you´ll like this part. I fell in a poop hole yesterday. There are pot holes of sewage all over the city. We tract all the time since not a lot of people let us in and our lessons cancel often. I've tracted for 11 days here now and I step on multiple a day. They are all sealed tight. Except for this one. Walking in the freezing wind coming off the Atlantic, next thing I know I'm up to my knee in poopy water. The lid slipped right out from under me like a movie scene. So Elder Llactahuaman and I walked the 3.5 miles back to our pension so I could change. The smell would have killed anyone we taught. But don´t worry mom, I laughed it off for the most part. haha. Just trying to prep the Patagonia for a temple!!

Much Love, 

Elder Christensen

Max said a few people had asked for a physical address.  This is the information from the mission president on sending letters and padded envelopes.  anything other than a padded envelope has to go through customs and costs time and money on the mission side and reduces the chances of it getting there. 

Letters and Padded Envelopes. If you send letters, cards or padded envelopes to your missionary, it is best to send it to the mission office at the address below.  It normally requires two or three weeks for letters, cards or padded envelopes to arrive in Argentina.  It may take an additional two weeks to be delivered to the missionary´s area of service.  Letters and padded envelopes are not usually required to be screened through customs.  Please use this address to mail letters, envelopes, and all other packages.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Marcos Caseres  

Elder/Hermana: Missionary Name

Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Mission 

Av. Fray Luis Beltran 75 

Comodoro RivadaviaChubut,

9000 Argentina

 Familia Beloquís: One of the best member families to the missionaries

Zone leader Elder Cardwell from Riverton (Left) Elder Hosteen from Burley (Right)

The poop hole and results from falling in

I believe this is an old picture from the plane ride, but he sent it today

 His church (Thanks to Google maps)

A restaurant near their house that Max thought was great