Elder Christensen‏

¡¡¡Holaaa mi familia y todosss!!!
 
How is everyone doing? I hope that this letter finds everyone safe and
sound, like always! Well, we had another baptism yesterday, Nidian.
She is an old investigator that my comp and his old comp had left
because she wasnt progressing. But, one day we were walking in the
street and she ran up to us asking when the next baptismal service is!
So, we returned to teaching her, and yesterday she was baptized!!
Awesome!!! She has such great faith... Get this. Her mom didnt give
her permission to be baptized for anything, but she, being 18, took
the situation into her own hands and came and was baptized! She truly
is scared of her mom... I think she is abusive. But then on Sunday,
she didnt come to the meeting. Soo... she wasnt confirmed. Come to
find out that the parents actually put a lock on the door so that she
couldnt leave. Wow! So, we'll be talking with the parents soon to help
them understand. Crazy huh? This saturday we are preparing another
baptismal service! :) Some of the Vilca Family will be baptized. Minus
the dad, and a brother. They still have problems with the Word of
Wisdom. But, the mom Nicasia, her daughter Edith, and her son Jaime
will be baptized saturday! Its gonna be big too. They are planning on
food, family, and friends all attending! I'm pretty stoked! Other than
this, the work is progressing really well. I'm pleased to say the
least. We have a reference from other missionaries in our zone for a
kid that they have been teaching and he supposedly had a date for this
last saturday... So we will try to have him baptized this saturday as
well! The work is really progressing here in Juliaca.
 
Now dad, yes. Winter is slowly approaching. And no, we do not have
heat. I dont know of anyone in this town that has heat. Im still
studying in a coat, scarf, but I lost my gloves! :/ so I need to buy
some more... But from what I hear, the winter is horrible here. Babies
die from the cold. Literally. It hails a ton, and a couple years ago
it snowed. So who knows! Its supposedly summer right now, but feels
more like winter. The natives are weirded out too.
 
Now, there are a couple things that I NEED!:
1. My patriarchal blessing.
2. Line of Authority
3. Ideas for games to play for FHE!!!!
 
Please please!! I need them!
 
Scriptures of the week for the past 4 weeks... Haha I keep forgettting!
1.D&C 4:2
2. Matt 10:19-20
3.John 6:35&37
4.Alma 53:20-21
 
I'm finding out that when I am really focused on the work, the time
flies by. Literally! Im so grateful to have this oppurtunity to serve
my mission here in the wonderful country of Perù! I love every minute,
and I wouldnt trade this experience for anything! I finally got some
letters, after like 3 weeks of nothing! Sad, huh? And where are my
pictures family? Its not that hard.... Boys, help them out! And thanks
for writing me! I really love to hear from all of you! I dont have
much time, there are no pictures, I forgot to bring my camera! :( I'm
sorry. So, I hope that you all have a great week, and that you are
keeping me in your prayers! I can feel them, so keep them coming.
 
Con muccchoo amor...
Elder Jordan Van Christensen

Family!!! Much love...‏

Ahh.. My wonderful family and other loved ones!
 
This week truly has flown by. I was so surprised on Sunday, I was
like, wow! This week is already gone. Its crazy how time goes by in
the mission. Dad, I guess you're right... I'm 25% done. Weird to think
about.
 
So about our investigators. We have 4 people with a baptismal date and
they are for sure gonna be dunked, if it be the Lords will! We have
Nidian this Saturday, and 3 members of the Vilca family on the 26th.
There are a lot of more people that can be baptized this month, all we
need to do is to be obedient, and WORK. This last Saturday we
organized an activity called "Puertas Abiertas". Which means "Open
Doors" in English. We printed out 1,250 cards that we passed out to
the organizations in our ward, and we passed out ourselves. Also we
appeared on 2 TV stations, with a personal interview. Who knew that my
15 minutes of fame would be in Peru? Hahaha it really was so awesome.
One station made a copy of the interview, but they cant find it
somehow.. So we'll be nagging them to find it so I can send it home!
Anyway, on Saturday about 40 people showed up. A ton less than we were
hoping for. But, nonetheless, it was a success! We have their
addresses, names, and phone numbers. The only thing is, is that almost
all of the references we have are in another sector.... Sweet! But I
don't have a problem as long as they work and baptize them all! ;)
 
Also, on Sunday early in the morning we get a call from the ZL's
saying that they have a baptism this morning but they don't have
electricity or running water in their chapel at the moment. So we
change, and run to our chapel to start filling the font. Normally it
takes 1 hour to fill, but we got 3 buckets of water and filled it that
way as well. It took us 25 minutes! We were running around like
chickens with our heads cut off, but we got it done! I ended up with 2
cuts on my hand, and some wet pants. Haha, I don't know how I got cut,
but I just happened to look down at my hand and blood was dripping on
the floor. Haha, so yeah. They had their baptism, it went well, and
the water was freezing! Hahaha. We as a zone have a goal of 41
baptisms this month. Wow. Our goal is 5. I have faith that we will be
able to complete with our goal. I am sure with the help of our Savior,
we can accomplish all things! Like it says in Moroni 7:33. Look it up!
 
Well, other than these little things, not a lot has happened this
week! The work is progressing really well, and there are many people
to baptize. We are working hard everyday, and Mom, I'm keeping my
promise. I'll keep it forever! I love you so much mom, thanks so much
for your email. Oh, by the way I got the letter with the pictures from
Christmas last Monday, I forgot to tell you. And the letter from Aunt
Jacquie as well! Tell her thank you! And I will write Gram and Gramps
and tell them thank you! How nice of them!! :) Oh and Mom, Ash's
birthday is on May 9th! How sweet of her to remember your birthday? :)
 
I don't have much time left, I hope that this email finds all of you
safe and sound! I miss you tons, but as I focus more and more on the
work, its easier to not feel homesick. I thank the Lord everyday for
this amazing opportunity I have to share this gospel with the people
here in Peru!
 
Los quiero muchooo!! Cuidanse! Tu hermano, hijo, y amigo Peruano...
 
Elder Jordan Van Christensen
 
PS - Enjoy the pics, they are a few from my time in Puno! 

¡¡¡Holaaa!!!‏

Before I forget.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! I'm glad that you got your
letter, pretty sure its the first time I've used a typewriter! So it
was pretty cool. Lets see, so not a lot has happened this week. Pretty
average, not much to say. But, we have been working and helping the
Vilca family, and almost all of their family will be baptized on the
26th!!! 4 people. The mom, Nicasia, the kids, Jaime, Edith, and Dina
(she will be her step-daughter after she gets married also this
month). Freddy is who will marry Dina, and he used to listen to the
lessons and everything, but now I don't know what happened. Anyway,
Dina wants to be baptized before my comp goes home, but before she
gets baptized she has to be married. They only live together right
now, so yeah. That's how it goes! The father, Fredrico, believes in the
Book of Mormon, knows that he needs to be baptized in the same manner
as Christ, and he will be baptized. BUT, he is in debt to 4 banks, and
in his work they drink when they sign contracts and all that jazz. So,
he has a big problem with the Word of Wisdom.... As well as I would
say... 75% or more of Juliaca. I heard from a member the other day
that the people here work to drink. Right now is the biggest party in
Puno. Its called, in Spanish, "Virgen de la Candelaria". Its HUGE. But
its in Puno. Now, the parties start here in Juliaca in March. I've
heard... well, lets just say I've heard a lot of stuff that happens
and its really not that great. People get so drunk that they pass out
in the streets. They lose all ability to reason and then bad things
happen. So.... yeah. We'll leave it at that! Anyway, Fredrico will be
baptized, but first he wants to finish this work that he has so he
wont be tempted by the alcohol. He is afraid to fall after he
converts.

The language really is picking up! Whenever I talk with members or
investigators, they always ask me how much time I have in the mission.
I then ask them how much time they think I have. They ALWAYS answer,
"I don't know, a year? 18 months?" Hhaha! They're pretty surprised when
I tell them that I'm about to complete 6 months. "Wow, 6 months? You
speak really well for only having half a year...!" Talk about a
compliment! That really boosts my confidence. :)

Now, I want to focus on something that has really been on my mind this
week. A few days ago, my comp and I were walking home from our
appointments at around 9pm. He asked me the question, "How can one
come to know Jesus Christ?". I thought about it for a little bit and
then he asked me, "Elder, do you know Jesus Christ?" As I thought
about this, I thought that yeah, I know Him. We continued to talk, and
he then told me there are 3 ways we can come to know Christ. 1. Look
in a mirror at the end of the day and ask yourself, "Did I ask as
Christ would today?" 2. Reading of his words in the Holy Scriptures.
Not simply just reading, but studying and analyzing them. and 3,
Praying with a TON of faith. He continued to tell me, "There are many
missionaries that come and serve their mission without ever knowing
Jesus Christ. This is sad, you know why? Because they wasted 2 years
of their life." Wow, I thought. How sad is that? He then asked me
again, "Elder, do you know Jesus Christ?" This question made me think
and really weighed on my mind. That night after dinner, I stopped to
look at the stars, and my comp went up to the room. As I was gazing up
into the night I asked myself, "Do I know our Savior and Redeemer
Jesus Christ?" Then I started to cry. I realized that I really don't
know Him. Goodness, I don't know Christ... I then made a goal to really
focus on how I can come to know Him. Everyday I have been reading
Jesus the Christ, and everyday I learn more and more. I want to be
able to say without a doubt in my mind that yes, I know Him
personally. Don't get me wrong, I have a powerful testimony of Him,
and I know that He lives. I just want to know Him.

I miss you all. Have a great week! Keep me and my investigators in
your prayers. Enjoy the photos!

Elder Christensen

Missionary Moms Poem

 
A Missionary Christmas  (author unknown)

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving. The thrill just wasn't there.
No pictures taken with Santa Claus, My decorating has no flair.
His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties, two suits and socks...no fun.
I've bought him all white clothes because... This year I'm giving Christ my
son.

I've spent more time in the temple, my testimony stirred.
I've reread November's Ensign, Felt strength come from His words.
Our family prays more frequently. My tears are quick to run.
Abraham seems closer because, This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers, gave their sons to war?
Or how the pioneers chose Zion , their sacrifice was so much more.
My loss will be his presence, I'll miss his smile a ton
For two years we will pray for him, I'm giving Christ my son.
I stare at his face when he's not looking. I memorize his eyes, their
shine.
He's always hungered for the part of him, that makes his soul divine.
The stories and lessons he always heard, His choice and mine are one.
I'll put my faith in God's hand, This year, I'm giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter; I think I finally understand
Christ's birth should be celebrated by giving Him a hand.
It's because I know Christ lives and reigns that all his packing's done.
My gift has taken years to make, This year... I'm giving Christ my son.

I know there's One who understands, the sacrifice I'm making.
Who knows the gift I willingly give, The toll it will be taking.
For He has done it all before, Greater love - there could be none.
For years ago God gave to me, His only begotten son.

The hands I washed, the hands I held, The hands I taught to pray;
Now knock on doors to find the ones Who will listen to what he'll say.
Because I know Christ needs him, Until all the gathering's done,
My gift has taken years to make.  This year...I'm giving Christ my
son.                                                               

JULIACA.‏

Holaaaaa como stannnn??

Well everyone, I'm here in Juliaca. The land of dust, mud, bitter
cold, wind, and RAIN. Parts of this city are really ugly, not gonna
lie. My ward is Wiracocha. Were actually right in the city, which is
pretty nice. Wiracocha is Quechua for God, or Lord. So, not too bad
right? Well, honestly, I really am loving it here. I already almost
have a week here and we had 2 baptisms! We have so many more coming up
as well! For the month of February we have the goal of 5 baptisms. But
I am confident that we will have more than that. We have been
"meticulously" obedient (I don't think I'll ever forget that from my
setting apart blessing) and we've really been seeing the blessings.
For example, we have literally had people come looking for us to be
baptized. There is a lady that is 83 years old and has bad problems
with her spine. She cant walk, but she wants to be baptized. So we
will do all that we can to help her be baptized. I'll carry her into
the water if I have to. The city yeah, physically isn't all that great.
BUT, thank heavens that the work is PROGRESSING!!!! I thank the Lord
each night for this change, even though I really didn't want to leave
Puno. I know that this change is just what I needed. My comp is Elder
Parraga, and is AWESOME! I almost want to cry, because I finally have
such an awesome comp. He's obedient, likes to joke, and we get along
really well. He will finish his mission this change, so that means
I'll be here for at least another change. I can already tell you that
I will learn so much this change. Our room is pretty small, but its
all good. The shower is cold, most days. We live with our Pensionista
again! So awesome. She cooks really good food as well. It literally is
freezing here. I study with a coat, blanket, my scarf, and gloves. It
rains like everyday. Dogs walk around like people. The roads aren't
paved. Well, in the center they are. Lots of mud. I almost got bit by
a wild dog the other day walking at around 8:30. It was dark and I
about stepped on his head. Jaja, but I dodged it!

Mom, I'm really sorry to scare you! Trust me though, I am safe and
sound. This area in Juliaca, there are more problems with "robbing",
but I'm not worried. I'm at least 6-8" taller than everyone here in
Peru, jaja.

Man, I don't have a lot of time. Bridger, just realize that girls are
like that man. She should trust you. Trust is the most important thing
in a relationship. I'll hand write you more details about this.

Ash, i love to read your blogs! I'm sorry I don't have time today, I'll
hand write you okay? Hope you're safe! Keep having awesome
experiences! Miss you.

Well fam, I know it's short, just know that I love each and EVERY ONE
of you so so much. I will talk to you next week! Enjoy the photos.
Baptisms of Milagros and her brother Nicolas. :) Gotta love it!!!!

Your son and brother and friend,

Elder Christensen

...KAMBIOS...

Holaaa familia y todos….

I hope that everyone is doing fantastic and that this email finds
everyone in good health! I’m still here inviting our Peruvian brothers
and sisters to come unto our Savior and big brother Jesus Christ!!

Well, I’m not exactly sure where to start this email. This week hasn’t
been all that great to be honest. Our baptisms didn’t turn out, which
I was pretty bummed about. And dad, I’m sending this email to you and
not mom so you can warm her up. So… not to worry you or mom, (or
anyone else...) this week there was 2 murders just up the street. They
were beaten to death, and yeah, it was brutal. I guess our street we
live on has a rep for being dangerous. Last year there was a murder as
well… right in front of the building. Oh, and we also were almost
robbed. At 1am a few days ago someone was trying to break into the
building where we now live. It was super loud and woke us both up. We
were ready for someone to bust into our room at any moment. But I was
ready to leap from our bunk (I got top!) and tackle him. It was going
on for about 7 minutes, but at last he gave up and left. Please don’t
worry, everything is fine. Apart from this, I don’t know what’s been
going on this week but I’ve been really down. I’m feeling a little
better though as I read my scriptures and continue to pray. I really
miss my bro’s! So much. Please write me you guys! I wanna hear how
you’re doing! Bridge, I didn’t get any pictures attached to your
email! Send them again and get on mom and dad to send more! You don’t
only need to send them through the mail, you CAN attach them onto an
E-mail as well. Jaja.
Anyway, we moved from our old room and now live in a building of
recent converts. They are an awesome family and I love them! Their
names are Julio & Anna (parents) and their 2 kids: Christian &
Guadalupe. She is also our pensionista, so it works out really well.
She cooks comida norteño, and it’s delicious. So far I have eaten some
interesting “food”. We’ll start off the list with gizzard. Yes,
intestines. Chicken hearts and feet are pretty popular in the soup
here. They really eat everything in a chicken. The other day we were
walking in a market, and I almost threw up. They sell the strangest
things… I don’t know how to explain it. It’s basically dried cow
fetus.. Yes that means it was taken from the cow prematurely. So
nasty! But on the other side, I have eaten some REALLLY great food!
The picture that I attached last week that looks like a stuffed tomato
is really a pepper. The plate is called: Rocoto Relleno. It is a plate
that is from Arequipa, and it is SPICY. It’s pretty good, and I’m
beginning to really like spicy food. There is also a plate here called
Ceviche that is pure Peruvian, and its sooo good!! Its raw
fish/octopus/squid/etc. soaked in a lime/something salsa, with a
special corn that looks like its on steroids, and lettuce. It’s super
popular in Peru and everyone goes crazy about it. My comp especially
loves it. He’s the one that took me to eat it, but boy is it good!

Well, I haven’t gotten any of the mail you’ve sent yet. I’ll let you
know what day it gets here mom, so you can see just how long it takes.
Usually it takes a little more than 2 weeks depending on the office
and when they get around to sending out the mail to the different
areas. (If they’re not lazy).

This last Monday we as a zone all played soccer… like we do every
week. But this time we played, it started to rain.. and rain.. and
rain! It was POURING. We just kept playing though. We played in the
rain for about 2 hours in the rain and were completely soaked.  There
wasn’t a dry spot on our clothes.  It was such a blast, even though I
got a little bit of a cold from it, jaja. We also made soccer jerseys
this week! As you can see from the photo attached. Its got my name on
back as well as our zone name: Puno Central. Mom, my cough is just
like it always has been. I don’t know what else to tell you… But I
will take the meds that you send religiously, I promise!

Oh hey, I keep forgetting to mention, I hope you guys are keeping up
on my blog! I hear that you aren’t really… So come on! All you gotta
do is copy and paste the emails. And yes dad, you guys need to keep a
big album and put the photos that I send in it. Probably in
chronological order! Oh yeah, about that card… Jaja, yes I did draw
it! It took me about 40 minutes or so. And yes, I looked at a picture,
but didn’t copy it! Thank you dad, jaja, I would like to think that I
had skills! And also Dad, yes I do hear from Ash! She is doing really
well. She’s in England right now for a study abroad. How sweet!? She
gets to travel to Scotland, Italy, Paris, etc. Not bad huh? Funny
story, last week for our multi zone conference we ate at a pizzeria
afterwards that is owned by members in our ward. There was a group of
gringos there from the states, from Utah actually! Well, there was a
girl that I talked to, that happened to be from Scottsdale. I told her
that I dated a girl from there, and she just happens to be in Ashley’s
ward in AZ. Jajaja, how funny right? Well, I told her to tell Ash
hello, then we left.  Randommm.

I also got an email from Michele last week! It was in my “Spam”
folder, jaja (don’t be offended Michele!) But I told the computer that
it really wasn’t spam, so now I’ll get them in the regular inbox. But
yeah that is a pretty.. uh.. “cute” story Michele! All because he went
on a mish! Ask Jacquie and Grandma if they ever got my postcards! I
sent them like last month.

Okay, I’ve slacked on the past scriptures of the week so here are the
last 3, and #4 is this week:
1. Proverbs 3:5-6
2. Matthew 5:14-16
3. Ether 12:27-28
4. 3 Nephi 27:7-8

There are a few things that I need that I don’t have just yet! My
patriarchal blessing, my line of authority, and a small calendar! You
simply cant find calendars by the month here. So, if you could send
one I would love it! I am trying to always remember to just smile and
keep a good attitude about everything. At times its really hard when
you have a comp that disregards the rules, is lazy, and is bipolar…
but there is always something to smile and be happy about. I’m on the
Lords errand everyday of my life for the next 19 or so months. I need
to always remember my calling. I will not come home with regrets.
People definitely have their agency to choose. It’s quite evident when
the door is slammed in your face. You just gotta shrug it off and keep
moving forward. Anyway, we just found out our changes on Sunday and
yeah. I have a change. I don't know what happened, because President
told me that I would stay here! I'd like to as him what the heck
happened! My new area is in a place called Juliaca. Its basically in
the middle of nowhere. Kind of like a camp town! But oh well. I will
keep moving forward and continue on in this work! Its MY mission after
all!

I really hope that all of you are continuing to progress spiritually
and continue to do the little things. Like having family night,
reading the scriptures every day as a family, and praying as a family
every day.  Please try to do all of these things. They will help us
grow closer together as a family, and will help our testimonies grow.
Mom and Dad, continue to go to the temple. It’s a really good way to
keep your relationship strong and healthy. I love you all more than
you could possibly know. I pray for your health, your success, and
your faith to continually grow, every day. Please continue to keep me
in your prayers, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Tu hermano y hijo ahora y para siempre…

Elder Jordan Van Christensen

Ceviche!

Alphabet soup...

Last week this change!‏

Hello everyone!!
 
Hows my favorite family doing!? Man, I sure hope everyone is doing SO
well! First off, Eth! Bro, I'm sorry about your ankle! What a bummer.
But you'll be back out in no time! Keep your head up buddy, sure love
and miss you! Bridge, thank you buddy for the email and the hand
written letters, I haven't gotten them just yet. But look, I know you
cant walk down into my room and just chat like we used to, but you can
email me whenever you want to talk! I haven't disappeared completely...
If you ever want advice on ANYTHING, email me, and I will get back to
you the next week okay bud? I sure miss you and love you more than YOU
know!!
 
So this week has been really good! We have new investigators that are
truly amazing. Janeli, who is like 32 or so, has been taking the
lessons and has a date to be baptized this 29th this month. Her sister
as well has been listening and we will be trying to get them baptized
the same day. Her sisters name is Bemsy. She has a daughter who's name
is Ijari, I think, its quechua. She is ADORABLE. I have been loving
teaching them and getting to know them.
 
Magda did move to Chiclayo, and we'll be contacting the office for
them to send missionaries to her to continue teaching her children.
Claudio has been doing really well, coming to church and all. So
everything is well with them! His mother, Bibiana, has a baptismal
date for this Saturday so hopefully that will work out!
 
So on Saturday, we were eating at our pension and Anna, (our new
pensionista) told us that her husband (Julio) hadn't returned home yet
because he was at the doctor for his knee. Apparently he had hurt it
really bad and could barely walk. He got home, and the first thing
that came to my mind was that he needed a blessing. So we asked him if
he wanted one, and of course he said yes. So, we blessed him, and
afterward he just sat in his chair looking at us. He said that during
the blessing he felt a warm sensation go from the top of his head down
to his toes. He was so surprised! So, him being a recent convert, I
explained a little bit about the Holy Ghost and that according to his
faith, he would be healed so that he could work and continue to
provide for his family. They are poor, so this was a big concern for
him. Afterwards we left and went about our day. This was on Saturday.
On Sunday, we were sitting in the chapel waiting for Sacrament to
start when in walks Julio with his family! He was walking without a
limp, and without any sign of discomfort. He walked up to us with a
huge smile on his face and told us that when he woke up this morning,
he didn't have any pain! He couldn't stop talking about the feeling he
got during the prayer either, haha. He was so grateful to us. Talk
about a testimony building experience, not only for him, but for me as
well. That's the power of the priesthood for ya.
 
My cough is still the same but I'm healthy otherwise! Don't worry mom, I
will try to do something, but only in grave cases is when we can go to
Cusco to see the doctor. Spanish is still coming along, I feel pretty
comfortable so far! But I still have a while to progress!
 
Well, I don't have a lot of time! But I found out that i will be
staying in Puno for this next change on the 25th. Sweet! I love it
here. I also found out that its more than likely that my comp will
have a change. I miss all of you so much! I cant wait to hear from
you! Send a USB 8gb memory, look on KSL for a cheap one. AAA
Batteries, and a Michael Jordan hat for my investigator!
 
Thanks!! Take care everyone,
 
Elder Christensen

President and I

success.at.last. !!‏

¡¡¡Holaaaaa!!!

Well, last week we weren't able to email, or have p-day, due to the
holidays. Kind of a gip, I know. BUT, its all good! I was able to
focus a little bit more. So... quite a lot has happened over the last
semana and a half! I have been keeping on my comp and sometimes
literally, dragging him around. We have been really starting to work,
and the blessings are showing. We have been walking a ton, mostly
hiking in my area, and we've been teaching quite a lot! We have been
teaching Claudio for about 2 weeks, and he is AWESOME. He has SO much
faith in our Savior, and this last Saturday, the 8th, he showed it in
the best way anyone could: He was baptized. :) Yesterday he received
the Holy Ghost in Sacrament meeting, and he couldn't be happier! He is
51 years old, doesn't have a family of his own, yet, and had problems
with the Word of Wisdom and Chastity, but he gave it all up to follow
Christ. We also had been teaching another investigator, Magda, this
last week as well. To make a long story short, she also showed her
faith in Christ by being baptized last Saturday as well!!! They both
wanted me to perform the ordinance, so.. I baptized them both! How
amazing!? Man, it was such a good day! However, with every "first
baptism" comes a story! So... hahah, here goes. They both passed their
interview, but they had to talk with the Mission President. We were
both pretty nervous that they wouldn't be able to be baptized! Phew,
they passed. So, come the night of their baptism, the program starts,
and the time comes for the baptisms. So I get in the water with
Claudio first. I say the prayer, dunk him, and afterwards my ZL Elder
Sperry tells me that his tie came up. Awesome. So, we do it again, but
this time I say the prayer wrong (without dunking him)! Crud. Sooo...
Finally, I did it all correctly, and he was baptized and cleansed from
all previous sin. Next up is Magda, and I asked her for her full name
and she told me: Magda Tejada Zevallos. I say the prayer perfectly
with her name, but before I dunk her my ZL tells me "bro, she has 4
names." What?? Um, okay, so he tells me: Magda IRENE Tejada Zevallos.
So I do it again. This time, I pronounce "Tejada" wrong. Goodness!!

SO, now I baptize her correctly with the full name, the correct
pronunciation, and the right prayer. Por fin! Hahaha, I just gotta
laugh about it, because the night before I had a crazy weird/bad dream
about my baptisms. I totally forgot the prayer, and one of our
investigators disappeared! So I think that kind of messed me up a bit.
But all is well! Its good timing for Magda because she is moving to
Chiclayo today! So, hopefully the missionaries there will teach her 3
kids well, and they can all one day be sealed as a family!

My first baptisms! And not only that, we have another this Saturday
with the mother of Claudio! She is in her 70's, and mainly speaks
Quechua. She understands Spanish, OK, but that's why we have Claudio
translating for us! We haven't been able to find Ronald, but we will
keep trying to find him to baptize him either this week or the next.
We only have 2 weeks left in this change! How weird? Also just
yesterday, we taught Hermana Flor who is a devout Catholic. We taught
her about Christ and the Book of Mormon, and then about the
Restoration. We taught her perfectly. If we hadn't have taught her the
way we did, she wouldn't have accepted a baptismal date for the 22nd,
the FIRST time we taught her! She has 2 kids, one that is 9, Luis
Angel, and 17, Kevin. We are hoping to baptize Luis with his mom, but
I don't know about Kevin yet. We have yet to talk with him. Oh man! And
apart from these people, there are a TON more to baptize! I want more
time here in Puno. This Thursday we have interviews with the President
and on Friday we have our Multi-Zone Conference. I will be able to see
my comp from the CCM, Elder Denhalter! I hope that he is doing okay,
and that the language is coming along for him. I will be asking for
more time I think in my interview because we finally have success.

Anyway I don't have much time! I love all of you so much. Keep me in
your prayers like you are doing! I truly am feeling them. Thank you
for your emails! And Mom, thank you for the Gilberts email, I cant
wait to get the newsletter! Please send me pictures! Geez! And send
that letter dad! Also, in the next package, I could benefit from a
lint roller. Also, mom, have you called Debby Eggleston? If not get on
it! Here's her number again: 8012326970. I love this work. I love my
mission so much! Cant wait to hear from ALL of you! I'll send pictures
later!

Cordially,
Elder Christensen

Some of the people that came to watch the baptism.

New Years!

Sunset, we rarely get these!

Claudio!

Magda!

Happy New Year!

h.a.p.p.y. n.e.w. y.e.a.r. 2011‏

2011. Crazy to think that 2010 has already come and gone. Boy, it went
by quick. Jaja, a couple elders were saying, "Hey! Now we can say we
go home next year!" Trunky much? Haha, I wont lie, I was a little
trunky myself, but who isn't at this time of year? But don't worry I'm
not like crying in my pillow at night or anything.

So, I did end up getting the other package! Sweet! I loved everything!
I had my first peanut butter and honey sandwich a few days ago. I'm a
happy boy to say the least! And the jerky is soooo delicious. Wow, I
didn't realize how much I would appreciate things like that! But I don't
know if you sent a dictionary or not, but its not in there. Next time
you send something, include a list of everything that is in it. That
will help keep track of things. You can send those manila envelopes
with the bubble wrap for under 20 bucks as well, and those aren't
opened. I guess its different with them. I have an investigator that
wants an English-Spanish dictionary, so if you could find one and send
it with my "pocket sized" one, that would be awesome. He will be
baptized, I'm sure of it. :) And I do have some good news! I was
talking with my ZL, Elder Sperry, and guess what? He told me that
there is a lady that goes to Peru EVERY WEEK. Annnd guess how we can
benefit from this? We can send packages with her! She just takes them
with her. This is the way to send packages, and apparently its faster.
I don't have all of the information just yet, but she lives in Utah, I
would imagine anywhere between Salt Lake and Provo. Her dad owns a bus
company here, and I guess she just travels a ton. Its a lot cheaper to
send things, AND the box isn't opened! Sperry told me that he got a
package from his family the same as mine, and told me that it was
probably 20 bucks to send. He got shoes, t-shirts, and stuff. All of
which were accounted for! Also, I can send packages with her as well,
and you guys will pay for it when you get it... I think. Were both
kind of in the dark with all the details, but when I know you will
know!

Unfortunately our baptisms didn't work out. She still has doubts, and
says she hasn't received an answer to her prayers just yet. So please,
please pray for Julisa. Were doing all that we can to help her, and
hopefully she'll be baptized before I finish this change. I don't want
to leave Puno without baptisms.. Man I would be so sad. BUT, I have
faith. There's strength in numbers, so help us out! All we have to do
to baptize Ronald is to find his mom! She's impossible to reach.
Hopefully sometime soon we'll be able to find her. Other than that,
our investigators are doing well, we just need to be diligent in
teaching and working. I have been dragging my comp around, almost
literally. Its hard to have a senior comp who is a DL, to be so lazy.
But I'm doing my best, even when he does get annoyed with me for just
saying, hey lets knock this door! Its sad! But we had a comp inventory
and I finally felt like I got through to him. So, I feel like things
are going to be turning around! I hope...

Hey, if you can, tell me about Eric, Jarom, and all those other buddies!

So happy new year!!! Last night we had some good fun. We bought some
mortars, a pack of 12, and lit them off at midnight, along with
EVERYONE in Puno! Seriously, everyone has fireworks. Our room is up on
a hill and we can see most of the city, so we went up on the roof to
light them off. But just looking out over the city, was incredible!
I've never seen so many fireworks in my life! I took a video so
hopefully you'll be able to see it soon. I don't know if I can email it
or what, but I'll see. Its kinda weird that my first Christmas and New
Years are already over! Wow. And my birthday is just around the
corner!

About my ankle... As of now its feeling good! Its just when we hike,
or climb stairs that it bothers. I'm really hoping that nothing
happens. Like the doctor said though, if something does happen, I have
to come home. If worse comes to worse and I do have to come home, lets
just pray that its for a reason. Thank you dad, the story about you
and mom did comfort me. I'm just trying not to think about it too much.
Lets just trust in the Lord.

I love all of you so much! Thank you for your emails, and I loved to
talk to all of you on Christmas. What an awesome gift! Start the
countdown till mothers day mom! Jaja, its only 6 months away! Oh, and
I was also talking to my buddy Elder Eggleston, and he goes to BYU
Hawaii. Hes on the golf team, and his coach is the admissions
director. They're good friends, and he might be able to hook it up for
me! I might be able to go to BYU Hawaii for however long! Just kind of
fun to think about... I have been thinking a little bit about college
lately, and I do want to try to go to BYU. But how cool would it be to
go to Hawaii for a year of school, then transfer to Provo or something

thought! What do you think?

Anyway! I will try to email some more pictures in another email. I
love you all sooo much! Keep me in your prayers, and I will do the
same. Just like always! :) Have an amazing new year, and make some
good resolutions!

With love, your favorite Peruvian Missionary,
Elder Jordan Van Christensen

PS. So, I have a lot of pictures now, and I'll have to 

start with my trip to Cusco. Here they are.

Cristo Blanco, overlooking Cusco

A church we attended in Cusco

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

 At the orphanage/school... not sure which it is!

 My favorite picture. Ever. I LOVE these kids!

Singing in the Plaza!

Oh, the scripture of the week! I almost forgot. D&C 43:15-16

I'll be home for Christmas...(ha ha)‏

... if only in my dreams! :)

Wow! What a crazy week.

Okay, so first off, this weekend I went to Cusco! I went with my
companion because he came from Cusco and they were preparing this
presentation about Christ and he was apart of the missionary choir.
Cool right? Well, the main reason I went was because I wanted to talk
to the doctor there and see whats up! So I talked to him, and he said
that I did have altitude sickness, and that with my cough that I've
had since the beginning of my mission, (its just gotten worse here
with the climate and all) he said that it could have turned into
Pneumonia if I hadn't have done anything about it. Phew! So he got me
some medicine, and says that I'll be fine! Sorry about not being able
to email yesterday, we got home at like 7:30 at night, and just didn't
have time. The trip really was a blast. We took a first class bus with
big leather seats, that reclined with a leg rest. It looked like the
first class to a plane. I don't have much time to explain it all but I
was able to go to the Plaza del Armas, Cristo Blanco, and some other
cool places while there! The presentation was amazing, but the
Presidents daughter passed out from altitude sickness, and had to take
her to the hospital! She was okay though, thank goodness!

I found out I will be calling you on Friday, only for 5 minutes, to
set up our appointment for Christmas!! I will call in the evening,
probably around 7pm on Friday. Just so you know! Be home! I'll be
calling the home phone.

I haven't been able to talk to Julisa yet, but I'm sure that they were
married, and that she will be baptized on the 25th! I'm so stoked!

So, my new comp is Elder Jara. He is from Chimbote Perù, and is the
District Leader. He is kind of lazy, and Im getting the feeling that
he doesn't really like to work. But boy will I change that. I'm gonna be
kickin his butt into gear, starting today. He is cool though, and we
get along, thank heavens.

I have received 2 of the packages so far! I haven't gotten the third...
I'm praying that I get it before Christmas! But I found out that yes,
all packages are opened. BUT, they are opened in the presence of
missionaries that have callings in the office. That doesn't stop them
from taking things though. So, I asked an elder in the office if there
is a way to send them without being opened, and he said yes.
Apparently when you send the package you have the option of paying
just a little more to have the package send directly to the office,
without being sent through the Ser-Post. (Mail system in Peru) So
yeah, I would recommend doing that! Also, send some Perfect Push ups if
you can. Those things are so nice to have, without putting your hands
on the dirty floor. Also, send my USB memory. That is nice to have to
save things. If you cant find it, just get one. 4 or 8gb.

We have an appointment today with Hna. Magda, and we are hoping to get
her baptized either this week or the next. She has accepted everything
and realizes the real need to be baptized how Christ was baptized. She
is awesome and I have confidence in her! This weeks scripture is found
in Romans 8:35-39. Definitely one of my favorites. Who will separate
us from the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ? No one.

I am so excited to talk to you all on Saturday! It doesn't really feel
like Christmas here, but I'm trying! My first missionary Christmas, of
two in my whole life. I'm gonna make them the best! I don't know who you
were planning on having over to talk to me, but I wouldn't mind to talk
to the whole fam! But, you can be selfish if you'd like and just have
it be our immediate family. I'm okay with whatever! Ah! I'm really
loving my mission so much. I cant wait for what this change has to
bring, and I'm ready! We'll most likely be spending dinner with a
member family, and I'm excited for that! We have had a bunch of people
want to have us over for dinner! But yeah, enjoy the new pictures from
my new canon! It was like $150, not bad. I am guarding it like
something sacred Dad, don't worry! I got the letter from the Whimpeys,
tell them thank you! I also got the letter from Sister Lloyd from the
Primary :) I was pumped! Jaja, anyways, I will get to hear your voices
in a short 4 days! I'm so ready. I love all of you and you are in my
prayers.

Con mucho amor,

Elder Christensen

CH, CH, CH, CHANGES! (Dec 13th, 2010)‏

Last day in this ch..ch..change!

So, first off, last night at around 11pm we got a call saying that my
comp has a change! So, today is our last day together! He is going to
Cusco tonight at 10pm for the changes meeting and I wont know until
tomorrow or Thursday where he is off to. So, tomorrow I will be put
into a temporary tripanionship and my new comp will be here Thursday
morning. I have no idea who it will be! But a TON of missionaries in
our zone have changes. About half. We will have new leaders, district
and zone, along with new comps. I have been praying that he will have
the desire to work and that we will get some work done here in rainy,
cold, yet beautiful PUNO! It truly is the rainy season. Its been
pouring the last 3 days or so. But, we move forward! Always. This work
is the Lords work, and we will move onward day by day, hardship after
hardship. This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but
being the hardest, it brings the most amazing blessings. Sometimes its
discouraging to walk all day in the mud and puddles, cold feet, runny
nose, to not teach anyone--- But with trials comes miracles. This last
week, we taught our investigator Julisa and her pareja (couple), Alex,
who is a member, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the only lesson
she was missing. We told them very sincerely and very forward that if
they wanted to live together forever as a family, and to partake of
the blessings prepared for them, they needed to be married (In order
to be baptised). We challenged her to baptism on the 25th.... and she
accepted!!!! The only thing holding them back from being married is
Alex's family. So yeah. We told them to have faith, principally, and
to PRAY for help. We promised them that if they did these things they
would see miracles. We read the scripture Ether 12:6&12. I told them
that trials will always come before a testimony of their faith. So,
they met with their family. We passed by on Friday, and guess what?
His WHOLE family was in agreement with them to be married!!!! How
amazing? It reminds me of the song by David Archuleta, haha, "there
can be miracles, when you believe." Now, we have 2 baptisms set up for
Christmas day. :) I'm so incredibly grateful to Heavenly Father for
his help in this situation! Our prayers have been answered. Thank you
SO much family for praying for them.

BOYS! Thank you SO much for writing me! I love to hear how you are
doing! Bridger... Holy crap man! You really are gonna have ¡3!
sponsorships!? Bro I can't believe it! How sick?? I'm proud of you man,
you totally proved me wrong. Way to stick with it. Send me a video when
you have one put together! And Paige! Geez man, the little boy is
growing up! She's a cutie, nice work. Have her write me! I'd love to
hear from her. ETHAN! Dude you did it! Way to make the team! I'm so
stoked for you Matthew and Zach! That's so fun to have your best buds
on the team. Dominate the court with your height homie. Take advantage
of it! I hope Tanner is doing so good! I miss you buddy! Hope you're
having fun in school and stick with piano! It will help you VERY much
in your life.

So, I forgot to say that we had a Christmas dinner with our president
of the mission! This was on Friday night, and boy was it fun! We had a
pretty decent dinner, chicken and rice, (como siempre), papas, gaseosa
(inca kola..mmm), and for dessert, we had the holy Paneton. Paneton,
is fruitcake. Yes, fruitcake. And everyone in Perù goes CRAZY over
this stuff. It honestly wasn't that great. But, yeah! We did some
skits, some missionaries sang a song, and it all in all was a great
time. President gave a good message about Chrismas and how the best
present that we can give is our testimony of Jesucristo. Que el vive.
Que el es nuestro Salvador y que por medio de el, podemos vivir juntos
para siempre como un familia. Estoy muy agradecido a ustedes Mama y
Papa, para su matromonio. Gracias. Por eso, vamos a disfrutar esta
bendicion para la eternidad. :)

The scripture I have chosen this week is: 2 Nefi 32:8-9. My testimony
of prayer has truly grown so much, and like it says here, the Spirit
teaches us to pray always and not faint. Mom, keep them marked! I love
that you're doing that! I don't have much time but I will for sure send
a letter to Grandpa Whimpey! Holy cow, I don't know what to say... Wow.
Thank you so much grandpa. I almost cried reading that. But dad, yes,
it is better for me to buy a camera here. I have found some good ones
in a market called Contrabando, they sell basically everything, for
cheap. So, for 400 or so soles, I can buy a decent camera. I have on
me, 150 soles. So, do the math I'm not sure how much more I will need,
but when do I buy a camera? And what do I do with the other money? I'm
a little confused, haha. But I wont do anything until you tell me what
to do! :) I will guard it like the Holy Grail. Thank you so much Dad!
Tell Gramps I'm infinitely grateful!


is the mother of Elder Rogers, here in my zone. He has a change but, I
figured Id give you her number to chat! 801.254.8868 And Dad, look for
a USB/SD converter to include in a package. IT SAVES LIVES. Its not a
cable, is a device that you just stick right into the USB port, and
you stick the SD card into the device. AND IT SAVES LIVES. That's how I
sent pictures today!

Everyone, I am feeling your prayers. I received a blessing of health,
and I'm feeling better! But, like you advised, if I start to feel any
worse, I will talk to the office and see what to do. Thank you so much
for keeping me in your prayers, I haven't received any packages yet,
but I will let you know as soon as I get them! I'm so excited! AH, its
almost my first Christmas. It WILL be a white one, without any snow.
Mark my words! :) I love you all so much. Keep in touch boys! I love
to hear from you. :)

con MUCHO AMOR, tu hermano y hijo siempre,

Elder Christensen

I managed to steal a couple fotos from my buddy, Elder Rogers

And another! Enjoy!

Last P-Day in this change!!?‏

December.

Wow. I cant believe that its already December! Goodness gracious. And
we have cambios (exchanges) this Monday, the 13th! I am basically done
with my first change, but unfortunately, we have had zero baptisms. :(
Its been kind of depressing. So, my comp and I decided that we would
fast for our investigators, and for our success. We fasted on Saturday
to Sunday. Not a whole lot has happened this week, so I'll be talking
mostly about our investigators. Okay, first off, we have Alex y
Julisa. They are a couple that are expecting a baby in about 4
months!....They're not married. So we have been really concerned about
getting them married to be able to be baptized. We got on our knees
and prayed (like we do everyday), and asked for guidance. During this
prayer, I could not get Joseph Smith out of my head. After the prayer,
I stayed on my knees and just thought. I came to the conclusion that
we needed to do something to strengthen her testimony of Joseph Smith.
So, we decided we would watch the Restoration! This is the new version
of the Joseph Smith movie that you can see in Temple Square. So we
watched the movie, it was awesome, and lo and behold, she hadn't
prayed to know if he truly was a prophet or not. I bore my
increasingly growing testimony for Joseph Smith, and we committed her
to pray. This was just last night, by the way. So, we have an
appointment again tonight at 7, and I'm expecting that she has
received an answer! Next we have Alejandro y Ruth. They just had their
baby on the 12th of November!.....They're not married either! This
seems to be somewhat of a problem here... CHASTITY! Jaja, so, yeah.
They're baby is adorable though. We also watched the same movie with
them and taught more about Joseph Smith and the works he did during
his life. They also don't know for a surety if he was a prophet or not.
So... we committed them and stressed how important it is for them to
pray! Next up is a new investigator!... maso menos. Jaja, his name is
Ronald, and he is 8 years old. His family, well, his mom at least, are
members, and attend a different chapel. But they are looking to move,
so they came to us and we have been teaching him so that he can be
baptized! We also have Magda, and her 2 daughters, Vitaliano, and
Carmen. But I don't have enough time to talk about all of them. So I
will talk about something that happened on Saturday. We were on our way
back to our room to grab our coats, because every evening after the
sun goes down, its FREEZES! I bought a jacket here, and its helped. I
don't know if I mentioned it, but I also had a lady make me a scarf!
Its pretty legit. Anyway, so we randomly stop, my comp says, hey, lets
knock this door. So, we do. Nothing. We knock the next door. Slammed
in the face. We cross the "street" and knock another door. We wait.
And an hermano opens the door. This is how the conversation went: "I
don't think you know who we are, do you?" Edward: "No, I know who you
are. You're Elders." Us: "You know who we are? How?" Edward: "2 years
ago I lived in Lima, and I talked with Elders a lot." Us: "You did?
You took the lessons and stuff?" Edward: "Yeah, I did. I even had a
date to be baptized, but we moved." Us: "Ohhh... No kidding?" SO
BASICALLY.... He has forgotten everything, has been trying to find a
church to join, and we knocked on his door. We came back on Sunday,
yesterday, and he was about to leave to attend another church; Luz
Verde. Translated: Green Light..... Huh? Apparently he has attended
before, and liked it. But we taught him the restoration and he ended
up staying home. (Yes!!) Jaja. So all in all, we have a goal to put a
baptismal date for these investigators for when?....the 25th of
December. That's right! Its a Saturday, and what better gift can they
give back to our Savior, rather than to follow his footsteps and be
baptized? Mom and Dad, I have never wanted anything more for
Christmas. I would give up anything for them to have the testimony
enough to be dressed in white, ready to be baptized. This is all I
want for Christmas. Its amazing being here, and having my whole
mindset change drastically. Every day I think about what we can do for
our investigators, to help them gain a testimony, and to just help
them in general. I love them SO MUCH! I just want them to be able to
receive this blessing. I have never prayed so hard for something
probably in my whole life. So we can use all the help we can get!
Please please please pray for them.

On a sadder note, I traveled to Juli for a division of companionship's,
and on our way back, my camera fell out of my pocket in the taxi. It
was never returned. :( I have never been so upset with myself. I am so
sorry, but its gone. I hate to ask for money, but I need a camera. I
have 200 or so soles, and a camera is around 600. So, I don't know what
to do. I will try to get permission to get on the Internet on another
day this week to see what you have decided to do. I will try to get on
either tomorrow or Wednesday. Once again, I'm so sorry. BUT, I am SO
grateful that I copied everything that was on my camera, and put it on
a DVD in the package for Christmas. Thank heavens. So the memory is
safe, its just the camera that's lost.

I don't have much time for a scripture of the week, but its found in
D&C 112:4-7. I love this scripture because I feel that it directly
applies to me and my mission. I mean hey, it even says "...thy path
lieth among the mountains..." But read it, because it is fantastic!!!

I love all of you so much, please forgive me for losing yet another
something that is so very valuable. :( I feel terrible. Thank you
Ethan for writing me! I loved to hear from you bud. :) Congratulations
on your first touchdown! I love that you love it so much! Good luck
with basketball. Bridger, I need a picture of you and this girl. ASAP,
ya??  Jaja. :)

Cuidase mucho familia. Los amos!

Elder Jordan Van Christensen

Mi Familia!‏

Hola hola hola!

So, I'll start off this letter with a question: Where did November go?
Because... Pretty sure December is this week and it feels like I just
got here! Time in the field is really flying. I totally forgot about
Thanksgiving, I don't even know what day it was on. I did remember
however.... Bridge's Birthday!!! Bro! You're flippin 16! Driving,
dating, and all that nonsense that comes with 16. I am still waiting
for a picture of this girl I hear about... You send me one this week
boy! Geez... Be careful with the girls, they only mean trouble. You
can date and kiss *gasp!* after you're married k? Jaja mentira, no
just be a good boy, listen to mom and dad, and drive safe, for
every ones sake!

So guess what? I got the priority envelope!!! It was MIS-SENT to
Belize. Of all places... Belize? But yeah, totally just got it today,
along with a letter from Eric! Man, I miss that kid. It was sure good
to hear from him. Sounds like he is doing really well in the Sahoran
Desert! But yes! He is loving it. Oh, and the manilla envelope is the
tape! I'm so glad it got to you! You need to remember to rewind it, i
forgot. But you might need to buy as well a tape recorder to listen to
it. But send more tapes!

So the events of this week are as follows: So, as you will remember
last week we went to Juliaca to get our results of our TB test....
Ready? Well, I'm safe. But Elder Ortiz... Not so much. He was
positive. So we called Hermana Calderon and she said that it only was
crucial if the size of the reaction was bigger than 10mm. His was 8!
Pretty close, but I guess its okay. I don't fully understand why its
okay. I think he needs some more verification to be sure. Anyway! We
had whats called a Tienda Movil come to Puno! Its a mobile church
store that sells garments, hymn books, movies, and other goodies! So,
we went, and I bought like 8 movies, un libro de himnos, and 3 foto
books of the Old and New Testament, and the Book of Mormon. Yes, they
are for kids, but its Español nonetheless! I love them! Okay now some
bad news... I have been SO sick all week. Ive had bad headaches,
fevers, swollen hands (huh?), CRAZY bad hives (the worst I've ever
had), and stomach aches. But today, thank heavens, I am feeling okay!
Almost the whole week though I have been pretty sick. But I'm feeling
better! Tons better! If you can, in a small small box, send some CD's.
New EFY, Ryan Shupe, soundtracks to some LDS movies as well would be
awesome! And dad, yeah! Please send the Conference edition of the
Ensign!

As for our work here in Inca Pachacutec (our ward), we have been kind
of struggling. Our baptism fell through, we couldn't find Carmen
anywhere! We haven't had a single lesson with a member present this
week, and all in all we need to work harder. But remember that I have
been sick, so its been even harder, but I know we can do better. On
the bright side, we have changed Vitaliano's baptismal date to Dec 11,
and Julisa also has the date Dec 11. However, she isn't married yet, so
it looks like it wont work out. :( I'm super bummed! We have some new
investigators! Nestor and Margarita. They are great. Nestor is
catholic but doesn't really believe much in the religion, and has been
looking at other religions. We have had some great lessons with him,
but come Dec 1st, his work starts up at the hotel he works at (4
stars), and it demands a lot of memorizing and knowing the customers.
So he says he wont have a lot of time, but I know that with the Lords
help, we will be able to continue to teach him and that he will have a
testimony through his prayers. We gave him a BOM, and he said that he
would read the chapter we assigned him, 3 Ne. 11, and after that he
would pray. It is truly awesome, to be able to promise something as a
Representative of Jesus Christ, and later to see that it has come to
pass. I have promised our other investigators Alejandro and Ruth, that
if they would follow the advice given in the intro of the BOM, and
pray with faith, that they would receive an answer through the Holy
Ghost. They have had doubts, but we visited them and Ruth said that
she had received an answer and that it was true! They aren't married
either, that seems to be a problem here, but once they do they WILL be
baptized! I have never prayed so much in my life! Every single day, I
pray, and pray, and pray, and I have seen the power of prayer work in
our investigators. We are also teaching Magda and her daughter, we had
an amazing lesson just last night in her tienda, store, of the
Restoration. It went really well, and they are loving our lessons! Her
husband passed away 3 years ago, and she has 3 kids. But, everything
we teach she agrees with and it makes sense to her. Its only time
before she is baptized as well. All in all, our work is moving
forward. We need to work with the members more though! As it says in
Preach My Gospel, if we as missionaries worked with the members more,
we would do less walking around knocking doors, and more actually

giving references to the missionaries.

The scripture of this week is found in 1 Peter 3:15. I am trying to
follow the advice of this scripture to always be ready, and willing,
in giving those who ask a reason for why I am always so happy! The
reason of course, is that I know the truth. I have a knowledge of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I try day by day to live it. I am here to
serve and love the people of Perù, and right now, the people of Puno.
I have truly felt the love of Christ while teaching those people, whom
I hardly know, the reason why I am so happy. I want to share these
WONDERFUL blessings that I have seen in my family and in my life, with
the people here! I am trying to remember who I am, a missionary of
God. Sometimes, we forget the power that we have. We are called of God
to preach the gospel to every creature. I'm talking to everyone, the
language is coming, poco a poco! I can feel the Gift of Tongues
working in me as I am meticulously obedient, as it says in my setting
apart blessing. I love all of you so much, thank you so much for the
Christmas packages that are on the way! I look so forward to them! I
also cant wait for you to get mine! Its not much, but I hope you enjoy
it! Keep me in your prayers, as I keep you in mine. Express my love to
the family in how much I miss them! I love you boys, keep on keepin
on, and please! Please write me! I miss you so much. I don't know whats
going on with you guys!

¡Secuida mucho! Los extraño a todos, y los amo mucho. ¡Hasta pronto!

Con amor,
Elder Jordan Van Christensen

The front of the house, only the second floor and the garage is theirs.

Another week gone in PUNO!‏

Hello again from Perù!

Okay lets get right to business here. You have SO many questions, no?
Okay I'll try to answer some of these. Here are the names of the
family we live with: Oscar, Judith, Josue (jo-sway, 11yrs today!),
Joseph 9, and Dasha 3! They are such an awesome family! Judith cooks
for us, yes every meal! Except lunch on P-day, we eat out :) Judith
says that I have a very good appetite, unlike any other Norteamericano
she has seen so far! That's because I eat everything they put in front
of me. You would be proud mom. Tomatoes and all! One or two Hermano(s)
do all of the laundry for the missionaries, is my understanding. So
yeah, we have it pretty good, not gonna lie. And boy, am I grateful.
The ward is great! We have so many wonderful, dedicated members that
offer their help to us everyday! I love my ward. Last Lunes I directed
my first noche de hogar, or family home evening with Judith and her
family and it went really well. We watched the new Joseph Smith movie,
and played games afterwards with everyone. Dad, Oscar is a taxi
driver. I don't know if he does anything else, but yeah! I will send
more pictures next week of the house, and of their family. I forgot to
this week! Sorry!

So about the package, I ended up sending it on the 16th, because for
some reason the post office said they needed a copy of my passport....
Ridiculous, I know. But oh well. The total ended up being $158.90
soles. So, it better get there. I have faith! Do you? I have been
thinking about the Christmas package... I have thought of a few more
things. Ready? Okay here goes: Micro cassettes, protein or trail mix
type bars, tide to go, just MORE pictures in general, and mom, your
famous hot cocoa mix to share with our family! And like I said, peanut
butter. I really miss peanut butter for some reason! Oh, I forgot to
mention to you mom! They have a drink here called Ecco, by Nestle. It
is amazing! Research it, and see if you can find it in the states. It
tastes like our favorite ice cream, remember? :)

So our typical day is as follows: Wake up at 6:30. Workout for 30
mins, shower and eat at 7:30. Personal study at 8, comp study at 9,
and language study at 10. We leave to appt's or wherever we need to go
at 11, and come back for lunch at 12 or 12:30. After lunch, we leave
around 1 or 1:30 to our appt's or visiting members, or contacting
until 8 at night when we have dinner. We plan for the next day after
dinner, and I write in my journal, and read el Libro de Mormon. That's
a typical day! Along with meeting borrachos, (translate that word,
jaja), a lot of "Lo siento, pero soy Catolico", defending ourselves
from wild dogs with rocks or whatever else we can find, and
occasionally we get to teach a lesson to a new investigator!! We
taught Hermana Flor who is literally a saint. She is amazing! She is
catholic but she says that she never denies hearing the word of the
Lord. So we were able to teach her and her son, Luis Angel. He's only
like 9 years old. The teaching went really well, and she bore her
testimony about how she knows that God answers prayers if we have
faith, and she is determined to find out if our message is true or
not. Its only a matter of time for her to know for a surety! We also
found a new investigator just last night! We taught the restoration to
him, Hermano Dilman. He is a policeman, and has many questions for us.
We had to tell him that we would answer his questions with other
lessons, and our next appt with him is on Wednesday! Hermano Vitaliano
wasn't baptized this Saturday unfortunately, he was nowhere to be
found! He works a lot in the campo, which is a farm and a lot of the
time he is just gone. So we will change his date to either this
Saturday or the next. Hopefully, we will have some success here! Also,
Hermana Magda is a new investigator, and she really has accepted what
we have taught so far. That being answers to some of her questions. We
tried to go back and teach her, we did have an appt, but she was very
busy and so we had to reschedule for this week. Wish us luck with all
our investigators! We need the extra faith and prayers of those who
are reading this email! I know that as they continue to investigate
that the Holy Ghost with manifest the truth unto them, but it is up to
us to teach them the truth. Pray for us!!!

So, I forgot to mention that while I was in the CCM we kind of had an
epidemic. Someone was diagnosed with TB. So all of us missionaries had
to have TB tests 3 weeks after leaving the CCM. So, we had to travel
45 mins away to Juliaca to get this test done. The same one that I had
to get done for my papers, remember? So today at 4 we have to go all
the way back to Juliaca on our precious P-Day to see if we are
positive or negative. I can already tell that I am negative, and am
safe! Phew! So no worries mom! I'm healthy except for a constant runny
nose, and cough. Jaja. But after we got back at around 9, I had the
worst headache I've probably ever had. I was on the verge of throwing
up, and everything. So I had to end up staying the night at Elder
Rogers (yes, I know. "Elder Rogers!" -The Best Two Years. He gets so
much crap from it. But we love him, jaja) apartment because I
literally couldn't move. So we ended up eating crackers with some ham
for dinner.

This last week we have had some really good food here. MANGO. I love
mangoes. They are probably my favorite fruit. They are so sweet here!
Also we stopped and bough some scones on the side of the road for 1
sol! 5 delicious scones for only 1 sol. Also, because I love mangoes
so much, I had Judith buy me some when she went to the market to get
groceries. 6 mangoes for 3 soles. That's a little bit over 1 dollar!
How awesome is that? The food is pretty bland here. Arroz EVERY meal.
Even breakfast! Jaja, but yeah its all good! I'm not getting sick of it
just yet! We taught an awesome recently converted family, well, read
and explained the BOM to them more, and after for dinner we had some
banana cake! In other words.... Banana bread! Yes! Oh how I've missed
your homemade breads mom... :( But yeah! We had that, regular bread,
and some manzanilla (hot apple drink). That's a typical dinner for
their family.. They don't have a lot of money, but they will sacrifice
for us. It really almost made me cry to eat it! But how cool for this
family to give what little they have to feed us! We didn't even ask,
they just told us that they were going to feed us! Their names are
Julio, Anna (his wife), Guadalupe, and Christian. Christian isn't a
member, but hopefully soon that will change! They even invited us over
for Christmas already. They save up for Christmas dinner, and it
should be very special.

Okay, one more thing. I had the idea this week to do a Scripture of
the Week for every week following this one until I'm home! Sound like
a good idea? Yeah, I thought so too! So, being the first one, I
figured why not pick a scripture that talks about the scriptures? This
weeks scripture is found in 2 Nephi 32:3&9. FEAST upon the words of
Christ! I love it! It fits perfect because I have learned here on my
mission to literally feast upon the words of Christ. The scriptures
truly will tell us all that we should do, through the power of the
Holy Ghost. I love this idea, and can't wait to share all of them with
you all! I have a prettttty slick study journal. I love it. I have
tabs for all different things. Meeting notes, personal study, Spanish
words and phrases, favorite scriptures, etc.

Well, I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Like I said,
I forgot about it! But I for sure remembered Bridger's birthday, so
happy birthday stud!! I love you so much! And likewise to all of you
my dear family. I love all of you more than you know. I always keep
you in my prayers, and as much as I miss every one of you, I know that
me being here has blessed and will continue to bless each and every
one of you. Keep the faith, keep reading the Book of Mormon EVERY DAY,
and say family prayers everyday. Remember all of our blessing that we
have, and remember that Christ said its better for one to give, rather
than to receive. I forgot the reference, but look for it k!?

Con MUCHO AMOR,

Your son, brother, and friend-

Elder Jordan Van Christensen

 Our church, and part of the area!

 The Church!

 The first sunset we have really had since I've been here!

 A street we walk everyday.

 The BIGGEST pig I have EVER seen.

A better angle for you to see this chancho!!