God's Time, not mine

August 23, 2021

God's Time, not mine

15 months as a missionary!

Hellooooo from Seattle!! I hope everyone is doing well and have enjoyed the end of their summer! It's starting to cool down a little bit here and Washington is putting masks back on but the work is still awesome.

We received transfer news this past weekend and I will be spending transfer SIX here in Federal Way in the Dumas Bay branch!!! I officially will be in one area for half of my mission haha but I couldn't be happier! I love my area, the people I've met, my companion, and all the hermanas I get to serve. I could have sworn I was still a greenie but I blinked and have arrived at the last 12 weeks of my mission. I have loved it so much and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in the next little bit!! Hurray for Israel!

One of the hardest parts about missionary work for me is having to accept and respect another person's agency. You can attempt to move heaven and earth to help an individual read the Book of Mormon, feel the Spirit, come to church and make it to the waters of baptism. However, at the end of the day it's all up to them. Each person uses their God-given gift of free agency to accept or reject the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ when it's given to them. I know any person who has been or currently is a missionary right now would agree that the most heartbreaking moment for us is when people use their agency to reject the gospel after having received a witness that it is true. I experienced this hard truth two weeks ago when our sweet Landa family unexpectedly became uninterested in taking the lessons anymore. We aren't sure what (or who) happened but are moving forward looking for those who the Lord has prepared for this time. I know we were a positive light to them and that they will accept baptism in the future… just in God's time and not mine!

Although it was a challenge to say goodbye to the Landa family, we have been very blessed in our area with more miracles! We have quite a few solid individuals that we are teaching and are excited to help them progress in the next few weeks. One tender mercy in particular stood out to me that happened a few days ago! After a few "random" coincidences and promptings from the Spirit, my companion and I ended up being led to an old investigator's house that we had taught English classes to. We had dropped her back in May due to lack of progress and we really had no idea why we were there at her house again. But of course, the Lord always has a better plan in store and I know we were led back to Deyanira and Isabel on purpose. They were thrilled to see us again and opened up about several recent deaths in the family and the hardships they were facing. After a powerful lesson on the Plan of Salvation and temple work, Deyanira and her daughter (soon the rest of her family) are working to be baptized soon. It's so special to bring others the message of eternal families!

We started our mission tour this week with President and Sister Patrick Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy! They are THE coolest people and we had a great time meeting them over zoom before they come in person next week. President Kearon talked about one of my favorite quotes from President Nelson,

"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

Nothing is more true than that! Joy comes when focusing on the Savior. If you feel like the world lacks some joy right now, we can simply focus on our Savior Jesus Christ.

Thanks for enduring another long email from yours truly!! I love you guys and am very grateful for the support system I have. Have a great week!!

Sending love from sunny Seattle!!

Difícil es bueno.

Xoxoxo Hermana Christensen