Some Pictures

Ryan's camera struggles with talking to the computers he uses over there, so as a result we don't have many pictures of him or the people he visits, or the places he sees.....Much to the frustration of his mother, so whenever I come across any pictures of him on other's blogs or facebook I grab them.  Here are a few I have collected recently.

At the Holocaust Memorial 

With his companions in Munich

Recent picture of the missionaries in their Munich ward

District Meeting

Transferred!! EXCITED BEYOND BELIEF and very sad as well. :-(

Well. Yeah the title says it all. This week was GREAT. Nothing fell out. And it set up for the new transfer beautifully. Tuesday was probably one of the best days in my whole mission. Hands down. Finally after an entire transfer of nothing but dropped appointments and frustrations, we had a solid week. 

But first I will tell you about Transfer calls. I am transferred. I won't get to remain in the ward any longer. But... 

I AM GOING BACK TO THE DORNBIRN DISTRICT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I will be in RAVENSBURG!!!!!!!!!!!!  I AM GOING BACK!! 

I have been there several times on Exchange, and I know it well, better yet, I will be the district leader and get to return to Dornbirn on exchange!! I AM GOING BACK TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD!!! Plus, every other week will have district meeting and finding day back in that area. I AM SO HAPPY. I thought that I would never get a chance to return, it was just a dream, but now it will be reality!!!  So many good memories from back in that district and area. Ravensburg is a small branch of about 20 people. Elder Buchanan is serving as the branch president there currently. It will be rough, it was a car area originally, but when the Ehepaar came we gave the car to them. (Being in a car area means the public transit isn't really really not good (if it was only "really not good" then it would be a bike area ;-) ). But I hear that the Buchanans drive us around a lot.  

So yeah, I nearly cried for 2 reasons on that phone call, 1) because I must leave, and 2 because I get to go back to my favorite place on that planet. I love Ravensburg, and Dornbirn. I will be in a Dritt (a three-sum? I don't know how you would call it in English)  down there, which means I will have 2 companions, both of whom are fairly new. One just finished being trained, and the other one is just one transfer older than the first mentioned. I don't know much more than that. President Miles told me the names,  then later called the office to ask them again, and they told me another name. Essentially the only thing I am certain of, is that one of my two companions is Elder Wasden, from Hawaii who just finished his training. :-) But there is another miracle about me going to this specific place, which I will mention after I talk about Tuesday. 

So Tuesday. One of the best days ever. First there was district Meeting, which is good, despite being planned by me, it all went really well ;-). After that, we had a special appointment, Martin Lauer, who I got to meet with in Wien, was traveling with his brother and stopped here in Munich to say hi to me, and so that we could show his brother the church!! That was way cool that he would stop here in Munich to meet with me. 

We had a great time, and had a really good lesson with his brother. Being used to getting a lot of questions, I asked if either of them had questions. Martin turned to me and said something to the effect " I only have one, will you come back to Wien and baptize me in November?" I was stunned and was so happy, that he would ask me to have that honor. 

Mission rules will allow me to return and perform the ordinance, so I was able to except the offer!! Now here is the true miracle, being transferred to Ravensburg (which will presumably be my very last area) I am only 35 minutes away from Austria. Train fare in Austria is really cheap with a Vorteils card (a savings card so to say, it makes all tickets half price (it only is good for people under 26 though)). Mine was supposed to expire about a month ago, but before I left Wien, I renewed it. 

But, the mission will cover travel expenses (and allow you to go) if the cost of travel for you and your companion is less than 200 Euro there and back. Being in Ravensburg, going to Wien and back for my companion and I will cost well less than 200 euro. Which means that being there (as opposed to being in Stuttgart or somewhere else) will allow me to return to Wien!! 

Granted, because I was asked to perform the baptism, I could have probably got permission to return anyway, but now it's guaranteed!!!! That really means a lot to me. And it really has shown me how much God really does love us and cares about even the small details. I really wanted to be able to go back for that baptism, and God has prepared away for that too happen. :-) That is was a huge miracle and blessing!

So yes, I am sad to go, but of all places which God could have sent me, I am going to the best place I could possibly go to. I was only in Esslingen for 11 weeks, and because I learned so much down in Dornbirn and was in that district for so long. I essentially consider that the beginning of my mission. A lot of firsts happened there, so its nearly like ending my mission where I began it. :-) In zone Conferences you only bear your testimony for your first and your last. My first one was there in that district (our mission just got a new Zone, so I am not in the Sankt Gallen Zone anymore) and my last one will be as well. Its Pretty cool! 

Anyway, Later on that night on Tuesday we finally were able to meet with Charles, and long story short, we set a baptismal date with him! And because the rest of the week worked out like it did, after I leave (and Elder Curtis will be training a new missionary). They should be able to set baptismal dates with 3 other people! (If not more, this coming week could be a spectacular week here). Which makes me really happy, I won't be here for it, and even though this entire transfer was really hard, we were able to finally have things work out, and put the area in a really good condition just before I leave. :-) 

So yeah, things went well this week, I and I am excited to go. Yesterday was hard, Clark Itama came up to me nearly with tears in his eyes and said that he would miss me a lot and that I was a good missionary. I think I got the biggest hug from anyone from him yesterday. :-) I am going to miss him, he is a really good guy. And a few other ward members as well I will miss. 

I was asked to give a talk yesterday, which I found out standing up there that the talk as I had it planned could have gone a lot longer, and because I was already short on time, I had to cut it down rapidly and I was afraid that I didn't do well because I couldn't connect the points well enough. I had less than 10 minutes and getting up there I realized that I had enough prepared to talk for 20 or more minutes... But a lot of people seemed to like it. 

Not having a computer, the talk is hand written, but I essentially spoke on Integrity, and compared it to building a temple, and its structural integrity, how they are designed to withstand anything that could pose a hazard to it. Then compared that to our lives being patterned after Christ, so to speak building our own temples and that we need our own integrity to withstand anything. God is merciful, so he allows for us to be tempted and tried to see where are integrity is weak and could be improved, I quoted Ether 12:27 and tied it to Alma 13:28 and talked about how we need to constantly watch and pray and read the scriptures for those promises to actually take effect. That was pretty much my talk in a nut shell. I also managed to throw in the story of the three little pigs in there ;-) ( House of straw, twigs and brick... the brick had good structural integrity ;-)). 

On a different note, with this past transfer, past few actually, I have had the chance to reflect back over my mission, and over about where I thought I would be now and things like that. It highlighted some of my weaknesses that I have been trying to overcome for a long while, and it was frustrating to me. I had the chance to read my patriarchal blessing and write down thoughts over it, and though I have it mostly memorized, 4 words stuck out to me, which had an immense impact on me. With everything going, many things being on my mind, and being frustrated at the lack of my ability to overcome my own weaknesses, (In reference to the Lord ) I read "He knows your circumstances". 

You won't ever quite realize how much that meant to me, right in that moment. I felt in that moment so much love and peace like I hadn't quite felt before. He knows everything, how I am feeling, what I am trying to do, what I want to do, my frustrations, fears and all other things. And he is there with me. Through everything. No one else will know what I am going through, but He does. And I want to add my testimony of that to you, that now matter where we are, or what we are going through, I know that God knows our circumstances, and loves us so very much. He is there, and He will guide us through our hard times as we put our faith and trust in him (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

With that, I will wish you a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

Well, I survived!

Well, I don't know what else to really add to that. Same pattern as always; everything falls out. But last week we got a call from Tenzin, and he needed a blessing, on Monday right after we finished with e-mails, he was having horrible migraines, and having just been taught about the Priesthood authority by the sisters, called us and wanted us to come. We arrived and talked with him for a bit. He wanted to know what he needed to do to be healed, we read 3 Nephi 17 with him with an emphasis on verse 8, having the faith to be healed. It was a good conversation and gave him a blessing. Having had them for an extended period of time, he also went to the doctor, and with the blessing and the visit, his migraines were gone the next day. :-) That was neat. It was cool that he called us though, no one told him too, he just did it on his own accord. :-) 

After that we went to the Deutsches Museum. One of the Largest Natural History Science Museusm in the World! Sadly we didn't end up with too much time, and I am quite sad, because it closed a lot earlier than we supposed and I didn't get to see the Chemistry section, or the Amateur Radio section. Darn it! Maybe God knew that it would be to much of a distraction for me.... :-P. 

Anyway, Tuesday was Zone Training, which was really awesome and uplifting as always, but lasted way long. That was a hard day for Elder Curtis more than me. He forgot his wallet at home and got a fine of 40 Euro for riding the train with out a ticket (he didn't realize until the controllers (who are usually in disguise) controlled our U-bahn car). 

Going back a bit to leaving the apartment, Elder Thomas after getting to the 2nd floor of the building realized that he left his wallet in the apartment and asked for the keys to go get it, Elder Curtis was closest and gave him ours so that he could run up real quick and get it (Ironic right?) but he forgot to get them back... And we needed them to complete a service project. So we had some unplanned contacting, and I had to pay for tickets so that Elder Curtis and I could actually do that.:-) That was great. 

Wednesday everything fell out. But we still found some people, so that was good. Like 4 or 5! :-) But all for Munich 1 and 3 :-)

Thursday, Elder Curtis and I leave the apartment at 10 (per recommendation of other missionaries to break up studies so that you can focus better) we get to Sendlingertor, to switch U-bahns and Elder Curtis realizes that he left his wallet in the apartment, again. So we turn around and head back, and he feels that we should get off one stop before ours and walk back. So we do and start talking to people. Nothing. I was feeling a bit down, and the spirit prompted me that I needed to think more positively and be happier. So I tried, and because God never tells us to do something without helping us, I was able to be happy, and feel better, despite the hard crowd. 

Then after getting turned down who knows how many more times, I saw a couple walking down toward us, and got a way good feeling, so I went up and talked to them. THEY ARE AWESOME! They were so happy to see us and talk with us, they love God and hearing his word and really want to come to church. She had heard of our church before, and only heard about the law of Chastity which we lives. She likes that a lot, and talked about how important it was to have one person to spend your life with. And then I asked her, " What would it mean to you, if you could find out for yourself that marriage isn't just for this life, but for all eternity?" She got REALLY EXCITED. Her husband was also really interested. I was so happy! We got her information and gave it to Munich 1  she is german speaking). Then still on the way back to the apartment we found them 2 more potentials for Munich 1, and successfully got a hold of an old investigator. :-) 

Later that night we went to the Bishops house and had Dinner with him. That was neat, we were supposed to finally meet with Charles again (its been 6 weeks since we have had an appointment which didn't fall out with him) but, he couldn't make it again, work is too strenuous. He could only meet after 9 pm. I am going to call President Miles and see if we can get special permission to teach him at that time. We will see what happens. 

But then we went by and gave a book of Mormon to a way cool potential that was given to us by the Zone Leaders! That was cool. He was home, I found his house (which is a miracle in and of it self since he misspelled the name of the street really bad...) and we talked to him and his wife briefly. :-) 

Friday was excellent and really hard. We felt that we should go buy on Osuma, a man with whom we were supposed to meet earlier in the week but it fell out. So we did, and another woman was there who we had talked to last time. There were 2 families that lived there. Osuma wasn't there but Elizabeth was. She is from Ghana, and sadly her English isn't the greatest. And she isn't the most literate in Twi either. It is her native tongue, but written Twi is slightly different from spoken Twi apparently. Anyway, long story short, we used a 16 year old boy ( I forgot his name) to help us translate, but he is Muslim, so I don't know how much she understood. But she has a lot of interest, and we have members in the ward from Ghana who speak Twi. We will bring them with us this week. So we had an un expected lesson. Excellent. 

After this lesson, I was starting to feel a bit sick, however I ignored it and thought it would pass. We went home to eat lunch and have language study, and do weekly planning. I get home, and feel a bit worse, I have no appetite really, but I try to just have some toast. My stomach felt really upset, so I took medicine. I won't go into to many details, but none of that stayed down. I couldn't even drink water.  I tried to do weekly planning anyway, but I couldn't focus, and felt fuzzy. Which came from being dehydrated. But I couldn't drink any water, my stomach wouldn't allow me to. I don't want to scare anyone, so I won't give to many more details, but needless to say I got worse and worse until I myself was quite nervous. 

My whole body ached, and I had nearly no strength at all. Sister Miles was explained all my symptoms, and was pretty sure it was just a 24 flu. So she recommended that I just rest and try to drink some water. It is hot, and Europe has no internal cooling. I was dehydrated and I couldn't do anything against it, except sleep and wait a few hours till I could hopefully start drinking water again. Which is what I did. I spent most of Friday sleeping, and then drinking slowly. At the end of the evening. I was able to drink a bit but had no desire to eat at all. I asked for a blessing that night from Elder Curtis, Thomas and Mochon. Elder Curtis anointed and Elder Thomas sealed, and gave a wonderful blessings which went passed my physical needs into some things which I was concerned and praying about. That was wonderful, and a reminder that God really hears and answers my prayers. :-)

I slept alright that night, and the next day my stomach was at ease. I didn't eat anything really that day, but I was able to drink a lot, to overcome my dehydration. By request of Sister Miles and the other Elders we stayed home that day (not exactly something that I wanted to do). I was still tired and weak, and apparently a bit pale. So we stayed home and  I decided if I was going to stay home, I was going to get as much rest as possible so that I could get back to work ASAP. So I did, I spent that day and slept. at around 5 that evening I had all my strength back, and was able to go to visit an investigator, who we had made an appointment with (which ended up falling out... go figure :-)). But I was able to make a lot of phone calls and this coming week is looking really good!! I have long since completely recovered and everything is alright. :-) Sorry if I caused any one any worries, I am fine now! 

Something really Ironic because I was sick, we had to cancel the appointments on Friday night, the only ones which would have probably actually happened. :-P God surely does have a sense of humor... and I am still trying to learn patience :-) 

But over all things are great! The church is still true! We are alive and doing His work. :-) I am still incredibly grateful to be here. And look forward to another great week ahead! I know that this truly is the Church of God! If it wasn't I would have come home a LONG TIME AGO ;-). I know that when God loves us and cares for each and every one of us. I am grateful for the Priesthood power, that I have the chance give blessings, and am grateful for the times when I need to receive blessings. I think this is probably the first blessing I had, since I was set 18 months ago. I guess God just needed to humble me enough to get one, because I really needed his help, and that blessing (like I mentioned before) blessed me with the things that I have been asking and hoping for. :-) God hears each and everyone of us. DON'T FORGET IT! :-)

I wish you all a great week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

4th of July? I don't even know what that means anymore...

Well, I don't really know what to say, this past week flew by incredibly rapidly. It was a really weird week as well, seeing as we switched nearly our entire P-day (except the time allotted us for e-mails so that you wouldn't freak out and worry about me when no e-mail came on Monday) till Tuesday.

It was incredibly unique, because it was the first P-day that we (except for the Hunsakers and Sister Sonumura and Sister Holmgren) could all be together. We needed to change it because of Interviews on Monday with President Miles. So we were all going to go to Neuschwannstein. Sadly Sister Scoggin and Sister Smith (in case I haven't mentioned it already, she is missionary from Grandma and Grandpa Marks' ward) had to back out last minute. Sadly, so it was just us, the AP's and the Office Elders. But we had a blast. Elder Hemsley, Elder Müller, and I wore our Lederhosen. Which actually caused us some interesting problems... I got asked 9 times from random people if they could take their picture with me. I don't know why.  Elder Hemsley and Müller didn't get asked but maybe once or twice, I however, 9 times (in the space of the hour and a half that we were there). I don't get it.

The same thing happens to me with beggers, or street displays from different organizations, they will nearly run my companion over to get to me and ask me for money, some sort of participaption in something, or in this case pictures... Anyway, it was rather interesting, and it took us longer to get there and back than it probably would have otherwise have taken. Memo to self, don't wear Lederhosen to Neuschwannstein as a missionary, and when not a missionary, charge money. ;-)

That was a lot of fun though. The castle, though it be not that old, is really beautiful, and is located in a very beautiful location. I keep trying to post pictures, but this computer doesn't like my camera, so I can't... sorry. I will need to do it next week. 

But then we came back and did an Exchange with the Zone Leaders. I got to work with Elder Gochnour again. :-) Elder Gochnour was my district leader for the last transfer in Vienna, and we went on an exchange then which was a blast. He was trained by Elder Young, my MTC companion, one transfer after I started training Elder Robins. I love Elder Gochnour he is a really good missionary. We had a stellar exchange, we tried to go by on one of our potentials and started to talk to everyone we could see, and we found 5 people who wanted to hear our message, 5 people within 40 minutes! That was unbelievable. 

And some of them were REALLY cool. One girl, originally from Russia went on foreign exchange to Utah. She talked about how at first she absolutely hated it. No Alcohol, no partying (to her expectations etc.) But toward the end she really loved it. She said she felt something special there. She came back and has since stopped drinking alcohol and smoking (she was on exchange 7 years ago). And as we were talking to her, she told us that she was getting that same feeling that she had when she was in Utah again, a really good feeling that she liked. I then bore testimony of the spirit, and told her that if she came to church and other activities that she could feel that same feeling more often, and told her we would like to talk to her about how she can feel that feeling all the time. She was really excited. It was cool. :-) She lives in the Zone Leaders area, and so they will teach her. But I am still very excited for her. :-) 

Wednesday was also cool. In order to break the day up a bit, we decided to have our personal and companionship study, and then go out for a few hours, coming back in the dead part of the afternoon for language study and lunch. I decided to go by on someone, who lived on the most northern part of Munich, which was far away, so I was worried that it would be a waste, but I decided to go anyway. So we did. We make it up there and walk to his house (he didn't live too far away.) But talked to someone on the way who wanted to meet  with the missionaries. :-) 

We get to Osuma, a man from Ghana, who let us right in. We had a really great lesson, and he let us know of some other people from Ghana who would perhaps also like to hear our message, and we talked to them and will meet with them on Wednesday with Osuma again. :-) So within that one trip we found 4 people who want to talk to missionaries, and had a really good lesson. And I thought that it was stupid. I am glad I listened to the prompting I had. I didn't even recognize it as a prompting until all that happened and then I realized that it wasn't just me that decided to just go there, I had without recognizing it been led there. We found a number of people and happened to go at a time that this man was home. That was really neat.

The next 3 days in a row were pretty much service filled. We had planned to paint Ruth's balcony (Ruth is an 88 year old German lady, who speaks amazing english and comes to our ward). Well, I wasn't aware of it, but she was supposed to go to the hospital for 6 days and had left the morning. So a member of the ward met us there and showed us what Ruth wanted to be done, gave us the roller and the paint (sadly that is all we got, not pan for the paint and no paint brush just a roller and the paint) and the keys to the apartment. Which actually has been a huge advantage, because the first day was the morning after it rained, and the patio was wet. We dried it off, but it still wasn't quite suitable for painting, so we would have to come back the next day and paint it. 

Then we got a call from Tenzin, who needed help helping Ralph again. Ralph needed to paint his whole apartment before he left (he moved to Baden baden, as I mentioned) so we went and helped him paint it. Tenzin said that we were only painting the kitchen and the bedroom, and that it would only take 1 hour or so ( Mind you, Tenzin also said this about the all day moving project last time) so of course we are painting the whole apartment, and it takes up all of that day and the several hours the next day. (Yeah, all of our appointments fell out again this week... Diligence, patience and endurance, that is Elder Curtis and I are learning right now).

But It was really good, we finished at 12 the next day, helped him clean it up really fast so that he could go to Baden Baden, grab his things and be in Frankfurt that night to do a live theather show. He was INCREDIBLY grateful. If we didn't go he would have never made it in time. I had already given him a book of mormon and noticed it sitting in the front seat of the car, I assume he has started to read it already. He took us to a quick lunch, which was AMAZING. And then had to go, but before he did, he is like, I have a question which is really on my soul at the moment, and I want ask it. Elder Curtis and I were excited for it to be some big question about God or something. Then he started off saying how his mom had always taught him to not be rude and or impolite, at which point I figured it had something to do with our church, which is normal there are a lot of false ideas about our church. But then he caught us off guard when he asked, "may I please give you some money?" We obviously can't take any money, and we told him that, and made that clear. He sighed and said, alright, then you must come to the Black forest sometime and be my guest in Baden Baden. I totally plan on taking him up on that offer sometime. It will need to be after my mission, but I just got offered to come and stay with a well known German actor at his home in the black forest area of Germany. :-) 

After leaving there we went to paint Ruth's balcony. That took longer then we expected and we didn't end up getting home till 7 that night to do studies and eat dinner. The next day we were invited to go back out to Deggendorf to help clean up out there. The stake just out of our mission was going and wanted our missionaries to come. It was a last minute thing, so a lot of our missionaries couldn't make it. Munich 1 was one of them. Elder Mochon wanted to go, and I really wanting to stay and actually do some missionary work ( not that service isn't missionary work, but I really wanted (as strange as it sounds) to be in a shirt and tie again talking to people about the gospel), so I got it authorized for Elder Thomas and I to stay in Munich and do missionary work and Elder Curtis and Mochon to go to Degggendorf. We had also a grate exchange and found a number of people and had a good time. :-) 

Things are still going good.We are hoping and praying for a better week then the last. Always moving foward and doing what we can. :-) Haha, 4th July came and passed and I barely even noticed it. We sang "The Star Spangled Banner" as the hymn for companionship study, but other than that nothing was really done to celebrate it. Go figure, when you are in Germany you can't necessarily expect to celebrate an American holiday. :-) 

Anyway, I wish you all a great week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

July.... This is going by way to quickly...

Well, another week has now come to a close. It was a rough week, good but at times rough. Every single appointment this week fell, not sparing even one. But, the Lord truly have a plan for us this week which we were unaware of. 

So to start it off, it truly begins Wednesday, We were FULL. It was going to be a good day. Then around 10 or so we get a a few phone calls and everything falls out, we went from being completely booked out to completely free day. I sat on our couch a bit frustrated and sad. WHY?! I thought, surely we couldn't have two weeks in a row like this. I was sad and I didn't understand why this was happening. But God truly loves me so incredible, 1) because I didn't have to wait long for the answer and 2) because of what happened. 

So only a few minutes after everything falling out (enough time to accept what had happened and make plans to fill the free day), I get a phone call from Tenzin (have I told you about him before?) with whom we hadn't been able to meet in a long time. Tenzin is from Tibet and was originally found by the sisters of Munich 2, and then later by us going door to door. So we both knew him, and because he was English speaking we were planning on teaching him. He knows the church is true and has a very good understanding that he needs to get baptized, and he wants to, however he wants to wait for his wife. When he first started talking to members of Christian religions his wife wouldn't speak to him for a week. But slowly he has been working with her, to the point where she now is OK that he meets with Christian people, but  he still wants to take is slow for her sake. 

Anyway, he gives us a call and says that he is helping a friend move out, and this friend is giving him some furniture, and he needs help moving it to his apartment that day. He reassured us that it was going to be easy, perhaps lasting no longer than an hour or so. Cool, despite how long it was going to last, Elder Curtis and I both felt better switching into service clothes rather than doing it in a shirt and tie (which I have on occasion done). We meet up, and go to his friends house. It turns out that his friend is a somewhat famous German actor. Ralph Bauer. Famous enough that he has a Jaguar (the car sponsorship, and the name on the doorbell was "Pegasus" so that he didn't have a ton of people come and ring his doorbell. :-) 

Ralph lived at the top of "Mini Everest" as Tenzin called it, at the top of a 6 story building WITH NO ELEVATOR. We hike to the top and start helping take things back down. 2 book shelves, and large floor cabinet and a bed. ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE. Taking heavy objects around a winding staircase down to the trailer, and then running back up the stairs to the top of the 6th floor to do it again! (remember what I said about stairs, back when I was in Esslingen? Yeah, God truly does have a sense of Humor...) 

It was just us, Tenzin and Ralph, so it took a couple hours (Ralph also fed us some food as well). Then we have to take it with Ralphs car over to Tenzin (on the opposite side of the city) Ralph has a Jaguar sponsorship, however his Jaguar doesn't have a trailer hitch so he went to BMW and picked up a car with a trailer hitch. A BMW M-SERIES SPORTS WAGON. Top of the line. And I got to ride in the front seat!!! Oh man, that was such a nice car. 

So we get to Tenzin's house, and unload. But, there was still somethings that we need to bring (the trailer wasn't big enough to fit everything). So we drive in the really nice sports car back to Mini Everest, hike to the top, dissemble the large cabinets that were coming next (they weren't big enough to take in one piece) and then take them down piece by piece. Tenzin had some Tibet-ten friends there now, so it didn't take as long. Then we get all the things back to Tenzin's house and have dinner with him, his wife, Ralph and some of the other Tibet-tens. It was good, and we got a chance throughout the whole day to be around Tenzin's wife and family. And because I had dissembled the cabinets and knew how to reassemble them (and because a few other appointments fell out), we came back a few days later and reassembled all the shelves and things and then had lunch with his wife and him. THAT was cool. He made what I will call Tibet-ten Spaghetti. I figured out how he made it and I can make it now! It is very similar to normal Italian Spaghetti Bolognese, but It has some Ginger and Cilantro, which make it taste different, and when you add some really spicy chili sauce, it is REALLY good. 

Tenzin was incredibly busy for 5 weeks before this happened, so neither the sisters nor us, could contact him. But this week, God cleared out our schedule a bit so that we could spend a significant amount of time with him and his wife, to help us to gain her trust. I got to have amazing food, drive in an incredible sports car, get to know and become friends with a famous German actor, who has a heart of Gold, and get a good work out ;-). Ralph is truly incredible though. He is famous, and Car makers let him drive any car he wants, but he isn't arrogant or cocky, quite the opposite, he is incredibly humble. 

I found out later from Tenzin, that one time he was paid a large sum of money for something, and he took that money, went to a remote part of Tibet and used the money to repair all the roads and update the water systems so the people there could have fresh drinking water. Not for any publicity reasons, or anything other then helping out the people there (Tenzin's Wife is from that part which is why he went there). He has done an incredible amount of things for Tenzin and other Tibet-tens here. He moved yesterday to Baden Baden (I love to say that) but is coming back to go with Tenzin to an Interview which will begin the process of him opening up a museum here in Munich. 

Along with that, because other appointments fell out, we were able to schedule other appointments and I was able to do a 1/2 exchange with Elder Müller which was awesome. As a district leader in this district, I don't get to do any Exchanges except with the Zone Leaders, because the office staff work all day in the office, and then there are AP's and Sisters. AP's are already busy enough as it is, and the sisters... well that's obvious why that wouldn't work. :-) 

But Elder Müller and I went out past Augsburg a ways so that I could give one of their investigators a Baptismal Interview. That was a neat experience for me. I felt the impressions of the spirit strongly, and highlighted, as I was prompted to ask things in a certain way. I am grateful for that spirit which directed me that this specific person, though he seem ready, actually needed a bit more time. The bishop of the ward actually got a chance to talk with him a bit, and knowing that I had interviewed him, pulled me aside into a room to talk with me about him for a minute, we had the same prompting and the baptism has been pushed back a couple of weeks. That was a neat experience for me, having never done that before I was a bit nervous, but the spirit was there and it turns out that there were some misunderstandings when it came to commandments... I wouldn't have come out any other way had I not had the Spirit with me. That really taught me a lot gaining the experience that I am not alone, and that when I pray and strive for it the Spirit will direct me and I need not be nervous because God is leading me and won't let me make a mistake (as long as I am humble and seeking the spirit). 

The week didn't turn out the way that we had planned, but It was still overall a really good week. A long week, and there were hard times, but overall with everything else that happend it went well. Tenzin came to Church, as well as Brother Gardiner, who finally brought his wife and kids, and we met with them that night. :-) But there was an appointment in that spot, so God cancelled it for us so that we could meet with Brother Gardiner and his wife and kids and have a great experience. :-) 

I am grateful that the God is truly leading this work and that things go according to his plan, and not mine. :-) I am grateful for the spiritual promptings that we can recieve because of our callings and that God won't give us anything that we can't handle. Its wonderful to be here and to get to do this! I am loving it, It truly is an incredible work! The Broadcast was INCREDIBLE! Due to a weird schedule I got to watch the first half on Monday night, and the second half on Sunday. But I loved it! 

I wish you all a great week!

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

One week from July...

Well, I don't know what to say about this week really. I was hard, really hard. I am still grateful, however, for the wonderful blessings which I did notice. This week, not much went according to plan, if anything. All of our appointments dropped. Except one, with Nicole and Bastian, which was a blast as always. 

I don't know if I have talked about them at all, Nicole is American and was baptized into the church when she was 9 her mom was a member, but not completely active and Nicole has actually not come to church most of her life. She has had contact with missionaries at time through her life. Which is a bit of a problem, because having come to church off and on, she has heard (sadly) a lot of deep doctrine, which happened before she learned basics which is what caused her to stop having a desire to come to church. 

That was a long time ago (back when she was in college (OK, so not so long ago maybe like 8-10 years ago)) so as we meet with her all she can recall is small (and I mean SMALL) pieces of deep doctrine which causes her have questions to no end. Ones that can be really difficult to answer, at least without immense scripture references and good explanations. But sitting answering questions with no direction is a complete waste of time. So we have been taking the typical missionary lessons, and tie them back to the questions, and answer them. Anyway, that is what we do with her. 

Bastian (he is the coolest) is German, and comes with her to support her. As of right now he (or so they say) is only there to support her and has no interest, but I see it every now and again that he is taking a bit of interest in what we say. Its fun to be with them, its always a good meeting. 

Nicole LOVES to read and has an immense collection of books, when meeting with her last time the thought came to me that I should get her a copy of Jesus the Christ (I LOVE THAT BOOK) So I was going to order her one, but then on Tuesday at District Meeting Sister Hunsaker came up to me with a copy.  She said that this past week she had thought about Nicole and the thought came to her that she should get her a copy of Jesus the Christ. So she did, and gave it to me to give to Nicole. :-)  Pure Inspiration. But that will be a huge help, because Nicole's questions often go into deep doctrine, which one usually learns by a reading the scriptures, church literature, and coming to church over a period of several years. Jesus the Christ is an incredible book that covers so many topics, it will essentially answer most of her questions, and we can focus around a faith centered testimony. I am excited to meet with her again. 

We had a fun adventure this week, Our Carbon Monoxide alarm went off at 1 in the morning. That's always fun to wake up to. I jumped out of bed, grabbed the alarm and took out the batteries (IT IS INCREDIBLY LOUD), so that it wouldn't wake the neighbors. Then I realized what alarm it was and got really confused, because all the windows in the apartment were open and the fans were running, I put the batteries back in and the alarm registered everything as normal. Weird... but I called the AP's and they came and got us anyway and took us to their apartment while we let ours air out (the windows were only part way open, and so we opened them all the way) and left. Better safe then sorry. I had to drag Elders Thomas and Mochon out of the apartment though, they weren't exactly willing to wake up and leave... But yeah, that was fun, riding in a car back to the mission office at 1:15 or so in the morning. Then at 7 they drove us back (we played soccer with them, the Zone leaders and the Office Elders at 6 am) and everything has since been fine. We are pretty sure it was a false alarm, 1) because it was mounted incorrectly nearly on the ceiling in a corner, and 2) it was INCREDIBLY Humid during those few days, which is also known to trigger false alarms. 

We spend a whole day this week back in Deggendorf doing demolition on a house. :-) Sadly it wasn't as fun as it sounds, since germany doesn't believe in Sheet rock all the walls are made of morter-plaster covered brick walls, and our job was to remove all the  morter-plaster. So we took sledge hammers to the walls to remove the plaster, but hitting the wall over and over again really kills your hands... but we did it! And we were able to help clean up a lot of things as well which was good. :-) I got to rip out a door frame however, and THAT was fun. :-) 

Other than that it was a hard week, all of our appointments fell out, and spending hours out speaking with people didn't yield anything. Which is actually, though it may sound at first a bit strange,  wonderful. I have received far more insight and understanding from one really hard week, then I ever have from 10  good weeks. It is always a humble reminder whose work this is, and who really is in charge. The scripture in Isaiah 10:15 comes to mind as well as Alma 26:22. 

Isaiah 10:15 reads: Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

Alma 26:22 reads: Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing--unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring theses our brethren to repentance.

Its something that I always try and acknowledge, that I am but an instrument in Gods hands, that it is His work, not mine. But having a gentle reminder every now and again is good. I don't necessarily like it however ;-). 

But I have come to understand it as a process of learning, and not of punishment or anything of the like. It's caused me to reflect a lot more on the life of my Savior, how He much have felt during those times when He would try to help people and they rejected Him. They wouldn't listen to Him. How much sorrow He must have felt when they didn't listen or when people did do that which would truly bring them happiness. How could I, being His servant and trying to follow Him, expect to go about doing this work and not have some of the same sorrows and trials which He Himself had?

In my studies of Isaiah I was led to Isaiah 50:4-9. 

4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back

6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

9 Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

It isn't a coincidence that I happened to read this passage of scripture this week in my studies. It had a huge impact on me. With the week the way it was, I understand and appreciate this scripture so much more, I can't by any means compare, and nothing was that bad this week, but it helped me gain that much more of an understanding of Jesus Christ, and have a greater appreciation for what He did. For that I am incredibly grateful. And as a servant of Him, alot of the things mentioned in there apply to me "the Lord God will help me". I love that phrase. 

We hope that this week will shape up to be better than the last week. We were unsuccessful in arranging appointments for last week, but we were able to a bit for this week. So we will see. 

I am so grateful for the chance to serve a mission here, even though it is hard at times. I have learned so much, and gained so much insight through it. I have seen so many wonderful blessings during this time. And I am looking forward to many more. :-)

I wish you all a great week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

Elder Nelson, Transfers, and Service in the new swamplands of Deggendorf...

This week was incredibly PACKED. We were full the entire week. But it was good :-). Monday was P-day followed by dinner with the Johnsons, Tuesday we Had a meeting with speakers from the European Area presidency, and Elder Nelson, which was absolutely INCREDIBLE that lasted from 10 till 1. Then after that we had a Zone Training meeting, and then a District Leader Meeting. When that was over it was 6 pm, which is when the office Elder came and picked us up to go to the Wilsons for dinner. 

Wednesday we were with back to back appointments all the way through the day, and then Thursday was Transfer day. Friday we cleaned the church, had weekly planning and were supposed to have another appointment, but no one was there. :-( So it is I guess. 

Then Saturday we spend the whole day in Deggendorf, just outside of Passau. It was crazy,  I knew it flooded, but I had no idea. One of the newspaper headlines that I saw referred to it as "Sintflut" which is the name given in the bible for the flood at Noah's time. I thought it was a bit exaggerated, but NO. The place where I spent most of my time, nearly ( if not more) than a kilometer away from the river, had water 13 feet deep, which was high enough to have a good 1 foot or so standing water ON THE SECOND FLOOR.

They also had an oil leakage and everything was destroyed. We went to assist unloading a house of all the furniture and everything throwing it into a garbage pile so when all the water is gone, it can be picked up and disposed of. WE were up to our knees ( and actually slightly higher) when we started ( haha they gave giant rubber shoe covers to keep my shoes dry, a lot of good that did... they didn't do anything except fill with water and make me feel like I was walking around with sopping wet lead clown shoes... ;-)

I LOVE my Deuter though (my backpack). I was able to pack my scriptures (yes I had them with me) 25 Helping Hands Jerseys, 3 pairs of gloves, 5 1 liter water bottles as well as keep all watches, wallets and phones in my backpack. We had to walk one and a half kilometers to where we ended up helping, and then I tied my backpack to a fence ( I wish I would have taken a picture of that). But despite all the weight, I was able to quite comfortably walk around. It is a well built back pack. :-) I highly recommend it to any missionary preparing to serve. :-) Because I was the only one with the backpack I was the only one who had my camera, so I ended up taking a lot of pictures. So I actually have pictures to post! But I am not in many because I ended up being the camera man... Sorry Mom. ;-)

We had fun while serving and got to know the people well. I was amazed at how much water there was and how quickly it destroyed everything. It caused me to be deeply grateful for that which I have, and that in Utah, we (personally) haven't had any problems with huge natural disasters. Even with the fires we weren't worried. 

It was a really good day, despite it taking up all day, and then there was me, which had the backpack with everything inside... except Sunblock. That was horrible, When standing next to Elder Curtis and Elder Thomas we were talking to Sister Allman when she made the observation that Elder Thomas looked like Neapolitan ice cream (white face with a bit of pink and then brown hair, then Elder Curtis who looked like Strawberry Ice cream (some what pink/red) then turned to me and said "and you're a tomato!" Thanks Sister Allman thanks a lot...;-)I spent most of my time outside the house dragging large furniture to the pile while others spent more time (or the entire time) in the house...

Anyway, yesterday was really good We were completely busy, so busy that we finally were able to eat at 10 pm last night. But it was good. We had a lesson with Mr. Dodoo and his wife, which went over spectacularly. I was worried because when I called to confirm the appointment it came to a point where I had to ask him to grab his bible right then and I used it to teach him some of the principles so that he would allow us to come. I asked him if he was willing to meet with us with an open heart, and prepared to hear our message and ask God if it was true. He said he was and wanted to meet with us, but I was worried that he would try to bible bash with us in the appointment. 

One Gift God has given me is the ability to memorize scripture very rapidly, to have a very sharp recall where exactly things are in the scriptures so that I can use them when the time is right. I am absolutely against bible bashing. I will NOT do it. Because of this, God has blessed me with this gift of knowledge, memorization and understanding of the scriptures. And because I am aware that the reason I have this gift is because I won't bash anyone, I have an even stronger conviction not to. I am not here to tear anyone down, but rather to built up, that is something that I have become even more aware of. It has changed the way that I teach and go about things, there is a way to teach and to use the scriptures in a building up way, but if they are just looking to argue, then it is a waste of our time. I would have just gotten up and thanked him for his time and left, there are better things to do. 

Anyway so I was concerned that he would to bible bash with me. We went there opened with a prayer and got know him. He was searching for the truth and a place to worship, but was scared of being deceived or led down the wrong path. We had a great discussion using a number of scriptures, and it was incredible. He now knows and understands that as we teach, he is expected to hear what we say, think about it, and then ask God if it is true. It went VERY well. :-) It was very uplifting and the spirit was strong. We walked out of the appointment feeling great. It was an answer to a prayer. 

One thing I have been doing recently in my personal study, is studying Isaiah. And I have been so amazed of how much is in that book. How many wonderful teachings are to be found in there, which have really changed my life. There is so much poetic beauty in the words. I have become aware of some patterns in the book of Isaiah, which have been a strength to me, and are of great worth to people who I am teaching. I am only in the 43rd or so chapter, but I am loving it! I started studying Isaiah because of the Saviors remarks about how great the words of Isaiah are and that we should study them, and the more that I try to have the spirit and be receptive, the easier it is. Granted, I am reading it in German, which unlike the English Language has not changed nearly as much over the past 500 years or so, which makes it so much easier to understand. But the spirit has also been a great source of knowlege to me. 

Anyway, I am out of time now. I will send some pictures of the service project, but one thing I do want to end with, is my testimony of this gospel. I know that this church is true, I know that it is led by God through a living prophet today. I know that God loves each and everyone of us, and he wants the very best for us. I am grateful for that love. And for the time I have to give, to spread it. 

I wish you all a great Week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

More pictures of the floods:

 The picture of Sister Smith showing how high the water by the dealership was, was lower than that of where we were. We were on dry ground by the dealership but we were knee deep in water by the house. Sister Scoggin and Sister Smith love pictures and kept asking me to take pictures of them, so that is why there will be so many of them. We were taken by boat from the first house to the second. :-) More for enjoyment then anything. .-)

 The 2nd picture of Sister Smith in the Boat with Elder Curtis next to it, is probably one of my favorites :-)

This about sums it up!

Elder Christensen Sighting

Valorie's brother-in-law Taylor Benson's parents are serving a mission in the Alpine German Speaking Mission.  They sent this picture to Taylor and Lucy, who forwarded it on to us.

Look who we Found! Elder Christensen actually found us at our meeting in Munich today.

What a week...

I don't have today too much time, but there are a couple of miracles which I wish to mention. 

But before I do, I want to say that I feel like  a Jerk, I made a joke last week about the rains and no flooding, and I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA that there was actually flooding going on. Then that night I went to eat dinner with Clark, a member of the ward. When we arrived (the Office Elders and us) the TV was on and I saw news footage of Passau, and I was blown away near the river they were up to nearly their waste in Water. 

The Sisters lived right on the river... But here is a miracle, the area was scheduled to get new missionaries, Elders, and a new apartment was bought, because the new one was nicer, it was decided that the Sisters move there, and the branch would fix up the old one for the Elders. When flooding began, the branch there gathered together and moved the sisters to the new apartment ( safe from the flooding) that very day. Power and water in the whole city went out, but the branch members brought the sisters bottled water daily so that they could make it through. They are just fine. 

Munich didn't really have any problems only only on the far outer reachers near the river. So all the missionaries are ok, but in the areas effected the missionaries have been helping out. 

Which brings me to one of my miracles. There was a family in Munich 2 whose basement flooded (COMPLETELY). The water reached to the second from the top step leading down to the basement. But sadly they had an even worse problem, they had a heater that used oil, and it had a tank of over 400 liters (over 110 Gallons) of oil, which ruptured... ruining everything in the basement. Because it was Mission Leadership council, sets of missionaries in that ward were unable to help. And long story short the only missionaries that could were us and the Kaufbeuren Elders. 

So we prepare to go out to Olching, in our service clothes. We got out there and waited by the bus stop when I noticed that my wallet was not in my back pocket. With out a doubt I had it when I left the apartment, but on the train ride there, it slipped out of my pocket and was still in the train. I had an overwhelming feeling of panic, because that had everything in it, Credit Cards, Visas (living permit, not the credit card ;-) ), Drivers License etc. As well as a large sum of cash roughly 250 Euro worth. 

Which sounds a bit crazy, but the grocery store that we go too doesn't except Visa (the credit Card), and in order to reduce ATM fees, we pull the money out all at once. And my Credit Card hasn't worked for some weird reason at all at any store, so I pulled money out from an ATM so that I could get some supplies on the coming P-day. 

And I had never once had a problem before losing my wallet, or having it fall out of my pocket before, so I didn't worry about losing it. Now one thing I am incredibly grateful for was that I lost it here in Germany. The German people are INCREDIBLY honest, and I will show you that in a bit, but they don't steal. Which is why when you come here, that stores usually put items (sometimes really expensive) out in front  that would be really easy to take, and no one is there to watch them. Why? Because Germans don't steal. People of other ethnic backgrounds... that is a different story but Germans don't. 

Anyway. I have this overwhelming feeling of panic. But I calmed myself quickly and called the office and asked what the process was now that I had lost my wallet. I knew there was a number that I could call, so I had them look it up for me. But while I was waiting for them to look it up, I decided that we would still do the service anyway. 

We show up, and man it was bad. Because of the oil, everything was ruined. Everything that was down there had to be thrown away. So we spent time hauling things from the basement to the front yard to dispose of. There wasn't enough protective shoe coverings to go around, so I never went all the way down. But a midst the service I was making calls a lot, calling and alerting various lost and founds throughout Munich and DB (German train service). As well as getting the information from my new Credit card which arrived that day. 

Before the service project began, I found some time and went and knelt down and prayed that everything would be ok, and that my wallet would fall into the hands of someone that would take care of it. Even if the cash was gone, I was praying to get it back with everything else in it. The interesting thing was after calming myself originally at the train station I didn't really care overall that much that my wallet was gone. And I didn't know why. I told heavenly Father that I didn't know why I wasn't really worried, but that I really did care and want my wallet back ;-). 

Anyway, so we start with the service and it takes a long time. 4 or 5 hours to clear everything out. We also helped some their neighbor who needed to take their fridge and a water filled washer up the winding stair case out to the lawn (THAT WAS TERRIBLE). But it allowed us to start talking with the neighbors a bit and I was able to tell them what we as missionaries are here for. It was cool. :-) 

Anyway through the whole time I am not really worrying too much about my wallet, which is really bugging me. Why don't I care? I could have just lost 250 Euro with all my other things and I don't feel anything. After I called all the lost and founds and everywhere I could think. NOTHING. No wallets had been returned in that day (this being at 4 or so and most lost and found locations are closing) I then took the time and got down on my knees and prayed some more. Because I have already had a large number of experiences (more than I probably ought to have... ;-)) of losing valuable things, praying, and getting them back against the most unlikely of circumstances. I can honestly say that I knew my prayer would be heard and answered. And after ending the prayer I received the confirmation that someone who would take care of it had it, and that I would get my wallet back with all the money in it. 

Ok. But the day wasn't over we still had things to do. We needed to study still, and then we were invited to dinner from some members, after which we were going to spend 30 minutes making phone calls to organize Joint teaches with members and schedule more appointments with other investigators. But leaving for the appointment and all of my fear was gone. I knew it was just a matter of time, be it a day, a week, whatever. And I would get my wallet back. It wasn't likely anymore to retrieve it that day, because everything was closed. But I felt strongly that I would get it back. I also became aware that the Elder and Sister Hunsaker, as well as Sister Sonumura and Sister Holmgren had both prayed, and were continually praying that things would go well, which meant a lot for me. 

Anyway. So we go to the appointment, have a great time, leave a nice spiritual thought and head back home, just like we had planned. We got back and we started calling people. While Elder Evans was on the phone there was a knock at our door, I answered it. It was a lady that lived a few doors down, and in her hand was a piece of paper. She told me, "You will want to call the police in Olching, they have your wallet". Stunned and super excited I said thanks shut the door. And immediately went into the other room and said a prayer of utmost thanks. 

I called the police in Olching and they confirmed that it was mine and confirmed that all the money was still in there. They gave me the phone number of the lady that found my wallet and I called her. She is amazing. She saw my wallet went and grabbed it, noticed that there was a lot of money and things in there, she told me that like hers, she has EVERYTHING in it. And she thought "oh no, if this was me, I would want it back as quickly as possible, and to know that it is safe". But she was incredibly busy that day with work meetings. After she finished with that she called around to the lost and founds in Munich which were all closed. 

So she drove home to Olching, went to the police station and WAITED AN HOUR AND A HALF in line before she could turn my wallet in. She also made sure that the police were going to do everything they could to let me know that it was safe that night. They did, and the next day I was able to go and pick it up. I thanked her so much for all that she did, and told her that I had been praying for someone like her to find it. 

But it is another story that I can add to my already existing testimony that God does here and answer prayers, and It doesn't matter how unlikely something seems, God still works miracles today just like at any other time in the worlds history. Big things and small things. Overall, even if I had lost it, it wouldn't have been to big of a deal, in the long run many years from now it would really have mattered whether I had my wallet or not. But the experience of a prayer being answered is something that I won't ever forget. I could tell many more stories about prayers being answered in a likewise manner, but I don't have time. But God really does hear and answer prayers. He loves us each individually, and everything that is important to us is important to Him. I know that, I know it with a stronger assuredly that I ever have. :-) 

Meanwhile back in Utah, the family was on vacation in St. George.  Kelly received a phone call from an Elder in the Mission office saying that everything was ok now and to ignore the voicemail left on our home phone.  Since we were not home to get the phone message, he asked what was happening.  The Elder informed us that the wallet had been lost, and that they left us a message (at 1:50am) asking us to cancel all the cards to protect his personal funds.  The Elder told us that the wallet had been found, and that his new credit card we mailed to the mission office was now active and working.  They told us that Elder Christensen was doing well and apologized for losing his wallet, and that he loved us.  We told him to relay to Elder Christensen that we would still love him even if he lost his wallet :).  He also told us that they were safe from the flooding and that they only had to relocate one set of missionaries (likely the Sisters mentioned above). The Elder had a really cool German accent.

I have since realized that for some reason, when I wear my jeans that this particular wallet likes to fall out... So for the next service project I will be keeping it in my backpack :-)

On others news, we got transfer calls yesterday. To my surprise Elder Evans is going to Augsburg and I am staying. My new companion will be Elder Curtis, who has only been out for a few months. He is from Idaho, I think. Not fully sure, but I am excited! Elder Helbig is also going, he will be heading to Wiener Neustadt. Elder Thomas' new companion is also really young, it will be his 5th transfer. That is so weird, I am the oldest in the apartment by FAR. Elder Thomas will be in his 3rd transfer, Elder Curtis will be in his 4th, and Elder Thomas' companion (I forget the name) with be in his 5th. And then there is me in my 13th... Good thing I am not superstitious, because my 13th Transfer officially begins June 13th of 2013... ;-) Good thing it isn't a Friday... :-) 

Another cool thing was that Elder Nelson came and had a special meeting yesterday with our stake, it was a really neat meeting, and he bore his testimony in German. That was cool. And his accent and grammer were also really good. But I am way excited for June 23, because aparently there will be a world wide broadcast, at which there will be an announcement made that will "revolutionize missionary work forever". That came from the mouth of Elder Nelson I am way excited!!! Granted, I am a bit sad that this is all happening now when I won't get to enjoy it too much longer, But all the new missionaries better darn well make use of it!!!  :-)

Anyway, I need to go now, but I wish you all a great week. Sadly my time is up, but things are going well here. I am safe, the flooding looks like it is coming to an end. I will actually be in Passau on Friday to help out with that. I am excited. Things are going well.

Take Care!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

Kelly received a nice Father's day email from Ryan that included the pictures below.  Ryan offered to have Kelly and him fly back to Germany next year for a test drive on the autobahn for only 140 Euros.  He will need to start saving.....

WHY WON'T IT STOP RAINING??? ( OR ATLEAST GET WARMER!)

Yeah, so as you may have noticed by the title of this e-mail the weather hasn't been exactly ideal, and even for the native Münchnern, it has been a bit rough. Unusually cold and an incredible amount of rain. It has rained every day this week, except for Tuesday, which is an absolute MIRACLE. Rain is great, especially when its warm. But when you are a missionary rain is terrible, because it really limits finding options (no one wants to talk you, they would rather get out of the rain). When its cold and rainy... I just feel bad talking to some people. I still do it, sometimes, depending on how I feel I should. Usually I can offer a card and people will take it, but it doesn't replace a good conversation. 

This is why it was a miracle that it didn't rain on Tuesday  Tuesday evening, the entire district had set apart for a finding evening (because half of us work in the office and only proselyte in the evenings, we can't do a full finding day, so we set apart the evening to do it. Monday, it was raining. HARD. Tuesday morning it was cloudy and was supposed to rain. But toward the after noon and evening, it got warmer, the sun came out and it was actually a REALLY nice day! So we were able to have a really successful finding evening. 

The first lady I found was from Peru, and couldn't speak English or German. But she pointed to our name tag, and indicated that her brother was a missionary from our church currently serving in Mexico, but she is not a member. The Munich 1 ward is half Spanish  so we were able to get her number and someone in that ward was able to call her. 

Later on, just as everyone was leaving, (they all got in the van, and Elder Evans and I decided to take the U-bahn home) I all the sudden had the strongest impression to turn around and stop the guy walking by. So I did (I startled him fairly bad, as you can imagine). But then started talking about this life and how death isn't the end. Then I told him that he can learn for himself that it is true if he wants to. He smiled and said "I want to, when can we meet?" ( in German of course) and we exchanged numbers and he will meet with the AP's sometime this week. 

It was a super successful finding evening. We found overall I think 14 people who want to learn more. 2 of them are for us. :-) Anyway, it started to rain again on Wednesday and has been raining ever since. The rains have been coming down, but luckily no floods have been coming up ;-) Yet... 

My time is short again, but short to say, it was another somewhat rough week, but with a HUGE Miracle, that I wish to explain. So, last Saturday (not June 1st but the week before) on the way back home an Nigerian man gets on the U-bahn and comes, walks straight in, and sits right next to me (it was the only available seat left) I turn to him and start a friendly conversation, and it nearly immediately turns into a conversation about Jesus Christ. He believes very strongly in Jesus, and goes about talking to people about him. He was so happy to meet another servant of Jesus Christ, going out to preach his word, he told me that the Holy Spirit told him to get on this U-bahn, and he didn't know why, but now he knew so that he could meet me. 

He gives me his number and says that he wants to come to church, so I should give him a call the next day. I did, and he didn't answer, and didn't come to church. I called him later, and I told him I would call him again on Sunday to come to church on Sunday. This time he did, but he decided to come the long way through Solln and walk to church, no umbrella in the rain. Its a 20 minute walk and he showed up really wet, but he was like "it's OK  its for God, so it was worth it". He walks in and sees the picture of Joseph Smith and the first vision and asked us "What church is this?! is this the church of Joseph Smith?!!" Elder Evans responded "well, the real name is the church of Jesus Christ, but yes we believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet" "THIS IS MY CHURCH!". 

He was baptized a member in Nigeria, and had moved to Italy and been there for 4 years, never once going to any church, because he didn't really know that our church existed outside of Nigeria. People of all denominations invited him to come, but he turned them all down, because there was only one true church and it was in Nigeria. Then, toward the beginning of a 3 week vacation in Germany, the spirit tells him to get on an U-bahn, he enters  IN THE EXACT CAR I WAS IN, AND THROUGH THE DOOR THAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. THEN TAKES THE ONLY SEAT AVAILABLE: NEXT TO ME! I turned and started talking to him, invited him to church and for the first time in 4 years he was able to come back to his church. 

He and I were both stunned. (Elder Evans was a bit stunned too, but not nearly as either one of us were).  He was so incredibly happy to be there, and mentioned that many times. He hasn't been to the church in 4 years, which is why he didn't recognize me (as a missionary), or the name of the church. But God knew it, and led him to meet me in a crowded U-bahn. And even though he didn't except any invitations from anyone to come to church, he accepted mine. He is a member of the Church. Later on Sunday, he joined us for the investigator class and help answer a question about Mormon and Moroni (from what little he could still remember). But he made reference to a picture found in the book of Mormon of Moroni burying the plates and helped us answer the question. 

4 years without going to church, and on a 3 week vacation in Munich Germany, God leads him to meet me in an U-bahn. I felt, and still feel so honored to have been able to be the one to meet him and help him come to church. He could have met anyone, anywhere, in Italy even. But I had the privilege of living the miracle, and it is something which has caused me utmost humility and gratitude. He wasn't able to come to church the first time, but the second he could, and he will be able to stay for Elder Nelson, who is doing a special meeting for our stake this upcoming Sunday. 

After which, I will refer his information to the Milan Italy Mission, (he is living in Rovigo right now in Northern Italy) and they will be able to get him to the right ward so that he can continue attending church. It was an absolute Miracle that confirms that God is really leading this work, and he is aware of all his sheep. And lets his servants find joy in helping those sheep come back to the fold sometimes. It has been a wonderful experience, and I look forward to more miracles happening. This was not my any means the only miracle that happened over the past week, there were many, some large some small, but this one was the biggest by far. 

Anyway, I am out of time right now, but I just want to end this e-mail with my testimony again, that God truly is leading this work. I know it. I know that he cares about each and everyone of us. Personally, individually. I am so grateful to be apart of this work, it truly is the greatest work there is in this life. Nothing is more important. And with Enos, I truly can say that this work has brought me more joy than anything that is in the world. I know it, and am grateful and look forward to being apart of it my whole life long. That is my testimony, and I will leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen