Home at Last!

Well, contrary to the heading in the last letter written home by our "funny" missionary, Elder Ryan Christensen, he is HOME!

He arrived in Salt Lake at 7:02pm, having flown since about 1am our time.  In total by the time we got him home and ready for bed, he had been up over 25 hours.

On our way home, Ryan was hungry, as well as the whole family who had not eaten yet.  He said he was craving Taco Amigo (where he used to work).  So we ran through drive through there and picked up some food.  His former employer (and ward member just a few houses down) came out and welcomed him home while we were in line.

We got home and had a quick meal, before our Stake President arrived to meet with Ryan.  They met for 15-20 minutes, then called everyone into the room as he was officially released as a full-time missionary.  He then instructed Ryan to remove his missionary name badge from his suite.  That is when I thought Ryan was going to cry.  It was hard realizing that his mission was now really over.  My dad was there for the release, which was great.

We have had a wonderful weekend.  Many family members and friends have had a chance to welcome him home, and we have had lots of time with him.  Very awesome.

Ryan will speak in church on Sunday January 19th at 11:00 am in the building located at 900 W and 1500 N in Pleasant Grove, UT.

I GET TO STAY IN GERMANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YUP! I GOT A LAST MINUTE EXTENSION!!!! I WILL STAY ANOTHER 6 WEEKS!!!!! 

  

I wish...

 Sorry Mom, I couldn't resist writing that ;-). I hope you didn't panic too much. :-D

Well This past week, has been quite interesting. It was fairly slow but we saw some cool things happen.

Tuesday was New  Years Eve (Just in case any of you didn't know that ;-) We went to visit a few people, with not very much success. :-) Go figure, it was a holiday (of sorts). But we made an appointment out with Lothar so that the Buchanans could come. Which was good. :-) That night we were at the Buchanans house (just like Christmas) and played a variety of card games. WAY FUN. I love the Buchanans so much, They are such a huge help to us here, and they have done so much for this branch. It was fun, we were up until midnight, which is when the war started ;-). Fireworks like CRAZY. It was a bit foggy, and the smoke from the fire works combined with the fog and made so thick that you couldn't see 2 meters in front of you. It was nuts. We could only hear the fireworks, and they were SO MUCH LOUDER than in the states. Crazy. 

The first was very cool. We went out to visit Brother Drevs, a less active member who we were able to contact a month or so ago for the first time. He is VERY BIG into board game, He has thousands of various board games. So we went and played board games with him, and got to know him a lot better. We played Railroad tycoon. WAY FUN. It was really good, we got to know him better and now have a better understanding why he doesn't come to church, which should hopefully help us bring him back to church some time. 

After that we went to the Trautmans and had a traditional New Years dinner, Goose with Knödel, Rotkohl, and Rosinenkohl. Sister Trautmans is one who really likes cooking, and the meal took her 4 or 5 hours to make. You can only imagine how delicious it was. :-) Later we went with the Buchanans to visit the Maiers and Vanderheidens, who were both there and we had some good discussions with them there. Sadly neither one, despite both saying they would, actually came to church, but that's ok. They were good visits and very enjoyable. :-)

Thursday we had district meeting here in Ravensburg, my last one, then had an exchange. I stayed with Elder Aardema. We went by on Herr Rölle, who was actually there and let us in right on the spot. We had a really good discussion with him, but overall he has higher priorities than us. :-P He said we are welcome to come by once a month or so. We met with him once before and he showed some interest, but we talked to him a lot this time about finding out if its true, and he doesn't have much interest at the moment. Thats ok though. The exchange went well otherwise, we found some cool people and had some really great conversations. :-) 

Nothing too exciting on Friday, we exchanged back, and than did a bit of weekly planning/preparing things for the new transfer. We went contacting for about an hour, didn't get any information with anyone but had a really neat experience. We were walking along Marien Platz and started talking with a girl with REALLY red hair (dyed). She was pretty happy to talk to us, didn't have enough interest to give us her phone number, but it turns out that she was going through a really rough time right then, and she thanked us for the conversation, because she felt so much happier afterward and was happy to have spoken with us. I gave her a card with our phone number, the churches address etc. She said (and I completely believe her) that she will visit our church meeting some time when she can. That for me was almost better than getting information. She felt a lot better after talking with us she said it made her day, and that means a lot to me. I love being able to help lift others up. 

Saturday we met with Lothar, which was really cool. Best appointment that we have ever had with him. The Buchanans came and it was really neat. We got to understand him a lot better, and have established a decent foundation which we will be able to build from in the near future. :-) We also went shopping that day (being warned in advance that Monday was going to be a holiday). 

We went to Markdorf with the Buchanans to visit the Kunz family and the Micov family. Neither of them were home, so we visited with a couple from Syria, who we had met and help a few weeks earlier. The man is from Palestine, and was pharmacist. She is from Syria and used to be a professor of the Arabic language. And now they are living in a VERY small room with just enough income to buy a bit of food. That hurts me to see it. They came partly because of the conflicts going on now over there, also because Germany has much better doctors and he is a diabetic. They speak a bit of English and are learning German. We talked to them a bit about prophets, it was funny, because the best way to do it, was to use the German to Arabic translator on his phone. :-) It was neat though. We kept it brief because he wasn't feeling to good, but it was neat. 

As for how to precede with them, that will be very tricky. I don't think we will be able to keep meeting with them (it may put them or their families in danger if people  find out that they are meeting with Christians). We will need to get some information about them, how long they will stay, family etc. And then apply for permission to teach them. I don't think we will be able to, but we can still be stop by and see how they are doing every now and again. :-)

Sunday was one of neatest Fast and testimony meetings I have ever been apart of. We had record low attendance. A total of 6 members and 4 missionaries. It nearly represents the completely active part of the branch. There are two more couples who are typically active, one was visiting family, the other was sick. But other than that, there aren't really any completely active members. Anyway. We started the meeting at 11 and were done with the sacrament at around 11:10. Then was the time that was given to bear testimonies. One by one everyone got up and bore testimony. It was almost as though there was an assigned order, because there was no pause, but yet there wasn't. The meeting ended at 12:10 the full time was taken. The Spirit was so strong here. It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. 

That nearly sums up the highlights of the week. The Calendar says that this will be my last as a missionary. My heart doesn't believe it. Which I think is actually good. I haven't thought about going home, I haven't been sad about leaving, because I don't feel like I am. I have been working just as though I had several months left. Only a few slight moments have broken that. Saying goodbye to Natalia and Patricia for one; Patricia (just turned 9 years old) made a card "From Patricia to 'Rayn' ". I had told her what my first name was a week or so ago, but never told her how to spell it :-) That was hard, saying goodbye and that card didn't help. That was the first time I cried at the thought of going. 

Also during the closing song yesterday , I broke down as it hit me that probably is the last time I will get to sing a hymn with other people in the German Language for quite awhile. I have such a love for this language, and people. And more over for this work, which I have had the privilege of being a part of.  Its really hard in those moments where I realize that I am going. But God has truly blessed me in that these moments have been brief, they come and not long after they are gone and I go back to a normal missionary as though I wasn't going home. That has been a tremendous blessing. It has allowed me to focus and work hard. Even as I pack, I feel disconnected and it doesn't effect my ability to work. 

Well, I have no choice but trust the calendar, that this really will be the last e-mail. Many of you I will the privilege of seeing face to face on Friday or Saturday. Some I won't see until next Sunday when I speak, and others I may not see for several months, or years. Whether I see you in days, weeks months or years, I want you all to know,that I know this work is of God. 

I know first off that there is a God in Heaven who is our Father. He loves us so much. Far more than we can really comprehend. I know he hears and answers our prayers. I know he has called prophets to lead and guide us, in days of old just as well as now. I know that the this church is led by a Prophet today, Thomas S. Monson. I know that the Book of Mormon is true scripture given to us, to help us learn more about God, to be a proof that God speaks to men of old, and speaks to us again today. 

Most importantly. I want you all to know, that I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I know that He is our Savior, that He atoned for our sins, and took upon Himself our weaknesses. He knows exactly how we feel, and exactly what we are going through. Because of that He knows how to comfort us, how to strengthen us, how to heal us. I have seen it happen in the lives of others, and in my own life. It has been wonderful chance to come here and to help others come to know that for themselves as well. I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity I have had, to have part of this work. Participating in Gods ultimate work and glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. 

I look forward to participating as well when I get back, in callings or assignments, or whatever way I can. Because I know that its true. And I know it can bless the lives of everyone. 

I bid you all farewell, until we meet again. :-)

Numbers 6:24-26

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

I'm dreaming of a white...day after Christmas. DARN THAT FÖN!

Yeah, for those who don't know what Fön is, it is a warm wind that come from the Swiss Alps that effects Southern Germany, Munich apparently gets really bad, and we got it pretty bad on the 24th and 25th. It was nearly 15 degrees Centigrade (nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit!). I didn't even wear a coat! I didn't need even need to it so warm! And as it come in, it gets pushed down by the cold air in the atmosphere creating high pressure and sunny weather, which makes feel that much warmer. :-). But just as quickly as it came, it left and on the 26th we had temperatures below freezing and got nearly an inch of snow in certain areas. Yup. Warm sunny Christmas day. Freezing cold snowy day after. Welcome to life in Southern Germany! :-)

On Monday this week we had a farewell appointment with Prospery. He flies back home to Sambia in two days. We have had some really cool discussions with him. He had seen missionaries before and was a private teacher (he teaches physics!) I still to this day marvel at a common missionary occurrence, I have found so many people who are chemists, physicists, something very much related to my personality.  Elder Sumsion speaks fluent Spanish (his mom spoke only Spanish too him as he grew up) and he finds many people who speak Spanish, Elder Mongia is from Italy, and he finds many people who speak Italian (and in this case I mean an unusually large number).  

Anyway, he told us that he would have never listened to the missionaries there, or had any desire to learn about our church, had he not met us here in Ravensburg. I asked him if he knew where a church of ours was in Sambia, he said yes, than I asked how close is it to where you live. He thought for a moment, and said probably around 250 Kilometers away. I was stunned and thought "surely there needs to be one closer" So he gets his computer and I go to LDS.org and look under the "find a branch near you" or something like that, I ask to type in his home town, he does, and it comes up with a building. He looks at the address and says, thats only two buildings down from where I will work... and then we all laughed. NO EXCUSE! :-) We exchanged e-mails and I have his skype address so we will be able to keep in touch. He plans on continuing to meet with missionaries in Sambia. 

Then we had Christmas which was fun. We spent most of it with Derick and the Buchanans, which was fun. Derrick made us some Nigerian food. Egousi with Fofo (I have clue if I spelled that right). Its a famous dish that most missionaries talk about. Egousi is melons seeds, which are ground up, and put into a soup which typically has Goat meat, chicken and other seasonings in it. It is typically VERY SPICEY but Derrick toned it down for our first time. It is typically eaten with Fofo, which, to best describe it, is like mashed potatoes, but has a consistency more like that of a bread dough, you take a small part of it form it into a ball and flatten it, then take it in your hand and eat the soup using it as a spoon. Very different from anything I have ever had. Egousi is from the Yoruba tribe, and Ukodo (which I had in Munich with Clark) is more from the Ibo tribe. I like both a lot actually. :-) I got the recipe for Ukodo from Clark, and I will probably get a recipe from Derick as well. 

It was a fun time with them, we played various games and enjoyed our time together. On the 26th (the day of the snow) we went to Sister Hofman, which was HUGE. Sister Hofman takes care of her father, who really hates the church, and so never before have missionaries been invited to her house. Ever. We were! The house is her fathers, but she has an apartment in the basement, kind of, and she invited us over. It was great. That ended the day on the 26th. 

The next day we had an exchange with Dornbirn, in the which I went there. We had Fön again, which was actually a bit of a blessing, it made for Beautiful weather while I was there. We had the exchange at 4, and exchanged back the next day at 5, both going in and coming out there were two absolutely spectacular sunsets. (I actually didn't get a good picture of the one out, as we were in Lindau after it had set) but that was neat. That was my last time seeing Vorarlberg and Austria for that matter. We had beautiful weather the whole time I was there and had a exchange. 

We exchanged back at 5 on Saturday, but we didn't get back into Ravensburg until 7 or so. The trains had to be shut down in Friedrichshafen due to a tragic incident, and we needed to take a bus back to Ravenburg. The only problem is, when you take a bus to replace a train, is that there are so many people that you are just squished. 

I have figured out that being the big guy that I am, I am sligthly claustrophobic. And I am also prone to get minor motion sickness occasionally... Needless to say that was the longest 64 minutes and 30.526 seconds of my life. :-P I have never ever felt so much relief by getting off a bus as I did then! 

What made it worse (on the way there) was out of the small portion of the window that I could see from the bus, I noticed we were in Ravensburg. So I was happy and relieved that I wouldn't need to endure any longer, but I forgot how many one way roads Ravensburg has, and to get to the train station requires nearly taking a grand tour of the city, driving a good half Kilometer past the station and then turn around and come back. 

On top of that EVERY SINGLE STOP LIGHT WE ENCOUNTERED WAS RED. God truly must have a sense of humor. That is all I can say. I am surprised I didn't go insane! Of course, that's assuming that I was sane in the first place. ;-) 

Anyway, Yesterday I gave my farewell talk here in Church. I was assigned to speak for 25 minutes, but after cutting back a portion of the talk, I still managed to speak for 28 minutes. Granted I knew that there were only two speakers and I started at 18 after the hour and the meeting was going to end at around 10 after, and I thought I was going to be short, so I didn't really worry to much. Woops. :-) 

All in all it was a good week. :-) I can't believe that I only have one more (full week). Its crazy. I am so grateful for the time that I have had to serve here in Ravensburg. I am grateful for all the things that I have been able to see and experience. What a neat experience it has been to be here. I still one full week left, and I will use to its fullest. We have an exchange going on, on Thursday to Friday again, which will make the week fly by at an incredible speed again. But we will make the most of it.

I wish you all a wonderful week! 

Gute Rutsch ins Neujahr!  (Good Happy New Year!)

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

Wow

Well this week was hard, and good at the same time. We started with an exchange late Monday. It probably would have been much more enjoyable, had I not been sick. :-P But I went anyway. Its always fun working with a former companion, and this was no exception. :-) The exchange went from Monday evening till Wednesday morning. After that we had district meeting her in Ravensburg. That was good. :-) It ran smoothly and we had an enjoyable time.

My time is a bit shorter today because of a short P-day ( we have more to do than the time can manage) but we had a few cool things happen this week. On Thursday we went with the Buchanans to deliver cookies to various people and were able to meet a lot of Less active Members who we have not been able to contact for a long time. I got a phone number from one of them (FINALLY! :-) ) That was great. Afterwards we had ward Council. It was fun. It was also my last. That struck me a bit when we ended it, and I realized the next one will be on the 19th of January. :-( But I guess that is just how it goes. 

Friday was also neat. Our plans got way off track but we had some cool things happen. We ended up in Markdorf at around 2 or so, I think it was actually closer to 3, and then we went by on the Micov Family. We sat down and taught them a bit more about the restoration, which was good, toward the end a young couple from Syria. He was a Pharmacist, she was a Professor of Arabic, but both came here because its not so safe there now. Anyway, they both speak a bit of English, so we talked a bit to them. They wanted to load their phone with more minutes and internet but didn't know how to do it, because their service provider is an obscure branch off of Vodafone and they couldn't speak any German and only a bit of English. 

So we volunteered to help them, first we went to a small shop outside of Bahnhof (about a 10 minute walk south of where we were) Essentially she didn't know it, and wasn't sure if she could. Then someone recommended an Electronics shop in Innenstadt that should be able to do it. So we walk over there (15 minutes or so) I have idea where it is so I keep asking people for directions. We finally make it only to be told that they couldn't do it, but that there was a Vodafone shop down the street we should visit. The main guy that was there kept talking to us in English. THAT BUGS ME. I HATE IT when people start talking to me in English. 

Anyway his English was very good. I still spoke only German to him though. :-) Through the process of the confersation it became apparent that he knew a lot about us and our Church ( he said later that was the reason that he was speaking English is because he knew our Church had its head quarters in the States) and mentioned that  his Son and Daughter in Law just joined our church in Switzerland. He gave us his business card and we hope to stay in touch with him. That was way neat. Anyway after a bit more discussing we go to the Vodafone shop, and we get the phone uploaded I make a few phone calls, and I got there phone to have internet. Long story short we made some friends with this Syrien couple ( they really like us now) and we met a German whose son just joined the church. :-) That was neat.

Later on I got contact with this less active. That was really neat. All I did was ask them how they were doing and if we could help them at all. They said that they didn't need any help but would love a visit from us sometime.So he looked at his schedule and said " I think we would have time on the 12th of January at around 15." I sighed and said, yeah we could do that. Then he asked me how long I would still be there ( knowing that missionaries are changed around alot) and I mentioned that I went to Munich on the 9th, so he quickly made plans to get meet with him on the 8th. We have been trying to contact this less active since January of last year, and now we will meet with him my last day in field. :-) (on the 9th I will travel to Munich and be interviewed then fly home on the 10th). I am excited to meet with him. His wife isn't a member but they once expressed interest in having her take the lessons. I really excited! 

  

My time is now nearly up, but I want to wish you all a Fröhliche Weihnachten und ein Guten Rutsch ins Neujahr! :-) (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!)

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

21... Wow I can't believe it.

(Happy Birthday to Elder Ryan Christensen.  He turned 21 years old today.  We love him and miss him and will get to see him soon...)

Well This week flew by just as I expected it would. Monday we had our normal P-day. At around 5 we went to help throw some couches of a balcony (ok, more like tying them up with ropes and then throwing them off while controlling the speed at which they fell. ;-) ) Then we went to Exchange in Lindau and almost missed our trains back to Ravensburg... we made though. 

Tuesday we had the exchange and it was a bit rough. We met with man in the early afternoon who had met with missionaries off and on for quite awhile. We had a good lesson and the spirit was there, and the end I asked him when we could come back and he said " oh in a month or so." 

"Really? Thats kind of a long time, we usually like to meet with people once a week or so"

"Oh that would be too much for me, when the missionaries used to meet with me, it was about once a month and that was good for me" 

":-P" ;-) I was able to negotiate it down to once every 2-3 weeks. But still not exactly ideal. 

Later on that night we were supposed to meet with Vladimir. The week before, I had called him  and he told me he "needed his rest". I asked for a clarification, but it was obvious he wasn't really wanting to meet with us at the moment. In a last-ditch effort I invited him to the Christmas Party, to which he came. I called him later and he said that even though he was feeling depressed before hand, he came anyway and liked and felt good afterward. We had the appointment for about 5:30. The Buchanans were with us right then because they brought us some extra bedding for the additional 4 Elders that were going to be staying with us that night. So they came with us to the appointment. We got there, and he wasn't home, and he wasn't answering his phone... So we went by on a few more people and they weren't home. 

So we were about to give up, the Buchanans were taking us home so that we could go talk to people on the street for 2 hours. Then the phone rings, its Vladimir saying that he has time in 20 minutes if we did. SWEET! So we turn around and head to the church. He arrives and we sit down and start talking.

We sit down and asked him how he was doing. Not so great. Depressed and stressed about furthering his education (he studied 4 years to be an engineer, but he got depression which caused to fail the last required class, he tried 2 more times and couldn't pass it and by rule of the university, he lost all 4 years of credit). He is working with some doctors and told us that he needs to take it easy and not overwhelm himself (in the back of my mind I say here, well then we won't push for baptism just yet then, because it would probably be too much, then the thought came "is God not a God of miracles?" "of course but..." I pushed the thought away and thought to just see how it goes). 

We said a prayer and then asked him if he had any questions, he first said no, but then he asked about the 3 kings from the nativity scene at the Christmas party. We explained that up and that was the end of the question. The plan was to talk about the plan of salvation, but I felt like I should ask if he knew why we celebrate Christ's Birth. He mentioned that he was a good guy, did a lot of miracles, and showed us the way, but that was about it. I asked him what else he knew about Christ, and he mentioned how he died on a cross. So I asked him "Why?". His response was that the people didn't like him for some reason.

Essentially he had no knowledge of the atonement. So I asked him if he had ever heard the word "Sühnopfer" (German for atonement) He didn't. I wrote it on the board and we broke it down for him. We explained "Sühn" comes from the word "Sühnen" (English translation is literally to atone, or to make up for) and "Opfer" is an offering or a sacrifice. Literally means a sacrifice to atone, or to make up for. In our case to make up for the results of the fall. We then began to explain the different points of the Atonement, Forgiveness of sin (becoming clean again) that Christ took upon himself our weakness to know how to help us. How this allows us to be HEALED. Healed. "I want to know more about Healing, how can I be healed through Christ?" was his question. 

We then broke it down to various aspects. Praying to be healed, Having Faith, Repenting, being baptized to have our sins washed away, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was SO INCREDIBLY STRONG. I paused and asked him: "How do you feel right now". "I feel good, like I have been lightened" We went on to explain that is the Holy Ghost. And told that the Holy Ghost testifies of truth, comforts us etc.  I asked him that question a few times throughout the lesson. We told him how Reading the scriptures, coming to church, and praying help us feel this peace through the spirit. 

I mentioned Priesthood how it was restored and how we can give blessings, baptized and do these things. The Spirit was so strong, and when I had mentioned that Preisthood being restored he said "I want to be baptized".  I was a bit shocked, and then I asked him "when?", the return question "How soon can I be baptized?"

"That depends on you. If we meet 3-4 times a week, if you come to church, and are constantly reading and praying we may be able to do it on the 28th of December. That being said, we aren't here to push you harder than you can go, and if you need more time we can put it off a week, or two, or a month or so, however long it takes you to feel ready. We are only here to help you get the healing and the peace that you need, and will do everything we can do to help." 

We talked more about the gift of the Holy Ghost, I first compared it to music, its like you pulling up in the intersection to a car next to you and you hear the music, and really like it, but when the light changes and the cars separate the music is gone. You can hear it at times, but having the gift of the Holy Ghost is like having the CD and being able to listen to it on your own when you want. Then Elder Fox used a second analogy which I like better. He compared it do a ring. You can touch the ring, and feel it, but it isn't until you receive it that you can wear it and feel it all the time.  It was wonderful. 

At the end we were getting ready to bring it to a close when I had the feeling we should sing a song. I asked if that was ok, and everyone said Yes. Elder Buchanan selected "Where can I turn for Peace?". He played it and we sang it. I love both versions but I especially love parts of the German one. I don't have time to translate them but it was beautiful. After we sang it, he sat there and in a quiet voice said "Its almost like that song was written for me". We said the closing prayer and all departed having all been uplifted and edified. It was an absolutely phenomenal experience. D&C 50:21-22 really sums it up the best. Absolutely incredible. We met with him once more that week, he came to church yesterday and we will meet him again today. :-)

Nothing else in the week really compares to that. We had a great time singing in Freiburg Innenstadt, with a choir of 30 missionaries. That was neat at the beginning a lady came up and started SCREAMING and SWEARING at us and saying that we were Satanic, it was really odd, seeing how we were singing Christmas hymns. But then people started to stop and sing with us, applauding us when we were done, it was SO COOL. :-)  Freiburg found 5 potential investigators from that (we were only there like 30 minutes). 

The next day was a bit of an adventure, but we survived. I saw France! The fastest train back to Ravensburg is through Basel. And to get there you ride the French border all the way down. It was late at night, so I have nothing more to brag than seeing French air and a couple buildings in the distance, but it was still cool! :-) I also saw the three country area, where France, Switerland and Germany meet (just outside of Basel). 

I am now out of time Sadly, but it was a fantastic week! Oh! Martin Lauer was baptized on Saturday and I got to skype him and Marion on Sunday. SO MUCH FUN!! :-) But that pretty much sums up the week! It was great, need I say more?

I wish you all a great week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

A busy week a head! :-)

Well, This week was... interesting. It has some highlights and some hard times. We had in which I went to Dornbirn. That was great, I got to go back and meet with Peter Wenzel, who is a friend I knew back when I was in Dornbirn and we had a lot of fun with him. :-) I love going back and meeting members. I got to see Sister Repnick again, and also Christian Vuissa and his family again. Its a lot of fun. I was on exchange with Elder Sharp, the Australian. :-) I love this district we have a lot of fun. 

We got to meet with the Zeller Family the next day which was good. :-) We didn't really get to teach anything, but we got to know them a bit better. They provided dinner for us and we help them practice their English. I may or may not of also played the Piano for a few minutes ;-). They have a really beautiful white piano that they got awhile ago when their boys were learning how to play, then they gave up and it hadn't been played in a few years. So I played the only thing I knew, various Church hymns. :-) They enjoyed a lot, but that was really the only spiritual aspect of the evening sadly. 

Thursday was a both miraculous and rough at the same time. We had no plans at all. So we first went to Baindt, went buy on our single potential up there, who turn out to be professional body builders, who invited us to come and work out some time with them. :-) Which we may do if we can find time on a P-day in the next few weeks ;-) 

Then we just went door to door. for an hour and a half there, then we went to Weingarten, and went by on a polish family who we had talked to awhile ago. That was the miraculous part, the father was home, and so we could sit down and talk a bit. He works everyday and only has a few hours off every now and again. We ended up having Victoria, the 8 year old daughter, translate for us. Which was surprisingly very effective. The father is from India and could speak english, but the Daughter had better German than the father had english, so we used her to translate to polish for her mom and dad. 

We had given the Mother a polish book of mormon a few weeks back and we asked her what she though, and she said that she really liked it, and indicated with her hands that she cries when she reads it, she then asked us if we have any more books :-). That made me happy to see that she likes the Book and notices how good it makes her feel. On Saturday we came back with the Buchanans and showed her a talk from President Monson which also almost made her cry. Sadly Victoria wasn't there and Dominik who is 9 is too shy to translate. So we couldn't discuss too much more.  That was really neat, that we were able to meet with them on that day. :-) 

Friday was we had weekly planning, met with Jason to go over the questions for baptism and helped set up for the Christmas party.

The next day was great and hard at the same time. Jason didn't come to the Christmas party, which was hard because we planned to do the Baptismal interview right then. So we went to him and had it, long story short, China has no sort of retirement program, which means the kids are expected to pay all living expenses for their parents, but there is also a law which allows them to only have 1 child. And he also has student loans. Tithing is something that he isn't fully to terms with yet. So we will wait and help him develop a testimony of tithing. 

But Natalia came to the Christmas party as well as Vladimir and they both really enjoyed it! Patrizia was nearly glued to her moms side for the first bit, but then opened up a bit and went and played with the others kids that were present. That was good to see. It was fun, even when I missed more than half of it... :-P 

No one came to church on sunday which was hard, but we were able to go visit some people and bring some left over gift bags from the Christmas party. :-) 

This week will be nuts! Today at 5 we are helping move a large sofa from a second story apartment building ouside via the balcony, then we will immeidately go into an exchange, from now till tomorrow night at 9pm, when all 4 Dornbirn Elders come to spend the night with us here in Ravensburg in prepation for catching a train early the next morning to make it to Zone Training in Freiburg (THROUGH THE BLACK FOREST!!!!) Then we will go caroling in Offenburg, spend the night there, and come back to Freiburg the next day for the Christmas Conference then go home. :-)

This week will fly by. But it will also be full of a lot of good things as well I hope. 

Martin Lauer, Christina Zalka and her son will all be baptized this week in Wien!! :-) I am way excited for all of them, even if I can't go back to see them all. 

I wish you all a great week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

December. NOT GOOD.

My head is still spinning really badly. I can't believe it. Everyone with whom I flew out is now at home. It makes me a bit sick.  In two weeks my MTC companion will fly home and I will be the oldest infield missionary, the only one in his 17th transfer. I am trying not to think about it. 

Well this week has been a huge adventure! Mainly since Elder George arrived. The first half of the week was typical for a week when a missionary leaves, we went and visited as many people as we could to say goodbye. Which is always hard. Tuesday was a huge highlight, Sister Buchanan made us a full out Thanksgiving dinner, for the district and the branch Presidency. We had a 22 pound Turkey (Brother Trautman reffered to it as the humming bird ;-)) Sister Buchanan made home made pies, and everything. So delicious. 

Its funny, Elder Moon and I were both here last year for Thanksgiving, and we both made a request to have rot kraut with the turkey. Wish granted! One of my favorite things ever, Turkey with Rot Kraut, way better than cranberry sauce. :-) I love Rot and Sauer Kraut, they are delicious with any kind of meat. And then you add Knödel and a gravy.... Just makes my mouth water. I am totally German when it comes to culinary tastes. :-)

Anyway that was heavenly. We had a great time, and ended up teaching Jason (who was there as well) about fasting right after that (it seemed to be an appropriate topic ;-). It went well Then because Elder Wasden was leaving we sang "Gott sei mit Euch bis aufs Wiedersehen" (God be with you till we meet again) I love and hate that song at the same time. Its beautiful but, but it's sad at the same time. That was the last time that Elder Wasden saw Derick and Jason. It was hard, having been together for so long, and having gotten to know both of them and all four of us getting to become friends.

Thursday was transfer day. It was simple we were supposed to go to Stuttgart, which was fine, and then catch a train to Ulm, than transfer to Ravensburg. There was only one problem, the train that the intended us to take was an IC, and our ticket only worked in Nahverkehr (IC was a step higher). Luckily on the track right next to it I saw an RB going to Aulendorf, which is in our area. So we hurry and jump on it. That was a miracle. A) that I saw it, and recognized it as a reliable alternative. and B) in Tübingen a college student sat down across from me and we were able to talk to her for most of the train ride, and I got her e-mail address to send her some more information about the church. 

It was funny I asked her what she was studying, she said that she was majoring in physics and minoring in Chemistry. EASIEST CONVERSATION STARTER EVER!!!!!!!!!! It was great. We easily steered it into a talk about God, she said she was on the search. She felt like once in her life she really felt Gods love for her, and after awhile she didn't feel is as strongly anymore. We talked to her a bit more and gave her a book of mormon before she got out of the train.

We made it back to Ravensburg eventually, that train ride took us through the middle of nowhere. I was worried for a bit actually, I have never taken the train before, and I had no idea where we were, all I had was the sign that said "Aulendorf". You can pull a lot of cool comparisons from that. The Church being the train, destination being celestial Kingdom, and not knowing how to get there, being some commandments or things that we do that may or may not make any sense. Sometimes (knowing that the church is true of course) we just need to have faith that God will lead the church, and if we just stay on and have faith we will reach our destination safely. :-) There is the spiritual thought/ parable for the day. :-)

Saturday was an adventure. We had a meeting in Singen for all the district Leaders, so we went, had a great meeting, drove back to Friedrichshafen and contacted for awhile on the street and got a Döner. At döner shop we ran in to a few Americans, that was cool they were on a Bible study abroad thing in Fischbach and we got to talk to them for awhile. That was way cool. Anyway we went out to Markdorf to visit the Micov Family and the Kunz family. 

We got to the Kunz family just as they were walking to go shopping real quick, and we ended up walking with them and talking on the way. That was a lot of fun. The only problem was, we missed the train at 8 which means we needed to catch one at 9 to get home at just before 10. Well we talked with them some more and they checked our train, which was supposed to be 10 minutes late. So they didn't let us leave until later (so that we didn't freeze ourselves to death) and well it turns out that it wasn't as late as it was supposed to be, and we missed it. Now I panicked that was probably the last train of the night. And we are 30 Kilometers from home. So I start calling some members, and luckily one answered and was able to rescue us! So we made it back home safely at around 10:20. ;-)

I don't have too much more time sadly. But Sunday was a miracle, we were able to organize a ride for Natalia and her 9 year old daughter to come to church. That was awesome. We found her through a huge miracle. She came and liked it a lot.  And wants to come more. Her daughter was really shy and so she stayed with her in Primary (so that Patrizia wasn't the only one there). After church we talked with them for a bit, then I ended up sitting down at the Piano and played some hymns. That was neat, Natalia and Patrizia came in and listened and really like it. That started a more personal conversation and it was really cool. 

That is three times now that playing the piano has done that, I have played investigators or potenials or just others come and sit down listen and we talk on a less formal more personal level and its way cool. :-) So glad I decided to try and teach myself to play again. 

Things are going well Jason is making a lot of progress to say the least. He is excited to be baptized to one day go to the temple and have and eternal family. Also is excited one day to be able to baptize his children. (after talking about how Elder George and I have been baptized from our dads). Way cool! He is also looking forward to the day that China will open to the missionaries and says he will be the first to welcome them. :-) I love Jason so much. He is incredible! Haha, we talked a bit about the temple and told him how every year they announce the building of 2 to 4 temples. He then said "wait until China opens up, then there will be like 10 every year!" 

  

I am so happy to be here, I am so happy to be able to preach this gospel so that people like Jason can find it. He wished he could have found it earlier. But is really happy to have it now. :-)

I know this church is true and this gospel can bless the lives of everyone!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

One Last Transfer...

I don't know exactly what to say. We just got Transfer Calls this past week. I AM STAYING! Which comes with mixed emotions, mostly positive, but I am getting another companion... Elder George from London Canada will replace Elder Wasden and be my last mission companion. 

I don't know him very well, he came in the same day as Elder Robins. I am excited to work with him, but am really going to miss Elder Wasden. We've been together for 3 transfers. Its been a blast. We came in with different ideas and things, and at the beginning it was a bit rough. We both agree that 3 transfers ago, had we had a choice we wouldn't have picked eachother as companions. But looking back I can honestly say that I wouldn't have chosen any one else. Its been alot of fun. :-)

I am however still looking forward to this next transfer, there is a lot to be done. Things are running smoothly, but could always be better, starting with my bike but that is a different story... ;-)

We had a pretty busy week, Monday was completely full, we went and visited a castle out in Leutkirch with the Buchanans which was awesome. Tuesday I was on exchange in Dornbirn with Elder Moon. SO MUCH FUN. I love working with Elder Moon. It is really interesting we went to the same Highschool, but never really met each other. We have become pretty good friends out here. We have only worked with each other on 2 exchanges, but we have a really good flow back and forth. We spoke German the entire exchange, which is something not easy to do with new missionaries, and it was WAY FUN.

Thursday was transfer calls. We got up and started the day as normal, and I got the feeling that I would be staying. Between that, and the experience the week before I wasn't overally tense that morning. Poor Elder Wasden. He was really tense. So I, being the good companion that I am, decided to a bit of fun. :-) 

The phone has a fake call function on it. when you press the down arrow button 4 times, it sets off a 10 second timer, after which it simulates a phone call from an unknown number. The funniest part is, President Miles usually shows up as unknown on the phone... ;-) For those of you who think this was mean, I need to clarify that it was by no means mean, this is the kind of companionship that we have. :-) 

Anyway, I did it, the phone rang, Elder Wasden JUMPED snatched the phone and answered it. Nothing, he looks at me who is smiling very widely and yeah... it was really funny. The phone call came at around 9.20 or so. Elder Wasden will go to Heilbronn and be a district leader there. Crazy.

That pretty much was the biggest highlight of the week. We had another fantastic lesson with Vladimir, at the end of which we set a baptismal date for the 14th of December. He is really excited. As part of the lesson (before we talked about baptism) he mentioned how past mistakes had really been haunting him, and how he wished those feelings could go away, and start new. We taught about Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was really strong, we set the date and he is excited to work towards it. :-)

Jason is doing splendidly well. Being from China we were worried how he would accept the word of wisdom, because typically they like to drink strong green teas in China. But he accepted it without any problem. He made the observation that commandments are really love from God, that just like our parents want us to have happy lives and give us rules to help us progress, God also gives us these commandments to help us be happy and make progress. He is doing really really well and is making steady progress. :-)

We also got to meet with Courtney again this week, he is an American, we met him awhile ago but haven't been able to meet up with him for awhile. We went so that Elder Wasden could say goodbye. We had a great time. He has a really neat story about him becoming truly converted to Christ. Him and his wife are very strong Christians. We had such an uplifting conversation, its way fun to talk with them. At the end we showed him a Mormon message, the one about the boy and the bike. He liked it a lot and said that he was going to immedieately post that on his facebook account. He is way awesome and we hope to talk with them some more.

I am excited to get into this new transfer. We have seen so many miracles and I am excited to keep working and see more. God is blessing us so much. It takes work, its not always easy, but we are pushing forward. :-) I know that this is Gods work and we will see miracles when we just have faith, and work for them!

I wish you all a great week!

love,
Elder Ryan K. Christensen

Last Zone Conference...

Wow. I don't have too much time to write today. This week was COMPLETELY packed. Monday was P-day, Tuesday we drove with the Buchanans to Singen to have a quick District Leader Training meeting, Zone Training Meeting (3 hours long) Interviews (3 Hours long) Spend the night in Singen (ISlept on the floor with no pillows or blankets. It's made me much more grateful for the warm bed that I have.. Then the next day Have a 1 hour District leader Meeting followed up by a 6 hour long Zone Conference. It was incredible and very uplifting. :-) For My interview with President Miles I got a new Temple Recommend, Which is all there was time for. I had the interview in German. SO COOL. :-)

Zone Conference was amazing as always I love them so much. There used to be one part in particular that I really enjoyed and that was the testimonies at the end, which are given by all the missionaries who are going home before the next Zone Conference. This time I was in the program. I never ever ever thought that would happen. It didn't really hit home that I have really been here two years until I walked up to the Microphone. 

What made it the worse, was that Elder Chapman bore his testimony first, and started crying, Then Elder Davies likewise. Two missionaries who have become great friends, then I am supposed to get up and bear testimony. I managed not to cry but I was choking up the whole time. Back when I first arrived you bear your testimony at your first Zone Conference and at your last. My first Zone Conference was when I was in Dornbirn. My last one was in Ravensburg. SAME DISTRICT. That was hard. At least we aren't in the same Zone as we used to be, if we were in Winterthur I would have lost it. Elder Davies first area was Singen. So he was the most emotional of the (5) (Elder Gubler and Wilson followed after me). It was incredible however. IT was an incredible experience those two days. After that we jumped on the IRE SPRINTER back to Ravensburg.

The next day was Thursday, We had scheduled an exchange and were to be in Lindau at 10, which means we needed to catch a train at 9. We got up and studied as normal, then as we were getting ready to head out the door, I notice that a pocket in my bag was open, and my wallet was gone. I panicked way bad. I knew that I had it in the train, because I had bought a snack from a vending machine in Singen at the train station and put my wallet into my bag. 

So I panicked and started looking around the apartment frantically, and getting more and more upset and stressed as time went further. I stopped and prayed. After that I got up, and looked a bit but it was obvious it wasn't in the apartment, and must have fallen out sometime in the train. I called the DB lost and found and reported the wallet as lost, and that is all I could do. With the panic we missed the first train and pushed back the exchange one hour. I had come to the decision, that I couldn't do anything about the wallet in that moment, report it to DB and pray that I would get it back that is all I can do. (As well as block the credit cards). We exchanged and I felt peace, that everything would be ok, and we had a great exchange! We had two fantastic lessons with Jason and Vladimir. It went really well. I am glad that I put that out of my mind because if I had been worrying about the wallet it may have very well ruined the exchange, and lessons.

Jason and Vladimir are both doing really well. Jason bore the coolest testimony about prayer during that lesson. He says that he has noticed a change since he has started meeting with us. He said before he used to stress out a lot about various things, but now he just thinks "Hey I have prayed, I don't need to worry anymore" and then he feels peace. He is a computer programmer and has been working on an intense project for Chrysler, and on Sunday he said that he would be completely full this week and not have too much time because of the project. 

Then on Monday night he called us and told us " I have some great news! I finished the project today!" He went on to describe how he had prayed that morning for God to help him out with the project, that he could finish it earlier and he finished it that very day. And said that he knew he got it done that day because he prayed and God helped him.  WAY COOL MIRACLE! He has an incredible testimony of Prayer. He had never prayed before in his entire life until we met him. It was neat because in that lesson, after he told us that he doesn't worry about things as much I told him how I lost my wallet and needed to pray and also got peace that everything will be ok. It fit really well, maybe that was why I needed to lose it.:-)

Vladimir was so excited to meet with us that he called and confirmed the appointment a couple days early and then the day of to make sure we didn't forget. :-) We had a fantastic lesson, he had watched a few General Conference Talks, and like them a lot. We started talking about the plan on Salvation and he loved it a lot. He is taking up everything we teach like a sponge. We could have been there for HOURS. He loves talking with us. We only stayed for an hour though. At the end he asked us how we are so happy and positve all the time and asked it it was possible for him to also be that way. We promised him there was. 

I am so excited to teach him about the gift of the Holy Ghost and read with him about it. That is exactly what he wants. I am so excited for him. Sadly he didn't come to church though, he called me that morning saying that he couldn't sleep all night long because he was feeling really depressed and all of the bad things that had happened to him were haunting him and that he was very tired and needed to sleep. But he wants us to come and visit him on Thursday. We recommend watching some mormon messages, praying and reading in the Book of Mormon when he was feeling depressed. He liked the idea, and at one point in time he was feeling depressed, he told us that he prayed and felt peace. :-)

Things are going really well. Losing the wallet was hard, and at the same time I was feeling so incredibly stressed out about these upcoming transfer calls. I have never wanted to leave an area, but I have never felt so strong about it before. This week there was a point in time where I was feeling so terrified of transfer calls that it was consuming me. We have seen so many miracles here, and we have 4 really solid investigators at the moment, who will all most likely be baptized with in the coming month, and after struggling for so long and after finally getting this far being transferred would be SO INCREDIBLY HARD. 

The wallet thing happened about the same time. I wanted to talk to President Miles (during my interview)  and request that I stay for my last transfer, but I didn't end up doing it. At the end, Peace finally came through praying, as I was praying about the wallet and the upcoming transfer, a scripture ( I think I mentioned it a couple weeks ago) came back to my mind "Lass dir an meiner Gnade Genügen". Let my grace suffice you. -2 Kor 12:9. That really hit me in that moment, and it has changed me. Everything that was causing me stress over the past few weeks, I was able to let go. I don't know how things will turn out, but I am going to do everything that lays in my power, and will trust God in doing the rest. 

Even if I get transferred and never see the Wallet again, even if I am going to need to go about the process of getting a new Visa and everything, I know that everything will be ok. That God has a plan, and that he is there and will help me. It may not go as I want it to. It may not be as planned, but at the end, I will be happy. I know that. Deuteronomy 8:15-16 

I wish you all a fantastic Week!

Love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

STAKE CONFERENCE! And a new bike.....

Well, I must say first off that my thoughts about repairing that bike was me being really optimistic and not wanting to need to buy another bike. But I took it into the shop and they said that it couldn't be repaired and commented how the bike was actually meant for people much shorter than me (the frame didn't really indicate that other than the fact that I found it strange that the mount for the seat sat so low (which is why all the Elders in the past have pulled up the seat so incredibly high way past the point that it should have been moved. Then there is me, who isn't exactly the smallest Elder in the Mission and after nearly 8 weeks of me it gave up the ghost...) 

Anyway, so I talked to President Miles and he told me to try to buy another bike from Marcus, who we bought the bikes from in the first place. Long story short, Marcus was about to shut down for the season and didn't have any more bikes. But was able to bolt the seat in place. But here is the thing, the frame is meant for people much shorter, and because we were missing that extra two inches that the mount provided, it was WAY SHORT. I got on it and my knees were nearly at my chest as I rode. Elder Wasden saw how pitiful I looked and (he having not nearly as long of Legs as I do) decided to switch me bikes for the week. So now today we are going to go on a bike hunt for another bike which is durable and within budget. Sweet. And knowing my luck, what will happen is that we will find a bike, I may get to ride it for 2 days or so and then its going to snow really hard, and we will be unable to use the bikes... 

From Monday night till Tuesday night we had an exchange. It was rough. All the appointments fell out and even after nearly 4 hours of contacting no one wanted to speak with us. District meeting was good though. :-) 

Wednesday. Going into the day we had 5 appointments set up! Then shortly into the day 3 fell out, but we kept the practice teach appointment with sister Schmelz. Which was great, and we met again with Prosperi. We had a good discussion about faith and how to gain it using Matthew 13 and Alma 32. Prosperi is way awesome! He understands a lot. He understands that the only way to gain a testimony is through prayer and guidance through the Holy Ghost. Something neat though that happened that morning, on the way to our first appointment (with a polish man in Weingarten ) we were on the way there and were talking to people on the street at this point in the day there weren't too many people out and about. We talked the first person we saw and for some reason something about the conversation just felt off. 

Talking to people on the street has been really something that has been bugging me because I feel like I could do better. I had been pondering about that during personal study that morning. I wasn't feeling too much of a personal connection with the people I was talking with and I didn't know why. And I was trying to do better. One of the things that came to my mind was to listen, pause think and then answer, instead of trying to just shoot out a blatant answer or testimony. 

We talked to the next person, we mentioned who we were and that we were talking about God. He quickly said that he didn't believe that there was a God and that he had no interest really. We asked why, and he said that he had been through so many hard things that there couldn't be a God. We paused and spoke and told him that bad things happening is not evidence that there isn't a God, because Jesus once said "he maketh his sun to rise on evil and good and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust". And then I ( with Joel 2:13 and Isaiah 57:15, 18-19 in mind)  bore testimony about how God knows that bad things will happen, but only wants us to turn to him, humble our selves so that he can heal us. 

The Spirit came, I felt it, and he felt it, and I could see it in his eyes. He gave us his phone number and address and we made an appointment for Friday. That was the best street contact I have ever had. Its not easy to do that, and I don't know exactly how to keep doing it, but I know its possible, and I know how a street contact can be. Now the trick is to be better at it. Granted of all topics that I could have picked having had much hard times and having been comforted myself, this topic was very close to my heart in that moment and I think that really helped. Had I not had such hard time these past few weeks, maybe that would have never happened. Who is to say, either way I am INCREDIBLY grateful for the that which I have learned and experienced.

We also experienced a wonderful miracle on Thursday. I mentioned awhile ago that there was a couple from Markdorf that tried coming to church but couldn't find it so they went back. Well Adrienne texted us and wanted to meet with us, so we brought the Buchanans and we went. We get there and she runs out and give sister Buchanan a hug and shakes all our hands and we walk inside and talk with her a bit. Its rough, she is from the Ivory Coast and French is her mother language. She speaks decent German but it is still rough. We talked to her a bit and found out that she is actually a member of the church! She was baptized and shortly after had to move to a different city down in the Ivory Coast, where the church wasn't at. After several years she met her husband (who is German) and later moved to Markdorf. She hasn't had any contact with the church for over 10 years. Until Elders Kingery, Wasden and I got the refferal from the Kontanz Elders and when they weren't there, we knocked on a few doors in the area. 

She was so THRILLED to see us that second time. She is going to visit Family back in the Ivory coast and leaves this Saturday. She won't come back till January 10th. Ouch. But we managed to stop by on her on Saturday to bring her some cookies we made. She was even more happy to see us that time that she immediate embraced both Elder Wasden and I. She gave us her e-mail and skype information and said that she wanted to keep in constant contact when she is there. She is so incredibly happy to have found the church again. And I can't help but sit back and marvel and be so grateful for God and his great mercy. This is by no means the first time that has happened it happened in Munich once, and now twice here with Elder Wasden and I. We would have never ever found her, if we hadn't received that refferal. Markdorf isn't exactly a big place and it wouldn't be my first choice to do missionary work in (although I must say I LOVE MARKDORF we are there a few times a week and I have come to love it.) 

I am running out of time again... :-P Time is not my friend. But I did want to talk about Vladmir (the one guy who we found on the street that I mentioned). We went and visited him and had an incredible lesson. We started out by asking him what he expected from us/ what made him want to meet with us. And he told me that the scripture I shared really touched him and that he wants peace and real happiness. As you can tell by the name he is from Kazakhstan, and he isn't kidding when he said that so many terrible things have happened to him. We read in Alma 32 about how he could find out for himself it these things are true. We read verse 42 and asked him what he thought. He said almost with tears in his eyes that is what he wants. We talked about peace and healing from God. It was powerful. We invited him to read Alma 7:11-13 and 3 Nephi 17. I am way excited for him He has a lot of interest and really wants to come to know God. 

We have been very blessed here in Ravensburg, and we have a lot to look forward to, and much to do. I am so happy to be here serving a mission here, and for the wonderful things that we are able to see. God truly leads this work, I know it. 

I wish you all a wonderful week!

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen

.... Wow what a Week...

Well, Even though there are 7 days in a week I will only hit up the highlights of the week. 

Tuesday, we had district Meeting in Dornbirn. :-) Fun as usual, District Meetings are always uplifting. Later in the days we had a lesson With a Man named Thomas Haman, he is a friend of Brother Stevens that Brother Stevens got to know through his business. He likes to ask deep questions and hear the answers from each one of us. It was a great discussion. We hope that he and his family will come to church at some point in time in the near future. Right after that I called Mariet, and She had time right then, so we went up with the Buchanans and were able to meet with her. She is doing well, she is just busy with work and apparently has a lot going on and wants time to get things settle before she gets baptized... But we will keep meeting with her and see what happens. 

Wednesday I went on Exchange back to Dornbrin and spent the day Bregenz with Elder Fox, who has only been here a couple of weeks. That was fun. He forgot the Map back home, but I knew were all the streets were (having spent a lot of time in Bregenz last year) and so I navigated us the whole day which is cool, but at the same time it is probably the biggest downside of doing exchanges down there. They assume that I know the area better than they do and often expect me to lead out on the exchange. I need to figure out how to overcome that. 

Saturday, the day after a German Holiday.... Stephan needed our help so we planned to catch a train to Markdorf and be there at 3 to help him out for a few hours then change and try to stop by on the Micov Family and the Kunz Family. We arrive at the train station in Ravensburg, only to be greeted by the announcement that our Train was cancelled. Ok, no Problem, we will just catch the next one, which should leave in about 8 minutes and we should still be able to get there. It turns out in that particular hour, that train didn't exist. Stephan doesn't have a cell phone, so we can't call and tell him we will come late, or that our Train was cancelled. 

We decided to catch the next train to Friedrichshafen and catch a bus to Markdorf. Well Long story short we missed the bus to Markdorf, and ended up getting to Markdorf at 4.00. We hoped that Stephan would try coming back to pick us up, but after waiting for 10 minutes we gave up and went and changed. I was a bit frustrated at the train for being cancelled because the connections really aren't that down here, so it took up an additional hour of our day to get there, and he probably thought that we blew him off because he doesn't have a cell phone. So we went to the Restrooms located in the center of Markdorf to change We now have much more time than we anticipated. Like I said I was frustrated at DB in the moment  (They aren't exactly known for punctuality and great service in this region).

 I cut my finger pretty bad in the WC which made me even more frustrated and then in that moment a scripture popped into my head, Joel 2:13: "...rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God..."

It is a scripture that I had become fond of, and it came back to me in that moment. In this part of Joel, Joel prophecies of a terrible war and catastrophes that will happen. Then verse 12 and 13 is God inviting us to turn unto him with our whole hearts, not to get angry and everything bad that is happening (rending your garments) but to become humble and turn to him (rending your heart) because "he is merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness [and he will turn away the evil from you]". It had already great meaning to me, but in that moment it meant so much more. Almost as if he were saying to me "Yeah, your Train fell out, you missed your appointment and have a lot of Free time on your hands on a day after a holiday, but don't get angry, just get humble and turn to me, and trust me". I took a few minutes to pray and try to re align my view. 

We went out and were able to stop by on the Micov family and bring them a pamphlet of the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, printed in Macedonian (the only the the church offers in Macedonian) and talk with them for a bit. That was great. Later on, we went by on the Kunz family. We haven't had an appointment with them in over 2 months they have all fallen out, and we haven't been able to contact them at all. Not knowing what to expect we said a quick prayer and then I rang the doorbell. They were there! And we had a great conversation with them for an hour and a half (the timing wasn't the best because all of their kids were sick and so one parent was always helping the kids get ready for bed while the other was talking with us, and then the would switch :-) ). It turns out that they have had some phone problems and have felt so guilty because something would come up, they couldn't make the appointment and then they couldn't contact us. They are really busy during the week, but we were able to meet with them that night. If we would have had the service project, that wouldn't have happened. It taught me a great lesson.

The next day was Sunday. It was a great day. Jason was there, as well as the Trautmans Granddaughter, which surprised me a bit, but we taught both of them and that was fun. Later on, we were supposed to have an appointment at 3 with a Sri lanken family here in Ravensburg, but they ended up saying that they don't want to meet with us. The Buchanan's were having pie with Derick and Jason, and invited us, so we got our bikes and started to ride. Those who have thought "Wow! Elder Christensen had a whole week with no bike problems!" Just wait. 

On the way up the hill all of the sudden with out warning the seat fell out from underneath me, nearly throwing me backwards off the bike. The uppermost part of the frame which fastens the seat and pole to the frame snapped off. Not repairable except through welding... I don't just mean that a small part broke off, a good 2 inch long ring of the frame broke free, and with it the seat fell off. So my bike is... dead. I don't know what to do right now... :-P It has great brakes, wonderful pedals, steers really smoothly and has a wonderful oiled chain, just no seat... At this point I just thought to myself "rend my heart, not my garments, rend my heart, not my garments..." :-)

So we spent the rest of the Sunday walking around trying to visit some people. No one was home and the people on the roads were being incredibly rude. One thing that I ought to also mention that over the past week, Satan has really been working hard on me, and it has been getting worse and worse. Every possible thing that Satan can use is has been, stressing me about things, wearing me down, with every possible angle, Highlighting many many weaknesses. 

2 Cor 12:7-10 ( I will only put in verses 9-10)

 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (bolding and underlining added)

The difference between the King James and the Martin Luther here is only a slight one, but in Verse 9 in the Martin Luther it says "LET my grace be sufficient to thee". 

Later I thought of D&C 98:1-3 

1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

 2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

 3 Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord. (bolding and underlining added)

Essentially, Hard times will come. There is no question, and there is nothing that we can do to stop it. But we can change how we react to them. If we humble ourselves and let ourselves be satisfied with his grace (which may mean that things don't work out like we want them to) everything will work together for our good. Our Weakness will be made manifest, to keep us humble, Then our Weaknesses will become strengths. 

With this e-mail, the number of remaining weeks I have left in the mission field is now a Single digit number. Could I really expect anything else than to have it be the most difficult time? But I know that God hears my prayers. I know that even though things don't always go as planned, that everything will work toward our good. I am still learning more about "rending my heart, and not my garments" and still have a long way to go until I can say that I am really can let Gods Grace be sufficient, But I am working on that, and I trust that God will help me get through it. I am grateful to be a missionary, to spread the Gospel and to come closer to my Savior, who descended below all things. 

I am grateful for his atonement, and the promises he has made to me. I know he loves me, and loves all of us. And that "the gates of heaven are open unto all who believe on Jesus Christ the Son of God" (Hel 3:28) That is why I am here, that is my goal is to help as many as I can feel that love, and be able to one day return to God.

I wish you all a wonderful Week!

Love,
Elder  Ryan K. Christensen

Oktober wird jetzt bald vorbei... SO KOMMISCH

October is over now....SO WEIRD

With the end of this upcoming week, we will be in November. My head is still spinning, and I am still trying to figure out where all the time has gone... 

But we had a fantastic week this week! 

Monday. EPIC FAILURE ON MY PART. So, I don't remember if I have said so much about the current bike that am riding. Before me, the bike was named Black Beauty, but like to name it broomstick because of the seat... it has nearly no padding and for the most part it may be an inch and half wide, maybe. Anyway, It needed some repair work done, the steering was starting to get a bit rusty, so I needed to take that apart, one of the pedals broke, the chain needed to be oiled, and the brakes tightened. ( I seem to always have brake problems). 

So I spent some time fixing the bike I took it nearly all apart oiled it up and put it back together (and I only had 2 screws left over!! ;-) ) No, everything was put back just fine, but I decided that it would be a good idea to raise the handle bars a bit, too make the ride more comfortable. So I did not problems. I proceed and tighten the brakes, oiled the chain, replaced the pedal (on a side note, I don't know why I am having all of these bike problems, maybe this is just God's way of subconsciously letting me know that my destined career is not that of a Surgeon, but of a bike repairman ;-) ). I get it all put together, and don't have any time to test ride it to make sure everything works properly, because we need to leave. So we pack up and ride up the hill toward the Buchanans. I notice that the bike is acting somewhat strange, but I didn't think anything of it, until we were going back down the hill... It turns out that I couldn't raise the handle bars as easily as I anticipated, and that I had left a gap which allowed for some wiggle room. 

This showed it self as we started to bike down the hill, the bike started to shake, so I pulled the brakes to slow me down, upon applying just the slightest pressure to the front brake the bike shook violently almost lost control and I about wrecked. The back brakes worked fine and caused no effect. Sweet! Good thing I tightened those today! Well about 20 seconds later as I pulled the back brake to slow me down, I heard a snapping sound and all the sudden the brakes didn't work. The back brake cable snapped.   And I wasn't even halfway down the hill yet... So now I am gaining speed down this hill, and if I so much as touch the brakes, the bike is going to lose control and I will wreck. Super.

 I made it back safely to the apartment, without any harm. More to show Gods matchless preserving power than any sort of skill I could possess. Needless to say we were done with the bikes for that day and spent the rest of the evening on foot. :-) The next day, I returned the handlebars to their designed height. Elder Buchanan stopped at Real and bought me a new brake cable, I installed it and ever since then the bike seems to be working really well. But stayed tuned till next week to find out what more chaos Elder Christensen can have with a bike...

Later that night, after we got back to the apartment I decided to call a few people, see if we could get a hold of anyone to meet with during the week. And I ended up texting Stephan Beck, someone who we had tried to meet with for a long time, but he cancelled a few times and then we lost contact. I just sent him a text asking him if there was anything we could do for him, and he almost immediately called me and said " Wow you asked me at the perfect time, I need help tomorrow building my Barn in Markdorf". Cool. He subsequently invited us to breakfast and to talk a bit about God. He has some really interesting ideas... He knows the bible well though. But it seems his biggest fascination is with the sections like Ezekiel 1 where Ezekiel essentially describes (what appears to be) an airplane that he sees in a vision. And other places where ancient prophets tried to describe our day. Really cool things, not so much about God though. It was interesting. 

But later that day we had a fun time in Markdorf helping build his barn, he has some land down there with sheep and chickens and a garden. He is working toward being completely self sufficient, or getting to that point. Anyway, we had a really fun time with him and helped him space out the beams for the roof. Luckily its a really small barn ( I wouldn't call it a barn personally, more like a shack but I won't hurt his pride ;-)) It was fun. A lot actually working with wood again, and having some tools back in my hand. It was good. :-) It was good and he was impressed with our desire to work and to help others. We will hopefully be able to return sometime this week and help him some more. 

Wednesday we had an Exchange with Dornbirn. I brought Elder Sharp (from Sydney Australia) here to Dornbirn and we had a good time. Yup. He is from Australia. And he knows Elder Stokes too. It's fun hearing the Australian accent again. :-) We spent the day going by on a few people before going to Institute, to hopefully meet with Mariet, who I contacted again for the first time in months only a few days earlier. Sadly she couldn't stay for us to talk with her, but she loved institute and wants to come back (the only problem is, is that she doesn't have a ride...) She wants to be baptized, but doesn't have too much of an inner drive to do so (more of, yeah sure, if it is convenient, and I am able, why not?) so we will need to talk with her some more before she can get baptized. 

Thursday, nothing overally exciting happened, except for having dinner with the Stevens family, which was delicious as always. I ate WAY TOO MUCH. Mostly with desert she made Germ Knödel, which I really like, and so I two of them and was stuffed then Sister Stevens offered me a third one. I said I was so full that I couldn't eat another. Then she teasingly/provokingly said "Elder Christensen, you don't have much time left on your mission, this might be the last time you can have real Germ Knödel". After sitting there quietly a few seconds, I took another one. :-P  I love this branch so much, I mentioned the changes that I have seen since I arrived and the relationship with the members has gotten only better. We have become members of the branch, and have such good relationships with the members.

Saturday and Sunday. These two I want to specifically mention. We spent Saturday morning doing an "Area book finding day" with the Buchanans, after which we had GMK with David, and then went to Help Jason put together his furniture. That was way too much fun. Making mistakes and having to take it apart and start over again. Afterwards he made us Chinese food... Then we had a lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, about baptism. And he accepted and really wants to be baptized on the 23rd of November! He is so great. He feels the spirit when he prays, when he is with us, and he wants to feel it stronger. He lives only a couple houses away from David, and David now has a car, so he brought him to church. He had a great time at church. 

Jasmin Trautman was also able to come, so we taught two separate investigator classes. :-) Jasmin will probably be baptized sometime in December. She can only come to church every other week with her Grandparents, but wants to be baptized. :-) So we will teach her and prepare her for baptism. :-). Later after church once the members had mostly left (we needed to wait for Elder Buchanan to finish a meeting) I sat down and started playing some Hymns. Specifically one of my current favorites "O Bleibe Herr" (Abide with me). It has 4 verses in German, sadly the English is missing the last one, which is my favorite.  Sister Trautman and Jasmin came in and we started singing together in 3 part harmony. It turns out that "O Bleibe Herr" is also Sister Trautmans favorite. :-) We have really gained a good relationships with members here, it's so cool to see. I started playing another hymn, and wasn't quite playing it with the correct style, so I got a bit of a private piano lesson from Sister Trautman. It was cool. At the beginning of my time here, that wouldn't have happened, but it has changed so much. 

Later we had lunch with the Buchanans, Barluschkes, Jason and Derick. Then we had to leave because they played card games, but that was INCREDIBLE. Jason now feels very comfortable with the ward, and has some friends. Things are just going really really well. We are seeing many miracles and wonderful things are happening. God is answering our prayers. He truly is protecting us and guiding us. Things are getting better and better. Its wonderful to see. I know that God loves us. 

Anyway, my time is now up, I wish you all a fantastic week! 

love,

Elder Ryan K. Christensen