...Flats

Please send to everyone 😄
Hello family and merry CHRISTmas ! We had a pretty good week here. It was transfer week so everything was a little crazier than usual. But all is well!
Monday we had a regular work day. And for whatever reason we had unusual amount of success . It seemed as though everyone we talked to was willing to listen and interested in hearing more ! How crazy is that. But we worked hard and we came home just feeling good. Although we felt kind of bummed we had some unfortunate things happen with an investigator that sort of bummed us out. But al, is well because the lord has provided for them.  The zoneleaders have now moved in with us. Elder S and elder S moved out. I like our zoneleaders !
I know both of them fairly well. Elder G was my zone,elder in north sac and elder S was with me down in Lodi zone. They are also training a new missionary together... That's strange. His name is elder P from Texas!!

Tuesday was our preparation day. It was great. A very lazy day for me.
We were stranded at the house because we have no car so we stay there all day.  So we got so,e things around the house done . And worked on some much needed things that I have had not much time with.
We also started getting a little worried about C because we haven't talked to her in 3 weeks . But she called on Monday saying she wanted to meet and set a baptismal date ! It's a miracle ! She needed a bit of time to think . So we had an appointment today with her and she said she wanted to be baptized dec 19 so we will see what happens . Also had an appointment with the E. Sister E is growing a testimony in the gospel so strong and she is t even a member! She heard someone at work start speaking falsely about the church and she said that she went in and defended the faith boldly and that same night a family member called and did the same thing and she stood up to them about it also. What a great example. She risked her job on defending the restored gospel !


Wednesday I had a doctors appointment in Folsom so we went on a road trip!  It was also the stake transfer dinner. So we got to be fed by the stake presidency and we are super excited about this transfer. We also ran into our bishop at the church and talked to him for an hour.
That guy is a comedian.
Thursday we had district meetings ! They went awesome , I am no longer district leader so I didn't have to prepare anything ! That was kind of a good break.  We also had to fix a flat tire so it put our day off about an hour. It poured buckets . We got absolutely soaked biking. It was awesome except for the fact it was freezing.

 Friday was a very busy day. Elder H got a flat tire on the busiest street in the area though. So we had to have the Spanish elders come save us and race us to our appointment that we were late too. We went and taught V . Who is doing awesome. She is so
faithful.   But because we had a flat we had to start a long walk to
the stake center for our ward Christmas party. So much fun. We did Christmas movie trivia on movies like a Christmas story and elf etc.
just classics. We had also a zone meeting to set a transfer vision .

Saturday spent half the day fixing flat tires. We fixed elder Hs after studies then on our way out I had a flat tire. So we were in the house until 1230. Threw our whole day off.  We also rode the "tour de sacramento" we had to go from the top of the area to the bottom corner in 5 minutes. That was quite the exercise. I really hope that al, the biking I do will keep me in shape.

Sunday  was a wonderful sabbath. We were out working right after church and realized we needed to do studies so we called the Es to see if we could borrow a room in their house . We went and did our studies and could hear them watching Star Wars in the back ground.
Haha that was a tender mercy I think ! The Christmas devotional was wonderful.  I thought it was the coolest thing that elder bednar told the Christmas story through the Book of Mormon. That is a new perspective that I've never thought too much about. The Book of Mormon gives an amazing account of the saviors birth. We kind of had unfortunate events on our way to the devotional. I ended up with a flat tire (surprise)  and we were going to be late so I biked as hard as I could on a flat tire to make it there on time. Also that night as we were returning home to our apartment there was a car that pulled up with a Tongan in it. His name is elder H ... Or brother H
He used to be a missionary here . And out of my 4 areas I've served in he has been in 3. So his name was all over our records . And now all of a sudden I put a face to a name . Coolest thing.  He was just visiting a member in the same complex as us.

Anyways I am grateful for the gospel and my mission. H said that this mission has changed him and impacted his life for eternity. Made me think about how my mission has impacted me. And some how I find myself still being Nathan , but my nature is changing ! And that is the blessing of the atonement ! Anyone can have a change within themselves. You don't have to be on a mission to change. What a blessing it is that the lord will help us improve .  And that can start today. All you have to do is act in faith.
I love you all !
Elder kristensen

November 30, 2015- Thanksgiving

So this week we had LOTS  that happened. On Pday we had the wonderful bro and sister T come out to east sacramento to take us out to a buffet to eat ! I'm so glad they were willing to make that drive from ione to come see us! What a blessing.  It's hard to beleive this time last year I was in ione. I miss that place so much .
We finally had a couple days on Tuesday and Wednesday to work all day without any disruptions or meetings .... Yay! It was a first for almost all transfer . Felt great.
We had American thanks giving ! So prepare yourselves this is going to be a long one.
So it was a normal "proselyting " day for us so what they wanted us to do was set up appointments with members and go from  place to place .
So we did just that ! We started by doing service for a member in eastern avenue ward ( hence the hanging lights and raking leaves and force choke pictures). We did a ton of fun things for that member. She is a single mom with both her daughters on missions right now. That is a faithful mom. I am so impressed. Her daughter is actually currently serving in the canada Calgary mission. She was just transferred to okatoks. So keep an eye out for sister Cruthers!  We had lots of fun doing that. We soon after went to a lunch at a members home who just moved in. Then booked it over to see V and her family. Spent an hour or so with them. I truly love that family . Soon after we went to the church for the singles dinner they had . I ate a ton of sweet potatoes . Yum. But I prepared myself for the grand dinner at brother Js . We had  a great meal and time with them. They had lots of their family over ( which most are members of this ward). Truly that family has become part of my family away from family! I'm THANKFUL for all the members of the church that look after us. Truly. Then at 7 pm we had a zone training introducing the new Christmas initiative " a savior is born" which is so good. It has an invitation on it of "discover why." It has caused me some deep reflection as to really why the savior was born for me specifically. And since I've been doing that specific events and situations have come to my mind where the savior has been ever so present and  involved in the circumstance. And because of those experiences I know why the savior was born for me!
It was a great training getti us excited to do missionary work this Christmas season.
Also the other pictures are our fort that we built in the apartment .... Also a fire that was put together with broken peices of dresser.
Saturday we got transfer calls. I dodged another transfer !! Elder H and I will stay together in mission oak ward and we will be together for Christmas here ! I am so excited ! I love this area. I also was on an awesome exchange with elder G today. We added lots of investigators to the teaching pool. It's aweso,e to see all the miracles that come on exchanges. I think it's gotta be the faith of that missionary because he is a great elder !
 I love you all ! It has been a great week ! Sorry for another weak email! I gotta start them sooner.  I love you all !
Elder kristensen

November 23, 2015-Hello Family!

Sorry this will be quick, but please send this to everyone.
Hello family ! This will have to be a shorter email but I want to let
you know of some highlights.

There was a surprise baptism for me ! Down in Elk Grove a meinh lady
was baptized ! Elder p and I contacted her and had
about 3 appointments with her. After the first one we looked at each
other and said "this girl is totally getting baptized!!"  But then She
fell off and we lost contact ... BUT  apparently 3 weeks ago she
cAlled and said "elders ! I received my answer!! I have to do temple
work for my ancestors . God has told me. I have to be baptized ."
WHAT?! Coolest thing ever. So the missionaries picked her up again and
was baptized Saturday. She is the most incredible person I have ever
met. She is so spiritually sensitive. When we first met her we were
talking to her mom and she walked in. And we invited her to listen.
She said that that day she felt like she needed to come early for some
reason. She didn't know why. But she did, and she saw us and didn't
really want to listen but she did.  And she was seeking for truth so
when an answer came her way she acted and was baptized. What a great
example to us! Just be Humble and you can receive an answer. Quite the
miracle.
This week was honestly filled with tons of meetings and other things.
We went on a couple of exchanges. Had district meetings . And a new
missionary meeting. Went well ! But it was a tough week to proselyte.
The mission is working on catching fire and trust me , we are fanning
the flames !
I love you all! Sorry to make this short !
Elder kristensen

November 16, 2015- "I'm a general authority not a specific authority, figure it out!"-Elder Hamula

FAMILY. so sorry about not writing yesterday. i  forgot that we had a mission conference on monday that kept us from p-day. Elder Hamula from the first quorum of the seventy came. what an incredible experience that was. i will first give just a quick little run by of some of the things this week. 

we spent a lot of the week preparing for a baptism this weekend that happened !  such incredible childern. this family has been so strongly influenced by the spirit. they just showed up to church one day because the little girl begged her dad to go. the Lord works through the simple and because she felt the promptings so strongly their family now actively attends church. what a miracle and an eternal blessingto those kids and parents. truly we must become as childern. mosiah 3:19 . read it. live it. love it. 

we also went on exchanges. being a district leader one of the things we must do is exchanges. so i went on an exchange with one of the spanish missionaries into his area to work. he is brand new. he came out to the feild the same time that my companion did. What an assume kid. all he does is want to work and want to try his best. He's been a little worried about the lanugage so i did something not so nice, and that was to go into his area so he was the only elder that could communicate with the spanish people. what a miracle we saw that day as he was given the gift of tongues. he was able to communicate and invite, and contact anyone we talked to fluidly. i was amazed. and he was also. He came away feeling so much more confident which was my hopes ! 

The most incredible highlight along with the baptism was elder Hamula. now i wish i could write everything that he said to us but that would take WAY toooooo long. but here are my notes. they are the things that the spirit bore witness to me that i need to work on. and that im looking to apply. but my hope is that by sharing my personal insights you also may be helped.

Zone conference -
Missionary on fire cannot cope with an hour wasted .
F-reedom

 i-n

 r-epenting

 e-veryday .

WE HAVE TO CATCH FIRE
Fanning the flame or dousing the fire there is no in between
Catching fire starts from the inside .
The word "shall" is given to us as a covenant
Heart - obedience. might - attitude. mind -knowledge . strength - work ethic
How to keep the fire burning ? Hebrew 12:1-3
How do you know the lord ?? Mosiah 5:13
Come to know him as you serve as he would serve . By doing the best I know how.
 diligent pursuit    through duty .
When the price of execution in our plans  is too much.... Keep paying the price .
It's a matter of faith . the Lord will provide.
My faith needs to be stronger than 2 investigators a week.
Desire is key in excersizing faith .
If I'm satisfied then that's what I'll get .
Don't default to go back to what I've always done . Do something
different. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT . TALK TO BISHOPS AND WML AND FIND
THOSE WHO ARE PREPARED.
What will I lay on the altar?
Spiritual death comes when I hold back when I've committed to give all .
DONT FAIL TO ACT
Don't talk myself out of what comes to mind.
If you don't know if you are doing your best ... ASK
Satan will tell me what I lack and nothing more. But the lord will
tell me what I lack and show me the way to overcome .
last of all this quote which for what ever reason has pierced my soul: 

"If we (regarding the general authorities and the Lord)  get you for the rest of your life, your mission was a complete
success." -elder hamula

Love you all,

Elder Kristensen

November 9, 2015- The Good, The Best, And The Better

monday was awesome ! pretty regular P-day but we had a chance to teach the Es again ! i love that family and the kids still plan to be baptized this coming weekend. such a blessing! we are hoping the mother will come around. just have to keep praying and fasting for her. we also had dinner at the stake presidents house. we had the most amazing converstion about the prophet joseph smith. wow. i revere that man. we reflected on all the things that he did and what the Lord did through him. Joseph went through some of the worst treatment and gained literally nothing out of it other than seeing the salvation of man here on earth again. He gained nothing for being tortured. why would someone do that if it was not true. when joseph left his family, he knew he was leaving to his death. would  a lair and a cheat do that ? not a chance. that man was called of God. and he is a prophet. and the restoration did happen.  and this is Gods truth in these last days. 

tuesday we froze our tails off at night,,, it was like 14 degrees celcius or something like that. isnt that sad? i cant adjust to this weather because im going to freeze when i go home ! but we were taken to taco tuesday for dinner and i ate fish tacos for the first time ever. probably one of the best things i have ever had. plus they were only a 1.50 $ each ! 

Wednesday we had the new missionary meeeting for Elder H and i. it was awesome. learned a ton of things and was able to see alot of weaknesses that i need to work on. but as does everyone i guess. i love receiving inspiration on what i need to work on because half the time i dont even know where to begin. but thats the thing is God also works through the weak and the simple. so the weaker i guess the better than ? we also got our bikes and headed off and it was cool-we were biking and we were about to pass this lady on her bike but right when we said hello she pulled over and yelled "oh no i have 2 flats !" and luckily we happened to be right there and we carry like 8346259784265729 patches in our bags. so we sat there with this lady fixing her bike picking thorns out of her tires for almost two hours talking to her. she really was a lovely lady. wasnt very interested in the gospel though . but the seed was planted . 

thursday was technically my year mark ! what up !! completely mixed feelings about it. i feel as though i should a much stronger testimony than what i do and be way more christ like than what i currently am but i guess i cant become perfect in just 2 years right ? ahah thats why i have a life time to work on it.  i love what this year has looked like but i am kind of bummed about it to be honest. only because it means i only have a year left serving God as a full time missionary. but eh, the work will go forward ! but nothing too exciting happened this day. just regular. i thought about burning something.. but then i realized that i need my clothes. 

friday we had an incredible zone training . so good. it was all about "catching the fire" of missionary work. they said that it all comes from a foundation of christ with the pillars of obediennce knowledge work ethic and attitude. and i think thats with anything in life and really the secret to being happy. your testimony MUST have the foundation as christ to be truly joyful in this life. there was kind of an object lesson. and ill send a picture of it.  we also ate the biggest burger ever made by none other than JG himself. im telling you that guy needs to own a restraunt but he wont ever listen to me. 

saturday was a great day. we chose to fast for a family. so it was a pretty regular day except for in the evening we went on a temple tour . and SO many people we ionvited came. it was awesome . very spiritual experience for all of them. 

sunday was awesome because everyone also came to church ! we also taught a russian man who very much disagreed with the book of mormon saying things like "someguys tried making it sound like scripture and were close, but it just doesnt line up with the bible." i just want to take a quick second to testify that the book of Mormon isvery much not man made but crafted by the savior himself. the book of mormon teaches the word of God so simply and beautifully that yo could not deny the divinity or authenticity of its pages. i have found the most comfort on those pages than another book or thing. and i know that it is a perfect harmonious testimony of jesus Christ with the old and new testaments. I know the book of mormon to be the word of the Lord, and i only know that because i have read it and applied its principles. before anyone goes to judgement. read. the. book. and try telling me that it is not from God. I know its true. my friends family and God bearing witness of it. 

i love you all. you are all incredible people ! thank you for the support :D

Elder Kristensen