A couple of extras

Our kitchen

This is how Elder Gunnell described the dog bite in his e-mail home. ....we were at the hospital Saturday night anyways. Elder Christensen was bit by a dog Saturday night. He didn't even provoke the mutt; it was just lying there and then bit him as he went by. So that night after talking to Sister Pagaduan, we were told to take him to the hospital here in Sibalom, which I now consider a worthless hospital. They asked about rabies and we weren't sure, and they freaked out, saying "What do we do for rabies?" So they scrubbed the bite with alcohol and iodine, and said watch the dog for ten days. If it dies then he has to get the shot. So to make sure he gets the shot, Elder Kleinman and I are thinking about going and killing the dog. Joke lang!! We wouldn't do that.

Jan 29, 2010 - Dog Bite

Typical home in Sibilom, Philippines

Filipino basketball hoop

Preparing fresh Papaya

Dog bite - at the hospital with Elder Kleinman

Typical home.

Hey everyone!

Elder Christensen here from Sibalom! Things here are going well. The people are just awesome. Last night we were at a part member family and they fed us a bunch of fresh picked papaya, then we went to an investigator and she had a full dinner prepared for us haha. Money! There was one funny story this week . We were teaching a part member family and there is a 7 year old that wants to be baptized in May when she is eight. We were showing her pictures of church related things and we showed her a photo of Joseph Smith. She then began like blushing and giggling so we asked why and she was like "gwapo gwapo gid siya" which is the equivalent of "Woah he is soooo handsome" haha it was funny I was laughing.

So the other highlight of the week. (Sorry mom!) haha I got bitten by a dog! I was just walking and there was a dog laying in the street so we were walking by it and when I was perpendicular to it the stupid thing jumped up and bit my left calf. It ripped my pants and cut me but nothing bad. It was more embarrassing than painful. We then called Sister Pagaduan and asked what to do so she said go to the hospital. So we went to the hospital and they cleaned it with some stuff then gave me a prescription of "Amoxicilin" which cost 75 pesos (like almost $2) and we have to keep an eye on the dog for ten days to see if he has rabies. But I am okay so don’t worry.

I got my package today at district meeting! Thank you so much! My house is in the map, too so I will send it home in my package which I am sending tomorrow. (We sent a Google map of Sibilom.) I got a lot of cool things to send so I am excited. I got a bunch of Dear Elder letters this week too! I got one pouch letter from Britt labeled December 23 haha. Then I got some from Koby Taylor and Melanie the Rebmans, Kyle Sherwin and Mandi Mathis. Also I got one from Jon Bowler so tell him thanks a lot for me!

We are staying really busy. We are preparing 23 people for baptism who committed for the next couple months! Tons! But like you said mom I don’t think they understand the commitment because last week we had eight investigators at church and this week six so we have lots of work to do.

Thanks for updating me on everything at home. I love hearing about all you are doing. Tell Papa Joe congrats for me! And I am so proud that Britt is being good and helping out around the house! She is awesome. You are all awesome, haha thanks for all your letters and support. It really is like the missionaries greatest gift to get letters and stuff haha! Anyway love you all! Bye

January 23 Letter

Well, what's going on everyone. Things here are getting better and better each week. I am picking up fairly fast on the language so I am glad about that. I understand most of the lessons but I can’t really talk back most of the time. Oh well, Elder Bosotros is a stud so he talks to them haha. So I have a few good stories this week. First we were teaching a nine year old how to pray so we showed her a pamphlet where it shows how but she didn't really understand so elder Bosotros kind of helped her out and wrote better instructions and she said she understood so we let her try. So she began and the English equivalent of her prayer was "Our heavenly Father, thank you for, we ask for, in the name of Christ, amen" haha I was laughing, but oh well it was funny. Another story was we were teaching a ten year old and he missed church so we went to talk to him and find out why. It turns out he was smoking and drinking with friends...yes, a ten year old haha. That is the first time I have taught the Word of Wisdom to a ten year old! We also had the opportunity to teach someone in the hospital. After we taught she asked for a blessing so we gave one to her last week. We went back to the hospital to see her yesterday and she wasn't there so we went to her house and she was up walking and way healthier that just one week ago. That was cool. Also one of my roommates investigators died so we had a funeral Thursday. I love the harmonica haha, I have been playing a little here and there when I have time. They love music here but it is bad. Like all the lame Justin Bieber songs and Shakira and stuff. They play it so amazingly loud too haha. Mom I was reading an article from the July 1996 Ensign about Missionary Moms and I thought you might like it haha. Oh yeah, so yesterday we went to pick someone up for church and they live across a little dip. As I was walking over the bridge I snapped the bamboo haha. Luckily I caught myself but it was sketchy. I have gotten to see some pretty cool things here already. Everyone reading this, have family prayer...It seems like a small thing but it has already affected some families we are teaching. Try it and I promise your family will be closer. Oh also tell Kyle happy birthday for me. It is on the 29th but I don’t have his e mail address. I love getting everyone’s letters and time isn't really an issue cuz we have a long time for e mail so write anything you can. It makes me feel like I am there haha. I am not going to lie this month seems like it took about a year but oh well I am sure as I pick up language it will be better. I hope all is well with everyone. Love You. Hey Mom, Dad, and Britt: How are you guys? Things here are really getting better and better. I think my mind is finally leaving shock phase and hitting "this is my home" phase. This month has been long and crazy but I am just hoping it gets better which I know it will when I can communicate. I really love your letters, it makes me feel like I am still part of the family, haha. The pictures were sweet too. I love the calendar I got for Christmas. It is hung right by where I study. Please take a bunch of pictures this year and do another one for next year, I would like that! The weather is getting really hot haha I sweat all day seriously. I know what dad means about working in the summer in St. George now! He is probably saying "I told you so" but yeah things are good. P days are nice because I am so exhausted from the rest of the week. I have been getting some of Grandma Hirschi’s letters but the mail system is sub par so the ones I get are from like mid-December, but oh well. Maybe you should just have her e-mail me? Whatever works. I will send a package soon so it gets to Britt by her birthday. Thanks so much Mom for the package. The meat and pancakes are awesome! And the American candy is money too! I hope you are all doing well and I love you so much! Hey sorry I forgot to answer your questions. The food is ok haha. Elder Bosotros is a good cook but I have been cooking a lot of pasta because it is easy and fast. The people are really awesome. I have a hard time communicating but they are way nice(most, at least.) Church on Sunday is ok. It is supposed to be at 8:30 but it usually is around nine. We have to do the sacrament because there is not enough priesthood but it is ok. I like Sibalom so it is cool. Our normal day we don’t tract at all. We have so many investigators already that it would not be efficient for us to get more. Our days are packed with appointments. Saturday we taught from 10 am to 8:30 pm with no lunch or anything we were worn out and hungry! All my stuff has been fine, my shoes and socks are good, my G's and everything really! I wash my own clothes once a week which gets old but oh well. I hope you got my pictures! I Love you all! Thanks for everything and talk to you next week.

Letters from the Philippines - Jan 17, 2011

Hey everyone! Things here are okay haha. Still kind of rough and I’m not really understanding much but I do understand more and more every day. Yesterday we worked with a few members and the whole time they just make fun of me and tease me about my lack of knowing this language! The people really are awesome. They are so friendly and willing to let you in and talk. But obviously on the other hand there are lots of jerks haha oh well. I am getting used to being called "Joe" like 100 times a day by everyone. The little kids and old men do it just because they like legitimately think my name is Joe haha but the kids in high school are smug about it so sometimes I go up to them and just say hi and give them a handshake but I squeeze way harder than I should just to make them uncomfortable haha it is funny. This week (of course) my stomach went haywire. Tuesday it was so bad we could not work because I had to use the restroom like every ten minutes :( But this week was a really good week besides that. A lot of companionships are struggling with people to teach but we have been lucky. We have eleven people with baptismal dates. The weather is crazy here! It is way hot but randomly huge rainstorms come in. Like rainstorms that I have never seen before. They are insane. This week I had to go on splits because Elder Bosotros was at a training so I worked with Elder Gunnell (Maine) and Elder Loe (Delta, Utah) and I had a blast with them. They are really cool. Elder Loe is in my batch so we got here the same day and we don’t understand the language but Elder Gunnell does, luckily. That is awesome if Court gets a cabin in Brian Head. That way by the time I get home it will be built and ready for me to use! That is one thing I miss is just going up in the mountains. There are mountains near us, but not in our area. My area is almost all just flat. There are a few hills. We have to cross a lot of rivers, but most have bridges. Some we have to get on bamboo boats to cross. This week we had a man yell at us about our church. We were teaching his daughter and he freaked out (he was drunk) on us and said the Catholic Church is the only one that has power, that they baptize correctly, etc., etc.... It was rough but kind of fun. I am teaching a white guy named Jim from America and he wants to be baptized so I am really excited. The rule here is they have to go to church four consecutive times before baptism, so we will see what happens. It is awesome hearing of stuff back home. It makes me less homesick knowing everything is going well for people. I realize how blessed I am to have people that I care for, and that care about me so much. When does Joe Rebman return from Mexico? Another thing I was thinking about this week is how much we take for granted in America. Here a normal house is bamboo, the couches are bamboo, the windows are just an opening with bamboo crossbars and no screens or anything. The floor is either bamboo if it is off the ground or dirt or some have concrete but only the richer ones. There are very few cars. The way you get around is by tricycle or jeepney. Really everything is different. We live in a crappy little concrete apartment but we have a really nice house comparably. There is no toilet paper in any restrooms so I have to carry mine at all times haha. I got your package today (mailed December 9) but I haven't been able to open it yet so I will later when I can. Thanks for sending me things. I got mom’s Dear Elder letter, too. I sent a letter to Britt on Wednesday so we will see how long it takes to get there. I am going to send a package home for Britt's birthday so let me know if there is anything you want me to look for. I already got her birthday presents haha. Hopefully she likes them. I am excited for the Gubler's (Nancy & Lonne) to go to New Zealand. Keep updating me on anyone going on a mission that I might know please. I am also excited for Papa Joe (engaged to Irene). I hope he is happy and healthy! Time is weird on a mission. Every day seems like it takes a year, but the weeks stack up so fast, haha I have almost been here three weeks and it is crazy! That was nice, Mom, that you helped Britt with her lambs. I always hated doing weigh-ins and you are right, the smell will never come off, haha. I think the best way to do letters is Dear Elder but don’t do that if it is expensive (it’s free). I get lots from Grandma Hirschi. You should please have her e-mail me so I have her address, I would love to hear from her. I am not really getting used to the cold showers, to be honest they suck! And sweating all day every day is different too but oh well. I hope you are all having fun! I love you all so much! Goodbye until next week! My computer is messed up so we are going to a shop later today and I will e mail you personally. Sorry but I love you. Go to bed and in the morning it will be there :) I Love you! (A few hours later) Mom, Dad and Britt: Hey how are you guys doing? I hope you are really good. I opened the box, Mom, so thanks, it is all awesome and I can’t wait for all the candy, harmonica, pancakes, etc.!!! The starburst unfortunately melted a little, but it is ok. I have been thinking a lot this week and I just want to thank you mom and dad. My whole life I never really understood you guys, but after being here for three weeks my entire perspective of life has changed. I never really understood why dad wouldn't lift his trucks or why mom didn't have a way nice car and things like that because I knew we made a lot of money. I was always thankful for the things I had but nowhere near as I should have been. But after being gone I know. You spent that money on FAMILY, on trips, on my sports, on Macy’s hair school and Britt's gymnastics. I will forever be grateful for our timeshare and the decision you made to buy it. It has brought our family so close and we have had so much fun. The money that I thought should have been spent on material things, you spent on building a strong family and now that I have been gone I realize that. I am so sorry it took me so long. I am not going to lie, I am still really homesick and having a rough time adjusting to the Philippines. It is a completely different life as a missionary. I want to follow Christ's example in everything now, where I used to not even really want to go to church. I have developed a lot of attributes that even three months ago did not have. I have had to do things on my own. That is hard because I have never had to do that before. I have always had you guys to rely on. Dad every day I am here you turn into a bigger and bigger stud in my eyes. I am sorry I was an idiot and sometimes talked to you disrespectfully and was a kid. I am sorry I chose doing things with friends and girls sometimes over family. I wish we had gone fishing more, hunting, to football games with you, etc. etc. That is something that I absolutely regret. You guys probably think I am nuts saying this, but I just want to tell you how much I have already changed. Mom thanks so much for being who you are. You have always been a person I could turn to. You are someone to lie on the couch and talk to; someone to help me plan things so I got things done right. You have always worked so hard for me and I was an idiot and didn't realize how much you gave up for our family. Like I said I am sorry it took this long for me to realize. You have always done things as best for the family and never got caught up in the world. Britt thanks for being such an awesome sister to me and allowing me to have fun with you, I hurt you sometimes and I am sorry but I miss you all so, so, so much. You are my world and I will work my hardest, try to get lost in the work and pray for blessing upon your heads. My testimony has grown so much. The Book of Mormon is where I can go for answers and comfort where it used to be a book on the shelf. There is power in it. I can’t wait to return and show you the man I am slowly becoming. Once again, you guys are my world and I pray for you every day. I love you so much. Elder Garrett Vaughn Christensen

2nd Letter from Philippines - Jan 10, 2010

Area: Sibalom Danou Philippines Companion: Elder Bosotros (Northern Philippines) Roommates: Elder Kleinman & Elder Gunnell Language: Kinaray'a Hey everyone. Today is Monday at around 1:50 pm. (The Philippines is 15 hours ahead of Utah time.) This morning we went to San Jose to district meeting and then shopped at a big mall there for weekly groceries. This week has been very tiring, frustrating, fun, crazy, hectic, informative…everything haha! Just crazy to sum it all up. I am definitely feeling better now than last week. Just settling down. Reading President Uchdorf's talk from the October 2010 conference really helps me slow down and appreciate being here. So...we have three baptismal commitments this week! boo ya! But the thing is they have to go to church four weeks in a row to be eligible for baptism and they all bailed this Sunday, so it might not be for a while. The lessons are really quite crazy, all the houses are small bamboo houses and the houses are just open so it is always really loud. Also the women always breast feed in front of us and that is really, really strange haha as you can imagine. Hard to have the spirit I guess. The people here are really so awesome though. They are so kind and accepting. Our ward has a lot of members but only like 50 came this week. Like 40 were women and kids. Almost no priesthood, so we have to do all the sacrament and stuff. Yesterday my roommates and Branch President (bishop) got in a big argument about home teaching haha. He was saying we weren't doing our jobs as missionaries, and they got upset and said that isn't our job to visit members haha. That was in the middle of priesthood meeting so they fought for like an hour then my comp and I just left while the other two and the Stake President argued and figured something out. I have gotten a lot of bug bites. Mom, I tried putting on bug spray but I sweat so much it gets all over and is more of a pain that just getting bitten ha. I still don’t really understand anything at all. I am struggling with the language so much. We don’t have a Book of Mormon in "Kinaray'a" so it is hard to learn the language just by listening which is all I can really do. Almost no study tools but my companion. He is really awesome. He is a great teacher and hard worker. Here it is way, way hot in the mornings from like 8-1 but then it starts cooling down a bit. I am living in Sibalom. There is the city of Sibalom and in a barangay called "Danou" is where my house is. Just outside the main city area of Sibalom. Tuesdays are the market day and they are insane. So many people getting fresh fruit, rice, meat, etc...I am taking quite a few pictures but I am not sure what is the best way to get them to you. I don’t know if I should send the card home or download them from here? Ask Mauri how Taylor does it I guess? We walk a ton!! Our area is absolutely huge ha. It is almost all flat though but the roads are terrible so if you are not careful you will roll your ankle. The transportation is still nuts, but I guess I am just getting used to it. Something that is hard is everyone is so small here that all the stuff is made for small people and it is so hard for me to fit in the tricycles and stuff. Oh well. Hand washing clothes is also pretty gay haha. It takes forever and is kind of hard. Last Monday I went to get pants made and the woman said "they will be done Friday" so we went Friday and of course they weren't done, then we went Saturday morning and she said they would be done that night. Then we went that night and she said Monday, haha. I hope they are done today. There are always guys peeing on the side of the road so that is sweet ha. I sweat like five gallons a day I swear, haha. I have already lost five pounds in one week. The food is pretty good though. I haven't eaten anything weird. The other day we were looking for investigators and we walked like 35 minutes to a river, crossed on a bamboo boat, then walked up a big hill to a different barangay (small part of a town) and started talking to a woman on the street. Then, a guy walked up to us and starting talking to us. Eventually the woman said she didn't want to talk anymore but the guy let us teach him, his wife, son and daughter and we have taught them a couple times, they are awesome and progressing fast. I also teach a white guy that speaks only in English, which is fun because he tells me about sports and stuff. The last week has been long and hard but I have learned so much it has been good. I can’t wait to learn the language so I can communicate. Love you all! Letter to dad – A typical day is… we get up at 6:30, then exercise or whatever really. At 7:00 we get showered/dressed and ready to go for the day. 8 is personal study, 9 is companion study. 10 is language study, which is hard because I don’t have much to study. There are no books or anything really. 11 we are supposed to start our proselyting. It is hard to go out at that time because everyone is working or sleeping but we try. The bulk of our work is from about 2-8 pm. We have a lot of investigators so our days are pretty packed teaching lessons. There is a lot of walking and sweating haha. Transfers are every six weeks but not everyone gets transferred then. Some stay twelve weeks, some longer. It depends on the mission president. We are all getting along well here and everything is getting better. Thanks for your support dad. I love you very much and I am working hard as I can, knowing it will bless our family and the people here. I know you work very hard for me my whole life. Thanks for having my back and everything. I love you. Letter to mom - Mom, Hey! So, to answer all your questions. I have not gotten the box yet (mailed December 9) but I did receive some letters from Grandma Hirschi today, 4 haha. So please tell her thanks for me and I love her! My favorite scripture is probably Ether 12:27 I guess...I don’t know if that is a good one for a plaque though so you decide one for me haha. I like all the scriptures. I am definitely gaining a lot bigger respect for the scriptures. They answer so many questions and I am starting to get lost in them while I read. Like an escape from the stress of being here. Anyway, I love you so much mom and I will keep working as hard as I can, my return is not as far away as it seems. I love you so, so much! Either 12:27 - And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

1st Letter Philippines - Jan. 3, 2010

Hey everyone. This is officially my first letter from the Philippines haha. I am not going to lie, I am having quite a hard time adapting to this place. I was pretty homesick while I was at the MTC but that was just missing family and friends. Now is a more literal HOMEsick. I miss the USA haha. But on the other hand this place is awesome. Whatever picture you have of the Philippines, erase it...It is ten times prettier, but ten times poorer also. I really think I had to come here to realize how fortunate I have been my whole life and to truly become thankful for it all. I miss all of you guys like crazy! Like tens times more than I expected. Going from hanging out with Breck, Mace, Britt, Mom and Dad everyday, now to seeing you never has really been hard on me. But I will be fine. Just pray for me to not miss you and home :) I know God will answer our prayers.

So I will start from the first. We got on the plane and everything worked smoothly. The flight from LA to Hong Kong was so so so long and I didn't sleep a wink! Then in Hong Kong we had a while to relax and it was early morning there so I got some cool pictures of the sunrise and some signs and what not. Then we flew to Manila and it was fun. I sat by a woman who had been away from her family for four years working in India (Dubai, I think) and she was going home for New Years and for a few weeks. Then in Manila we got our bags and stuff and had to literally run to the
Iloilo plane due to our bags taking a while. It was really a miracle that we got on the next plane, some people got on seriously seconds before they were closing the doors. The Philippine airports are not quite as efficient as American ones. Then we landed in Iloilo and we walked out to the office missionaries...like the assistant to the president, recorder, financial guys, etc. We rode on a bus to the church in Lapaz where we had an orientation. Then we ate at the mission home. That night we slept at a hotel in Lapaz. The next morning we had more orientation with Pres. Pagaduan (Pah-god-ew-on) who is really awesome! We also ate at the mission home which is the home of President and Sister Pagaduan. That night we stayed in a hotel. Then Friday we went to a church in Arevalo. Where we had a transfer meeting.

I met my trainer, Elder Bosotros from northern Philippines, he speaks a little English. But my roommates are American, Elder Gunnell and Kleinman. We are in a town called Sibalom, it is really small and poor but so so pretty. The people are amazing too. Our area is really large and we have to walk a ton but it is fun to see things. We have an American investigator so I have to teach him exclusively. But that is okay because Elder Bosotros has to teach all the rest of the lessons, due to the language here. It is called "Kinaray-a"...It is 100% completely different from Tagalog. So I have to start from square one...so frustrating haha. I am on the eastern part of the Panay Island about 15-20 minutes inland from the coast town San Jose.

My companion is really awesome at teaching and stuff and it seems like the people understand and like it. Some things are hard because he knows only a little English but we have a good time. Sometimes he won't tell me where we are going and all the sudden we are in an investigators house and I don't know the background but it will be okay. The food is surprisingly ok, not delicious by any means, but pretty good nevertheless. We ate this thing called "mango float" and it was to die for. It was like a cake thing sort of.

I am learning a lot here and have really great leaders. It has just been hard to adjust and I still have not fully adjusted. It is just a completely different world. Different food, people, transportation, air, weather, language, everything! When people are done with water bottles and stuff they just throw it
wherever they are, in the river, on the side of road, wherever... weird...haha... We ride jeepneys and tricycles a lot, too. We have a few investigators but we need to find more, which is what we will do tomorrow, probably, just tract, cuz we haven't done that yet.

I am so jealous about going to Brian Head. It is so hot and humid. Just like Cancun this summer... always. We have to sleep with fans on us and the shower is a bucket of cold water but it sometimes feels ok due to the heat outside. We live in a little 3 room concrete dorm that the roof is not attached to the wall but it rains a lot and we haven't had any leaks yet. Today is Monday, my p day and I have not gotten your package, maybe next Monday at district meeting? It is about 3:30 pm here...

From what the elders say, the FedEx flat rate box is the best for the money. They say DHL is the fastest though but might cost more. Someone has gotten a DHL in four days haha way fast. But I can't really think of anything I need except like jerky and chocolate. They sell chocolate here but it is way way too expensive to use our missionary money on. I am about to go get my hair cut for 25 pesos (about 50 cents) then buy some pants for about 200 pesos (about 4 dollars) then learn how to do laundry by hand! yay! haha

Haha Dad I am so glad to hear the shed is going well. you are a stud for building it so fast. Sorry to hear about the freezer, that is too bad, darn Rocky Mountain Power. You would think this place's power is nuts, which it is. There are bare wires everywhere and if you are not smart you could easily get shocked. You don't really have to train Dre, haha, I will be back soon and I will train him to be world class! I am really growing up here Dad and learning how to handle things. I have had you to rely on my whole life but now I have to take care of things. Thanks for teaching me while I was young. You are the best
'tatay' ever! and I mean it.

Mom: Thanks for everything. I love you so much. You are my hero.

Britt: I am so happy to know you are doing well and I can't wait to see you in a little while! I Love you.

Just know I love you with all my heart and I pray about you all day, every day. I hope this time
flies so I can see you all in 22 months.

Love you so much!

Last of MTC Pictures

 Elder Jake Mills & I



Elders Crossley, Loe & Doig

The night before Elder Green left...

Me & Elder Christensen

Elder Ward

 Our District with Elder Slade (our teacher)

Me & Elder Slade

Our District & Sister Maiello (our teacher)

Me & Elder Cappio

Elder Gregerson (my companion), Sister Maiello (my teacher) & I

Elder Peterson & I

                                                 Elders Kaufusi, Tui'kolovato, me & Lasalosi

Me & Sister McDonald

Zone 2 Sisters & I

                         Elder White & I repping "Missionary Moms!"

Me, Sister Lyman, Elder Carpio & Elder Peterson