5th Letter from MTC - Nov 29, 2010

Hey ya'll! I am glad to hear you got some snow! We had a big storm this weekend and got like four or five inches but that has been the only real big storm here. It is snowing lightly right now. To answer your question I will tell you my Sunday schedule.

8 breakfast

10 priesthood meeting

12 district meeting

1 lunch

1:45 sacrament (in a building at the mtc with just our zone approx. 40 people plus branch presidency)

2:45 study time or walk to the temple

5:45 dinner

7 devotional (people wait hours in line to get good seats)

8 movie (they play like BOM movies, Legacy, Testaments, etc)

9 planning

9:30 back to the dorm...

 

Sundays are nice because they are the day we can sort of relax and cool off from continual studying the whole week. The devotionals are also fun to hear someone speak. Lots of people wait hours to get seats because they dont let you in the auditorium until 6:30 but my classroom is in the building so at 6:30 our district walks out and get the best seats (haha we are cheaters).

 

Thanksgiving was awesome. We had breakfast, then a devotional that Elder Holland spoke at and it was awesome! He spoke about giving to the poor and needy and how sometimes we forget how blessed we are and why. He cited Alma 4 and Alma 34 in which it talks about how we must give to the needy and poor. He also talked to the people going to poor places and said that the best way to love them is to live with them, eat their food, sleep in their homes. It really has hit me while I have been here how blessed I have been my whole life. A lot of the kids in my district have hard stories and have had rough lives, but I have had such a perfect life. Perfect family, perfect friends, almost no trials. So I got to thinking and I really think that since our family has been so faithful and must have been very faithful in the pre earth life, that our trials are different. We are tested to see if we are willing to give to people in need, then share what we have been blessed with to the poor. And not be greedy. I think going to the Philippines will be a good start to showing me how to truly be service-minded and love people less fortunate.

 

The language is going well. We started teaching in Tagalog which is rough but from now on we can't teach in English. I am sure I slaughter the language but I try haha. It is hard sometimes because my companion is not very diligent so he is far behind everyone in the language so it is like 99% me teaching and all he can do is bear his testimony. Maybe just another trial I have been given haha.

 

How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully everything went well and you ate plenty of food. We did a service project also on Thursday and we made 63,000 backpacks to give to poor children throughout the world with school supplies. It was fun to be a part of. Also something fun you might want to know about is that every night before bed we have a rap battle between two kids in our district. We are given a gospel subject and write a rap about it haha. It is hilarious sometimes. Also during free time, we put up a blanket in the middle of our room and play tennis with a raquetball and our hands as racquets. So yes, we get pretty bored sometimes.

 

One of these days i am going to send britt a cool book in Tagalog.

 

Anyway i gotta go so I will talk to you later.

ps I have more time so I will get on tonight and e-mail dad back.

Love you all

Mahal ko kayo

Elder Christensen

4th Letter from MTC - Nov. 22, 2010

Hey everyone I am glad all is well! Just so you all know, I do get all the letters from the post office, e-mail, and Dear Elder it is just hard finding time to respond to all of them. I can only (technically) write letters on P-days so the ones I get during the week I try to address every Monday! I am not really sure how to tell Breck to do the music. Nobody here knows. And really anything is good. It is just for when we are studying and stuff for background music and then at night we have an hour to chill at our residence and sometimes we get pretty bored so music would be nice to have on. I have been just fine without a coat so don’t worry. I always wear that black under Armor sweater we bought at the mall under my suit coat and I brought some ear muff things that I wear also.

I can’t believe Dad is finally doing the shed.  I am so impressed haha it took him until I was gone and couldn't help to start it! I did get those shirts from Mr. Mac by the way. To answer your questions about the Dear Elder letters… If you send a Dear Elder letter before noon, I will get it the next day, Monday through Thursday because they don’t do Dear Elders on Saturday. So if you write it at 11 am on Thursday, I will get it Friday at 4 pm. Hopefully that made sense and to be honest I don’t care about Dear Elder vs. normal letters. Dear Elder is faster, easier and cheaper so I would just assume do that, plus I can read all the writing haha.

700 new kids came in on Wednesday so there are like 3,000 missionaries here now. We got some new kids in our zone, 4 of which are Tongan and one red-shirted at Utah as a nose tackle! He is BIG. I haven't gotten a chance to host yet but I probably will since I am here so much longer haha. It doesn't seem like a month has already passed but we are close to the one month mark! You told me to take photos of things but in the lunchroom we aren't supposed to have cameras so I will send photos of other things. But send back that memory card when you can.

To be honest there are a few really cute sisters haha (no distractions though!) I was actually surprised but a few in my zone are really cool/pretty. I won’t even have to go to the Philippines to get my wife mom :)

The Tagalog is coming along really well! I can understand pretty much anything. Saying things is harder but I can still do it most of the time. The hardest part is conjugating verbs because English has run, ran, running....where Tagalog has like ten ways to conjugate "to run" depending on who is doing it, where you are doing it, and when you are doing it(past, present, future.) But overall it is good. This week I have to write a sacrament talk in Tagalog on baptism haha.

How are the dolphins doing? I have found that besides missing you all (family and friends) I miss football a ton!  We can’t play football here. All we can play is volleyball and basketball now because, due to the snow, the grass field is closed. To be honest it has barely snowed! Yesterday was the first real snow and there is only like one centimeter, if that.

Springdale sounded fun I bet you all had a blast!

Everyone has been amazing, I have been getting letters from lots of people back home and it makes my day for sure! I am excited for Thanksgiving because I hear they have a big devotional with one of the first presidency or one of the twelve? Either is cool.

I never told anyone back home… cuz I didn't want mom worried… but both my companion and I were really sick the last couple weeks with a cold I guess…. coughing and congestion, but we are both coming out of it now!

Anyway I gotta run, I love you all!

PS: If you have time you could send me some garments. No rush though! Also this will sound weird but could you send me a jump rope. Just a cheap one is fine but something to burn time with haha thank you. Love you all!

Britt, sorry I don’t have much time but I will write you a letter! Love you!

Also tell dad I am writing him specifically a letter but I ran out of time so you'll get to my letter Wednesday or something

3rd Letter from the MTC - Nov 15, 2010

Hey Y'all! This week was pretty good! I have been wearing the bracelet Britt gave me so thank you! It is awesome! That is so cool how it is from Hong Kong! This tuesday Elder David A. Bednar came and gave a sweet talk. I usually sit by Elder Sharp and Elder Leavitt during firesides and stuff like that where there are lots of people. They leave today which is crazy! There are like eight missionaries from my zone leaving to the Philippines today too! They seem pretty stoked about it! I know I can't wait to get out there! What is going on down in sunny St George? The weather sucks here haha to be quite frank. It is always cold. It is also always either raining or snowing so we cant enjoy outside. Last Saturday we went and sat on the far west fence and listensed to the BYU football game. The crowd and M.C. were so loud we could hear the score and when they would score and stuff. I am pretty upset about The Utah vs. Tcu game. Added to the fact that BYU won. It is good because my Branch president knows I love sports so he will give me score reports whenever I ask him! The language is so hard at times but it is coming together piece by piece. I can understand like 90% of what is being said but I just have a hard time trying to respond. I am definitely above average for our zone though so that helps my confidence a little. Really there isn't much to say haha. I feel like I am beating a dead horse because everything is the same everyday except the fireside speakers on Tuesday and Sunday. The food is still really good although some kids are starting to get sick of it (they are lame.) I haven't heard from Britt in a while so she needs to step it up! We started teaching the second lesson which is the plan of salvation this week. Everything up until now has been the restoration and stuff relating to the Book of Mormon. There are definitely kids that have a better doctrine knowledge than I do but I am learning so much it is ok! Anyway I love you guys so much and can't wait to hear from you! Love Elder Garrett Vaughn Christensen

MTC Photos 10-27-10 to 11-6-10

Elder Gregerson, my companion



Zone leader - Elder Green from New Zealand




Christensen, Green, Lowry



My mom thinks I'm the handsomest!





Elder Heather from Samoa




Our Halloween fangs
(yes, we were that bored)
Me, Bacera, Christensen, Green & Peterson

 



Me and Elder Carpio (from El Salvador)

  

Kaden Leavitt, Mike Sharp & me

  

   




Our District

    


Our District - (L-R) Coakley from New Mexico; Galloway from Carson City; Soderquist from Ogden; Me,
Peterson from South Jordan, Wilson from New York, Munk from Seattle, Carpio from El Salvador



Christensen, Green, Me







I'm going to the Philippines - Mike's going to Mississippi

 I'


Language study

 


Sisters in our zone - Anderson, Whitley, Lyman, Nielson, Kristen Danner, Farmeluia



Unloading my stuff

  



Nov. 7, 2010 - 2nd Letter from MTC

Hey everyone! This week has been really fun. Elder M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to the MTC and was great. The days are starting to get faster and faster. Today we didn't really have anything to do and it is raining hard so we have been playing volleyball, basketball, and lifting for like four hours today haha. There was a women that spoke yesterday and she was good too.

My companion is still forgetting things everywhere and making life a little difficult but it is getting better. I am getting a lot more confident teaching although we haven't taught in Tagalog yet. We start doing only Tagalog at week four, and I am kind of nervous for that!

The missionaries going to the Philippines next week have to fly from Salt lake to LA., then to Taipei Taiwan then to Manilla then to Iloilo. It’s crazy they are leaving. They are who I spend most of my time with when we are not in class.

Language is coming along pretty well, I guess. It is just so weird learning their sentence structure and stuff.

Getting letters is always fun and thank you for the package with everything. Elder Gregersen and I have already worn the ties you sent. Matter of fact, mine is on right now.

The food is still way good. I have lost three pounds since day one though.

I sent Brittney a letter today and put my camera memory card in it. I have been getting all your Dear elder letters so keep sending those. I think that’s the best for the MTC since they are free and way easier.

I am pretty upset about the Utes game. Although TCU should get more props now. Nobody here likes Utah so I have to be the ‘Lone Ranger’ sticking up for them haha it sucks. I do have a lot more sports knowledge than all of these kids though, so I burn them haha :)

We went to the temple earlier this morning and that was fun to get out of campus. I love the story of Brittney and her "hotel." I was really spoiled at home sleeping in my awesome bed. These beds are tiny and bad. I wake up daily with some kind of ache. I have used Mandi's machine a few times already. My roommate Eder Carpio hurt his back trying to block a shot of mine in basketball and he is in really bad pain. He has been going to the BYU physical therapy place every other day and he says it is awesome to get out into the real world haha. I can see how.

I have quite a few friends here like Mike Sharp and Kaden Leavitt I sit with them at firesides and stuff like that. In the letter I sent Britt with the memory card, I snapped a few photos of flowers for Breck. They are way pretty here! I can’t really think of anything I want for Christmas. I am doing really well and don’t necessarily need anything. Tell Macy I will write her tonight and send it in the morning cuz i just got her address. I hope Breck is in Europe safe and everything is going well.

I love you guys (Mahal ko kayo)

Elder Christensen

Nov. 1, 2010 - 1st Letter from MTC

Area: Mission Training Center, Provo, Utah

Companion: Elder Gregerson (Woods Cross, Utah)

Roommates: Elder Caprio (Sandy, Utah) & Elder Wilson (Watertown, NY)

Language: Tagalog

Hey everyone! Today is Monday which is my P day and it is good to finally get to write home! I got a letter from Brittney and it was good to hear from her! Well it has been pretty good so far. Not going to lie, I was pretty homesick the first couple days but it has gotten better with time.

My companion’s name is Elder Gregersen and he is from Woods Cross, Utah. Also in my room is Elder Caprio from Sandy, Utah and Elder Wilson from Watertown, NY. My companion likes other things than I do. He likes to sing and do choir and stuff. He also likes Japanese comics and stuff like that. The Elder next door (Elder Peterson) is who I try to spend a lot of time with. He played football at Bingham. My teachers are awesome. Their names are Brother Slade and Sister Maiello(my-yellow.) My Tagalog is also coming along better than I anticipated. We have already learned how to do basic prayers and also bear testimonies. We probably hack our testimonies but who knows haha. The senior companions that have been here for a few weeks are really cool. Elder Green is from New Zealand, and Elder Christensen (yes, same last name!) is from Firth, Idaho. We also have a lot of Samoans that are really loud but pretty funny most of the time.

So far the food has been really good. Everyone says they get sick of it but it has been good to me, although I am not very picky!

Yesterday was Sunday and we had a really good day. We walked to the temple and hung out there for a couple hours taking photos and playing around. Then we had sacrament and priesthood meetings. Afterwards we went to a fireside. Right after the fireside we watched a movie called "Legacy" about the pioneers and Joseph Smith.

I have seen Mike Sharp, Brock Liston and Kaden Leavitt quite a bit. It’s good to have friends around to see every now and then. Since yesterday was Halloween we had a little "trick or treat" thing in our room where people would come and eat candy, haha, it was pretty fun. Gym is a good break from everything. We get it for an hour every day. We play basketball and volleyball and it is sweet. We also watched Elder Holland's talks from some conferences and he is a stud! There is a store here with stuff like pens, some food, and hygiene stuff so you don’t really need to worry, Mom.

How is everything going there? The weather has been nice here except the first day I got here it was snowing. There are some negative things about this place, like waking up at 6:15 every morning. Oh boy it’s not that sweet! I am sure glad we did mission prep because I am ahead of most the people here. It is pretty weird how everyone is so happy and loves you, plus they all call you Elder which is strange, haha.

All I can really think about that I need are a few more garments because there is no store here and with gym daily I dirty more than I have, I would also like some more photos of our family and stuff because mine didn't turn out very well. You could always send me some jerky too cuz it’s a hot commodity. Also send me that camera memory card that I accidentally left on the kitchen counter, and then I will send you my memory card. You should have Macy and Breck give me there address because it would be easier to write them and read if it was a letter cuz I am rushed on time at the computer. That’s why there are probably typos in this letter that I haven't noticed. I hope everything is going well back home and Dre is still alive :)

Love you guys like crazy!

Ingat (goodbye)

nagpapasalamat po namin para sa pamilya ako (I am so thankful for my family!)

PS...I have spent a little more money than expected :)

Love You