Reach out and be everyone’s friend...

Well another week here in Midland, maybe my last, so if you were planning on writing me wait until I can give you my address:).

This week was really a hard week filled with not many lessons, but we did meet some very cool people.

We met another homeless man this week. I don’t remember his name, but he had short- term memory loss, like ten-second-Tom. He has nothing, but a Bible and now a Book of Mormon. The other night it got down to below zero wind chill and he was looking for a place to stay. And in his words, “a beam of light came down from the sky and shined on an abandoned gas station and God told him to go stay there and he fell asleep and woke up and saw a salt and pepper shaker and knew it was Jesus”.... his story is really inspiring to me. He has nothing and just the little things made him happy.

We need to remember that Christ is in the little things as well as in the big ones. Our conversation ended with a hug and a goodbye and as my companion hugged him goodbye, I was scanning the surrounding people as they gave us disgusted looks....I was livid and really hurt by how much self-pride they had. It threw me a little back… He is a son of God. He is my brother and even though he may be in a little worse situation than I am in, my life does not give me the right to look down on him.

So this message today is focused on teens and younger still in school. Reach out and be everyone’s friend, love everyone cause we are equals with everyone. Sit with those kids at lunch who are alone, talk to the kids in class in the corner…Because you really could change someone’s life and even your own!

I love this man we met and the joy he gave me in my life, try to love.

Sorry this week has been different. Midland is getting more and more crazy by the day.

I have some pictures to better say what I did. I’m sorry. I love you all so much.

Love Keegan

 

 

More Answers from Question-Letter:

Who would you most like to get a letter from: a random friend

Rank order your activities: #1 teaching/talking, #2 tracting, #3 Church, #4 Study

Favorite treats to receive: Fruit snacks, cake mixes, other mixes, Kerns (juice) Favorite anything to receive: Skinny-ish ties, gift cards, Disney CDs

Best p-day activities: Bowling, going to the mall, feeling normal

Things to release stress: Nothing, I need something...

Most prized possession/would save in a fire: Paintings, my Bible (sounds southern), ties, letters

First thought that fills your head when you wake up: Clement didn't kill me while I was sleeping!!!

 

Coolest service project I have had my entire mission...

Hello everyone,

This week has been kind of crazy I wish I could show you the pictures, but I forgot my camera and I am livid!! So I will send them next week!

It is weird that I have already been in this area for a month. It seems like I got here a couple of days ago! I am getting tan if you were wondering.

So Monday of this week Elder Clement and I got a call from a 90 year old WWII veteran that said he had a leak under his house and no one in the ward had time to help him, so we were called to the job and it was awesome!! So we walk in and see this 1 foot by 1 foot hole in the cement that HE hammered out!! So we started digging and we got about a foot and half deep, then we climbed in the hole under his house following the pipe for about 20 feet until I found the leak while we were in this tiny hole. I then cut the pipe and patched it up and this was the coolest service project I have had my entire mission. BUT we should not be the ones doing it, there are 300 hundred members in that ward and he called everyone and we were the only ones willing to help him! I was livid! Our whole religion in based on helping others and being selfless! I know there are a lot of really caring members, don’t get me wrong, but we as a whole need to step up our game and really try to remember to forget yourself! haha

This week we also went to Robert’s 38th birthday party. He has Downs Syndrome and his whole family was there. Robert and I have become best friends over the last few weeks and it was really fun to be there with his family and teach them all. We told them all about the resurrection and how they will be together, and Robert will be made perfect. He already is perfect, but his body will be too. It was a really powerful moment for everyone and it really reminded me why I am out here and how many people really are walking in the dark with no hope for the future. So we need to help give them that hope and faith for the future, times get hard but through every hard time we learn something.

I love you all. Sorry my email was short today, idk why it is, but I will do better.

Love Keegan

 

 

This week has been full of life and miracles and even death...

So ya this week was a little different too. As far as investigators are going we have been having a little bit of bad luck, but it will get better as long as we keep our heads up and talk to literally every single person in Western Texas haha.

Elder Clement is doing good as always, he says that west Texas is a lot like home to him which idk if that is true, but hey that’s cool haha.

As far as investigators go, the one we have didn't come to church, but I think they have had the best excuse I've heard so far haha, their house burned down (pictures included). So when we went by, church was the last thing on their mind.

Also this week has been full of life and miracles and even death.

So this Monday Clement and I were doing our regular p-day routine when we got a call from the Bishop saying a lady in our ward had a stroke and is in critical condition and he needs our help to give her a blessing. And the bishop received the call from her husband, who had his records removed from the church a while ago, but he didn't know who else to call...and he didn't know what to do. So we got there and she was in really bad shape and the doctor’s didn't think she was going to make it..... So we proceeded to give her a blessing by the laying on of hands... when we did this peace came over the room and everyone was crying..... Even her husband, then when the blessing was finished, we said our goodbyes and we left..... then we received a call an hour later saying that her signs were looking up and that she is going to pull through....I know that the same priesthood that Christ held is on the earth today and miracles can and do happen every day...

Now this week we also received a call from a woman and her husband, her husband is a member and he had a heart attack... and again was in really bad shape. And they asked us to come and give him a blessing... When we got there they kept saying how happy they were that we were there and they knew that this blessing was going to work and he was going to be okay...so Elder Clement anointed him and I gave him the blessing......the next morning he passed away... Life is short, really not too fair at times. We do not always understand God’s plan for us. But I am here to testify that He does have a plan and for some reason Heavenly Father needed His son to come home... This life is not in our hands it is in Gods. And when we can remember that everything will make more sense.

I know who I am and I know my purpose.

Love elder c

Pics: 1) investigators's house burned down 2) so the thing in the tree is the Texas state bird or a bag haha, 3) the kid is a Priest who came with us and 4) that is George Bush's childhood home that I knocked on the door of haha

 

 

 

 

So I have a story...

Hello everyone my name is Elder C and I have had an amazing week in the city of Midland, Texas. It has really been eye opening in a lot of ways and it has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and made me realize how precious life really is. So I have a story.

This week we were able to ride bikes again because my elbow is doing better which is super rad! So we were able to go to the other part of our area which is on the south side of the tracks and it is exactly how it sounds. It really isn't a place you want to just be hanging out! Anyway, Elder Clement and I where down there and it got dark and we got lost on our bikes. So we were riding around and we couldn't see the names on the map cause it was too dark, so we were riding and we saw a light at the end of like this alleyway, so we went so we could see the map. But Elder Clement had a bad feeling about going over there that he did not share with me until after this experience....So we went down there to find a drug dealer just casually dealing something to a guy... At this point we didn't really think we should keep going which idk why haha, then we pulled out our map, while I was watching this man that just bought something inject a needle into his arm. Which kinda was weird, then I saw him start getting crazy and run over at us yelling hey you Mormon Nazis!! Which was not good. So we talked for a second with this gentleman, then he said hang on a minute. He turns around and pulls out a knife and says "this is for shoving a rag in my mouth and leaving me for dead"! Then his friends start coming out, so me and Clement were calm and as he looked over at his friends coming over, I lightly shoved him to the ground and we rode out of there as fast as we could........Okay so the moral of the story is 1st always pray. Always ask for help from God and #2 is to always follow the spirit. If Elder Clement would have told me the feeling none of that would have gone down.... so then the next night! We decided to follow the spirit and we went down another street and who do we find? The same guy and he comes up to us again! But this time he is different and he asks if he can walk with us, and we said yes, but we were going to stay in very lit, busy areas haha. Then we ended up teaching him the restoration of Jesus Christ’s gospel and how all men can be forgiven through Christ’s atonement. Many tears were shed and we set up another appointment, so pray about all of that for us. What I learned from this is 1) don't do drugs, the Word of Wisdom is inspired and 2) don't judge anyone, because anyone can change. I am so blessed to be here and to be alive. I love life and I love all of God’s creatures. Thank you for everything that you do.

Love Elder Christensen

4 PICS: so... one is a meth house that blew up the other day in our area haha and some food I made. I love you guys.

 

(a few survey questions that Keegan’s Mom sent him that she wanted to share)

• What word best describes your life right now? Adult, insane
• What do you cook most for you guys to eat? eggs (haha) and Ramon, granola, cuties(little oranges)
• What do you like best about serving a mission? The people and the gospel (haha)
• What is the hardest about serving a mission? Being away from those who I love...

 

I am going to take them under my wings and fly them to their mission...

This week has been a week everyone, 7 days of pure missionary work and moving :)

Our new ward is awesome, there are a lot of Priests in it, so I am going to take them under my wings and fly them to their mission! It’s going to be cool haha. I love it. Also they love having Elders which is a cool change in pace!

So this week has been a little crazy saying goodbye to those who I love, then leaving and going 3 miles away, but I won’t see them for two more years haha. So we go to our apartment and it is way nice and there are a ton of people who hang out on their back porch at night time across the universe from us. Clement and I, when we got home put up some Christmas lights out there and joined the group it was awesome. They were just sitting talkin and we taught them the whole restoration from each other’s decks! I felt like Romeo and Juliet, but I hope it has a better outcome haha.

So our area is huge and it takes a little bit to get to the far side of town (still on foot), so by the time we got there it was starting to get dark and when we got there we realized we shouldn't be there after dark, if you know what I mean. So we started on our way back and then we got the feeling that we had to stay and not be babies about it. So we stayed and walked around there wondering why Heavenly Father needed us to stay there. Then we saw Raymond and Robert. Raymond is a 64 year old man and Robert who has Downs syndrome, they were sitting there singing on their porch together and they were the happiest people I have ever seen, so I went up to them and said "do you want to be together forever"? And they said "yes", so we taught them about how families can be together forever. And they started crying. SO I know that God will tell you where you need to go even though it might be a little bit scary at times, He will never lead you astray :)

I love you guys.

love keegan