Taking "flirt to convert" to a whole new level....

We are Unstoppable! We will not be defeated! We are unstoppable, we do not need a reason! So life life life…one more week as a missionary, one more week of sheer beauty and freedom in the country of the restoration.  This is the last week of the transfer again so if anyone at all was planning on sending me a letter Wednesday would be the last day to send it :)

So this week I realized that God misses us so much more than we truly miss Him. For God has an ultimate knowledge of everything and that means that He knows us perfectly, He remembers raising us, helping us grow in the pre-mortal life. He is our father and He loved us to the full extent. How hard must it be for Him that we cannot remember Him. It’s kinda like a way greater version of the movie “The Vow”. He must be doing everything He can to help us remember Him. He must be cheering us on and giving us little pep talks here and there. I know in His eyes we are only gone from His presence for seconds but those few seconds could literally change everything. Just take a minute to ponder how much your Father in Heaven truly truly knows you and loves you. I thought that was a pretty rad concept.

So this week I went home to a small town of Muleshoe, Texas. It is like 5000 people and it is so rad haha. So when I went there the missionaries had already talked to everyone in town at least ten times and no one was budging, so we decided to work at an old folk’s home for a little while to help build support in the community and it was so rad. We gave them all their meals and they all came into the cafeteria and sat with their “clicks”. They are so cute, they are literally like high-schoolers in their clicks, it was so fun haha. As we were cleaning up the tables a few older ladies behind me were talking about me very provocatively as I wiped down the table, so I turned around and said, “excuse me ladies, I am a missionary”, and they all started giggling. Then I sat down and told them about the plan of salvation and how they could all be saved and they weren’t too interested, but they agreed to let the other missionaries in the area to start teaching them. I think I have taken "flirt to convert" to a whole new level haha.

And I would also like to give a shout out to my friend RayMike he has been so rad here in Portales, he comes out with us almost every day. He is a convert of a couple years and he has changed my life. I am livid I haven’t mentioned him yet in these letters, but your welcome buddy haha.

Everyone remember to take it easy out there, I took a lot of really good pictures this week but my card won’t put them on the computer so I guess it’s not going to work, sorry ladies and gents. But the show must go on. Pray for a miracle and you will receive. All right I have to go, but I love ya.

Love elder c.

(P.S. RayMike provided the miracle, he texted these photos to Keegan’s mom from a p-day shopping trip to Clovis earlier in the week….sort of like the lost 116 pages?! Thanks!!)

Sometimes "you want to go where everyone knows your name"....

Nine months to go, so if anyone reading this is planning on having an infant soon, I will be home for it, and that is so weird cause two of my sisters have had a child while I have been on my mission! Time flies when you’re having fun.

This week I learned a lot about myself and I believe this is another philosophical reflective period on my wondrous journey which is called a "mission". Something funny about that is the other day I was exhausted from riding 43 miles that day on my bike and my face apparently didn’t have the happiest look on it haha and we pulled up to a lady with determination and she was like, “wow you guys look like you’re on a mission.” Haha and I was like, “well do I have a message for you!” There are so many people in Portales and I am pretty sure I have talked to every single one of them, and they all pretty much know Elder Christensen. Which is kinda cool. Cause sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name, but also sometimes you don’t want to go where everybody knows your name and they don’t like the Elder in front of it haha.

I have been tested this week on how hard I will serve, and I have come to the conclusion that no feat is too high, I will serve my Lord all the way to the top of the Celestial Kingdom and that should be all of our goals. Aim for the Celestial Kingdom, nothing can even compare. Life is the time to prepare, so prepare now, the end is coming, these are the last days my friends and I’m not going to lie, I’m a little scared, but I am also so ready. God bless America. 

I don’t really know what to say this email, I wish I did, but nothing is really coming to mind, so I guess I hope you all stay happy and stay strong. The Church is true and Christ loves you. Remember to smile it truly means so much and it can make you happier as well as those around you, even if you’re not happy, try smiling and you might even start laughing cause you might find the reason you weren’t happy wasn’t even a big deal. So remember to work out those cheek muscles :) 

I miss you.

love elder c

Temple Trip with my newly converted family....

Here comes the sun, and it’s alright :)

This has been one of the greatest weeks of my entire life, I wish I could tell you how much it has changed me and made me into a better man. So this week I was able to do baptisms for the dead for the first time on my mission. There is no better feeling in the world I have found than seeing the people who you have come to love, the family you have made, dressed in all white being baptized for those who cannot do it for themselves. 

Okay so this week Kandy, Bre and Dustin did baptisms for the dead. I was able to baptize them in the temple as well. I had forgotten what it was like to do baptisms. Everyone needs to do them. There is so much work that still needs to be done. But Kandy brought a name with her to baptize. She brought her mother’s name, the person she loved most in the entire world. She said to me, there is one thing greater than getting baptized for myself, and it is getting baptized for the woman who made me who I am today. She said, I know she is ready, I can feel that this is what she wants. She has been waiting for me to do this and I finally am able to do it :) 

Also at the temple Dustin went for his first time. He was just baptized as well. He said there is no greater feeling than inside the temple. He loved it so much, as we were leaving he said, “Till next time” to the fount. It was incredible.

Then the next day at church Jesus and Chelsea came back in town to surprise me, and I found out they are getting married in a couple weeks. And they are still doing so good with the gospel and want to be an eternal family so bad. Then in sacrament meeting Bre spoke. She gave a better talk than I could ever do and she has only been a member for three months. It was so incredible to see what she has learned and how she is sharing it. She invited her roommate to church and she came! Then during the sacrament Dustin and I passed the sacrament together. It is one thing to baptize someone, but this is the first time I have been blessed to see the fruits of that baptism. The Lord has blessed me so much. I will never stop going. I will never stop serving because I know I am making a difference. Times get tough because we cannot see the end, but sometimes God gives us a glimpse just to show His love :).

I love it and I love life. That is all folks for now be safe out there.

love elder c

Regrets confessed and the atonement accessed...

This has been a weird week out here in New Mexico, it has been cooling off here a little bit and it has been glorious. I am having a hard time putting my thoughts into words today for some reason so bear with me my friends. 

I taught seminary for the first time this morning and I felt like my mom haha. It’s hard. I really hope I was a good student in high school, if not I am sorry haha, but I learned a lot about what I regret. I wish I would have studied the scriptures. I wish I would have prayed more fully. I wish I would have been a better example. I wish I would have applied the atonement more in my life. I wish I wasn’t such a punk kid at times. But through all of that, through all of everything I went through, I am here. I am on a mission right now serving the Lord in the best cause on earth. I am becoming a member of God’s strong army. I honestly didn’t know how much my mission would change me up to this point. I don’t think I would have ever thought I would be as happy as I truly am… through all of the trials, all of the loss, all of the confusion hurt and pain, I still feel at peace because of where I am and who I am becoming. The only reason that this change was possible is because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The other day when I was feeling alone. I was thinking about our Savior and Redeemer. How He loves us so much. He voluntarily took all of my sins upon Himself.  He took every bad feeling that brings us to our lowest of lows unto Himself. And I was thinking why did He do this? What does that mean? He did it so He could know exactly how we feel, so He would know exactly how to make us feel better. It is truly incredible. No one forced Him to do it. He was not held at gun point. He did it in secret alone. Wanting no glory but solely because He loves us.

One more thing I was pondering this week is, why is it that this is the only religion in the United States that people seem to fight you about every little detail of doctrine in its entirety. Why is there so much anti-Mormon literature out there? Why do people try to fight the gospel so much? I came to the conclusion once again, that if they did not do this, it would not be true. There must be opposition in all things, we must be tested to grow. We must prepare for the hardships that surely will come in these last days. Preparation is so essential. This entire life we have been given is literally a preparational state. So it is time for all of us to buckle up to prepare, to use the atonement and listen to the prophets of God and what they have to say. Conference is better than Christmas on a mission.

I know I had a lot of things to say today, but I have had a lot on my mind this week. I feel as if I am being tested. But that only means growth and a more full knowledge. The sun is up and the sky is blue, there ain’t no mountain too high, and no valley to low. We got this my friends be safe out there.

love elder keegan