Bom Dia Minha Familha!
This week at the MTC has definitely been one of highs and lows. On Friday, I went to get the mail as part of my duties as District Leader and the first thing I saw was a bunch of travel itineraries. I started freaking out when I saw them and couldn't open the combo lock because my hands were shaking so bad. These two guys from my zone were also in the mail room and they were screaming behind me. The itinerary on top was mine and it said that I was leaving on Monday, the 20th, on a 2 day trip to Angola Luanda, which meant my visa had finally come! I pretty much collapsed against a wall while the two other elders were hitting me, hahaha it was a crazy time. So I looked at the rest of the itineraries and it said that we were ALL going to Angola, which mean that the seven of us had miraculously got our visas, even though only three of us had turned in our papers at the consulate! We decided to drop by the travel office later that day and find out how, but everyone in the mean time was freaking out like crazy. Later, we went to the travel office, and they took a long time checking it, but they said "Oh, it says you were all reassigned, you're visas aren't here yet.... So she read down the list and I've been reassigned to Arcadia, California. They're sending the seven of us to Arcadia, San Jose, Bakersfield, and Redlands. Pretty disappointing. But Elder Smith reminded me of a devotional that Elder Bednar gave to the MTC. Bednar was talking to a man that had a severely injured leg and asked him if he had faith to be healed. The man said he did, and Elder Bednar then asked if he had faith not to be healed. Basically, Bednar is asking whether we have enough faith in Christ and God that whatever happens to us, we know that it is supposed to happen, that God is doing it for a reason. I know that God has a reason for me going to Arcadia. I'm not sure if there's a specific person there that needs my light or if I need to meet someone or just get better prepared for Angola, but I've accepted that I'm going to get to Angola, just in the Lord's own time. Also on another spiritual note, all the missionaries got to watch the broadcast of President Packer's funeral, which was a really cool experience. I'm disappointed that I wasn't alive when he was in his prime, because he had some really fantastic talks. This week, I've probably watched about 10 of them back in the 70's and every time, there's something in there that feels completely directed to me. My favorites have been Spiritual Crocodiles and The Mediator. He was a great man and a spiritual giant, and the church is really going to miss him. Because I'm leaving next Monday, either to Arcadia or Angola if my visa comes on time, I get to email on Saturday night as well, so I'll send out an update on my visa.
Have a great week!
Elder Christensen
