Welcome to Silver Pines

Hey Everyone things are going well! As many of you know, I have been transferred to a new area. I am now back in the Cyprus Stake, and I am serving in the Silver Pines Ward. It is a good ward, and it seems to have a lot of potential. I am also back in a bike area, and I am in a trio. 

My companions are Elders Allen, and Alvarenga. Elder Allen has been out 3 months, and Elder Alvarenga have been out 8 months, and is waiting for his visa for Brazil. This week has been alot of biking and trying to get around and meet investigators. It seems like this ward that the sisters work more with the members, and we are to be doing a lot of teaching. We are trying to work it out so there is more of a balance. 

 So Monday I just got everything all packed up and went out to say goodbye to all of the members! I had a lot harder time saying goodbye than I thought that I would! After being there 9 months I became very attached to this ward! It almost felt like I was leaving on my mission again. I tried to get in with as many members as I could, but sadly wasn't able to see all of them. But it was a good night to see everyone! 

( Saying Good bye to some friends in College Park)

I also got a call from the mission president that night telling me where I was going. But he told me I would be going out to serve in Silver Pines, and he told me about the companions I would be having. I was kinda nervous to come back to Cyprus but I was ready to go where I needed to go. 

Tuesday we drove down, and I found my new companions, and we had to do some things at the mission office, but then we drove back and started to go around the area.   This new area is very different from the woodlands. It is alot more of a humble place.  There aren't very many trees in this part of Texas either and it can get very windy. This last week we got hit pretty good by a storm. 

We were biking close to 1960 and the 249.  It started pouring rain! I have never been so wet! We were biking, and I ended up hitting a lip in the road and ended up wrecking on my bike. I tried to catch myself with my leg, and it hit and it bent my knee the wrong way! It didn't hurt super bad, but for a couple of days it was felt very weak. It has been doing a lot better today though. 

Lets see, what else happened this week. We got in with a new investigator that seems very promising. She seemed very interested in having us come back and teach more. Her name is Tyna and her sons name is Kendrick. They are so kind and sincere. We will hopefully be meeting with them sometime this next week. 

  It was kinda hard this week to say good bye to all of the members back in college park. I am going to really miss being with them. It is such a great ward and area! I will no doubt miss it! But I was very blessed to have an opportunity to back on Saturday for a baptism. I just had to try and find a ride to get back up there. Well I was trying to think of who could take me, because I hadn't really met alot of the ward members. 

But I realized that there is a family that I know here in the stake that I knew back in Utah. So I gave them a call, and they were able to get me back up to College Park. The lady that was baptized was named Laura. The College Park sisters taught her, and I had a the chance to give her a blessing a couple weeks back. I guess she remembered my name, and so she asked me to come back and to baptize her. It was such a cool experience to help preform the ordinance of baptism. This was the first time on my mission where I got to baptize someone. 

(Right Before the Baptism)

She has some physical disabilities, and needed some help getting baptized. So Elder DeLuca and I baptized her. And we got to go and do it a a swimming pools at a members house! It was so cool! It was a great baptism service! The spirit was felt so strong, and even though I was only gone a couple of days,  it was great to be able to see all of the members! 

(Members I saw at the baptism again!)

To finish the week I had a blessing of being able to go and skype my family. I had such a great time being able to talk with them! I also got to see my older brother for the first time in 1 year. Last mothers day I was home and skyped him, and this year it switched!  It was been a great week.

Sorry it was a shorter email this week, but I hope yall have a great week!

Elder Joshua V. Christensen