Katie's Mission Blog: May 16-May 20, 2023-Week 1.75-Mexico City MTC

Letter to everyone:

I have already loved my experience being a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! It has been so rewarding and there is nowhere else I would rather be.

My days go mostly like this: wake up at 6:30, personal scripture study, breakfast, language study class, personal language study, lunch, companion study, gym time, preach my gospel study, dinner, more preach my gospel study, and bed by 10:30. The days are packed full, but I have not felt like they are long or overwhelming.

For my CCM (missionary training center in México) experience, I have two companions. Their names are Hermana Langkilde (Lang-kill-dee) and Hermana Wilson. Hermana Lankgilde is from Mesa, AZ and is 22 years old. She went to BYU as well and when she gets back will graduate with her bachelors degree in psych a semester later. She has already been accepted into BYU's grad program for social work as well. She is super intelligent and her Spanish is excellent. Hermana Wilson is from Buckeye, AZ and attended BYU-I for a semester. She is super sweet and her Spanish is really good as well. We are all super in sync and want to make the most of our CCM experience. So, during any free time we go to the Spanish helpdesk to learn more grammar points and take advantage of other classes to help us become more effective missionaries.

One lesson that really stood out to me so far from my CCM experience has been the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. In Matthew 14 it reads:

"17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 He said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full."

Like the disciples bringing forth all that they could to Jesus Christ, when we bring forth all we can with full effort, Christ can multiply our efforts in a way we never could have imagined, even to have 12 baskets metaphorically leftover. I have really been trying to do that. A teacher of one of my classes said, "Obedience brings blessings. Exact obedience brings miracles. Which do you want in your life?". My companions and I have been working on this and striving to do everything that is asked of us with exactness. I know that God can make more of me than I could on my own, and He can with you too when you give your all to Him!

Love you all!!!!!

Hermana Christensen

PS -- my next pday (day I can respond) is on Wednesday and will be while at the CCM. It will be on Monday's once I'm in Panama.

PPSS -- I am the ultimate cucharaca killer. Since Wednesday, I have killed 11. Don't worry, there are none in my apartment.

Letter to family

I finally got to the CCM around 4pm in the afternoon. I flew SLC to Mexico and there was probably 20 other missionaries on the flight. Then we took a bus to the CCM for about an hour. Driving here is nuts, as it is in almost every other latino country though. People are merging into lanes that have no room to be merged into. And fast! Putting utah drivers to shame.

My companions are really good too. Hernmana Langkilde is older like i've told you. She is the same age as tanner. But she is so driven and intelligent and amazing. She maximizes time like no other and wants to be the best missionary every. And she seriously is. She has been praying to be able to use her talents and serve people in the CCM. I didn't even think about that. But God has definitely answered her prayers. She has to accompany the choir on Tuesday, which i'm singing in and possibly directing lol. But we got the sheet music yesterday and the President of CCMs wife did not let on on how hard it would be. She is a great sight reader, but sight reading versus accompanying a whole choir are two totally different things. So we are going to practice some today on pday. It also is going to have a cello piece and a violin and all in spanish. So woah. And, she is our "language leader" of our district and is always answering questions. But she could be in 3 week ccm. She has such good spanish and a good accent. I understand most of what she says, but my speaking abilities are no where close to hers. Sometimes I need to just laugh about Hna Langkilde because she sometimes is a little abrasive and blunt. But, i know she's not doing it out of rudeness or anything. She sometimes gets in a one track mind but it is always for something good. She is super upfront and honestly a wild card. She loves heavy metal and lifting, but also loves to crochet. So grandma vibes as well. I love her a lot! <Hermana Wilson is also 19 and went to byu-i. She is sweet as they come and just easy going. Once she gets talking, she is super chatty, though she always says she is shy. She loves her family a whole lot. She doesn't really have a hushed tone which makes me laugh because we will be doing companion study and she's talking on a level 8 volume when she really just needs a 3. But I just smile and laugh. That's what ya gotta do. Just laugh.

I've really loved having an hour of just personal scripture study. I usually begin in the scriptures but then start reading talks off of something i'm interested in or a word that peaks my interest. Something i struggled with this week is knowing. I know in my heart that the promises of the church and the bom are true. But a lot of times my mind tries to talk me out of it and rationalize it. But i feel so much peace and comfort in the reassurances of the gospel, so it has to be try and i can't deny how the holy ghost has been in my life guiding me all along. Then i got thinking about the spanish words for to know. There's saber, which is facts, and conocer, which is to know someone or to know in a relationship sense. I conozco the gospel is true! No doubt about it. Something in my heart always feels that intimate relationship with God and honestly I haven't ever doubted it. But, sometimes i struggle with saying yo sé the gospel is true. But, that's not really what a testimony is. I don't know everything about the gospel, no one does, but what i do know, i feel to be true. but we don't always have to know. WE can just trust because of what we feel in our hearts, and some days its harder to rely on that trust, but we don't have to be perfect every day.

in my apartment, there is another trio of sisters. They are nice and they are all going to atlanta georgia on their missions. They have only been here a week longer than us. Our bathroom is a little cramped but luckily there are two of everything -- two sinks, showers, and toilets. There is enough room to fit all of our stuff too.

Lunch time we eat with our whole district. They are pretty funny and nice guys. We have no other sisters, but three sets of elders. They thought the verb negar was pretty funny and i could only think of garret when they were talking about it. Elder Ganus said in their casita (their housing is different than ours, they have like full on houses w 24 elders in it with 4 elders to a room) there is someone that looks exactly like the riddler from the new batman that we went and saw a while ago. Anyways, elder ganus straight up goes up to this guy and is like "ya know you look exactly like the riddler." and the guy was like "oh nice i haven't seen it" and then elder ganus is like "oh that's too bad, riddle me this" and just keeps cracking jokes. luckily the guy took it lightly but it made me laugh.

other funny thing, our zone leader is this 18 year old who graduated early to be here. possibly the authority and power my be getting a little to his head, but i am praying that i can be more patient with him and sustain him. he just irks me a little bit. He wears a chain on his belt loop connected to his wallet. like bruh. And big coke bottle lenses that magnify his eyes. And he's short. I could squish him like a bug. But like i said, praying to be better!

that was super long but that's just some of it. learning is great.

i miss you!

Hermana Langkilde, me, and Hermana Wilson made it to the CCM in México and are excited for our first day. The B on the hill in the distance stands for Benemerito, the name of the CCM campus because it was once an LDS school.