Cabin Fever

Hey y'all! 

It's been a kinda slow week. Zuster Walsh has been super sick so we've been stuck at home basically all week. I feel so bad for her please keep her in your prayers! And meanwhile I've been trying to keep myself busy... I've cleaned and reorganized our apartment close to probably 100 times now, watched all of the random church movies we have (I can almost quote all of the testaments), and I started reading the new testament. I made a goal that I'm going to read it from start to finish all the way through. And yeah basically I'm just trying not to go crazy and help my poor, sick companion feel better!

We did get the chance to go out a couple times this week though and we got to go see one of our less active members Luciel. I love her so much, she is an older lady who lives all by herself so shes pretty lonely. So every time we go over there I make sure we give her lots of love! Well this week when we stopped by she told us of an experience that she had this week. She had to go to the pharmacy to get medicine but she didn't have any money. And just as she was walking down the street a women stopped her and gave her the money she needed to get her medicine. Then after she walked out of the pharmacy with her medicine she saw some money laying on the ground and she was able to use that money to buy bread. She said it was a miracle from God because when she left the house she didn't have a cent in her pocket and she was able to come home with her medicine and food to eat. Her story was so touching, to see how God really is in the details of our lives and he is very much aware of our needs. Now she has that testimony that God really does care about her and she is never alone! it warms my heart and makes me so happy. We do have a heavenly father who loves us :)

Also we are teaching a super cute family right now! I love them so much. And this sunday 3 of the kids came with us to church. They were so cute and so excited the whole time we were there. And absolutely loved it! They can't wait to come back next week, and hopefully there mom will come too! I love them so much. The little girl reminds me a lot of ashlen. We are best friends, she is so adorable.

Well talk to y'all next week :)

Met liefde, 

Zuster C

Transfers

Well it's been a pretty crazy week. We got transfer calls and Zuster King is going to St. Maartin. I'm gonna miss her so bad, we've gotten to be best friends and had so many amazing adventures together! So it's just going to be Zuster Walsh and I holding down the fort here in Suriname. And she's still a new missionary so I'm going to be training her. It's so crazy! I don't feel like I've been on a mission long enough to be training but I'm so pumped for all the new adventures we're gonna have together :) She is an awesome missionary with such a strong testimony, so even though I'm super sad to say goodbye to Zuster King I'm excited for this next transfer. There will be lots of change but I'm ready for the challenge!

We weren't able to get much done this week because Zuster Walsh got super sick. She started out the week with an awful Cold/Flu thing. Then a couple days ago she got a fever with really bad joint pains... symptoms of Chickun Gun Ya. I feel so bad for her, it's the worst! So we've been stuck inside basically all week. Poor thing, keep her in y'alls prayers! 

But we did get to go out a couple times at the beginning of the week and meet with one of our new investigators Brian. He is hilarious. I contacted him a couple weeks ago... or more like he contacted me. I was riding my bike down the road and he yelled at me from the roof of a house saying "Sister when are you going to come teach me!" I thought he was a crazy drunk guy so I kept riding by but he kept on yelling at me so I just turned around to see if he was legit or not. Well anyway I ended up giving him a book of mormon and setting up a return appointment. And he told me he had a problem smoking weed. So I told him God would help him to stop! 

Anyway so when I went by for our return appointment he said "Zuster Christiansen, I have some good and bad news... Bad news I didn't read out of the book of mormon. Good news I didn't smoke a joint today! :) Haha I was so proud of him. 

Well everything is still good here in Suriname. I love it and absolutely love all the people I am serving here. Oh and Cheniva the girl who worked with me last week while Zuster King was gone got her mission call to Atlanta Georgia! I'm so excited for her. She is going to be an amazing missionary! I love y'all! Have a great week! And don't forget Heavenly Father loves you :)

Liefde, 

Zuster C

Zuster Walsh

Well it's been another crazy awesome week! Zuster King went to French Gyuana to be with the sisters there so I was with one of the members for the week. It was awesome, she helped me so much with my Dutch! And we had a blast doing missionary work together. Her name is Cheniva and she is so excited to go on a mission... she is waiting for her papers to come back. They should come any time, I'm so excited to see where she is gonna go! :) 

We also got a new Zuster this week :) Her name is Zuster Walsh and she is from California and I absolutely love her! So now the 3 of us are going to be together, Zuster King, Zuster Walsh and I! We're going to have so much fun I can hardly wait for this next transfer! Zuster Walsh is allergic to Gluten and Dairy... hahah and we are in a 3rd world country. It's going to be an adventure! But I'm excited to learn how to make lots of Gluten free, dairy free food. I'll keep y'all updated on how that goes! :)

We saw so many miracles this week and met with so many wonderful people. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father thinks I'm worthy enough to help His amazing sons and daughters. And that he keeps placing so many amazing people in my path. We had a lesson with the Kross family. I absolutely love their stinking guts! They are so cute. She is a single mom and she has 3 daughters but she lives with lots of other family so there is always lots of cute little kids running around. Oh and mom I always keep my purse full of that candy you sent me to give to them and they love it :) Anyway so we have had a few lessons with them and they are so awesome about reading the book of mormon. They all have their own and when we show up they come running over to tell us what they read. Even the little kids it's the cutest thing ever. So we had a lesson when them about the plan of salvation and I bore my testimony that I know that God gave us this plan because he loves us and He wants all of His children to return and live with Him. And that's the reason I went on a mission so that I would be able to share this amazing plan with everyone! She loved it and afterwards she said that Zuster King and I are angles and that she wants the happiness and glow that Zuster King and I have. She was so cute and sweet. It made my day.

Oh also this week we did some service at a less active members house. We helped them pull weeds and clear out their yard. Well funny thing about Suriname people, they use Machetes to cut down grass and bushes and trees. So I got to do Gardening work Surinamese Style :) I got to smash bushes with a Machete... it was really fun! :) Haha well it's been an awesome week! I hope you are all staying safe and happy! Love y'all :) Happy Valentines day! <3

Met liefde, 

Zuster C 

Birthday in Suriname

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. This was defiantly a birthday I will never forget! Zuster King's birthday was 2 days before mine so we had lots of fun together! The members were so sweet and totally spoiled us. We went over to one of the members houses and they made us dinner and a cake and everything it was so sweet :) Then we went out to help build a member in our branches house. (We've been helping out every week for the past 2 months now) It's so fun! I love going out there! And they were so sweet they also made us dinner and a cake. It was a really good birthday full of service and love... and now I'm 20... so crazy! haha I feel really old. 

This week the Zone leaders came out with us for a day. The day started out very interesting .. haha one of their bikes broke right when the day started so I just let him use mine and Zuster King and I switched off riding on the back of her bike. At one point I left my helmet somewhere and I didn't want to break the rules and fall off my bike and break my head. So i just stuck a book of mormon on top of my head. Haha so we looked real funny riding around with me on the back of Zuster Kings bike... with a Book of Mormon on my head. I think the elders were embarrassed to be seen with us. But Zuster King and I had a good laugh about it. 

This week we started teaching a family and they are so adorable. The mom is a single mom with 3 daughters. She is the sweetest lady and has the best questions! Last time we visited them we walked up and the mom was sitting on the porch reading the book of mormon. We had left her 2 Nephi 2 to read so she had lots of questions about the plan of salvation. It was so fun teaching her about God's amazing plan for us and how she can be with her beautiful daughters forever. She was so happy and really interested to know more. 

Also this week we met with Shanice and shared the Restoration movie with her. She absolutely loved it! We asked her to write her testimony in the front of a book of mormon and give it to a friend. Then give us their number so we could start teaching them. She is so excited to do it. I love her :) Then after our lesson she told us that every time we come she can feel the spirit super strong and it makes her happy. It was so sweet. We also fasted with her this Sunday and she was fasting that she would be able to feel the Holy Ghost stronger in her life. I love that girl so much she is so amazing! 

I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had on my mission. I've learned so much and I feel the saviors love stronger than I ever have in my whole life. Some days it feels like he is right there beside me. Helping me along the way and guiding me towards those who are ready to accept His gospel. Being a missionary is the best! I love it! Thanks again for all the birthday love. Y'all are the best. Have a great week :)

Love your favorite Zuster Missionary

Shanice gets baptized!

Oh my goodness this has been the best week! Shanice got baptized on Saturday! :) She is so amazing and such a miracle. Her whole story is just evidence that God is preparing people everyday for us to meet. She is so amazing! Her baptismal service was so cute and it was so cool to see how much all the members love her already. Zuster King and I made her a journal to have everyone at the baptism to sign and write down words of advice. And everyone loved it and made her feel so loved and welcomed. I'm so grateful Heavenly Father placed her in my path and that I had the opportunity to bring her the gospel. 

I just know I was sent here to Suriname to find her and that we are going to be best friends for life :) And now I'm pumped to go out there and find more people who are ready like Shanice was. The gospel is so true and brings nothing but happiness and when people realize that for themselves it's like magic. They just change and become better. That's been my favorite part about my mission. Watching the light of Christ change people lives. It really is amazing. 

Sorry the letter is short this week! I love y'all so much and I am so grateful for all the love and support. Love you guys and remember Jesus loves you too :) 

Wanica---Suriname

Another great week here in Suriname! I know I say this all the time, but I really do just love it here so much. Being a missionary is the best! This week I got to go on exchanges for a day with Zuster Johnson out in Wanica. It was so fun to work in another part of Suriname. Wanica is more out in the country so it was fun to see how different it was. The people there were so nice! I was a little sad to leave but super happy to get back to my peeps in my area :) 

The Lord is really blessing us so much right now! Shanice is still super excited to be baptized on Saturday. She is such a miracle and evidence that the Lord is preparing people to hear the gospel. I feel like teaching her is so easy. She understands so much and then the new things she learns she applies to her life right away. We taught her the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy and then that next Sunday she told us she switched her work schedule around so that she wouldn't have to work on Sunday's anymore! Yeah... she's awsome :) 

We also have been teaching this old man, Brother Etnel for a little while now. He comes to church every week and loves the book of mormon but he is super addicted to Cigarettes and he's an alcoholic. But he knows that our church is true and that God will bless him and help him if he keeps the commandments. So this week when we saw him he told us he is going to be baptized March 13. He has the faith that God will bless him and give him the strength to over come his addictions by then. He is so awesome. I love him!

Haha really quick funny thing that happened. Zuster King and I were biking down the road and this guy starts yelling at us "Sisters come pray for me. I'm ready to change and follow God. Sisters come pray for me!" Hahah he was saying this as he was waving a beer in his hand. We told him after he stops drinking we will come by and pray for him. Crazy people gotta love them :)

Thank you so much for all the emails and love y'all send me! Means so much. Live and love life to the fullest and remember that God loves you :)

Met liefde, 

Zuster C

I LOVE IT HERE

I've learned so much since I've been on a mission. I mean I expected before I came that I would learn about the gospel and my testimony would be strengthened and it has so much but I didn't realized I would learn so many other things! Haha everyday is such an adventure and I'm always being pushed outside of my comfort zone so it's kinda cool to think about all the things suriname has taught me. I can fix bike tires and screw on head lights, and pump up my bike tires when they are flat on the side of the road... all in a skirt I might add. That takes skill. I've also become pro at riding my bike with out handle bars. Haha something new me and Zuster king learned the other day was that people like to feed us because they think God will bless them if they do. So sometimes people will have us over and give us a whole bunch of food and make us eat it... Even if I feel like I'm gonna roll over and die because I'm so full. They are so sweet though and just don't want us to starve. I love them! That's something else I've learned, is to really love and serve people. I've given my heart to the people here in Suriname. I love them and hold them close to my heart.I am so grateful Heavenly Father sent me to be with them. They're my family for the next 18 months :)  

It's been such a great week! Heavenly Father really is there and he cares so much and just wants to help us be happy! This past fast Sunday me and Zuster King fasted that we would find someone who would be prepared to be baptized in January. We made it a companionship goal to have a baptism every month that we were together but we didn't have anyone who was ready for the month of January. So we fasted and had the faith that if we were diligent and obedient the Lord would bless us. And he did :) We had a lesson with one of our investigators that we had kinda lost contact with over the Holiday season. We talked about the restoration with her and the spirit was so strong as we were bearing testimony of Jesus Christ and the book of mormon. After that lesson we were able to commit her to a baptismal date for January 31! And she is so excited :) Her name is Shanice and she is 20 and me and Zuster King both know that we were friends with her before this life. And that we had promised each other that we would find her in Suriname and bring her back to the gospel. I love her so much and it's so amazing to see how much the Lord has prepared her for this. 

I am so grateful for the gospel and the light and happiness that it brings into our lives :) I'm so happy that I get to be a missionary and that I can share this happy message with everyone! I hope y'all have a great week! Thanks for all the love! Doei!

Met Liefde, 

Zuster C