Elder Sam Christensen

Sam sent the following email & photos on Sunday, August 9, 2015:

From: Samuel Christensen <samuel.christensen@myldsmail.net>

Subject:

Date: August 9, 2015 10:46:51 PM MDT

What's up guys!

So the bad news of this week is that Lookpu Pan passed away. We got a call last week during email saying that he was pretty much dead and to go see him. We went over there and he was still alive. He'd fallen off his bed and gotten pretty bad, but they'd dressed him in a suit and shoes and stuff: the burial clothes. He was still alive and they were preparing for his death and funeral. We gave him a blessing. He didn't die that day, his condition got better the next day, and even better the third day. He ended up dying on Friday night at like midnight, and I think it was due to malnutrition. They didn't feed him enough food and they never called a doctor to help him or took him to the hospital. We did all we could and gave them Ensures and I don't think they really used too much of them. They were ready for him to go. I only knew the guy for 3 months since I've been here, but we figure I've been to his house to visit him between 50-60 times, so we got to know him pretty well. We didn't think we'd be visiting him for the last 3 months of his life because we weren't expecting him to die. He was only 60, but that's what happened. Sometimes during it it felt like it would never end, like we would do it forever. But I'm really glad that we did it and helped him exercise and were just friends with him because it definitely lifted him and made the last three months of his life more enjoyable. It gave him something to look forward to.

Piano class is still going. I've got a few people who are regulars, and then some swingers. But it's exciting because they're really learning, and they're excited to learn. I'll need to start going out of a book soon, but for now we've been doing a lot of rhythm. I'm teaching on Mondays and Saturdays. The last rhythm we clapped on Saturday they figured out how to do it and it probably seemed like just a boring old rhythm, but they were excited when I plunked the rhythm on the piano as they clapped and I played the notes and it was the first line of the Spirit of God. So it's coming for them and they were excited for it.

I got to have my first interview with President. It was a little shorter because he was running behind. Totally different from President Moon, but very smart and capable just the same. He says that there are several reasons why missionaries find happiness in their missions. 2 of which he named as service and discipline. It's cause I told him how when I go home I think I'll feel like everything I do doesn't have purpose; like you're just doing stuff for yourself. He said he felt that way when he first got home. But he said that getting married and raising a family is back like in the mission field.

We had our Zone Training on Friday. We've got a good zone. Our results from last month were really positive and we exceeded 2/4 of our goals and were very close on the others. These guys should be proud because we set difficult but realistic goals and we achieved them, which previously didn't happen much.

We've gotten a few new investigators, but they don't seem great, so we continue to try and find some really good ones. Some we need to drop. As one guy said at the zone conference, this work isn't just Moneyball. We focus a lot on the stats, but in the end it's kind of out of our hands and in the Lords, so we just do what we can.

We're having a fun time. Good luck with everything going on at home. Miss and love you all!