March 8, 2021

(no subject) Jana Christensen Mon, Mar 8, 2021, 1:19 PM to Joseph Hello you beautiful missionary. I’m so excited to be able to connect with you today. How is everything? How are you settling into the new area, new companion, new responsibilities? I really want to hear the details of how everything is going. You always sound so positive and have so much great energy. I hope you know that you’re doing so much good over here as well. Your letters and your spirit and your testimony and your gratitude touch a lot of people. It has been a fun week around here. I started the seminary program and that’s always weird to go into a place where you know you were going to be judged. They have to judge you. And a place where I have to define myself and my whole life and try to present myself as an emissary for the Lord. I’m sure that you don’t know anything about all of that :-). I will have two more classes, and then have a peer to peer teaching experience, and if I am selected after that I will teach two days in the seminary, and then if I pass that threshold I’ll be invited to student teach next year at a real life seminary. From that point I can student teach until I am hired or student teach until I am never hired either of those are options. I was feeling I’ll kinds of crazy about it all and then I just landed in a place where “I really just want to help Jesus.” That statement and that feeling has felt so good and I just want to help him and if he wants me to be a Walmart greeter or a crossing guard or a bus driver then I’ll do that with all of my heart. If he wants me to be a seminary teacher then I’ll do that with all of my heart. For some reason that surrender and yielding my will to my heavenly father and the Savior and just giving up all of the worry about it just throwing it all away and handing my life to them, hoping it’s an asset and not a liability :-), has felt very peaceful and wonderful. I feel like I can just go teach and do my best and just try to discover where the Lord wants me to labor in his vineyard. I know that you know our incredible news. I feel over the moon with joy. I cannot describe in words how excited I am. There is nothing better in this whole entire world than that. Everybody’s doing great. We had everyone over for fast Sunday dinner yesterday and your paintings are back on the wall but apparently I had them in the wrong order and Bekah fixed them mighty quick. Mckay is looking for an internship, Lydia is graduating April 23, coil and Becca are looking for a new car, and other things, Spencer Roger is starting a new business with additives for the Compost and he is so excited and he’s been packing the additive bags and we sold her first one on Saturday, we also met the most eccentric guy in the world and bought worms from him in downtown Salt Lake. That was pretty fun. Annie is stressed. I really don’t know how to help her. Did you know Darrell Hunt’s mother Grandma Fay passed away? Vilate and Joseph are moving to Africa today! I bet Nate will be moved in when you get home! You can help Jeni and Smitty finish! We bought WORMS!! I have some pretty awful news too. Eli’s girlfriend is a pathological liar. She never had cancer. She has lied about or embellished almost everything. It’s SO SAD. He found out this week. HARD. Angie and Evan have made so many sacrifices and their kids have made so many sacrifices to protect this disease that she didn’t even have and given up so much. I ache for Eli. Very difficult. So sorry to bear this news. It’s like a death. The girl he thought he loved and would likely marry doesn’t exist. She is dead. He has to go through all the stages of death. Yucky place to end this letter, But we all have problems and we all are the material that the Savior sacrificed for. We all need him and the good news is that he is there. 100%. We watched Elder Holland‘s roots tech presentation yesterday and it was so sweet. I just felt so cheered and happy and in love with life after watching it. Heavenly father in Jesus really are so aware of us and what custom design our lives if we will let them. Have you been able to watch that? When the missionaries came over yesterday they watched the prince of peace with us and it was so beautiful are you using that movie? It’s from 2017. We had a really really sweet moment yesterday. Nate and the kids were visiting and Levi picked up Sethie’s phone and said “hi Lewis I love you Lewis.” I love you buddy can’t wait to talk to you today