March 27, 2016  Easter Sunday

Happy Easter to you all.   We are enjoying this beautiful day in Eastern Tennessee.  We have had a very busy 2 weeks.  Last weekend Megan and Justin and their family came to visit us in Knoxville.  We had such a nice weekend with them.  On Friday afternoon we played in the local Farragut Park (a very nice park close to the Mission Office).  Of course, all the kids got wet in the small stream, Turkey Creek, that runs through the park.  They made aluminum foil boats and floated the down the creek.  On Saturday we all went to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, which is about a hour east of Knoxville.  It is a nice theme park that is somewhat like Disneyland.  We all went to Church together on Sunday and then they had to leave on Monday.

            That wasn’t enough fun so Susan and her boys came to visit us this weekend.  They came in late on Thursday night.  I needed to go to Kingsport for a Zone Conference on Friday so Susan and the boys got to play with Grandma on Friday.  We all went down to Chattanooga on Saturday to visit the Tennessee Aquarium there.  It was so good.  The boys got to pet stingrays and see an otter show.  We had a great day at Church today.  Susan was able to see a few people she knew from when she lived here in Knoxville a few years back.  We have one more day and then Susan has to go back to New York.

            I know it doesn’t sound like we’ve been doing much missionary work but we really have.  The work is good.  We were able to show the Easter initiative video, Hallelujah, to our neighbors the Swensons.  We had met them through their interest in my car.  We gave them a ride in it one Saturday but them we followed up with another visit.  We have made several new friends and are striving to set a good example for them.

            Cecile and I have been assigned to be assistants to the President over the Senior Couples in the mission.  We are to watch out for the morale of the couples and plan occasional activities.  In a couple of weeks we are going to Chattanooga to visit some historical sites (one of them is where a Mormon missionary was killed in northern Georgia in the late 1800s).  Another of the sites is where the Church meets for the YSA Branch called the Brabson House.  It is a Civil  War era home of a Tennessee congressman named Brabson.  The building has been renovated and the Church leases it now.  We are enjoying our contact with the other Senior Couples in and out of the mission office.  We love you all.     Elder and Sister Christensen.