We certainly enjoyed the visit from Gregg and Barbara this past week. We had to say good-bye to them on Dec. 6th. We did a lot of fun things together. Last Monday evening we went to Pigeon Forge, TN to take in the Dixie Stampede. It is a fun "indoor rodeo" with a dinner served while you watch the program. Because it's Christmas-time we enjoyed their Christmas program. In the South they are not afraid to talk of Christ. As part of the program they had a live NATIVITY with a real angel coming down from the ceiling, real camels for the wise men, and live sheep, goats, and donkeys for the shepherds. It was fun and I think that Gregg and Barbara enjoyed it. There is also rodeo-type activities like barrel racing and pig races and chicken races. The dinner is a cornish game hen with potatoes and a cup of soup. They don't give you any utensils and you eat everything with your fingers. They do provide wet-wipes for your fingers. It's kind of fun. I think we talked about the outing to the Broadway show "Cinderella"at the Tennessee Theater in downtown Knoxville and our tour of the Biltmore Estate last week. It was sad to have it all end but we do have missionary work to do!
This weekend we enjoyed Stake Conference with Elder Nielson of the Seventy as visiting authority. Our Stake President emphasized the need for us to attend the Temple, do family history work, and do missionary work. Elder Nielson emphasized that we shouldn't be dwelling on the negative things in the world. There have always been bad things going. We need to realize that in the Church things have never been better! The Church is bigger and growing faster with more Temples than ever before. We should be positive in our thinking and concentrate on our membership in the Church and be thankful for this.
I went to get my haircut this week. My barber is not a member of the Church and I have been working with him. He is a very nice man, probably in his 50's. I asked him if he had read any of the Book of Mormon that I gave him. He said he has been reading and enjoying it. I asked him if he would ever like to have the missionaries teach him. He said he thought he would like it. I am going to try to work on this after the first of the year. Cecile has her investigators too. She is working with a lady who runs a framing and art shop.
This next couple of days we will be having mission conferences with Elder Nielson touring the Mission. I will be doing some travel tomorrow to the Kingsport area (Cecile is staying back in the Mission Office). Tomorrow we will be having the Mission Conference here in Knoxville for the other half of the mission. Cecile and I will attend together then. We are so glad to be able to serve a mission. We are having such great experiences because we are meeting so many wonderful people where ever we go. We will miss our family and home at Christmas-time, our second one away, but we are surely blessed to have this time away from home.
The wildfires in Gatlinburg are big in the news lately. They are close to us and we have been able to smell the smoke but we and all our missionaries are safe. However the death toll is up to 14 now. The Dixie Stampede is close to Gatlinburg but not up in the mountains quite as far. We wondered if they would still have the Dixie Stampede program because of the fires but they went ahead with it. What a tragedy this fire has been.
We love you all and wish you a safe and happy Christmas Season.
Love, Elder and Sister Christensen, Tennessee Knoxville Mission (TKM)
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| Ward Christmas Party |
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| This is Brother Jim Dunn, I mean Santa. His whiskers are real! |
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| Having dinner at the Dixie Stampede |
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| Cecile relaxing at the Mission Storage Unit. We gave this furniture to a new family in our Ward from Venezuela |
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