Old Stomping Ground

HERROW!

The big news here is that I'm being transferred! To.... guess where?!?! DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO! AGAINNNNN!!!! Hahahaha! I didn't think I was going anywhere cause if you get released as a Zone Leader you usually get called in the morning by President Wade... but I didn't get a call... and then at night when the Assistants called us they were like "Elder Christensen has been transferred to be the Zone Leader in the San Francisco West Zone..." I was like... "wat? Engrish?!" And then they were like "also President Wade's made kind of a fun change in the San Francisco West Zone, now it's a Chinese speaking area in downtown San Francisco." Hahaha. I am actually really excited to go back though because they recently started a new Chinese group in downtown San Francisco in the middle of Chinatown. So basically it's going to be great to work with all the people who were baptized while I was serving there and help lots of people get reactivated since I think most people in downtown San Francisco were just unable to attend church because of how dang far away it was in Sunset. But now they have no excuse not to come since it's A) Only Sacrament Meeting! and B) Right in the most convenient location ever. It's apparently held in the place where they teach a new English Class there in the An Lao Zi Zhu Chu right through the tunnel as you head into Chinatown. I'll still be senior companion and my new companion is Elder Brown who I knew in Oakland so that should be good. I'm excited to get to work and really help the group there grow like crazy. I have the feeling that we can really just baptize tons of people and get a branch going in no time. Apparently they already have about 25-30 people who attend the group on Sundays including the OuYang family and the Tan family (formerly very less active).

President Wade is so inspired. Ever since I heard about the new English class and Sacrament Meeting services in San Francisco downtown I really wanted to go back and get involved... but I always thought it would not be possible. So awesome though. ALSO, since we're Zone Leaders, we have a car now. A brand new Toyota Corolla. But we'll also still keep our bus passes... so basically when it's inconvenient to use a car, we can take the bus and when the bus is inconvenient, we can drive. Win win. However the best part is that Elder Luo is going to be in my district as district leader AND since he's going to be training for the last transfer of his mission, and his new companion will be 2 weeks late into the field, he's going to be in a tri-panionship with Elder Brown and I for the first 2 weeks hahahaha. So basically this will be my 3rd time becoming companions with Elder Luo. So that's what's new on the missionary front. Pretty exciting.

Apparently, aside from the OuYang family beginning to attend church, Ying Meng is still super active and awesome in the group there and Sister Zheng, who has been inactive because church is so far away, will definitely have loads of potential to start coming every week since it's so near her house. Basically salvation for everyone! I'm excited to go back to the area. It'll probably be pretty weird though... plus i'm a little sad to be leaving so many awesome members behind. Fortunately, one of them is treating our whole district to lunch at their restaurant and then another member is taking Elder Wu, Albretson, Lee, and I to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse... so basically I will not be hungry today. In fact very likely quite the opposite ha.

Anyways, I hope you are having a wonderful birthday. Sounds like you had quite the crazy bike odyssey over the weekend. And for dad, a crazy Taiwanese arrested woman odyssey in Kansas City. I hope they don't arrest you just out of spite when you move there next year... just try to play a low profile and blame everything on your subordinates dad. Better them than you! Right?!

Love you! Hope you have a great week! Next email I send will very possibly be from a library or apple store in San Francisco!

Bai bai!

-Ian