June 2025 Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you are all doing well.  We see see some of you once in a while and it is a joy to be able to say hello or wave in passing.  On June 10th we hit our 1-year mark.  In some ways it seems like it has been longer but in other ways it feels as though it has flown by.  I believe it will feel to us like the last stretch will go by very quickly.

Here are a few heart warming and interesting experiences that we have experienced during the past month.

We had a Service Missionary Adviser (SMA) reach out to us to see if we would meet with and consider having one of the missionaries from his district serve with us at Welfare Square.  This missionary has a less functional form of Autism and he also has a neuro problem that affects his fine motor skills and his ability to speak freely.  Elder Bk and his mother Cheryl came by to meet with us.  Elder Bk was so excited to meet with us and to consider serving with us.  We could feel of his desire to serve and he was so very happy.  His SMA said that if it would work for him, we may need to consider him serving for just half-days.  

We took Elder Bk and his mother for a tour around Welfare Square and showed him the things that our missionaries do.  We talked very specifically with him about many of the tasks and asked him if he felt he could learn to do it.  Many of the things we do, he and his mother felt he could learn and accomplish.  In the end, Elder Bk felt he would like to come serve with us and we felt that we would be able to give him meaningful opportunities to serve.

His first day with us was this past week.  On the day of his arrival, he came in early and he was bouncing with joy to serve.  We asked him to stand and introduce himself ... he did and he was more excited to do so than I recall any other missionary while we've been there.  While he is limited in some of the things he can do, and while he may take longer to do some assignments, his heart is huge and his desire will make up the difference.  Oh, and he is serving full days too; not just 4 hours per day.

Here is a message we received from his SMAs after his tour:

Elder & Sister Christensen - You  are both an answer too many prayers!  I received the most encouraging text message from Cheryl a few minutes ago telling me how excited Elder Bk is to start his service with you. 

Please know.....I have taken him to many service sites over the past several months with the hope that he would feel comfortable and want to be there.  Cheryl said that he was literally jumping up and down with excitement after they returned home.....so thank you for being willing to work with him.  He is a wonderful Elder who loves people and wants to serve. 

It is so very rewarding to us to feel like we are doing a good thing, not only for people who come to Welfare Square to receive a hand up but also, and maybe more importantly, for the missionaries that come with a desire to serve and just need a place to be able to do so.  We love serving with these missionaries ... they have such good hearts. 

Our apartment complex has two large gates to the parking area; one on each end of the property.  We have a love/hate relationship with these gates.  Sometimes they read our card to open and sometimes not so well.  When the gates are left open, perhaps due to malfunction, we do a little happy dance.  Last week we arrived at the gate one evening and found that it was closed.  It was nice, however, and read our parking pass promptly and opened for us.  As we drove through the opening a neighbor was near by and was waving for us to stop and roll down the window to talk.  He introduced us to a woman that just moved here from California.  After a brief visit, we started to feel something pushing on our vehicle ... it was the gate.  Ugh, we hadn't driven all the way through and it was now trying to shut on us.  At this point, we felt the only option we had was to pull away while it was pushing on us. 

Well, it did add some scratches to the side of the van ... fortunately no big dents.  Now as we arrive at that gate we jokingly call out "bad gate" but in reality, it was just doing its job ... we are the ones to blame for parking in its' path.

Here are a couple entries Toni made in her journal that we wish to share:

Here is a funny one. At the Bishop’s Storehouse we try to keep an eye on our shopping carts that are slowly dwindling in numbers. Sometimes the homeless use them to hold all of their worldly possessions, or to get their food orders to where they are staying. On Thursday, Eugene spotted one on the side of the road as we were driving to service in the morning. So we went back around the block and I hopped out to push it while Eugene drove slowly alongside of me to keep me safe. It was probably just a half a mile from the store house. We turned down a small quiet street and we saw a beautiful peacock standing in the road with his tail feathers all spread out. As I neared the large bird pushing this noisy cart over the cracks in the sidewalk, the bird was keeping a close eye on me. As I got with in 10 feet away he slowly rotated and stared at me. I didn’t make eye contact but was silently praying, please don’t come after me like a crazy rooster or mad duck.  It was a very good peacock and let me pass in peace.

Another cool thing that happened was I was helping a man with his food order and visiting with him.  I found out he was from Virginia and was a mechanic. He had sold his house and his Harley and bought an old RV. He and his daughter were traveling the roads and stop and help stranded vehicles on their travels. He felt like it was a calling from God, what he was doing. He helps people for free and relies on the kindness of others to do this. He travels with his daughter and his dog. He said they were out of food and money in SLC and had somehow heard about the church assistance. He invites people who helps him to sign his RV, so I went out and wrote. “Toni Christensen - God Loves You.”

He has a facebook page but I didn’t get the name. While we visited in the store I got to explain to him how the Church was able to do this for people, that our congregations fasted once a month for 24 hours and donating the cost of those meals for those in need. He thought it was a marvelous idea.

Another interesting moment two weeks ago. There was a man pushing a small kids scooter with a red sleeping bag attached to the handlebars.  He came into the storehouse.  He sat in the nearest chair and was favoring a shoulder and seemed to be in pain. He was gazing up at the corner of the ceiling and talking quietly to himself.  I asked if I could help him and if he was okay. I had to go over to him to try and hear him. He didn’t have a bishop’s order but I told him we could give him an emergency order that has a few things on it. All he wanted was some milk to fix his shoulder. Unfortunately milk is not on these emergency orders. We can’t alter these orders and can only fulfill what has been pre-authorized for them. One of the things on the order was cheese, so I talked him into taking the order in the hopes that the cheese could help his situation. Our office missionary Elder Little came out and had him sign the paper and he went on his way. The next morning Sister Little wanted me to see the signature. The man had signed his name as GOD. Well I didn’t believe that I had actually helped God, but I remembered when Jesus said, “When you do it unto one of the least of these, you do it unto Me.” Sister Little and I talked about that and we both had to hug each other and shed a few tears. I saw him a few days later with a larger order and he said his shoulder was better.

We like to go to music and the spoken word when our schedule allows it. The last time we went, right after we crossed the intersection, Elder B and his parents snuck up behind us to surprise us. They had arrived at the intersection at just the right time. We entered with them and found a place to sit together. Elder B is a delight. He has special needs and has a difficult time processing language. It’s hard for him to communicate when he is nervous or unsure of the people around him. He usually only gives one or two word answers and can sometimes be hard to understand. We feel special that he is comfortable around us now and is willing to talk with us in his unique way. He is an avid reader and likes to bring a stack or books or church magazines with him to study at the storehouse. We have been asking him if he wants to participate in our morning devotionals at the storehouse. He always just smiles and shakes his head no or says he will think about it. Eugene asked him that day if he would share a spiritual thought or his testimony at devotional. Eugene explained that he could write it down and just read it and Elder B said he would do it.  He had several days to prepare and work up the nerve but he finally did that. We were so proud of him.  He had texted Eugene the night before and said I am so afraid. Would you pray for me. Funny thing was, we had just had a blessing on our dinner and specifically prayed for Elder B to be able to have the courage to do this and He did it. 

It was short and sweet and just perfect. 

Well, we sure do love each and every one of you.  We love the work we are doing and the opportunity to be involved in it for this season of our lives.  We love God, we love our savior Jesus Christ.  We testify that they are real, they live, they know each one of us.  They know of our challenges.  They bless our lives.

May your days ahead be filled with love and peace.

Love Mom & Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, your neighbor and friend, Elder and Sister Christensen.