Oh how i love new york!

From: Corrine Christison
Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 6:11 PM
HERMANAS Y HERMANOS!

oh how i love new york! let me count the ways for you:

1. i love how when we're tracting down the country roads, we have to step over the three-day old roadkill... i think ive passed possum, beaver, and deer. yes it is sad, but it is new york!

2. it rains 5 out of the 7 days of the week and the natives say we're behind on our rain this year! i dont want to see how much it has to rain for us to be on target!

3. there's a hamburger joint in town called "chill n grill" where we went all the visitors for the best ice cream around. they have a map so visitors can put a star where they are from... 50 % of the stars are on utah! :) palmyra truly becomes a mormon town in the summer
time!

4. the palmyra temple is laid out exactly like the raleigh (that is really in apex) temple so everytime i go, i get a taste of good ole north carolina.

okay! thats enough! truly though, new york is growing on me more and more and i know that it is because when you truly serve people, you grow to love them. i wanted to share a testimony building experience i had this week. one of our investigators named ian told us
"since you ladies have been coming, i feel like ive moved from that kid in the back of the classroom to the front of the room"..... tender i know! but truly, when our relationship grows, when we better realize that we are not just one in the 6 trillion billion people that have come
to the earth but that we are a daughter or son of god-- we feel more special. we are more able to feel HIS LOVE in our life and thus, we will strive to do his will. the best way i have found to feel closer to my father in heaven, to feel my relationship with God growing is through
prayer. let us strive to say more meaningful prayers... just as if we were talking on the telephone to
our father who we havent seen in a long time! i
promise that if you can strive to do this, your relationship
with your father in heaven will strengthen and his love will
be more abundant in your life! prayer- it works!

sister christison

Daddy Email - 5/31/09

hey daddy,

i wanted to share with you the letter our assistants to the presidents just sent us. so bear with me!

"we have moments of great joy but also times of great sorrow and disappointment.  this is an essential part of our mortal existence. we can exprect our faith to be tried and disappointments to come. those times, however, "need not lead to discouragement," because we can also expect miracles and great joy.  by definition, to discourage is to deprive of confidence and the ability to conquer fear or despair.  discouragement causes us to lose focus, motivation, and the desire to obey. it weakens our fatih and brings with it greater difficulty in feeling and following the spirit.  the reasons it comes are varied.. it comes from missed expectations, from comparing ourselves to others and feeling that we dont meausre up.  often, it comes from doubt, thoughts like "i dont know if i can do this"... sometimes discouragement seems to come uninvited and withou reason, even when all is going well.  nevertheless, it comes. how is it overcome? ... discouragement is overcome by choosing faith "even when the mist of darkness confromnting us is exceedingly great".  when these time of disappointment come, to "maintain a vision of who we are and what we are doing," and to "continue to diligently move forward".  we must also plead for the strenth, desire, and guidance we need.  it is our testimony that we cannot comprehend the joy that awaits us for "as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which god hath prepared for them that love him".

so dad, when disappointment comes, we must choose FAITH, remember who we are- that we are SONS and DAUGHTERS of a LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER and then PRAY for the STRENGTH to continue on

i love you sooooooooo much!

sister kiddo

Corrine Mass Email - 5/20/09

> Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 12:03 PM

> HERMANAS Y HERMANOS!
>
> so im not a spanish speaking missionary but i got the
> chance to invite someone, well, kind of invite him, to read
> the book of mormon in spanish!  it was a rush thats for
> sure!!  anyways, i'm telling y'all right now that im
> falling in love with the country (and i thought i was a city
> girl!)  but spring has just come into full bloom and
> the rolling fields here in palmyra are just
> GORGEOUS!!!  i'll take a picture and send it
> sometime... just so you can see the beauty!
>
> we had stake conference last sunday.  elder robert d.
> hales spoke a little bit about the sacrament.  he said
> that in the sacrament prayer it says: "to always remember
> him..." elder hales pointed out that in order to remember
> something, we first must experience it or know it.  so,
> in order to remember christ and his atonement during the
> sacrament, we must first know him and experience the effects
> of the atonement in our lives!  so next week, as you
> all are sitting church, strive to REMEMBER the savior--
> recall how you felt his love this past week, reflect on what
> you learned about him, etc.  not only will your sundays
> become more spirit-filled but your life will be richly
> blessed, i can promise you that!!  blessed how you may
> ask? well, elder porter (also at stake conference) said "the
> fruits of the spirit are JOY BEYOND EXPRESSION and DEEP
> INNER PEACE THAT IS BEYOND UNDERSTANDING"... sound good to
> anyone?  it does to me!
>
> i hope all of you are having a great week!
> sister christison
>
> ps.  every week we have a site meeting where all the
> senior couples and young sisters who are working at the
> historical sites get together.  a couple of weeks ago,
> one senior sister told of an experience she had at the book
> of mormon publication site where a boy asked: "why didn't
> jesus christ waitl till the computer age to print the book
> of mormon?" (prompted of course by just learning about the
> old fashioned printing presses) . so she is relating this
> story when another senior elder raised his hand. he says: "
> the lord wanted the gospel to be restored by a prophet, not
> a computer nerd"
> ** an apology goes out to all the computer nerds reading
> this... i think you're right up there with a prophet in
> terms of importance!

Corrine Mass Email.. 5/27/09.

> From: Corrine Christison
> Subject: mass email part 2
> Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 1:47 PM
> sorry for another email but i forgot
> a story that i thought might bring a smile to someone's
> face...it sure did to mine!
>
> my companion and i were tracting a trailer park on memorial
> day. we havent been having any success and we
> get to this door. we knock... no answer. so we knock
> again.... no answer. we were about to leave when
> finally an man in his 50-60s opened the door. the
> funny/shocking/awkward part of his opening the door was that
> he was in nothing but his grey underwear! AH! he
> looked at us and said "im in my underwear so i dont think
> i'll talk to you" and shut the door!
>
> just a little taste of new york and how sometimes, i feel
> like i really am in a foreign country!
>
> :)
>
> sister christison

Corrine. Mass Email - 5/14/09

--- On Thu, 5/14/09, Corrine Christison wrote:

> From: Corrine Christison

> Subject: mass email

> Date: Thursday, May 14, 2009, 12:41 PM

> HERMANAS Y HERMANOS!

>

> i hope all you mothers out there had a happy mothers day!

> life as a missionary just seems to role on but exciting news

> is that one of our investigators named sambo read all of the

> book of alma in about two weeks!  i love it, even if it

> makes me look bad cause i just barely finished jacob. :)

>

> i made it a goal to read the whole doctrine and covenants

> so ive been trying to find a little time each day to read a

> section or two and oh, it is such an amazing book of

> scripture!  how grateful i am for modern

> revelation!  anyways, there is a scripture that my

> companion and i used in a lesson this week --D&C

> 78:17-19.  naturally, since then, its been on my

> mind.  i would like to quote it for you:

> "verily, verily, i say unto you, ye are little children,

> and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the

> father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

>

> and ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good

> cheer, for i will lead you laong. the kingdom is yours and

> the blessings thereof are yours, andt he riches of eternity

> are yours.

>

> and he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be

> made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added

> unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

>

> WOW! lots of good stuff huh?!?! instead of picking

> something specific out for y'all to think about- i want you

> to read it over again and find something that sticks out to

> you, and then find some way to apply it to your life. 

> for example, we shared with scripture with our investigator

> to show the importance of being grateful- the lord promises

> us to give us blessings, even 100 fold what we wouldve

> received!  i also love the line "ye arel ittle

> children"...and how are little children supposed to act?

> might want to look at mosiah 3:19 and pick something to work

> on.  and if something else besides those two examples

> stick out to you-  its okay!  work on it! 

> ive seen such blessings here on the mission as i strive to

> become more like my savior, i got a long way to go but we

> make leaps instead of steps when we involve the atonement in

> working on our weaknesses.

>

> this is my testimony! i love you all and hope ya know,

> you're in my prayers every night... yes, i mean all of you!

>

> sister christison

Corrine. Mass Email 4/29/09

--- On Wed, 4/29/09, Corrine Christison wrote:

> From: Corrine Christison

> Subject: mass email

> To: tc8lunch@yahoo.com

> Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 6:48 PM

> HERMANAS Y HERMANOS!

>

> spring has sprung in new york!!! the sacred grove has never

> looked more beautiful than when the trees are starting to

> bud and the flowers are opening their petals!  i think

> spring has become my favorite season.  what a marvelous

> example our mother earth sets for each of us in that each

> year, she takes the time to renew herself and make herself

> beautiful again (i think heavenly father did that on

> purpose!).  yes, i know we already have the spring cleaning

> where we throw out old clothes, do a massive cleaning of the

> house, etc but do we do a spiritual spring cleaning?  crazy?

> i think not!  i read a quote by president eyring this week

> that said: "never think you have been taught enough,

> that you have listened long enough, that now it's your turn and

> time to rest"  what if mother earth decided she had

> renewed long enough and she just wanted to take a rest this

> time.  i know i wouldnt be happy with a year long winter

> (especially if it is a new york winter!)  so,  what are we

> going to renew this year?  what are we going to weed out?

> what petals are we going to open up to the world to make it

> just that more beautiful?  think about it.  then do it!

>

> love y'all!

> sister christison

Daddy.. 4/29/09

from Corrine Christison m

date Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 6:41 PM

subject daddy!

DADDY!!!

i wont have time to hand write too many letters this week so i thought i would just send you a quick email!

i love you and hope that you are having a wonderful time down there in north carolina! its finally warming up here and its becoming springtime!!  we go running every morning down to the sacred grove and walk through it. everyday it gets greener and greener.  it is amazing to me how our father in heaven, through his son, created an earth which renews itself every year. we can take such an example from mother earth in that this spring season, we can take the opportunity to renew ourselves and our covenants.  i spend my time teaching non members about the covenants made at baptism, and in the temples and i get the opportunity to strengthen members testimonies of those covenants theyve already made.  so father of mine, i would encourage you to think about those covenants you made at baptism those many years ago, you covenanted to (as told to us in d&c 20) take up on you the name of christ, repent of all your sins, have a determination to serve him to the end, and to manifest by your works that you have recieved that witness by the holy ghost.  i know that you turly were willing to do all those things when you decided to be baptized.  and im so glad that you have such a strong testimony because i will never forget the first christmas we spent with you after you moved out and you said " i never want you kids to doubt that i dont know this church is true" i know you know that it is true and that has been such an anchor to me to hold on to.  but, life gets hard doesnt it? it isnt always perfect and we are promised in helaman 5:12 that "WHEN (notice it doesnt say if) the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, WHEN all his hail and his might storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall".  that rock is our savior and the best way to continually build that foundation on him is to remember those covenants we made to him and strive to keep them!

love you and cant wait to talk to you in less than two weeks! YAY!

sis c