Shout outs and happy birthday to my sister, Jennifer! Also, I hope that my family is feeling better. Make sure you take time to sleep and to wash your hands!
The adventure of the week:
On Saturday I stopped a man on the street who was walking his dog and asked about his puppy. He proudly told me “His name is Funky.” I told him, “Well, you are invited to our church services on Sunday, but unfortunately, Funky is not.” You will appreciate this vignette as you read the next story.
On Sunday we went to accompany our friends, the Zabaleta family and our investigators Lupe and Angie to church (there was a gaggle of 10 of us). Apparently, their pet dog wanted to come to church too, as it (not to my knowledge) climbed into the bus, too. Imagine that you are sitting in the chapel in sacrament meeting, and 35 minutes into the meeting, groups of 3-5 kids come in, looking for a place to sit. And, the dog comes running into the chapel, too. Fortunately, there wasn´t enough space in the chapel for Hna. Flores and I to sit, so we stayed outside the rest of the meeting. We didn´t have to claim affiliation or responsibility for the dog by showing our faces. I was as red in the face as the shirt I was wearing!
We met an amazing couple, Sara and Juan. Usually missionaries stop people on the street to talk with them, but this time, the couple stopped us to talk with us. They asked us if we were espanola (from Spain) and struck up a conversation. Apparently, Juan is from Spain and his wife is from Lima. She teaches flamenco dancing (yes, I have to learn one Preparation day). Now, we are teaching them the gospel and they are attending church. They have so many questions and really want to learn. Juan always pounds his fist and says things like, “Soy rebelde!” or “Soy cabezon” (translated: “I’m a rebel!” “I’m a thinker”). The funny thing is that he is not a rebel, but I don’t have the heart to tell him that as that would dampen his spirit. I just want to tell him, “You rebel, you!”
Something I stress is to be a cabezon, or a thinker. You cannot just accept everything that is told to you. You have to ask questions and study things out in your mind, study the scriptures and pray and meditate. However, being a thinker isn´t the same as being a doubter. Doubters ask questions but don’t seek out the answers because they don´t know how to find them or think that there are no answers to the questions they have. That is not faith. There are answers to the questions we have. I remember something my dad always said, “Too many people say that they know the gospel is true, but they don´t know the gospel.” (And, I would add, the real challenge is to live more of what we know to be true). The scriptures have the answers to the questions that we all have. Let´s read them!
Love, Hna. Christensen
