Shout outs this week: Happy birthday to my sister Lisa (Feb. 9)! I love you! Congratulations to my friends Kay and Ernie Wilkins, who are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary this Valentine’s Day (Sunday). I love you, too!
We are happy in our new area. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone again, but this tiny city of mine (Iquitos) in the jungle has 1 million people! There are a couple of houses built out of wood on poles, for when the tide comes in, and a couple of houses with thatched roofs, but we live in a city with paved roads, internet cafes, and ice cream vendors on bicycles. Sorry to disappoint everyone. However, the threat of dengue is real, and we only have water in the morning for a couple of hours. That’s kind of adventurish, no?We have the support of the Bishop and of the members, which makes all the difference. They know that we are here to work with them and support them in their plans, and help them in their responsibilities.
Retention here is a huge problem. In our ward there are 300 baptized young single adults, and only 7 that are active. Ouch! Part of the problem is that former missionaries taught and baptized young people. When the missionaries left, the young people didn’t have any friends in the church. They would enter in the front door and leave out the back. They would attend their baptism and confirmation and never come back to church. Hna. Tepen and I have the same philosophy---we don’t want baptisms, we want real conversions. We don’t baptize little kids that don’t have the support of their parents and won’t be able to progress and keep their baptismal covenants.
Hna. Tepen is the best, because she is making me learn the streets and how to find the houses of the members. Also, I never liked making street contacts in Lima, because I wasn’t good at them and the people rejected us. However, we have found many good people here that accept appointments with the missionaries. This motivates me to contact people and it strengthens my faith that the Lord puts people that are prepared in our path when we do our part and open our mouths.
Hna. Tepen is a powerhouse missionary. She is so humble and so experienced, and she is teaching me so much every day and motivating me to be the best I can be. We have so much unity and I want to cry when I think that we only have 3 weeks left together (she is finishing her mission, probably in Lima). When we teach together, we both feel the Spirit so powerfully, testifying that these things are true. We know that the investigators can feel the same Spirit. It is heavenly.
However, I’m afraid that I have corrupted her by teaching her English slang, such as “ you’re da bomb”, “your face” and “Oh, brother.” I had forgotten that I had taught her these things. Once, she said, “Oh, brother” and rolled her eyes and I stopped and stared at her. “Who taught you that?” I demanded (I was kidding). “You did,” she told me. “I don’t think so. I think one of your other companions taught you that.” Now I have a sassy teenager on my hands. We joke around a lot, which is a lot of fun. We work diligently together and I learned that missionary work is work, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Keep the commandments, but only if you want to be happy and want God to bless you.
Hermana Christensen
