I had a goal to work on brevity (brief is beautiful), but this week´s email will not permit it, so skim or endure!
Here in Peru they are not distracted with Cadbury chocolate eggs and Easter egg hunts. They focus on “La semana Santa” (holy week). They eat chonta, a plant that looks like fettucine and fish (prices triple or quadruple for Easter). Everyone watches movies from the Bible and on the Savior that they show on the normal stations of TV, and the Catholic church has processions in the streets (we didn’t get to see any, though). The Peruvians have a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. It was neat to see their religious focus this week. Easter was special.
From the General Conference I was impressed with the emphasis on Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, the importance of teaching the gospel (especially the youth) in the home, and the importance of learning how to love more and be more obedient every day. More than what I learned intellectually was the powerful spirit that I felt at the Conference. I was impressed at how reverent the Peruvians were (with 7 wards combined together in one stake center and a lot of little kids, that is no small feat). Every time they mentioned the Haitian earthquake I thought, “Karen and Adam and Bishop Dort are watching this same conference.” I was happy to learn of the Church’s response to help the Haitians with shelter, water, food, etc.
Hna. Duarte and I were excited to see Rosa and Romer at the Conference. Rosa told us that her husband, Romer, was so excited to go to church (his first time). He woke up and told Rosa, “We are going to Church today, right?” Then, every hour he would look at the clock until it was time to go, so that they could leave on time. This couple was married in December (Rosa is a member and Romer is not) and have made a lot of important changes in their lives. We celebrated Rosa’s birthday after the conference with a “birthday cake” made out of cookies, and they told us about their Conference experience. They felt the Spirit, and Rosa told us, “We are going to go to church every Sunday.” The power of the Holy Ghost in changing people’s hearts and giving them the desire to draw closer to God is real.
We noticed that all of the members (and the missionaries, too) left edified and happy. There was a lot more love in the air and people were sharing and showing more love and courtesy to each other. The power of the Spirit. I, too, left the Conference with more faith in Jesus Christ and happiness and love.
Hermana Duarte and I will stay here in Iquitos for another transfer! We didn’t know where we would go, because 7 sister missionaries go home this Wednesday (including my beloved companion Hna. Tepen). We are happy because we are friends, we have so many plans for this ward and we are emotionally attached to the people here. It really is a privilege to serve here in “the selva” (the jungle). I was pretty discouraged in Lima, because we were not having success, because we were mostly contacting and not working with the members (note, obedience is the key to success). Here, we are having more success and I am a lot more happy! Thanks for your letters and for keeping me in your prayers.
Love, Hna. Christensen
Highlights from General Conference (translated from Spanish to English)
1. The purpose of every lesson, activity, law, principle, belief, talk, sacrament meeting, and ordinance in the Church is with the purpose of helping the family to be happy at home (the perfection of the person and the happiness of the family). –Boyd K. Packer
2. God forgives us, with the condition that we forgive others. –Keith B. McMullin
3. Happiness and joy is not a product of circumstances, but a reflection of our joy in Christ. If we increase our faith in Christ, we increase our hope in life. –Wilford W. Anderson
4. The Church is here to help, but it is in the home where we should teach the gospel, by precept and by example. –M. Russell Ballard
5. The scriptures remind us of God and our relationship with Him and the Savior….Before the translation of the Bible (and the widespread distribution, thanks to the Guttenburg press), people were ignorant because they didn`t have access, but now people are still ignorant of the scriptures, because they don’t read them! –Todd Christofferson
6. Sometimes we don’t keep the commandments because we don’t think they apply to us, they aren’t important, or they are difficult. We justify ourselves by thinking, “God understands my personal circumstances and why I can’t obey this time.” No! When the Lord commands, do it! --Bruce Carlson
7. Christ’s strongest words were against the Pharisees, the “members of the Church” at the time who judged and condemned others for not living the commandments. ..We need to recognize that every soul has worth and that every person walks their own difficult path. We are here to help and heal others and not to condemn. Our baptismal covenant is to “mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah). –Dieter F. Uchtdorf
[Note from Carol Christensen, Susan's mom: www.lds.org indicates that it will have the full text of the talks from General Conference on Thursday.]
