Hola familia y amigos!
I went to the temple for the first time in 10 months! While I was there, I saw a woman that was in my ward in Iquitos. (These people save up their whole lives to spend 6 days in boat and 3 days driving to arrive at the temple.) What a happy surprise! I was so happy to go to the temple and although tired, I felt so content to be there. After the temple, we went to McDonalds as a zone. (Fortunately, they ran out of chicken, so we went to a different restaurant to buy chicken and french fries.)
I am writing a ton of letters to Iquitos and sending little packages to my companions, because everything is so much more expensive in Iquitos. My former comp. Hna Reyes is still there in Iquitos. Hna. Nina is making preparations to end her misión in a few weeks and we are all sad and trunky (yes, this word exists in Spanish misión lingo) for her. Hna. Avalos is new but so capable and learns so quickly. Her mom is coming up from Arequipa this week to attend the temple. We all have our moments, but we get along great.
We had two wards, Jardines and Carabayllo, and were working more in Carabayllo when we found out that now we only have Jardines. We were sad because we have people progressing toward baptism in Carabayllo and we feel like we don’t have anyone in Jardines. It means that we can focus on Jardines more and focus on the people that can progress here. It means we will be really buff, too, because it is pure hills-mountains here.
We have to work hard here to gain the confidence of the ward. They felt a little neglected because we were spending more time in Carabayllo; so we have to redouble our efforts here. Now I understand how parents feel. How do you spend more time and attention on the child who needs more time without having the other child feel left out or jealous? Hmm….
Olga, 21, has a testimony of the Church and of the Book of Mormon and is going to be baptized this Saturday. We had been teaching her and read 3 Nephi 11 together and felt the Spirit really strongly as we testified of Jesus Christ. Wow. We were freezing cold as we taught her outside, but it is totally worth it. I felt a connection to her, not just because she has the same name as my grandma and great-grandma but also because we have about the same age. We love her and were sad, because she is in Barrio Carabayllo, and we will only be in Jardines.
The Relief Society joined us in a fast for missionary work, and we are following up with them and teaching them how they can share the góspel with their friends and families. We are having fun, too, as they are accompanying us. We have much to improve and have goals to do so.
Lots of love,
Hermana Christensen
