Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Parting Experiences and Thoughts
Dear family and friends,
If you haven’t heard the news, I am going home tonight and I arrive on Tuesday. I am finishing the mission. I think I have cried more in this week than in my whole life put together. This week was filled with really special moments. On Monday the ward threw a goodbye party. On Thursday I bid farewell (I don’t believe in “goodbyes” but in “see you later”s) to my beloved companion, Hna. Rodriguez, our pensionista, Vikky and her family, and our zone (we are such a close group, I consider it a family). Hna. Rodriguez will stay in a trio of sisters until she gets her new companion. She will be transferred to a new area, so she has to say goodbye as well. We are such good friends that I imagine it will be hard at first to adjust to the separation.
On Thursday I flew back to Lima and was greeted by the Hna. Alcalde, my “granddaughter” (I trained the Hna. Avalos and Hna. Avalos trained the Hna. Alcalde). It is so special, and she and I are companions for my last four days. Heavenly Father is so good and knows exactly who needs to be together. She leaves for Mexico on Tuesday, exactly 7 hours after I leave for the airport.
Together we went to the temple with President and Hermana Blunck and the other missionaries who are finishing the mission, had a final interview in the mission home, went to dinner, saw a beautiful slide show (complete with the not-so-subtle clip from General Conference counseling us to get married at the end of the slide show!) and went afterwards to a water and lights show.
We also visited my converts, Rosa and her beautiful family. (How ironic, Amador doesn’t get back until Tuesday afternoon!) They were so surprised and I have never been happier to see the positive changes in their lives because of the gospel. I just love this family. On Sunday I was able to see Elen, who has already begun her genealogy and has the goal of going to the temple this month to do baptisms. I saw Jonel, the youth who was studying to be a Catholic priest and prayed and received his testimony of the Book of Mormon and was converted. And, the husband of our pensionista, Alberto (who was practically our father) who for years listened to missionaries, told us of his own decision and goal to be baptized on his birthday, on June 25. We just found out yesterday! Today I will see Olga, who is my age and who now is serving as secretary of the Young Women´s organization. So, it is neat to see the progress of these converts. This ward threw me a goodbye party and it was beautiful to see each person and remember how much they have touched my lives. I was surprised that I was able to remember everyone’s name!
We also finally counted how many stairs we climbed up every day to reach Rosa and Amador...there are 338 stairs. Sometimes we would climb up 2-3 times a day (or 700-1000 steps a day!). Saturday we helped haul some planks of wood for a family and took their names so the missionaries can visit them, so the work continues. There was just such a special spirit this whole week.
I know that the mission doesn’t end when the mission ends. I know that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of service and that is why I am so happy. I have never felt so much love in my life until serving the mission. I have never learned to love hard work so much until serving the mission. I have never felt so much love from my Heavenly Father and love FOR him until serving the mission. I am grateful for each companion I have had and have learned from each one. I am grateful for the Church, for the scriptures, for the counsel we receive from church leaders and the apostles, and I am grateful for a testimony of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.
Wow. It is incredible the blessings that Heavenly Father has prepared for each one of us. The Plan of Salvation is personal and real for each one of us. I know that He puts people in our paths and positive influences in our lives to help reach out to us and to help us follow a good path, if we are only receptive to His counsel. We think that we are serving God, but while we serve, He blesses us so much. We give him the crust, and He gives us a whole loaf.
That we may take each day as an opportunity to know and love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ better and to feel of Their love and to know of what our personal purpose in life is is my desire for each one of you. Thank you for being a special part of my life. Thank you for your prayers and for your love and support while I have been here in Peru. Que Dios les bendiga! (May God bless you!)
Love, Hermana Christensen
P.S. If you will be in Topeka, on Friday you are invited to an Open House. Come and eat yummy Peruvian food and see a slideshow of my pictures! I imagine it will be at 7:00 pm.
If you haven’t heard the news, I am going home tonight and I arrive on Tuesday. I am finishing the mission. I think I have cried more in this week than in my whole life put together. This week was filled with really special moments. On Monday the ward threw a goodbye party. On Thursday I bid farewell (I don’t believe in “goodbyes” but in “see you later”s) to my beloved companion, Hna. Rodriguez, our pensionista, Vikky and her family, and our zone (we are such a close group, I consider it a family). Hna. Rodriguez will stay in a trio of sisters until she gets her new companion. She will be transferred to a new area, so she has to say goodbye as well. We are such good friends that I imagine it will be hard at first to adjust to the separation.
On Thursday I flew back to Lima and was greeted by the Hna. Alcalde, my “granddaughter” (I trained the Hna. Avalos and Hna. Avalos trained the Hna. Alcalde). It is so special, and she and I are companions for my last four days. Heavenly Father is so good and knows exactly who needs to be together. She leaves for Mexico on Tuesday, exactly 7 hours after I leave for the airport.
Together we went to the temple with President and Hermana Blunck and the other missionaries who are finishing the mission, had a final interview in the mission home, went to dinner, saw a beautiful slide show (complete with the not-so-subtle clip from General Conference counseling us to get married at the end of the slide show!) and went afterwards to a water and lights show.
We also visited my converts, Rosa and her beautiful family. (How ironic, Amador doesn’t get back until Tuesday afternoon!) They were so surprised and I have never been happier to see the positive changes in their lives because of the gospel. I just love this family. On Sunday I was able to see Elen, who has already begun her genealogy and has the goal of going to the temple this month to do baptisms. I saw Jonel, the youth who was studying to be a Catholic priest and prayed and received his testimony of the Book of Mormon and was converted. And, the husband of our pensionista, Alberto (who was practically our father) who for years listened to missionaries, told us of his own decision and goal to be baptized on his birthday, on June 25. We just found out yesterday! Today I will see Olga, who is my age and who now is serving as secretary of the Young Women´s organization. So, it is neat to see the progress of these converts. This ward threw me a goodbye party and it was beautiful to see each person and remember how much they have touched my lives. I was surprised that I was able to remember everyone’s name!
We also finally counted how many stairs we climbed up every day to reach Rosa and Amador...there are 338 stairs. Sometimes we would climb up 2-3 times a day (or 700-1000 steps a day!). Saturday we helped haul some planks of wood for a family and took their names so the missionaries can visit them, so the work continues. There was just such a special spirit this whole week.
I know that the mission doesn’t end when the mission ends. I know that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of service and that is why I am so happy. I have never felt so much love in my life until serving the mission. I have never learned to love hard work so much until serving the mission. I have never felt so much love from my Heavenly Father and love FOR him until serving the mission. I am grateful for each companion I have had and have learned from each one. I am grateful for the Church, for the scriptures, for the counsel we receive from church leaders and the apostles, and I am grateful for a testimony of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.
Wow. It is incredible the blessings that Heavenly Father has prepared for each one of us. The Plan of Salvation is personal and real for each one of us. I know that He puts people in our paths and positive influences in our lives to help reach out to us and to help us follow a good path, if we are only receptive to His counsel. We think that we are serving God, but while we serve, He blesses us so much. We give him the crust, and He gives us a whole loaf.
That we may take each day as an opportunity to know and love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ better and to feel of Their love and to know of what our personal purpose in life is is my desire for each one of you. Thank you for being a special part of my life. Thank you for your prayers and for your love and support while I have been here in Peru. Que Dios les bendiga! (May God bless you!)
Love, Hermana Christensen
P.S. If you will be in Topeka, on Friday you are invited to an Open House. Come and eat yummy Peruvian food and see a slideshow of my pictures! I imagine it will be at 7:00 pm.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Working until the Last Day!
Hello, family and friends!
A big thank you to Bishop Jamison, Crystal Baysa and Kezia Carter for your letters! I am coming back the next week (Tuesday at noon in the MCI airport) so you can write me directly at my email.
This past week Agatha was baptized. (Javier is working through some Word of Wisdom problems and will need some more time.) At the baptism I was worried about certain details (the kids running around and making noise in the hallways, waiting for the family of Agatha to show up, etc.) and thinking about what we could have done to make it run more smoothly. However, when Agatha bore her testimony after her baptism and confirmation, I forgot all about the distractions. I thought, “She has just made a covenant with the Savior and she has just received the forgiveness of her sins.” In this moment, I could feel the love that the Savior has for her. I just knew that the Savior and Heavenly Father love her so much and Hna. Rodriguez and I love her too. It was really special.
I am so grateful for men who honor their priesthood and thus bless the lives of their families and the church. We are studying D&C 20, 84, 107, 121 as a zone and it is incredible to read about the priesthood and the church organization. After seeing so many different types of families, whew, I have gained a huge testimony of the importance of everyone knowing their responsibilities and fulfilling them. There is a huge difference in the families that live the gospel and those that don’t.
We have to work until the last day of the mission, because we are laying the foundation of future work to come and we never know who Heavenly Father will put in our path. There is still work to be done here in Peru. I will be sad to leave because the people are so wonderful, but there is service to be done everywhere.
Love,
Hermana Christensen
A big thank you to Bishop Jamison, Crystal Baysa and Kezia Carter for your letters! I am coming back the next week (Tuesday at noon in the MCI airport) so you can write me directly at my email.
This past week Agatha was baptized. (Javier is working through some Word of Wisdom problems and will need some more time.) At the baptism I was worried about certain details (the kids running around and making noise in the hallways, waiting for the family of Agatha to show up, etc.) and thinking about what we could have done to make it run more smoothly. However, when Agatha bore her testimony after her baptism and confirmation, I forgot all about the distractions. I thought, “She has just made a covenant with the Savior and she has just received the forgiveness of her sins.” In this moment, I could feel the love that the Savior has for her. I just knew that the Savior and Heavenly Father love her so much and Hna. Rodriguez and I love her too. It was really special.
I am so grateful for men who honor their priesthood and thus bless the lives of their families and the church. We are studying D&C 20, 84, 107, 121 as a zone and it is incredible to read about the priesthood and the church organization. After seeing so many different types of families, whew, I have gained a huge testimony of the importance of everyone knowing their responsibilities and fulfilling them. There is a huge difference in the families that live the gospel and those that don’t.
We have to work until the last day of the mission, because we are laying the foundation of future work to come and we never know who Heavenly Father will put in our path. There is still work to be done here in Peru. I will be sad to leave because the people are so wonderful, but there is service to be done everywhere.
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Monday, April 4, 2011
Gems from General Conference
Hola, family and friends,
This past weekend was phenomenal with the General Conference. (The purpose of the gospel is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”) Here are some of the parts that motivated me most:
1. What distinguishes us as Christ’s disciples is showing love (and if we love God we strive to keep His commandments) and making and keeping covenants with Him (Walter F. Gonzalez).
2. We give God a piece of bread and He gives us a whole loaf (Pres. Eyring).
3. The title “the Mormon church” doesn’t offend us, but it isn’t correct. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For centuries, people had waited for the restoration of the authority of God to direct the Church, the priesthood (Boyd K. Packer).
4. What we desire determines our priorities which influences our decisions and our actions. Preparation for eternal life depends upon what our desires really are (Dallin Oaks).
5. Much of the revelation we seek we will receive, but it will be to know how to help someone else. Most of the time we receive revelation when we are on our feet and not on our knees. It can be through the advice of a friend, through the scriptures, words of the prophets, etc. (Pres. Uchtdorf).
6. It is not enough to be good. We are to become like the Savior. Trials are specific to help us overcome certain weaknesses. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Paul V. Johnson).
7. Revelation can be immediate, like flipping a light switch in a dark room, or it can be gradual, like the sun rising. We shouldn’t depend upon dramatic spiritual manifestations or signs to stay in the path. Many times we receive answers without even realizing it. We need to be humble and obedient (David Bednar).
8. Those who understand the blessings of the temple are willing to sacrifice in order to receive them. The greatest blessings the Church offers to families are found in the temple (Pres. Thomas Monson).
9. God has high expectations for us. God requires sacrifice. We need to seek “divine discipline.” Even if the correction comes from people who don’t love us, we should take advantage of the correction and put it in practice. If the need to correct someone exists and you don’t do it, it is because you are thinking of yourself and not of the well-being of the other person. Learn to correct yourself (D. Todd Christofferson).
10. If we do without being, we are hypocrites. If we are without doing, we are useless. Neither an action nor your profession should define who we are. Jesus Christ was a humble carpenter. Read in the scriptures looking for examples of Christlike attributes (Lynn G. Robbins).
Remember that you can watch and read at the Church’s website, www.lds.org. I was happy for our investigators that were able to attend and sad for those that did not attend. (They really missed out.) Wow, the gospel is incredible and transforming. I really felt the Spirit strongly in all of the sessions I attended (all but the priesthood). We are so blessed to receive divine direction.
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Christensen
This past weekend was phenomenal with the General Conference. (The purpose of the gospel is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”) Here are some of the parts that motivated me most:
1. What distinguishes us as Christ’s disciples is showing love (and if we love God we strive to keep His commandments) and making and keeping covenants with Him (Walter F. Gonzalez).
2. We give God a piece of bread and He gives us a whole loaf (Pres. Eyring).
3. The title “the Mormon church” doesn’t offend us, but it isn’t correct. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For centuries, people had waited for the restoration of the authority of God to direct the Church, the priesthood (Boyd K. Packer).
4. What we desire determines our priorities which influences our decisions and our actions. Preparation for eternal life depends upon what our desires really are (Dallin Oaks).
5. Much of the revelation we seek we will receive, but it will be to know how to help someone else. Most of the time we receive revelation when we are on our feet and not on our knees. It can be through the advice of a friend, through the scriptures, words of the prophets, etc. (Pres. Uchtdorf).
6. It is not enough to be good. We are to become like the Savior. Trials are specific to help us overcome certain weaknesses. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Paul V. Johnson).
7. Revelation can be immediate, like flipping a light switch in a dark room, or it can be gradual, like the sun rising. We shouldn’t depend upon dramatic spiritual manifestations or signs to stay in the path. Many times we receive answers without even realizing it. We need to be humble and obedient (David Bednar).
8. Those who understand the blessings of the temple are willing to sacrifice in order to receive them. The greatest blessings the Church offers to families are found in the temple (Pres. Thomas Monson).
9. God has high expectations for us. God requires sacrifice. We need to seek “divine discipline.” Even if the correction comes from people who don’t love us, we should take advantage of the correction and put it in practice. If the need to correct someone exists and you don’t do it, it is because you are thinking of yourself and not of the well-being of the other person. Learn to correct yourself (D. Todd Christofferson).
10. If we do without being, we are hypocrites. If we are without doing, we are useless. Neither an action nor your profession should define who we are. Jesus Christ was a humble carpenter. Read in the scriptures looking for examples of Christlike attributes (Lynn G. Robbins).
Remember that you can watch and read at the Church’s website, www.lds.org. I was happy for our investigators that were able to attend and sad for those that did not attend. (They really missed out.) Wow, the gospel is incredible and transforming. I really felt the Spirit strongly in all of the sessions I attended (all but the priesthood). We are so blessed to receive divine direction.
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Monday, March 28, 2011
Lots of Heavenly Help!
Buenos dias, familia y amigos!
Wow! This week we have seen how Heavenly Father does things that we cannot to help the families we are teaching. Javier’s mom softened her heart and Javier will be baptized and confirmed this Friday, before General Conference. Also, we have seen changes in Agatha. She is so different than when we first began teaching her. At first she didn’t have much interest. However, in each visit, she tells of experiences when she prayed and saw miracles. So, she has a testimony of personal prayer and of the Book of Mormon. She is so excited for General Conference and she made a list of questions or doubts she has to bring to the Conference. We assured her that if she attends the conference with the spirit of prayer, she will receive the answers to her questions or doubts. She will be baptized and confirmed the following Friday, April 11.
Carmen and her son, Luis, went to church for the second time in a row yesterday. We did a Family Home Evening in the home of Carmen and Felix and were so happy that our investigators, the family of the stake president, and a man returning to activity after years all showed up and had a great time. Felix, who previously didn’t have interest in the gospel message, thanked us for the evening and told us that he was touched at how sincere we were and how the gospel can unite people of all economic situations.
That is the truth. People don’t just convert because of the doctrine but because they feel the Spirit and the spirit of love and belonging that the world imitates but can’t fulfill this need. The Torres family invited everyone to their house tonight to do another Family Home Evening. I love the gospel. The gospel in action is that everyone seeks the interest of their neighbor and forms these bonds of love and community.
I am going to be teaching Nancy, our investigator, the piano so she will be my replacement when I leave. (She had the idea and told me this and I think it is a great idea.)
I have seen so many blessings in my life personally from Heavenly Father and from my decision to serve as a missionary. It is incredible, because I know that Heavenly Father is giving me the ideas and the direction and the hope that I need for the next stage of my life. And, I know that He will give you these ideas too, if you ask for them.
And, don’t forget! We missionaries love General Conference, the opportunity to invite our investigators to listen to the living prophet of the living God and the Twelve Apostles. Remember that you can access the Conference live or the archives at www.lds.org or perhaps through www.byutv.org. This Saturday and Sunday (in Peru it is from 11-1pm, 3-5 pm, and the priesthood session from 7-9 pm).
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Wow! This week we have seen how Heavenly Father does things that we cannot to help the families we are teaching. Javier’s mom softened her heart and Javier will be baptized and confirmed this Friday, before General Conference. Also, we have seen changes in Agatha. She is so different than when we first began teaching her. At first she didn’t have much interest. However, in each visit, she tells of experiences when she prayed and saw miracles. So, she has a testimony of personal prayer and of the Book of Mormon. She is so excited for General Conference and she made a list of questions or doubts she has to bring to the Conference. We assured her that if she attends the conference with the spirit of prayer, she will receive the answers to her questions or doubts. She will be baptized and confirmed the following Friday, April 11.
Carmen and her son, Luis, went to church for the second time in a row yesterday. We did a Family Home Evening in the home of Carmen and Felix and were so happy that our investigators, the family of the stake president, and a man returning to activity after years all showed up and had a great time. Felix, who previously didn’t have interest in the gospel message, thanked us for the evening and told us that he was touched at how sincere we were and how the gospel can unite people of all economic situations.
That is the truth. People don’t just convert because of the doctrine but because they feel the Spirit and the spirit of love and belonging that the world imitates but can’t fulfill this need. The Torres family invited everyone to their house tonight to do another Family Home Evening. I love the gospel. The gospel in action is that everyone seeks the interest of their neighbor and forms these bonds of love and community.
I am going to be teaching Nancy, our investigator, the piano so she will be my replacement when I leave. (She had the idea and told me this and I think it is a great idea.)
I have seen so many blessings in my life personally from Heavenly Father and from my decision to serve as a missionary. It is incredible, because I know that Heavenly Father is giving me the ideas and the direction and the hope that I need for the next stage of my life. And, I know that He will give you these ideas too, if you ask for them.
And, don’t forget! We missionaries love General Conference, the opportunity to invite our investigators to listen to the living prophet of the living God and the Twelve Apostles. Remember that you can access the Conference live or the archives at www.lds.org or perhaps through www.byutv.org. This Saturday and Sunday (in Peru it is from 11-1pm, 3-5 pm, and the priesthood session from 7-9 pm).
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thank You, Heavenly Father!
Hola, familia y amigos (hello, family and friends)!
This week I have seen various blessings from Heavenly Father. He is in the details of our lives and in the small and simple things. For example, we had skipped dinner (we eat lunch with the members) to cover more appointments and were hungry for real food (not just crackers) when we passed by this house. The family inside flagged us down and excitedly told us that they were members of the other ward. They were so excited to see missionaries (this isn't always the reaction we get from people so it is welcome!) and gave us tamales, which we ate later. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for answering our silent prayer!
We were able to go to my old area, Secoya, to help with the depuracion of the directory (find out who has moved, died, etc). That means I was able to see the people I love from my old area again (remember that I was in this area for 7 months of my life) and work with a special friend, Hna. Flor. She is the best. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
The Amazonas ward invited me to play the piano for a fireside they will have as YSA. I love music and was excited to play a real piano and not just a keyboard. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
We had a fireside as missionaries on Saturday and were able to feel the Spirit. I know that God lives and that He loves us. Jesus Christ is so merciful and His atonement and gospel are what we need to have happiness and peace in this life. The scriptures and the prophets are to help us have more faith in God and Jesus Christ even when times are really rough. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
I was able to sleep better when I remembered to pray and thank Heavenly Father for all the blessings He gives me every day.
Love, Hermana Christensen
This week I have seen various blessings from Heavenly Father. He is in the details of our lives and in the small and simple things. For example, we had skipped dinner (we eat lunch with the members) to cover more appointments and were hungry for real food (not just crackers) when we passed by this house. The family inside flagged us down and excitedly told us that they were members of the other ward. They were so excited to see missionaries (this isn't always the reaction we get from people so it is welcome!) and gave us tamales, which we ate later. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for answering our silent prayer!
We were able to go to my old area, Secoya, to help with the depuracion of the directory (find out who has moved, died, etc). That means I was able to see the people I love from my old area again (remember that I was in this area for 7 months of my life) and work with a special friend, Hna. Flor. She is the best. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
The Amazonas ward invited me to play the piano for a fireside they will have as YSA. I love music and was excited to play a real piano and not just a keyboard. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
We had a fireside as missionaries on Saturday and were able to feel the Spirit. I know that God lives and that He loves us. Jesus Christ is so merciful and His atonement and gospel are what we need to have happiness and peace in this life. The scriptures and the prophets are to help us have more faith in God and Jesus Christ even when times are really rough. Thank you, Heavenly Father.
I was able to sleep better when I remembered to pray and thank Heavenly Father for all the blessings He gives me every day.
Love, Hermana Christensen
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A Week of Excitement & Spiritual Feasts
Hola, family and friends!
First of all, thank you all for your prayers in my behalf and for trying to live righteous lives. Also, I received letters from the following people: Jan Wilkes, Deanna and Michael Baysa, Richard Jamison, and Beth Isernhagen. Muchas gracias! You might be wondering if it is too late to mail something. Not at all! You can also email my mom (reply to this email) and she can forward the email to me.
This week was exciting. Our ward had a carnival on Saturday, and we invited Nancy, an investigator, to help run our booth (a variety of games, including the “human knot”). She enjoyed it a lot and told us, on Sunday, that she decided to attend our ward. (She was attending a ward that wasn’t in her area, but she received fellowshipping from our ward and decided on her own accord to attend in Barrio Clavero. So, that’s cool). She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is reading the Book of Mormon and just eating it up (feasting upon the words of Christ).
On Sunday we formed a choir at a fireside where Elder Nash, President of the Area (and member of the same stake as Aunt Cathy and Uncle Hunter, if I remember correctly), spoke to the youth about the responsibility and blessings of serving the full-time mission. We sang “Army of Helaman” and “Luz de la verdad.” He bore a powerful testimony of the reality of our Savior Jesus Christ, who is merciful and kind. Elder Nash taught that the Peruvians are the children of the prophets and have received the gospel and its blessings and have the responsibility to share them, in order to bless all the families of the earth, and to receive special blessings through that service. Powerful.
The spiritual feast continued on Monday with our mission president. He gave a training on how we can be better teachers of the gospel, reminding us of many principles. Are we focusing on the needs of the people we are teaching? Do we know what is important to them and what their worries are? On Sunday he had to speak for 35 minutes in the stake conference without any advance notice! He told us to always treasure up in our minds the words of eternal life, and then we don’t have to worry about what to say, because the Spirit will indicate what we need to say.
Javier is preparing more for his baptism, but it is postponed for a future date. (His mom feels that he needs more time to prepare for his baptism.) He also attended the fireside with Elder Nash and felt the Spirit strongly. I was inspired after listening to his mom that the gospel should indicate a change in us. If we aren’t changing as a result, what is the point? I was reminded of the importance of not just hearing the word, but of being doers of the word. (That is often the hardest part.)
We have a new ward mission leader, which is important. Hermano Miguel is motivated to work hard in the work. We have our first correlation and revision of the ward mission plan tonight. It is good to have someone who has time to dedicate to his calling.
That is all for this week!
Love, Hermana Christensen
First of all, thank you all for your prayers in my behalf and for trying to live righteous lives. Also, I received letters from the following people: Jan Wilkes, Deanna and Michael Baysa, Richard Jamison, and Beth Isernhagen. Muchas gracias! You might be wondering if it is too late to mail something. Not at all! You can also email my mom (reply to this email) and she can forward the email to me.
This week was exciting. Our ward had a carnival on Saturday, and we invited Nancy, an investigator, to help run our booth (a variety of games, including the “human knot”). She enjoyed it a lot and told us, on Sunday, that she decided to attend our ward. (She was attending a ward that wasn’t in her area, but she received fellowshipping from our ward and decided on her own accord to attend in Barrio Clavero. So, that’s cool). She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is reading the Book of Mormon and just eating it up (feasting upon the words of Christ).
On Sunday we formed a choir at a fireside where Elder Nash, President of the Area (and member of the same stake as Aunt Cathy and Uncle Hunter, if I remember correctly), spoke to the youth about the responsibility and blessings of serving the full-time mission. We sang “Army of Helaman” and “Luz de la verdad.” He bore a powerful testimony of the reality of our Savior Jesus Christ, who is merciful and kind. Elder Nash taught that the Peruvians are the children of the prophets and have received the gospel and its blessings and have the responsibility to share them, in order to bless all the families of the earth, and to receive special blessings through that service. Powerful.
The spiritual feast continued on Monday with our mission president. He gave a training on how we can be better teachers of the gospel, reminding us of many principles. Are we focusing on the needs of the people we are teaching? Do we know what is important to them and what their worries are? On Sunday he had to speak for 35 minutes in the stake conference without any advance notice! He told us to always treasure up in our minds the words of eternal life, and then we don’t have to worry about what to say, because the Spirit will indicate what we need to say.
Javier is preparing more for his baptism, but it is postponed for a future date. (His mom feels that he needs more time to prepare for his baptism.) He also attended the fireside with Elder Nash and felt the Spirit strongly. I was inspired after listening to his mom that the gospel should indicate a change in us. If we aren’t changing as a result, what is the point? I was reminded of the importance of not just hearing the word, but of being doers of the word. (That is often the hardest part.)
We have a new ward mission leader, which is important. Hermano Miguel is motivated to work hard in the work. We have our first correlation and revision of the ward mission plan tonight. It is good to have someone who has time to dedicate to his calling.
That is all for this week!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hard Times & Happy Times in the Jungle
Hello, family and friends,
This past week has been really hard for me, but I feel rejuvenated and ready to begin a new transfer. Hna. Rodriguez and I stay together for my last transfer here in Punchana (Iquitos) and we are happy to be together and to work hard. I found out that my former companion, Hna. Avalos, will also be in the jungle (but in another part) so I will not be able to see her as I had hoped. However, there is hope in the future that we will be at the sealing of Rosa and Amador in about a year, and I will be able to see her then.
I was happy to find out that Jonathan and Wilbur, both from my first area in Iquitos, received mission calls and report in April. I was also happy to get a letter from my trainer, Hna. Flores, who lives in Bolivia. The young man we are teaching, Javier, is animated to serve a mission, too. He has a baptismal date of March 12. He is excited about the gospel and told his friends that he is going to be baptized and won’t drink anymore (this was before we taught him about the Word of Wisdom). His friends thought he was crazy, but he invited them to his baptism. Who knows what other miracles will result of him joining the Church?
The Primary is doing a recycling drive in order to raise money for each kid to have their own Liahona subscription. We are helping them, too, as it is a great way to do missionary work (and a great way for the families to get to know their neighbors). People are so willing to help, and I was happy, as recycling is second-nature to my family. We are helping the ward with a “gynkana” or field day on Saturday and are helping with the publicity (just put “free food” on the flier and everyone shows up in droves). We have learned to put “free!” on every event we do for the public. We are planning a movie night in various locations in public parks, using the projector. (It helps having the stake president in our ward.)
We celebrated Hna. Rodriguez’ cumpleaños (birthday) on Monday and the ward threw her a party (complete with piñata, and they cracked an egg on her head). Seminary and school started this past week. Yesterday was Carnaval (a huge water fight with people dancing in the streets and enjoying alcoholic beverages while the missionaries dodged water balloons and paint. Needless to say, yesterday wasn’t the most productive proselytizing day).
I know that Heavenly Father lives and that He answers our prayers. I also know that we can be forgiven of our sins and that we can feel the peace and love that come from Him and the Savior. I don’t know exactly how it all works, but I know that it does.
Love,
Hermana Christensen
This past week has been really hard for me, but I feel rejuvenated and ready to begin a new transfer. Hna. Rodriguez and I stay together for my last transfer here in Punchana (Iquitos) and we are happy to be together and to work hard. I found out that my former companion, Hna. Avalos, will also be in the jungle (but in another part) so I will not be able to see her as I had hoped. However, there is hope in the future that we will be at the sealing of Rosa and Amador in about a year, and I will be able to see her then.
I was happy to find out that Jonathan and Wilbur, both from my first area in Iquitos, received mission calls and report in April. I was also happy to get a letter from my trainer, Hna. Flores, who lives in Bolivia. The young man we are teaching, Javier, is animated to serve a mission, too. He has a baptismal date of March 12. He is excited about the gospel and told his friends that he is going to be baptized and won’t drink anymore (this was before we taught him about the Word of Wisdom). His friends thought he was crazy, but he invited them to his baptism. Who knows what other miracles will result of him joining the Church?
The Primary is doing a recycling drive in order to raise money for each kid to have their own Liahona subscription. We are helping them, too, as it is a great way to do missionary work (and a great way for the families to get to know their neighbors). People are so willing to help, and I was happy, as recycling is second-nature to my family. We are helping the ward with a “gynkana” or field day on Saturday and are helping with the publicity (just put “free food” on the flier and everyone shows up in droves). We have learned to put “free!” on every event we do for the public. We are planning a movie night in various locations in public parks, using the projector. (It helps having the stake president in our ward.)
We celebrated Hna. Rodriguez’ cumpleaños (birthday) on Monday and the ward threw her a party (complete with piñata, and they cracked an egg on her head). Seminary and school started this past week. Yesterday was Carnaval (a huge water fight with people dancing in the streets and enjoying alcoholic beverages while the missionaries dodged water balloons and paint. Needless to say, yesterday wasn’t the most productive proselytizing day).
I know that Heavenly Father lives and that He answers our prayers. I also know that we can be forgiven of our sins and that we can feel the peace and love that come from Him and the Savior. I don’t know exactly how it all works, but I know that it does.
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Monday, February 28, 2011
Gospel Progress, Chocolate, and Soccer Injury!
Hola, familia y amigos,
First of all, I wanted to thank the following people for letters and Christmas cards that I have received. (Many choose to use DearElder.com. You send an email, and the mission office prints it off and gives it to me.) Thank you to Hermana Flores, Kezia Carter, Jan Wilkes, Kari Marie Stolzenburg, Richard Jamison, Crystal Baysa, and Grandpa Witt! It made my day to hear from each of you. Thank you so much!
We are teaching two jovenes who are progressing in the Amazonas Ward. One is Javier, who is 19, and who is preparing to be baptized this 12 of March. He has a lot of challenges to work through. He has a growing testimony of the gospel and is so sincere in his prayers. Some of his challenges include his neighbors who try to discourage him from joining the church. His family doesn’t necessarily support him in his decision, but they don’t oppose him, which is good. Needless to say, one doesn’t join the Church because it is the popular thing to do nowadays. He also has to decide between joining the Church and finding a job that doesn’t require him to work Sundays. That is a huge challenge here. Most people here have to work 7 days a week all day to support their families with the bare necessities, especially because prices are rising for everything and school is about to start for the kids this month. Wow. Life is tough here.
Nancy is golden. She is 18 and loves the gospel. She is reading the Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized with her sister in August. She has decided August and will not change her mind. Okay! She is solid.
Today is Hermana Rodriguez’s birthday and we are going to have a chocolate fondue party with the zone to celebrate. Mango, banana, animal crackers, Ritz crackers, raisins, peanuts, etc. If it is edible, we are going to dip it in chocolate. And, we splurged and bought a Disney Princess piñata. (Birthdays are big here.) The Relief Society is in love with the dark chocolate brownie recipe we shared with them on Saturday. Wait til they try the no-bake cookies! We joke about planning to open up my own dessert store (pasteleria) here and my companion tells me I should make a recipe book with the title “Recipes to kill diabetics” because there is lots of sugar in the recipes. The irony is that I don’t think I ate so much sugar in the USA. No se.
Last P-day I fell while playing soccer (I was at the point of making a goal) and hurt my wrist. My whole hand swelled up. Luckily, my friend Wendy recommended a gel that helped it to get back to normal. It is still a little sore, but I have an appreciation for my body (and am grateful that it was my left hand and not my dominant hand that was injured).
We spoke on developing Christlike attributes on Sunday and handed out copies of the Christlike attributes activity in Preach My Gospel. We are going to animate our ward to attend General Conference this 2 and 3 of April.
Life is good. Make good choices!
Love, Hermana Christensen
First of all, I wanted to thank the following people for letters and Christmas cards that I have received. (Many choose to use DearElder.com. You send an email, and the mission office prints it off and gives it to me.) Thank you to Hermana Flores, Kezia Carter, Jan Wilkes, Kari Marie Stolzenburg, Richard Jamison, Crystal Baysa, and Grandpa Witt! It made my day to hear from each of you. Thank you so much!
We are teaching two jovenes who are progressing in the Amazonas Ward. One is Javier, who is 19, and who is preparing to be baptized this 12 of March. He has a lot of challenges to work through. He has a growing testimony of the gospel and is so sincere in his prayers. Some of his challenges include his neighbors who try to discourage him from joining the church. His family doesn’t necessarily support him in his decision, but they don’t oppose him, which is good. Needless to say, one doesn’t join the Church because it is the popular thing to do nowadays. He also has to decide between joining the Church and finding a job that doesn’t require him to work Sundays. That is a huge challenge here. Most people here have to work 7 days a week all day to support their families with the bare necessities, especially because prices are rising for everything and school is about to start for the kids this month. Wow. Life is tough here.
Nancy is golden. She is 18 and loves the gospel. She is reading the Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized with her sister in August. She has decided August and will not change her mind. Okay! She is solid.
Today is Hermana Rodriguez’s birthday and we are going to have a chocolate fondue party with the zone to celebrate. Mango, banana, animal crackers, Ritz crackers, raisins, peanuts, etc. If it is edible, we are going to dip it in chocolate. And, we splurged and bought a Disney Princess piñata. (Birthdays are big here.) The Relief Society is in love with the dark chocolate brownie recipe we shared with them on Saturday. Wait til they try the no-bake cookies! We joke about planning to open up my own dessert store (pasteleria) here and my companion tells me I should make a recipe book with the title “Recipes to kill diabetics” because there is lots of sugar in the recipes. The irony is that I don’t think I ate so much sugar in the USA. No se.
Last P-day I fell while playing soccer (I was at the point of making a goal) and hurt my wrist. My whole hand swelled up. Luckily, my friend Wendy recommended a gel that helped it to get back to normal. It is still a little sore, but I have an appreciation for my body (and am grateful that it was my left hand and not my dominant hand that was injured).
We spoke on developing Christlike attributes on Sunday and handed out copies of the Christlike attributes activity in Preach My Gospel. We are going to animate our ward to attend General Conference this 2 and 3 of April.
Life is good. Make good choices!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, February 21, 2011
Joyous, Hard--and Wet!--Times
Hello, family and friends!
Rosa was baptized and confirmed this weekend. I don’t understand how it is possible, but a small group of people arrived for the baptism at 7:30 and a whole gaggle of people arrived at 8:30 for the party afterwards. Someone told me that this is typical. I suggested that we lock the gate doors, to help encourage more people to attend sacrament meeting the next day. We prepared a white-chocolate drizzled popcorn with crushed candy bar for the Peruvians to enjoy. (I have been having a fun time sharing my sweet-tooth recipes with the ward.)
This is top secret (which is why I am having my mom post it on my blog for all the world to read), but Saturday night Hna.Rodriguez and I were washing the baptismal clothes in a tub in the sink. I don’t how it’s possible, but with the weight of the tub, the spout popped off and water was spraying everywhere! My companion and I burst out laughing and then didn’t know what to do, because we couldn’t turn off the water. Luckily, the dad of our pensionista, Vikki, was visiting his daughter and was available to save the day. He turned off the main water, and we had to use the water up from the tank before he could fix the sink. We ended up washing everything we could think of. We got to bed much later than we had hoped but rather enjoyed the mishap (until we saw the bill…).
Our investigators are having some hard times. Well, frankly, their whole lives are hard times. Evingston works the nights, from 4 pm to 6 am, sweeping the streets. He is still waiting for the municipality to pay him. (He hasn’t been paid for 2 weeks.) He wants to be baptized, along with his daughter. Germain, 18, has received the first charla and is reading the Book of Mormon, but his parents suddenly have decided to make family field trips and bonding time a priority whenever we have scheduled appointments with him or on Sunday mornings from 9-12pm. Hmm….I wonder why? Nelly feels the Spirit every time that we visit her. She reads the booklets and prays, but she is subject to the will of her husband, who is opposed to her and her kids attending church. The hermana Juana, a member returning to activity, lives and struggles with the rest of her family, who want nothing to do with the Church and live a very different lifestyle. I know nothing is impossible with faith and with Heavenly Father, and I am thankful for the life that I have. It is a privilege to serve, to be here, and to have the gospel in our lives. I hope we don’t take it for granted!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Rosa was baptized and confirmed this weekend. I don’t understand how it is possible, but a small group of people arrived for the baptism at 7:30 and a whole gaggle of people arrived at 8:30 for the party afterwards. Someone told me that this is typical. I suggested that we lock the gate doors, to help encourage more people to attend sacrament meeting the next day. We prepared a white-chocolate drizzled popcorn with crushed candy bar for the Peruvians to enjoy. (I have been having a fun time sharing my sweet-tooth recipes with the ward.)
This is top secret (which is why I am having my mom post it on my blog for all the world to read), but Saturday night Hna.Rodriguez and I were washing the baptismal clothes in a tub in the sink. I don’t how it’s possible, but with the weight of the tub, the spout popped off and water was spraying everywhere! My companion and I burst out laughing and then didn’t know what to do, because we couldn’t turn off the water. Luckily, the dad of our pensionista, Vikki, was visiting his daughter and was available to save the day. He turned off the main water, and we had to use the water up from the tank before he could fix the sink. We ended up washing everything we could think of. We got to bed much later than we had hoped but rather enjoyed the mishap (until we saw the bill…).
Our investigators are having some hard times. Well, frankly, their whole lives are hard times. Evingston works the nights, from 4 pm to 6 am, sweeping the streets. He is still waiting for the municipality to pay him. (He hasn’t been paid for 2 weeks.) He wants to be baptized, along with his daughter. Germain, 18, has received the first charla and is reading the Book of Mormon, but his parents suddenly have decided to make family field trips and bonding time a priority whenever we have scheduled appointments with him or on Sunday mornings from 9-12pm. Hmm….I wonder why? Nelly feels the Spirit every time that we visit her. She reads the booklets and prays, but she is subject to the will of her husband, who is opposed to her and her kids attending church. The hermana Juana, a member returning to activity, lives and struggles with the rest of her family, who want nothing to do with the Church and live a very different lifestyle. I know nothing is impossible with faith and with Heavenly Father, and I am thankful for the life that I have. It is a privilege to serve, to be here, and to have the gospel in our lives. I hope we don’t take it for granted!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, February 14, 2011
Lots of Love and Unity!
Hello, family and friends!
Happy Dia de Amistad (Valentine’s Day). The highlights of
the week include the marriage of Rosa and Jose. They were
married, along with 10 other couples, in the church. Our
zone leaders, Elder Angulo and Elder Crum, organized the
massive wedding. After the wedding, the couples had a dance
to celebrate. The Latins sure know how to party! Hna. Rodriguez
and I had to leave because the music was too tempting. (We did
dance a little merengue in the bathroom when no one was
looking.) My whole mission I have wanted to write Mack
Wilberg. When will MOTAB (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) come out
with a CD of Latin hits for all the missionaries to enjoy?
Even more special was seeing Rosa and Jose in church the next
day with their son, Juan Carlos. The whole ward accepted and
fellowshipped them, and they are preparing a party for her
baptism this Saturday. Our ward is becoming much more united
recently, all working together. On Friday they threw a bash for
the 50 year anniversary of the stake patriarch and his wife. My
companion cut their hair (she has salon experience) as a service
and I took photos of the event. The ward is working together to
do an amazing musical program on the Savior for Easter (here
Easter is celebrated the whole week, Holy Week) and an excellent
Public Affairs opportunity.
My companion and I still continue to be nerds and it is so much
fun. We have 6 days of consecutive coordinating outfits. (I don’t
know how it’s possible, but we even do the same hairstyle). Now,
we have promotional weeks where we focus on different goals we
have. For example, this week is Word of Wisdom week. No, we don’t
have a problem with drugs or beer, but we are drinking milk twice
a day, eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting back on fat,
drinking more water, and doing more exercise. It’s the best. The
idea is that after the promotional week, we continue with the same
habits. And, we have goals to put Christlike attributes in practice
every week. Last week was faith and this week is obedience. We
work hard and have so much fun.
Have a great week! Gotta run!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Happy Dia de Amistad (Valentine’s Day). The highlights of
the week include the marriage of Rosa and Jose. They were
married, along with 10 other couples, in the church. Our
zone leaders, Elder Angulo and Elder Crum, organized the
massive wedding. After the wedding, the couples had a dance
to celebrate. The Latins sure know how to party! Hna. Rodriguez
and I had to leave because the music was too tempting. (We did
dance a little merengue in the bathroom when no one was
looking.) My whole mission I have wanted to write Mack
Wilberg. When will MOTAB (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) come out
with a CD of Latin hits for all the missionaries to enjoy?
Even more special was seeing Rosa and Jose in church the next
day with their son, Juan Carlos. The whole ward accepted and
fellowshipped them, and they are preparing a party for her
baptism this Saturday. Our ward is becoming much more united
recently, all working together. On Friday they threw a bash for
the 50 year anniversary of the stake patriarch and his wife. My
companion cut their hair (she has salon experience) as a service
and I took photos of the event. The ward is working together to
do an amazing musical program on the Savior for Easter (here
Easter is celebrated the whole week, Holy Week) and an excellent
Public Affairs opportunity.
My companion and I still continue to be nerds and it is so much
fun. We have 6 days of consecutive coordinating outfits. (I don’t
know how it’s possible, but we even do the same hairstyle). Now,
we have promotional weeks where we focus on different goals we
have. For example, this week is Word of Wisdom week. No, we don’t
have a problem with drugs or beer, but we are drinking milk twice
a day, eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting back on fat,
drinking more water, and doing more exercise. It’s the best. The
idea is that after the promotional week, we continue with the same
habits. And, we have goals to put Christlike attributes in practice
every week. Last week was faith and this week is obedience. We
work hard and have so much fun.
Have a great week! Gotta run!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, February 7, 2011
More Opportunities for People to Have a Better Life
Hola family and friends,
Every day I learn new things in the mission. It is truly a one of a kind experience. Yesterday, Sunday, I felt so much love from our Heavenly Father. I was sitting next to Jack, one of our valiant Primary kid investigators who doesn’t come from a good home. (I asked him if his mom knew he was here at church and he said, no. He just roams free.) I just want to adopt Jack and give him a better chance at life. His parents won’t let him be baptized right now but he is setting the goal to be baptized in a few years. It is so ironic that the people who can be baptized don’t want to and those who want it can’t. When the members of the church went to the pulpit to bear their testimonies, I told him, “All of these people here are part of your family. You can ask any one of them for help and they are here to help you.” I want so much for Jack, and others like him, to have another opportunity to have a better life.
We are teaching Wilma, who is a widow of two weeks. She doesn’t want to pray or feels insecure or we don’t know what her doubt is, but she doesn’t pray. We wrote the steps of prayer in large print and we practiced and she repeated, but she just looks at us and smiles and doesn’t pray. I was so sad, because I was thinking of how much pain she feels that could be relieved and how Heavenly Father was sad because she didn’t talk with him. Then, I remembered something humbling. I will confess that the night before, I didn’t pray before I went to bed. I remembered the times that my prayers are just mechanical and not heartfelt and then I felt sad. That is exactly how Heavenly Father feels. I realized that Heavenly Father wants to hear from me personally, that He is interested and cares about me and wants to know what is going on in my life, what my goals are, what my doubts are, etc. It was a special experience that I hope everyone can have.
I know that Heavenly Father lives and that He hears our every sincere prayer and that He gives us exactly what we need. (I prayed that the elders wouldn’t call us so we could go to bed a little earlier and the elders called us early in the morning instead, something that rarely happens here.) Oh yeah, and we were hungry after fasting and didn’t have any food, but when we went to the appointments, they gave us chapo (banana drink) and bread and the president of the Relief Society served us peanut butter and crackers. I know that Heavenly Father takes of our spiritual and our temporal needs. He is the best.
We have a new area, Barrio Amazonas. Now we have 2 areas. The people are so excited to have missionaries in their area after a long time. We are helping the Relief Society to organize a night of fellowshipping. Oh yeah! If there are activities, that is what I love to organize. I’m such a nerd, but we have such unity with the leaders that one of the highlights of our week is when we get to have the Ward Council and Mission Correlation. Working with the people here is so great. They are so willing to help, they serve the Lord with the very best that they have, and they are humble.
We did the community service project the other day with the YSA and it brought about some good results. We are going to do more service projects as a ward, with the Young Men and Young Women. It is good public affairs and it helps unify the members who serve. We have gained the confidence of the zone by sharing our 5 minute microwave brownies. They are so incredible and will change your life. We are sharing more recipes with the Relief Society, including no bake cookies (there is a man in the ward who makes peanut butter, so we are enjoying this), and instead of lemon bars, with maracuya (a fruit that is yummy and plentiful here).
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Every day I learn new things in the mission. It is truly a one of a kind experience. Yesterday, Sunday, I felt so much love from our Heavenly Father. I was sitting next to Jack, one of our valiant Primary kid investigators who doesn’t come from a good home. (I asked him if his mom knew he was here at church and he said, no. He just roams free.) I just want to adopt Jack and give him a better chance at life. His parents won’t let him be baptized right now but he is setting the goal to be baptized in a few years. It is so ironic that the people who can be baptized don’t want to and those who want it can’t. When the members of the church went to the pulpit to bear their testimonies, I told him, “All of these people here are part of your family. You can ask any one of them for help and they are here to help you.” I want so much for Jack, and others like him, to have another opportunity to have a better life.
We are teaching Wilma, who is a widow of two weeks. She doesn’t want to pray or feels insecure or we don’t know what her doubt is, but she doesn’t pray. We wrote the steps of prayer in large print and we practiced and she repeated, but she just looks at us and smiles and doesn’t pray. I was so sad, because I was thinking of how much pain she feels that could be relieved and how Heavenly Father was sad because she didn’t talk with him. Then, I remembered something humbling. I will confess that the night before, I didn’t pray before I went to bed. I remembered the times that my prayers are just mechanical and not heartfelt and then I felt sad. That is exactly how Heavenly Father feels. I realized that Heavenly Father wants to hear from me personally, that He is interested and cares about me and wants to know what is going on in my life, what my goals are, what my doubts are, etc. It was a special experience that I hope everyone can have.
I know that Heavenly Father lives and that He hears our every sincere prayer and that He gives us exactly what we need. (I prayed that the elders wouldn’t call us so we could go to bed a little earlier and the elders called us early in the morning instead, something that rarely happens here.) Oh yeah, and we were hungry after fasting and didn’t have any food, but when we went to the appointments, they gave us chapo (banana drink) and bread and the president of the Relief Society served us peanut butter and crackers. I know that Heavenly Father takes of our spiritual and our temporal needs. He is the best.
We have a new area, Barrio Amazonas. Now we have 2 areas. The people are so excited to have missionaries in their area after a long time. We are helping the Relief Society to organize a night of fellowshipping. Oh yeah! If there are activities, that is what I love to organize. I’m such a nerd, but we have such unity with the leaders that one of the highlights of our week is when we get to have the Ward Council and Mission Correlation. Working with the people here is so great. They are so willing to help, they serve the Lord with the very best that they have, and they are humble.
We did the community service project the other day with the YSA and it brought about some good results. We are going to do more service projects as a ward, with the Young Men and Young Women. It is good public affairs and it helps unify the members who serve. We have gained the confidence of the zone by sharing our 5 minute microwave brownies. They are so incredible and will change your life. We are sharing more recipes with the Relief Society, including no bake cookies (there is a man in the ward who makes peanut butter, so we are enjoying this), and instead of lemon bars, with maracuya (a fruit that is yummy and plentiful here).
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Christensen
Monday, January 31, 2011
A New Companion and Another Busy, Happy Week
Hola, family and friends!
I am so happy. My new companion, Hna. Rodriguez (from Guatemala), and I are such good friends, and we only have had less than a week together. We are working hard (don't run faster than is needful...) and having fun doing it. We have scripture searches together and we pick key words (such as joy, charity, forgiveness, etc) and find scriptures that can help our investigators. I know that these scriptures won't only help our investigators right now, but also people that I visit teach in the future, my family, etc. The scriptures rock! I highly recommend them. We also do aerobics together, and the other day I taught her the only African dance I remember from my modern dance class. She learns quickly. We are going to be twins and make (or have made) matching outfits. The people laugh at us because I am significantly taller than her and we walk arm in arm down the street together. We appear to be the odd couple, but we don't care! She is so great.
We are also cooking for the time being, while our pensionista is in Pucallpa. I am officially Peruvian, as I made my first refresco from carambola, boiled bananas (a necessity at every meal), eggs, etc. We taught the Lopez Vasquez family how to make white chocolate popcorn (so good with peanuts and candy corn...it will change your life), and Delicia about dirt pudding (your chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos and gummy worms). The idea is that the chocolate recipes can help the family with their venta (their business) that they put out for Valentine's Day and for Mother's Day.
We helped with the Relief Society training on Visiting Teaching and are helping the supervisors with their action plans to help the sisters recognize the importance of visiting teaching. (See Barbara Thomson's talk in the last General Conference.) On Friday we walked around with brooms and told people, "We are here to sweep your patio!" After sweeping their patio, we made appointments to return and teach them the gospel. We will do the same with the YSA on Saturday to find new families to teach. Some thought we were part of the municipality and asked us to return more frequently! Funny.
Rosa and Jose's wedding is postponed until February, because the mayor was out of town. But, it should be in 2 weeks. Rosa is doing well and is progressing. We just found out that we will now be in 2 areas, Amazonas and Clavero. So, we won't sleep much. But life is good.
I love the gospel and I am sad thinking about leaving, so I won't think about leaving! I love the Lord's work and am so grateful for the opportunity to be a full-time missionary. It is the best!
Love,
Hna. Christensen
I am so happy. My new companion, Hna. Rodriguez (from Guatemala), and I are such good friends, and we only have had less than a week together. We are working hard (don't run faster than is needful...) and having fun doing it. We have scripture searches together and we pick key words (such as joy, charity, forgiveness, etc) and find scriptures that can help our investigators. I know that these scriptures won't only help our investigators right now, but also people that I visit teach in the future, my family, etc. The scriptures rock! I highly recommend them. We also do aerobics together, and the other day I taught her the only African dance I remember from my modern dance class. She learns quickly. We are going to be twins and make (or have made) matching outfits. The people laugh at us because I am significantly taller than her and we walk arm in arm down the street together. We appear to be the odd couple, but we don't care! She is so great.
We are also cooking for the time being, while our pensionista is in Pucallpa. I am officially Peruvian, as I made my first refresco from carambola, boiled bananas (a necessity at every meal), eggs, etc. We taught the Lopez Vasquez family how to make white chocolate popcorn (so good with peanuts and candy corn...it will change your life), and Delicia about dirt pudding (your chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos and gummy worms). The idea is that the chocolate recipes can help the family with their venta (their business) that they put out for Valentine's Day and for Mother's Day.
We helped with the Relief Society training on Visiting Teaching and are helping the supervisors with their action plans to help the sisters recognize the importance of visiting teaching. (See Barbara Thomson's talk in the last General Conference.) On Friday we walked around with brooms and told people, "We are here to sweep your patio!" After sweeping their patio, we made appointments to return and teach them the gospel. We will do the same with the YSA on Saturday to find new families to teach. Some thought we were part of the municipality and asked us to return more frequently! Funny.
Rosa and Jose's wedding is postponed until February, because the mayor was out of town. But, it should be in 2 weeks. Rosa is doing well and is progressing. We just found out that we will now be in 2 areas, Amazonas and Clavero. So, we won't sleep much. But life is good.
I love the gospel and I am sad thinking about leaving, so I won't think about leaving! I love the Lord's work and am so grateful for the opportunity to be a full-time missionary. It is the best!
Love,
Hna. Christensen
Monday, January 24, 2011
More Good News from the Jungle!
Hi,family and friends!
This week there are transfers. I will stay here and be with the Hna. Rodriguez, another compañera from Guatemala, and the Hna. Barrios (for reasons of health) will be going back to Lima, but with the Hna. Reyes, my former companion! It’s a small world in the mission. I am grateful for the Hna. Barrios, who taught me very important life lessons. She is very active and taught me to make decisions and then to act and not to be wishy-washy. If you are going to do something, do it now! Decide and act! She is very proactive and exactly who I needed to be with during this transfer. Tonight the ward is throwing her 2 farewell parties!
I received a letter from Hna. Avalos, who told me that, not without much difficulty, the family of Rosa and Amador (in Lima) were married! And baptized! The whole family is going strong (although not without difficulty. There is always opposition up until the last minute). Now, the goal is to help them prepare to be sealed in the temple in 2012. And, I am thinking of the Hna. Avalos this week because she is leaving the area and moving to her second area. I know that the ward is in tears at her farewell and that she is going to bless many lives in her new area. She also told me that Yonel, the young man that we were teaching who almost finished his training to become a Catholic priest, was baptized the 1 of January. He received a very special witness from Heavenly Father in answer to his prayer and was baptized.
We are working with activating the Tanchiva family, and two of the grandkids, Renzo and Yaritza, are preparing for their baptism in February. We told them directly, “If you want to be baptized, you have to be prepared. Do you think the soccer teams who play in the World Cup just show up on game day and hope everything will work out all right, or do they have to practice and prepare ahead of time? It’s the same with your baptism. We and your parents are your coaches, helping you, but you are in charge of the preparation.” I thought the soccer analogy was appropriate for the kids, and they are actively working to prepare for their baptism. For their baptism preparation they need to pray 5 times a day (minimum), read the pamphlets and the scriptures, attend church, listen to us (with their parents present), and repent (live the commandments).
I love teaching those kids. I loved sitting with them in sacrament meeting and explaining the scriptures to them. The kids here just love church and Primary and will show up in hordes, but without the support of their parents teaching them in the home, they can’t progress. (There is also the concern that some parents just send their kids to church as a free day care.) It is so sad. I just hope that we can rescue some of these children, because they are so innocent and full of love and everything that Mosiah 3:19 (in the Book of Mormon) describes. I remember when Bishop Dort said that little kids want to be like their parents when they grow up, but that the parents would do well to follow the example of their little kids and be like little children, full of love, patient, humble, obedient, etc.
The ward is hosting a reception for Rosa and Jose, who will be married this Friday. Some members of the Relief Society are heading over to her house that same day to help her fix her hair, do her nails, and to pamper (and most importantly, to fellowship) her. Rosa will be baptized the following week. For years the missionaries have taught her and invited her to be baptized and married and she said, “I was always hard of heart and didn’t want to.” But, years later, she has softened her heart. When they announced her marriage in church, she just smiled and got all excited. She is 34 and has been living with Jose for the past 15 years. She says, “I never thought I would get married.” Her husband is excited, too. They are cute.
I thought of our other “eternal investigators” in other areas that we visited and often thought, “No pasa nada” (or, nothing is happening). But, the conversion is a process and it is slower for some people. It isn’t always super quick as we might hope. Some conversions are like microwaves, and other conversions are like Crock Pots. In reality, the conversion is a Crock Pot process for the rest of our lives, with the continual input of energy, effort, and submission on our parts and on God’s part to change us until we are “well done.” Sometimes I want the process to be like a wok. It is much faster that way.
On Wednesday we were forbidden to leave the apartment because they are fumigating the city to combat the dengue fever. But, the same is scheduled for the next week as well, so we will be under “house arrest,” as I affectionately call it. We are teaching a lot of people who have or have had dengue. It usually is treatable but there is a type of hemorrhaging fever that kills quickly. We have mosquito nets and are required to use repellent. I hope I can hang on 3 more months without catching the dengue. We joke about walking around the city wearing our mosquito nets in order to avoid mosquitoes. (Mosquitoes are unavoidable, especially in the areas where we teach. We walk on these bridges with planks that threaten to break with every step, especially if we eat a lot of rice at lunch time!)
Sorry I write so much. I hope you aren’t bored. Have a great day and make good choices!
Love, Hermana Christensen
This week there are transfers. I will stay here and be with the Hna. Rodriguez, another compañera from Guatemala, and the Hna. Barrios (for reasons of health) will be going back to Lima, but with the Hna. Reyes, my former companion! It’s a small world in the mission. I am grateful for the Hna. Barrios, who taught me very important life lessons. She is very active and taught me to make decisions and then to act and not to be wishy-washy. If you are going to do something, do it now! Decide and act! She is very proactive and exactly who I needed to be with during this transfer. Tonight the ward is throwing her 2 farewell parties!
I received a letter from Hna. Avalos, who told me that, not without much difficulty, the family of Rosa and Amador (in Lima) were married! And baptized! The whole family is going strong (although not without difficulty. There is always opposition up until the last minute). Now, the goal is to help them prepare to be sealed in the temple in 2012. And, I am thinking of the Hna. Avalos this week because she is leaving the area and moving to her second area. I know that the ward is in tears at her farewell and that she is going to bless many lives in her new area. She also told me that Yonel, the young man that we were teaching who almost finished his training to become a Catholic priest, was baptized the 1 of January. He received a very special witness from Heavenly Father in answer to his prayer and was baptized.
We are working with activating the Tanchiva family, and two of the grandkids, Renzo and Yaritza, are preparing for their baptism in February. We told them directly, “If you want to be baptized, you have to be prepared. Do you think the soccer teams who play in the World Cup just show up on game day and hope everything will work out all right, or do they have to practice and prepare ahead of time? It’s the same with your baptism. We and your parents are your coaches, helping you, but you are in charge of the preparation.” I thought the soccer analogy was appropriate for the kids, and they are actively working to prepare for their baptism. For their baptism preparation they need to pray 5 times a day (minimum), read the pamphlets and the scriptures, attend church, listen to us (with their parents present), and repent (live the commandments).
I love teaching those kids. I loved sitting with them in sacrament meeting and explaining the scriptures to them. The kids here just love church and Primary and will show up in hordes, but without the support of their parents teaching them in the home, they can’t progress. (There is also the concern that some parents just send their kids to church as a free day care.) It is so sad. I just hope that we can rescue some of these children, because they are so innocent and full of love and everything that Mosiah 3:19 (in the Book of Mormon) describes. I remember when Bishop Dort said that little kids want to be like their parents when they grow up, but that the parents would do well to follow the example of their little kids and be like little children, full of love, patient, humble, obedient, etc.
The ward is hosting a reception for Rosa and Jose, who will be married this Friday. Some members of the Relief Society are heading over to her house that same day to help her fix her hair, do her nails, and to pamper (and most importantly, to fellowship) her. Rosa will be baptized the following week. For years the missionaries have taught her and invited her to be baptized and married and she said, “I was always hard of heart and didn’t want to.” But, years later, she has softened her heart. When they announced her marriage in church, she just smiled and got all excited. She is 34 and has been living with Jose for the past 15 years. She says, “I never thought I would get married.” Her husband is excited, too. They are cute.
I thought of our other “eternal investigators” in other areas that we visited and often thought, “No pasa nada” (or, nothing is happening). But, the conversion is a process and it is slower for some people. It isn’t always super quick as we might hope. Some conversions are like microwaves, and other conversions are like Crock Pots. In reality, the conversion is a Crock Pot process for the rest of our lives, with the continual input of energy, effort, and submission on our parts and on God’s part to change us until we are “well done.” Sometimes I want the process to be like a wok. It is much faster that way.
On Wednesday we were forbidden to leave the apartment because they are fumigating the city to combat the dengue fever. But, the same is scheduled for the next week as well, so we will be under “house arrest,” as I affectionately call it. We are teaching a lot of people who have or have had dengue. It usually is treatable but there is a type of hemorrhaging fever that kills quickly. We have mosquito nets and are required to use repellent. I hope I can hang on 3 more months without catching the dengue. We joke about walking around the city wearing our mosquito nets in order to avoid mosquitoes. (Mosquitoes are unavoidable, especially in the areas where we teach. We walk on these bridges with planks that threaten to break with every step, especially if we eat a lot of rice at lunch time!)
Sorry I write so much. I hope you aren’t bored. Have a great day and make good choices!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, January 17, 2011
Teaching and Learning
Hello, family and friends!
Yesterday we had a Family Home Evening and I was talking with Susana, a grandma and member for 20 years who will finally get to go to the temple in February. She had set the goal to go last year but passed a lot of trials, including caring for her terminally-ill sister who passed away. She is so sweet and bore her simple testimony with all of us about how God lives and listens to every prayer. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and His gospel is restored in its fullness here on the earth. I told this faithful woman that when she enters the temple, she will feel so much peace and will know so strongly that Heavenly Father knows and loves her and that the Plan of Salvation is real. She will feel like a princess! There are other families in the Clavero ward that have saved up for years to attend the temple and they are going in caravan in February.
My companion is still a little sick, and the weather doesn’t help. (There is torrential rain out of nowhere and then blazing sun for a few days.) It is hard on her (and can be hard on anyone, for that matter). Hna. Barrios is very active and is very-well trained and teaches me a lot about missionary work. She is from Guatemala and has a love and enthusiasm for life. Together we are helping Rosa and Jose get married, which means running around town to get documents ready (a similar but simpler process than in Lima, but now we are experienced in helping couples get married).
We had interviews with President Blunck this past week and then he surprised us by taking out all the sister missionaries to dinner with him and his wife! They were grateful for us and for our labors (because apparently we keep the elders in line).
We are teaching various families (many want to listen, but there are few that will attend church) and have received a few references from the members. We are also helping activate families, through the Family Home Evenings.
That’s about it for this week!
Lots of love,
Hna. Christensen
P.S. Apparently the eagle story renovating itself (I shared it an email a few weeks ago) is an urban legend, just so you know. The moral is good, but it is not true. Sorry about that!
Yesterday we had a Family Home Evening and I was talking with Susana, a grandma and member for 20 years who will finally get to go to the temple in February. She had set the goal to go last year but passed a lot of trials, including caring for her terminally-ill sister who passed away. She is so sweet and bore her simple testimony with all of us about how God lives and listens to every prayer. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and His gospel is restored in its fullness here on the earth. I told this faithful woman that when she enters the temple, she will feel so much peace and will know so strongly that Heavenly Father knows and loves her and that the Plan of Salvation is real. She will feel like a princess! There are other families in the Clavero ward that have saved up for years to attend the temple and they are going in caravan in February.
My companion is still a little sick, and the weather doesn’t help. (There is torrential rain out of nowhere and then blazing sun for a few days.) It is hard on her (and can be hard on anyone, for that matter). Hna. Barrios is very active and is very-well trained and teaches me a lot about missionary work. She is from Guatemala and has a love and enthusiasm for life. Together we are helping Rosa and Jose get married, which means running around town to get documents ready (a similar but simpler process than in Lima, but now we are experienced in helping couples get married).
We had interviews with President Blunck this past week and then he surprised us by taking out all the sister missionaries to dinner with him and his wife! They were grateful for us and for our labors (because apparently we keep the elders in line).
We are teaching various families (many want to listen, but there are few that will attend church) and have received a few references from the members. We are also helping activate families, through the Family Home Evenings.
That’s about it for this week!
Lots of love,
Hna. Christensen
P.S. Apparently the eagle story renovating itself (I shared it an email a few weeks ago) is an urban legend, just so you know. The moral is good, but it is not true. Sorry about that!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Healing for Body and Spirit
Hello, family and friends!
I received a packet of letters and Christmas cards this week and I just wanted to thank everyone for keeping me in your prayers. I thank Heavenly Father that we can stay in touch and still be part of each other’s lives, even when often we go on in different directions. Thank you for being a special part of my life. Thanks for the letters from the following people: Jenay Weekly, Jennifer Ricks (congrats on your baby!), Richard Jamison, BYU Freshmen Mentoring, Jeff and Janet Rees, Crystal Baysa, Michelle Lizon, Amy Faragher (congratulations on the change of last name!), Brian and Melissa Elkins, and all the rest that are sure to arrive in February or March (heh heh).
There’s not much to report for this week, except that we have converted our room into a hospital. I was sick last week. I ate something that wasn’t properly prepared, was sick, but I prayed and told Heavenly Father to take away all the yucky stuff out of my stomach all at once so I could sleep through the night. Two minutes later, He answered that prayer. (And, for the record, that really was the exact wording of my prayer. I don’t know how to translate “yucky stuff” in Spanish.) The following day I was exhausted and limited to a diet of liquids. I find it highly ironic because in the last email I sent, I mentioned how I wanted to have a parasite to lose weight faster and then 3 days later I get sick. I will be much more careful about what I want, because I think God will give it to me. Now, I am just battling a sore throat. But, my companion is suffering with a throat and nose infection that just wipes all the energy out of her and so we are going to the clinic today.
We had interviews with President Blunck yesterday and cleaning inspections of the room. They invited us, only the sisters that are serving in the jungle, to have a special dinner with them in the hotel they are staying at. They just spoil us sisters out here in the mission. And that is okay with us! So, after the doctor’s appointment we will be going there.
Yesterday we had dinner with a sister who is returning back to activity in the church after years of inactivity. She counseled us to read and follow our patriarchal blessings. She regrets not having married in the temple. She was sad and full of “if only…” My companion and I listened to her story and then we both took her by the hand and told her, “The race isn’t over yet! God is merciful and has His arms outstretched with His blessings awaiting you. Go get your blessings!” I have learned that so many times we look back on our lives and on bad decisions we have made and sometimes it can consume us. I believe that the miracle of forgiveness is that we can learn to feel God’s forgiveness and also that we can forgive ourselves and move on with our lives, looking to the future and not on the past. Those are some of the best blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. God wants us to give us all the blessings that we need and will give them to us, but we have to have trust in Him and ask for them and then work for them. I know He listens to our prayers and that He answers every one of them, according to our needs.
Have a happy week!
Love, Hermana Christensen
I received a packet of letters and Christmas cards this week and I just wanted to thank everyone for keeping me in your prayers. I thank Heavenly Father that we can stay in touch and still be part of each other’s lives, even when often we go on in different directions. Thank you for being a special part of my life. Thanks for the letters from the following people: Jenay Weekly, Jennifer Ricks (congrats on your baby!), Richard Jamison, BYU Freshmen Mentoring, Jeff and Janet Rees, Crystal Baysa, Michelle Lizon, Amy Faragher (congratulations on the change of last name!), Brian and Melissa Elkins, and all the rest that are sure to arrive in February or March (heh heh).
There’s not much to report for this week, except that we have converted our room into a hospital. I was sick last week. I ate something that wasn’t properly prepared, was sick, but I prayed and told Heavenly Father to take away all the yucky stuff out of my stomach all at once so I could sleep through the night. Two minutes later, He answered that prayer. (And, for the record, that really was the exact wording of my prayer. I don’t know how to translate “yucky stuff” in Spanish.) The following day I was exhausted and limited to a diet of liquids. I find it highly ironic because in the last email I sent, I mentioned how I wanted to have a parasite to lose weight faster and then 3 days later I get sick. I will be much more careful about what I want, because I think God will give it to me. Now, I am just battling a sore throat. But, my companion is suffering with a throat and nose infection that just wipes all the energy out of her and so we are going to the clinic today.
We had interviews with President Blunck yesterday and cleaning inspections of the room. They invited us, only the sisters that are serving in the jungle, to have a special dinner with them in the hotel they are staying at. They just spoil us sisters out here in the mission. And that is okay with us! So, after the doctor’s appointment we will be going there.
Yesterday we had dinner with a sister who is returning back to activity in the church after years of inactivity. She counseled us to read and follow our patriarchal blessings. She regrets not having married in the temple. She was sad and full of “if only…” My companion and I listened to her story and then we both took her by the hand and told her, “The race isn’t over yet! God is merciful and has His arms outstretched with His blessings awaiting you. Go get your blessings!” I have learned that so many times we look back on our lives and on bad decisions we have made and sometimes it can consume us. I believe that the miracle of forgiveness is that we can learn to feel God’s forgiveness and also that we can forgive ourselves and move on with our lives, looking to the future and not on the past. Those are some of the best blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. God wants us to give us all the blessings that we need and will give them to us, but we have to have trust in Him and ask for them and then work for them. I know He listens to our prayers and that He answers every one of them, according to our needs.
Have a happy week!
Love, Hermana Christensen
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year and New Life!
Hello, family and friends!
I love the story of the eagle. The eagle has the potential of living 70 years. At 40 years, it has to decide whether to keel over and die or to undergo a process of renovation. The process is painful and lasts 100 days. The eagle climbs the mountain, scratches off its curved claws and its useless beak, plucks its old plumes and is in constant pain. However, after the process, it can live 30 years more! All of us are like the eagle. We can say, “I’m too old to change. I have always lived this way.” Or, we can change and decide to have new life. We are using this story to help our investigators to change and recognize the worth of their souls in the eyes of their loving Heavenly Father!
Happy New Years! Church was full yesterday, full of people making the commitment to change and start the year off right. (Hopefully it doesn’t follow the same trends as the gym attendance in the USA, full in January and tapering off in March!) Our Ward Correlation was the best! It was full of motivated and sharp individuals who love the Lord and love missionary work.
Wow! This is the most supportive ward that I have ever been in. We use the Informe [report] and talk about families and their needs, both temporal and spiritual. Our mission plan is to do Family Home Evenings (FHE) in the houses of strong families in the ward, inviting their neighbors and our investigators, and the less-active members in their sector. For example, we mentioned that we did an FHE with the Lopez family and the leader asked, “What are their needs?” We mentioned that their kids have dengue fever and they immediately set about finding solutions to fumigate their house of mosquitoes. They all have great ideas. The ward is full of RMs that don’t hesitate to give us suggestions for how we can improve, which is awesome. Hey, that’s cool! And, they accompany us on the visits.
We visited a lot of less-active young women this week, together with YW of their own age. We did one of the Personal Progress goals together, about Individual Worth. We invited their moms to write the positive qualities that their daughters have and we also invited the daughters to do the same for their own mothers. (The idea is to bolster self-worth and also to improve harmony in the home with mothers and daughters.) We will follow up with them this week to see how they went. However, I don’t know how effective the visit was, because none of the YW attended church this week. Poco a poco (little by little).
We are working with Yesson, who has 9 years of inactivity in the church. We invited him to meet with the bishop (and he already set the appointment for this week!), we invited him to pray 5 times daily, and we invited him to attend church (and to play soccer with the missionaries in the mornings). He needs a lot of fellowshipping from the YSA. We found him by doing a Family Home Evening with the Pezo family.
This next week is full of FHEs (5 to be exact) and each one is different. Some of the leaders arrive to all of the FHEs, and we don’t want them to be bored, so we always have a variety of games and lessons. It’s fun for the missionaries, too.
Hna. Barrios is helping me to be so much healthier. She is a fitness buff and so we go running at 6:00 am or do aerobics with our pensionista, Vikki. It is so fun and gives me a lot of energy during the day. She’s helping me burn off the kilos of rice I have consumed in the course of 15 months in Peru. I always hoped I would get a parasite and lose weight really fast, but this is a much healthier method. Hna. Barrios (from Guatemala) is really wise and has great counsel, and so when she speaks, I listen and heed! She also has a great memory and is observant.(Sometimes I forget people’s names and didn’t recognize the Bishop’s wife on Sunday…yikes! That’s super awkward.)
Life is good! Happy New Year!
Love, Hermana Christensen
I love the story of the eagle. The eagle has the potential of living 70 years. At 40 years, it has to decide whether to keel over and die or to undergo a process of renovation. The process is painful and lasts 100 days. The eagle climbs the mountain, scratches off its curved claws and its useless beak, plucks its old plumes and is in constant pain. However, after the process, it can live 30 years more! All of us are like the eagle. We can say, “I’m too old to change. I have always lived this way.” Or, we can change and decide to have new life. We are using this story to help our investigators to change and recognize the worth of their souls in the eyes of their loving Heavenly Father!
Happy New Years! Church was full yesterday, full of people making the commitment to change and start the year off right. (Hopefully it doesn’t follow the same trends as the gym attendance in the USA, full in January and tapering off in March!) Our Ward Correlation was the best! It was full of motivated and sharp individuals who love the Lord and love missionary work.
Wow! This is the most supportive ward that I have ever been in. We use the Informe [report] and talk about families and their needs, both temporal and spiritual. Our mission plan is to do Family Home Evenings (FHE) in the houses of strong families in the ward, inviting their neighbors and our investigators, and the less-active members in their sector. For example, we mentioned that we did an FHE with the Lopez family and the leader asked, “What are their needs?” We mentioned that their kids have dengue fever and they immediately set about finding solutions to fumigate their house of mosquitoes. They all have great ideas. The ward is full of RMs that don’t hesitate to give us suggestions for how we can improve, which is awesome. Hey, that’s cool! And, they accompany us on the visits.
We visited a lot of less-active young women this week, together with YW of their own age. We did one of the Personal Progress goals together, about Individual Worth. We invited their moms to write the positive qualities that their daughters have and we also invited the daughters to do the same for their own mothers. (The idea is to bolster self-worth and also to improve harmony in the home with mothers and daughters.) We will follow up with them this week to see how they went. However, I don’t know how effective the visit was, because none of the YW attended church this week. Poco a poco (little by little).
We are working with Yesson, who has 9 years of inactivity in the church. We invited him to meet with the bishop (and he already set the appointment for this week!), we invited him to pray 5 times daily, and we invited him to attend church (and to play soccer with the missionaries in the mornings). He needs a lot of fellowshipping from the YSA. We found him by doing a Family Home Evening with the Pezo family.
This next week is full of FHEs (5 to be exact) and each one is different. Some of the leaders arrive to all of the FHEs, and we don’t want them to be bored, so we always have a variety of games and lessons. It’s fun for the missionaries, too.
Hna. Barrios is helping me to be so much healthier. She is a fitness buff and so we go running at 6:00 am or do aerobics with our pensionista, Vikki. It is so fun and gives me a lot of energy during the day. She’s helping me burn off the kilos of rice I have consumed in the course of 15 months in Peru. I always hoped I would get a parasite and lose weight really fast, but this is a much healthier method. Hna. Barrios (from Guatemala) is really wise and has great counsel, and so when she speaks, I listen and heed! She also has a great memory and is observant.(Sometimes I forget people’s names and didn’t recognize the Bishop’s wife on Sunday…yikes! That’s super awkward.)
Life is good! Happy New Year!
Love, Hermana Christensen
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