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.
