We were happy to see Lessy (16) baptized this Saturday. She reminded me of my sister Rachel. She was all dressed in white and glowed. I was gratified to see her being welcomed and accepted by the Young Women in the ward. It is so important!
We are teaching this cute family, Zaida (the mom), Angelica Maria, Mauro, Percy, Jerry and Kenny. They are so humble and smart! They are going to be baptized the 10th of April. They have so many needs. The last time we visited them the little boy, Kenny, was sick. They thought that he had dengue fever. Fortunately, the mom made a special tea which helped Kenny to feel better. We are trying to help her find stable employment so she can support her family. Since we walk around and meet so many people every day, we sometimes come across job opportunities that we can pass along to our people. And, “our people” includes everyone.
Our investigator, Marcia, couldn’t come to church because she was looking for work in order to feed her kids. She does odd jobs, doing laundry, selling food, etc. When people pray and give thanks for their “daily bread” they aren’t kidding. So many people here are barely surviving from day to day. The good thing is that Marcia has a special talent for crocheting, and will soon start up her crocheting business. She is really good, too. I used to chastise my mom for buying stuff she didn’t need from people who sold cleaning products door-to-door, but now I find myself doing a similar sort of thing when I can. I probably don’t need 10 crocheted headbands, but if it helps Marcia…
These people have challenges, but they have so much strength that comes from their faith in Jesus Christ. They have nothing by material standards, but they have so much hope for a better world. As a missionary, I really feel like I need the Peruvians and they need the gospel.
I’m looking forward to Easter this week and to General Conference. The Peruvians here don’t celebrate with the eggs and Easter Bunny, but they focus on the Holy Week (many Catholic traditions for Ash Wednesday, Holy Friday, Easter Sunday, etc) and on Christ. I want to do the same, too.
God bless you!
Hna. Christensen
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Challenges--and Blessings too! (written 22 Mar 2010)
We eat lunch every Wednesday with a family that lives in a house like that of the family in Swiss Family Robinson. It is built on tall poles hovering over a lake and is made out of wood. Every time we enter their house I bonk my head on the post (you think I would learn from my previous experiences, but the impact has killed so many brain cells that it is not registered in my memory) because I am tall by Peruvian standards. One day, my comp, Hna. Duarte, had to use the bathroom and I obediently accompanied her to where the bathroom was stationed, to stand guard. When she finished, she showed me the “toilet”—an opening in the wooden floor of the house where someone had cut out one of wooden slats. We still laugh about the ingenuity of the “toilet.” Aw, technology!
The two major challenges here are the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. Someone told me that Peru is the 2nd or 3rd highest consumer of alcoholic beverages. I don’t know if that is for all of South America or the world, but I believe it. It’s difficult to proselyte on Saturdays or Sunday evenings, because everyone is tipsy. It’s associated with soccer…after every soccer game everyone gets together to celebrate. It’s also difficult to find couples that are married. There is a lot of cohabitation, partly because the people feel they have to save up their money to have a big celebration as part of their wedding. We have a list of 10-15 couples that would be able to be baptized if they were to be married. Every few months, according to demand, the Church sponsors a massive wedding, which is more affordable for people. Of the 10-15 couples that we have taught, 5 of them would be baptized the next day. We are waiting for the next massive wedding.
Yes, there are challenges, but there are so many blessings and so many good people. I am learning from small experiences every day that God is blessing me and helping me in all aspects of the work. Tender mercies- My missionary plaque fell off…but it fell in my lap when we were in the motocar. If it had fallen off at any other time, it would have been lost forever. My camera fell out of my bag and Percy handed it to me…I am noticing a trend with dropping things. Cuidado! (Careful!)
Alexander (20) was baptized at 8 years but has been inactive until recently. They don’t have any record of his baptism, so we are preparing him for his 2nd baptism! He is having to make a lot of big changes in his life, but he is animated for his baptism. He has the support and friendship of his friend Wilbur, who is guiding him and testifying to him, answering questions, etc. Oh, how I wish that every investigator had a friend like Wilbur to help him/her in the transition time of giving up wordly things and living a new life in Christ! It’s difficult to change, and almost impossible without the help of friends.
The work goes forth. I really want to help people focus on reading the Book of Mormon and praying.Those are critical if they are to gain a testimony. I learned that most people here readily accept a free gift, but not everyone reads it. We are going to read it together with our investigators, make questions to help them get more out of their homework assignments, give them a colored pencil so they can make their reading more meaningful, and we have a paper that says "He Leido El Libro de Mormon" and they mark a square for every chapter they have read. Let’s hope we can help people get excited for their scriptures, because they are amazing.
Be excited for General Conference. It's coming up soon!
-Hna. Christensen
The two major challenges here are the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. Someone told me that Peru is the 2nd or 3rd highest consumer of alcoholic beverages. I don’t know if that is for all of South America or the world, but I believe it. It’s difficult to proselyte on Saturdays or Sunday evenings, because everyone is tipsy. It’s associated with soccer…after every soccer game everyone gets together to celebrate. It’s also difficult to find couples that are married. There is a lot of cohabitation, partly because the people feel they have to save up their money to have a big celebration as part of their wedding. We have a list of 10-15 couples that would be able to be baptized if they were to be married. Every few months, according to demand, the Church sponsors a massive wedding, which is more affordable for people. Of the 10-15 couples that we have taught, 5 of them would be baptized the next day. We are waiting for the next massive wedding.
Yes, there are challenges, but there are so many blessings and so many good people. I am learning from small experiences every day that God is blessing me and helping me in all aspects of the work. Tender mercies- My missionary plaque fell off…but it fell in my lap when we were in the motocar. If it had fallen off at any other time, it would have been lost forever. My camera fell out of my bag and Percy handed it to me…I am noticing a trend with dropping things. Cuidado! (Careful!)
Alexander (20) was baptized at 8 years but has been inactive until recently. They don’t have any record of his baptism, so we are preparing him for his 2nd baptism! He is having to make a lot of big changes in his life, but he is animated for his baptism. He has the support and friendship of his friend Wilbur, who is guiding him and testifying to him, answering questions, etc. Oh, how I wish that every investigator had a friend like Wilbur to help him/her in the transition time of giving up wordly things and living a new life in Christ! It’s difficult to change, and almost impossible without the help of friends.
The work goes forth. I really want to help people focus on reading the Book of Mormon and praying.Those are critical if they are to gain a testimony. I learned that most people here readily accept a free gift, but not everyone reads it. We are going to read it together with our investigators, make questions to help them get more out of their homework assignments, give them a colored pencil so they can make their reading more meaningful, and we have a paper that says "He Leido El Libro de Mormon" and they mark a square for every chapter they have read. Let’s hope we can help people get excited for their scriptures, because they are amazing.
Be excited for General Conference. It's coming up soon!
-Hna. Christensen
Monday, March 15, 2010
Little Things that Make a Missionary Happy
The following is a translated conversation with our Zone Leader, Elder Ruiz, trying to convince him to let us sister missionaries get together on a P-day to do facials (typically not a missionary-approved activity).
Hna. C- Elder, our appearance is the first message we send as missionaries, and we need to look our best.
Hna. Pretell- Look at my hair, look at my bugbites, I need help!
Hna. C- Think of all the new investigators we will have.
Hna. Pretell- This is not because we want to, Elder. It is pure obligation.
We will find out soon if it is approved or not. :) Let's see if our arguments were convincing or not...
The little things that make a missionary happy:
1. When a member accompanies us and bears his testimony in a lesson.
2. When the members make our investigators at church feel welcome.
3. When the members visit our investigators and invite them to activities.
4. When investigators have a thirst and real desire to know the truth and are anxious to read the Book of Mormon.
5. When investigators ask sincere questions and recognize the importance of the gospel in their life, and when they recognize the Spirit.
All of these things happened this week. We found good families that want to follow Christ and want to learn his restored gospel. They are so special. There is the Arimuya family—the mom is Zaida and her kids are Angelica Maria, Mauro, Percy, Jerry, and Kenny. There is the Guerra Vela family—Mario (28), Karina (20) and Kevin (18). We went to bring them to church and Kevin was ironing his T-shirt to wear, the best that he had. Mario was not able to come, but sought us out after the meetings to apologize for breaking his commitment to attend (he had something come up). Kevin had read the Restoration pamphlet and had questions about Martin Luther. I was grateful for my interest in the Reformation and for my class on American Christianity. I am continually surprised at how my random interests and knowledge are useful at times here in Peru (for example, before the mission I became interested in Bollywood, thanks to my Indian friends. Here, to my surprise, Bollywood is VERY popular. We pass by the houses and see the teenagers dancing along to the videos. Huh? Who’d a thought? The world is flat).
That's all for this week! Signing off...
Hna. Christensen
Hna. C- Elder, our appearance is the first message we send as missionaries, and we need to look our best.
Hna. Pretell- Look at my hair, look at my bugbites, I need help!
Hna. C- Think of all the new investigators we will have.
Hna. Pretell- This is not because we want to, Elder. It is pure obligation.
We will find out soon if it is approved or not. :) Let's see if our arguments were convincing or not...
The little things that make a missionary happy:
1. When a member accompanies us and bears his testimony in a lesson.
2. When the members make our investigators at church feel welcome.
3. When the members visit our investigators and invite them to activities.
4. When investigators have a thirst and real desire to know the truth and are anxious to read the Book of Mormon.
5. When investigators ask sincere questions and recognize the importance of the gospel in their life, and when they recognize the Spirit.
All of these things happened this week. We found good families that want to follow Christ and want to learn his restored gospel. They are so special. There is the Arimuya family—the mom is Zaida and her kids are Angelica Maria, Mauro, Percy, Jerry, and Kenny. There is the Guerra Vela family—Mario (28), Karina (20) and Kevin (18). We went to bring them to church and Kevin was ironing his T-shirt to wear, the best that he had. Mario was not able to come, but sought us out after the meetings to apologize for breaking his commitment to attend (he had something come up). Kevin had read the Restoration pamphlet and had questions about Martin Luther. I was grateful for my interest in the Reformation and for my class on American Christianity. I am continually surprised at how my random interests and knowledge are useful at times here in Peru (for example, before the mission I became interested in Bollywood, thanks to my Indian friends. Here, to my surprise, Bollywood is VERY popular. We pass by the houses and see the teenagers dancing along to the videos. Huh? Who’d a thought? The world is flat).
That's all for this week! Signing off...
Hna. Christensen
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Adventures & Lessons (sent 8 Mar 2010)
Dear family and friends,
My new companion, Hna. Duarte is from Guatemala and is a real mover and shaker. She is an executive-type missionary, with her vision and goals and desires to work hard and give her best. She is very diligent. She also likes American music and American culture, and often she will start singing 2 notes ofa song by Backstreet Boys and I will recognize it and join in. I’m grateful for her faith and for her work ethic. Also, she is not afraid to tell people like it is (be bold but not overbearing!). We balance each other out. This transfer we are helping each other with improving our language skills and our teaching skills. We are the odd couple, but we are friends!
Oh! I was SO happy and excited for my Latin companions and the other Latin missionaries. The Church has developed a program for the Spanish-speaking missionaries to learn English. When they pass the course, they receive recognition and certification from BYU’s English Language Center. That will help them when they return from the mission to get better-paying jobs. For many of my companions, they are REQUIRED to know English for their work. It teaches them English for missionaries, as well as English they need for future employment. The funny thing is that everyone is on chapter one which is called “Meeting the Bishop.” All of the Latin missionaries in my zone go around practicing and they tell me, “How are you, Bishop?” I just respond with, “Fine, thank you.” I balance them out by teaching them slang (and the appropriate contexts to use slang).
Tuesday we had a jam-packed day. It was a day when we met in the morning as a zone to set our goals and to pray, and to work double that day. When the meeting ended, Hna. Duarte had to use the bathroom. She left her umbrella outside the door, to let the Elders know that we were still in the building. After using the bathroom, we turned the door handle of the chapel to leave and discovered to our horror that we were locked in the church! Everyone was going to return for a meeting at 8 pm. We did the first thing we could think of and we took turns praying (I made sure to include a specific timetable, we wanted to be rescued BEFORE 8 pm. The more specific the prayer, the better).
Then, it’s interesting to see the different approaches we each took. I resigned myself to our fate and began sweeping and cleaning the chalkboards, and Hna. Duarte began yelling at passerbys to call the Elders, waving a bright red bag I brought that day. Twenty minutes later the Elders pass by the church, they see the bright red bag, and they hear Hna. Duarte yelling. They call someone who has the keys to come rescue us. Fortunately, we were only in the church for 40 minutes, instead of the projected 10 hours.
I learned many valuable lessons that day about faith. Is faith simply a plea in our prayers for help and then passively sitting in the locked chapel, or is it pleaing for help and then working to have our prayers answered? We can pray to bless the missionaries in other parts of the world, but how great will be the day when we pray as individuals and families to find people for the missionaries to teach?
Sometimes it is hard to meet such great people that we teach that have to travel. We met with Jharlin one last time on Sunday, the day before he left for 10 months to work on the border, and we gave him a Book of Mormon and a study journal. We are waiting for our friend Jander to get back at the end of March. He is a dedicated man of the Catholic faith who felt the Spirit when Hna. Tepen and I taught him last month.
My testimony of the need for both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is increasing. I happened to read in Acts 3 and shared what I learned about how the prophets prophesied of Christ with Hna Duarte. Much to my surprise, she shared with me what she learned in 3 Nephi 20-27. There is a chapter there that has almost the exact things in there! It was crazy. It reminded me of a day when Hna. Flores and I were reading in the Book of Mormon. We discovered to our surprise that she was reading the prophecy, and I was reading the fulfillment of that prophecy. All of this without having planned it in advance. It’s so cool. My testimony and love of the scriptures is growing all the time.
Keep going on in faith! It will be spring for you soon (but here it is always summer!)
Love, Hna Christensen
My new companion, Hna. Duarte is from Guatemala and is a real mover and shaker. She is an executive-type missionary, with her vision and goals and desires to work hard and give her best. She is very diligent. She also likes American music and American culture, and often she will start singing 2 notes ofa song by Backstreet Boys and I will recognize it and join in. I’m grateful for her faith and for her work ethic. Also, she is not afraid to tell people like it is (be bold but not overbearing!). We balance each other out. This transfer we are helping each other with improving our language skills and our teaching skills. We are the odd couple, but we are friends!
Oh! I was SO happy and excited for my Latin companions and the other Latin missionaries. The Church has developed a program for the Spanish-speaking missionaries to learn English. When they pass the course, they receive recognition and certification from BYU’s English Language Center. That will help them when they return from the mission to get better-paying jobs. For many of my companions, they are REQUIRED to know English for their work. It teaches them English for missionaries, as well as English they need for future employment. The funny thing is that everyone is on chapter one which is called “Meeting the Bishop.” All of the Latin missionaries in my zone go around practicing and they tell me, “How are you, Bishop?” I just respond with, “Fine, thank you.” I balance them out by teaching them slang (and the appropriate contexts to use slang).
Tuesday we had a jam-packed day. It was a day when we met in the morning as a zone to set our goals and to pray, and to work double that day. When the meeting ended, Hna. Duarte had to use the bathroom. She left her umbrella outside the door, to let the Elders know that we were still in the building. After using the bathroom, we turned the door handle of the chapel to leave and discovered to our horror that we were locked in the church! Everyone was going to return for a meeting at 8 pm. We did the first thing we could think of and we took turns praying (I made sure to include a specific timetable, we wanted to be rescued BEFORE 8 pm. The more specific the prayer, the better).
Then, it’s interesting to see the different approaches we each took. I resigned myself to our fate and began sweeping and cleaning the chalkboards, and Hna. Duarte began yelling at passerbys to call the Elders, waving a bright red bag I brought that day. Twenty minutes later the Elders pass by the church, they see the bright red bag, and they hear Hna. Duarte yelling. They call someone who has the keys to come rescue us. Fortunately, we were only in the church for 40 minutes, instead of the projected 10 hours.
I learned many valuable lessons that day about faith. Is faith simply a plea in our prayers for help and then passively sitting in the locked chapel, or is it pleaing for help and then working to have our prayers answered? We can pray to bless the missionaries in other parts of the world, but how great will be the day when we pray as individuals and families to find people for the missionaries to teach?
Sometimes it is hard to meet such great people that we teach that have to travel. We met with Jharlin one last time on Sunday, the day before he left for 10 months to work on the border, and we gave him a Book of Mormon and a study journal. We are waiting for our friend Jander to get back at the end of March. He is a dedicated man of the Catholic faith who felt the Spirit when Hna. Tepen and I taught him last month.
My testimony of the need for both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is increasing. I happened to read in Acts 3 and shared what I learned about how the prophets prophesied of Christ with Hna Duarte. Much to my surprise, she shared with me what she learned in 3 Nephi 20-27. There is a chapter there that has almost the exact things in there! It was crazy. It reminded me of a day when Hna. Flores and I were reading in the Book of Mormon. We discovered to our surprise that she was reading the prophecy, and I was reading the fulfillment of that prophecy. All of this without having planned it in advance. It’s so cool. My testimony and love of the scriptures is growing all the time.
Keep going on in faith! It will be spring for you soon (but here it is always summer!)
Love, Hna Christensen
Monday, March 1, 2010
Saying "Adios" and "Hola" to Missionary Companions
Shout outs: I was surprised and delighted to get a bundle of letters from the following people: Richard Jamison, Laura Swan, Crystal Baysa, Jennifer Ricks, Grandpa Witt, Kezia Carter, Michelle Lizon, Kari Stolzenburg, Uncle Hunter and Aunt Cathy, and my mom! Thank you so much. You don’t know how much a letter means to a missionary, even if it takes a month or 2 to get to me. Thank you for your support.
Please keep the people of Haiti and Chile in your prayers, because of the earthquake there. I thought of cousin Nick who served his mission in Concepcion, which was damaged severely by the earthquake. We don’t know much of the news, but a lot of people in Peru have been affected as well.
I said “adios” to Hna. Tepen this week, as she is going to spend her last transfer in Lima. I spent the next 2 days in a trio with my friends Hna. Moreno and Hna. Pretell. I felt like I had just broken up with someone or something, because everything reminded me of Hna. Tepen. We were teaching a young man who was wearing a normal black t-shirt and I said to Hna. Moreno, “Hna. Tepen would love that shirt, because she loves the color black” (she was looking for the perfect black polo to bring back to Guatemala).
However, she will be happy to know that her legacy lives on. I, usually not a fan of animals, found my self hugging chickens this week. The election campaigns are going strong, and the phrase, “A chicken in every pot” is happening here. The candidates took truckloads of baby chicks and gave away a dozen to every family. I know what I will be eating for every lunch and dinner in about 4 months. Probably the same baby chicks that I petted and held in my hand….
However, my new companion, Hna. Duarte, is my consolation. She is incredible! She is from Guatemala, is 29, and is almost done studying marketing (she just has to finish her thesis). She is very goal-oriented and very diligent, and hopefully she is rubbing off on me. It really is amazing how much I am learning from each companion. She knows a lot of American songs, and so every once in a while I hear her singing songs from the 80s, or Celine Dion. Of course, we change the lyrics so that they are appropriate for missionaries (I was reminded of Karen’s example of “Lead thou me on” to the tune of Clarkson’s song). We are becoming good friends and we are working hard.
I love little kids. We did a Family Home Evening with a family, which was more like the Primary. We enter in and there are 15(!) kids there, sitting and waiting for us (they had invited the neighbor kids). Hna. Duarte snapped into action (she has 5 years teaching Primary) and committed each of them to help do a specific chore this week. She said, “I am going to talk with your mom this week to see who did their chores. Only people that do their chores get a prize. What will you do for your chore?” The kids offered various responses.
Kid 1: I’m going to make my bed.
Kid 2: I’m going to wash the dishes.
Kid 3: I’m not going to wet the bed!
We all laughed upon hearing the last response from this cute 3 year old girl, but really, it would be an amazing service if she didn’t do it. It’s hard enough to do laundry for so many kids, let alone by hand.
Also, as we began the lesson, this cute little boy said, “Dios esta arriba!” (God is above, or, upstairs). We said, “That’s right. Very good.” I love little kids.
Sisinio (35, father of 2) shared his testimony: “I don’t have money. I come from humble circumstances. But when I go to church with my family, I feel like I have it all.”
God bless the people of Peru and God bless you.
Hna. Christensen
Please keep the people of Haiti and Chile in your prayers, because of the earthquake there. I thought of cousin Nick who served his mission in Concepcion, which was damaged severely by the earthquake. We don’t know much of the news, but a lot of people in Peru have been affected as well.
I said “adios” to Hna. Tepen this week, as she is going to spend her last transfer in Lima. I spent the next 2 days in a trio with my friends Hna. Moreno and Hna. Pretell. I felt like I had just broken up with someone or something, because everything reminded me of Hna. Tepen. We were teaching a young man who was wearing a normal black t-shirt and I said to Hna. Moreno, “Hna. Tepen would love that shirt, because she loves the color black” (she was looking for the perfect black polo to bring back to Guatemala).
However, she will be happy to know that her legacy lives on. I, usually not a fan of animals, found my self hugging chickens this week. The election campaigns are going strong, and the phrase, “A chicken in every pot” is happening here. The candidates took truckloads of baby chicks and gave away a dozen to every family. I know what I will be eating for every lunch and dinner in about 4 months. Probably the same baby chicks that I petted and held in my hand….
However, my new companion, Hna. Duarte, is my consolation. She is incredible! She is from Guatemala, is 29, and is almost done studying marketing (she just has to finish her thesis). She is very goal-oriented and very diligent, and hopefully she is rubbing off on me. It really is amazing how much I am learning from each companion. She knows a lot of American songs, and so every once in a while I hear her singing songs from the 80s, or Celine Dion. Of course, we change the lyrics so that they are appropriate for missionaries (I was reminded of Karen’s example of “Lead thou me on” to the tune of Clarkson’s song). We are becoming good friends and we are working hard.
I love little kids. We did a Family Home Evening with a family, which was more like the Primary. We enter in and there are 15(!) kids there, sitting and waiting for us (they had invited the neighbor kids). Hna. Duarte snapped into action (she has 5 years teaching Primary) and committed each of them to help do a specific chore this week. She said, “I am going to talk with your mom this week to see who did their chores. Only people that do their chores get a prize. What will you do for your chore?” The kids offered various responses.
Kid 1: I’m going to make my bed.
Kid 2: I’m going to wash the dishes.
Kid 3: I’m not going to wet the bed!
We all laughed upon hearing the last response from this cute 3 year old girl, but really, it would be an amazing service if she didn’t do it. It’s hard enough to do laundry for so many kids, let alone by hand.
Also, as we began the lesson, this cute little boy said, “Dios esta arriba!” (God is above, or, upstairs). We said, “That’s right. Very good.” I love little kids.
Sisinio (35, father of 2) shared his testimony: “I don’t have money. I come from humble circumstances. But when I go to church with my family, I feel like I have it all.”
God bless the people of Peru and God bless you.
Hna. Christensen
Monday, February 22, 2010
No Technical Difficulties This Week!
I am sorry I did not write last week, as the Internet was slow and it would not permit me to check my email. The good news, however, is that I checked my email after 2 weeks, and the feedback that I got is that people actually read my updates. Whoa! That’s motivation to have even cooler mission stories to share. Thank you to my loyal readership.
This Sunday we brought our investigators Esterdrith and Dolly to church. As we arrived, Percy, our ward mission leader approached us. “Did the Bishop let you know that you both are giving talks in church today?” We looked at each other and shook our heads, no. “Well, at least we know now and have time to prepare!” we said. Hna. Tepen gave a talk on love and I gave a talk on the power of our thoughts. We choose our thoughts, and our thoughts determine our experiences in this life. We can choose to fuel our frustration with angry complaints and criticism or we can choose to be content with expressions of gratitude and love. The irony is that I always tend to give talks or make comments in church of things that I need to work on. I felt like I was giving myself that talk more than anyone else.
We are teaching so many good people. Jarlin, 25, is a teacher and every missionary’s dream investigator. We gave him homework, and he studies and understands the gospel rapidly. The only thing that is a challenge for him is that he is going to leave next week for 10 months! He is a teacher in a tiny city on the border of Brazil and Peru. We told him, “We are going to give you homework assignments. You get to read the Book of Mormon, 8 times!” We are sending him with a study notebook, too. Hna. Tepen is going to write him via email after the mission to make sure he keeps on doing his homework assignments (there are no ulterior motives!!!). Long distance education is wonderful.
I am going to miss Hna. Tepen. She is finishing her mission in Lima, in the same zone where I began my mission. I start singing Lion King’s “Circle of Life” because the mission life cycle is completed, in a sense. She has taught me so much. Because she loves me, she tells me clearly how I need to repent, but she does it with so much love, that I only have appreciation that she has the guts to tell me. I am going to miss that kid. She is amazing. ;) I am going to stay here in Iquitos, but I have a new companion, Hna. Duarte. I bet she is amazing. I feel a little weird because I am senior companion. I wish I had paid more attention to where the houses are! Yikes! Pray for me!
Choose the right!
Love, Hna. Christensen
This Sunday we brought our investigators Esterdrith and Dolly to church. As we arrived, Percy, our ward mission leader approached us. “Did the Bishop let you know that you both are giving talks in church today?” We looked at each other and shook our heads, no. “Well, at least we know now and have time to prepare!” we said. Hna. Tepen gave a talk on love and I gave a talk on the power of our thoughts. We choose our thoughts, and our thoughts determine our experiences in this life. We can choose to fuel our frustration with angry complaints and criticism or we can choose to be content with expressions of gratitude and love. The irony is that I always tend to give talks or make comments in church of things that I need to work on. I felt like I was giving myself that talk more than anyone else.
We are teaching so many good people. Jarlin, 25, is a teacher and every missionary’s dream investigator. We gave him homework, and he studies and understands the gospel rapidly. The only thing that is a challenge for him is that he is going to leave next week for 10 months! He is a teacher in a tiny city on the border of Brazil and Peru. We told him, “We are going to give you homework assignments. You get to read the Book of Mormon, 8 times!” We are sending him with a study notebook, too. Hna. Tepen is going to write him via email after the mission to make sure he keeps on doing his homework assignments (there are no ulterior motives!!!). Long distance education is wonderful.
I am going to miss Hna. Tepen. She is finishing her mission in Lima, in the same zone where I began my mission. I start singing Lion King’s “Circle of Life” because the mission life cycle is completed, in a sense. She has taught me so much. Because she loves me, she tells me clearly how I need to repent, but she does it with so much love, that I only have appreciation that she has the guts to tell me. I am going to miss that kid. She is amazing. ;) I am going to stay here in Iquitos, but I have a new companion, Hna. Duarte. I bet she is amazing. I feel a little weird because I am senior companion. I wish I had paid more attention to where the houses are! Yikes! Pray for me!
Choose the right!
Love, Hna. Christensen
Monday, February 8, 2010
"Good News" in and from the Jungle!
Shout outs this week: Happy birthday to my sister Lisa (Feb. 9)! I love you! Congratulations to my friends Kay and Ernie Wilkins, who are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary this Valentine’s Day (Sunday). I love you, too!
We are happy in our new area. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone again, but this tiny city of mine (Iquitos) in the jungle has 1 million people! There are a couple of houses built out of wood on poles, for when the tide comes in, and a couple of houses with thatched roofs, but we live in a city with paved roads, internet cafes, and ice cream vendors on bicycles. Sorry to disappoint everyone. However, the threat of dengue is real, and we only have water in the morning for a couple of hours. That’s kind of adventurish, no?We have the support of the Bishop and of the members, which makes all the difference. They know that we are here to work with them and support them in their plans, and help them in their responsibilities.
Retention here is a huge problem. In our ward there are 300 baptized young single adults, and only 7 that are active. Ouch! Part of the problem is that former missionaries taught and baptized young people. When the missionaries left, the young people didn’t have any friends in the church. They would enter in the front door and leave out the back. They would attend their baptism and confirmation and never come back to church. Hna. Tepen and I have the same philosophy---we don’t want baptisms, we want real conversions. We don’t baptize little kids that don’t have the support of their parents and won’t be able to progress and keep their baptismal covenants.
Hna. Tepen is the best, because she is making me learn the streets and how to find the houses of the members. Also, I never liked making street contacts in Lima, because I wasn’t good at them and the people rejected us. However, we have found many good people here that accept appointments with the missionaries. This motivates me to contact people and it strengthens my faith that the Lord puts people that are prepared in our path when we do our part and open our mouths.
Hna. Tepen is a powerhouse missionary. She is so humble and so experienced, and she is teaching me so much every day and motivating me to be the best I can be. We have so much unity and I want to cry when I think that we only have 3 weeks left together (she is finishing her mission, probably in Lima). When we teach together, we both feel the Spirit so powerfully, testifying that these things are true. We know that the investigators can feel the same Spirit. It is heavenly.
However, I’m afraid that I have corrupted her by teaching her English slang, such as “ you’re da bomb”, “your face” and “Oh, brother.” I had forgotten that I had taught her these things. Once, she said, “Oh, brother” and rolled her eyes and I stopped and stared at her. “Who taught you that?” I demanded (I was kidding). “You did,” she told me. “I don’t think so. I think one of your other companions taught you that.” Now I have a sassy teenager on my hands. We joke around a lot, which is a lot of fun. We work diligently together and I learned that missionary work is work, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Keep the commandments, but only if you want to be happy and want God to bless you.
Hermana Christensen
We are happy in our new area. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone again, but this tiny city of mine (Iquitos) in the jungle has 1 million people! There are a couple of houses built out of wood on poles, for when the tide comes in, and a couple of houses with thatched roofs, but we live in a city with paved roads, internet cafes, and ice cream vendors on bicycles. Sorry to disappoint everyone. However, the threat of dengue is real, and we only have water in the morning for a couple of hours. That’s kind of adventurish, no?We have the support of the Bishop and of the members, which makes all the difference. They know that we are here to work with them and support them in their plans, and help them in their responsibilities.
Retention here is a huge problem. In our ward there are 300 baptized young single adults, and only 7 that are active. Ouch! Part of the problem is that former missionaries taught and baptized young people. When the missionaries left, the young people didn’t have any friends in the church. They would enter in the front door and leave out the back. They would attend their baptism and confirmation and never come back to church. Hna. Tepen and I have the same philosophy---we don’t want baptisms, we want real conversions. We don’t baptize little kids that don’t have the support of their parents and won’t be able to progress and keep their baptismal covenants.
Hna. Tepen is the best, because she is making me learn the streets and how to find the houses of the members. Also, I never liked making street contacts in Lima, because I wasn’t good at them and the people rejected us. However, we have found many good people here that accept appointments with the missionaries. This motivates me to contact people and it strengthens my faith that the Lord puts people that are prepared in our path when we do our part and open our mouths.
Hna. Tepen is a powerhouse missionary. She is so humble and so experienced, and she is teaching me so much every day and motivating me to be the best I can be. We have so much unity and I want to cry when I think that we only have 3 weeks left together (she is finishing her mission, probably in Lima). When we teach together, we both feel the Spirit so powerfully, testifying that these things are true. We know that the investigators can feel the same Spirit. It is heavenly.
However, I’m afraid that I have corrupted her by teaching her English slang, such as “ you’re da bomb”, “your face” and “Oh, brother.” I had forgotten that I had taught her these things. Once, she said, “Oh, brother” and rolled her eyes and I stopped and stared at her. “Who taught you that?” I demanded (I was kidding). “You did,” she told me. “I don’t think so. I think one of your other companions taught you that.” Now I have a sassy teenager on my hands. We joke around a lot, which is a lot of fun. We work diligently together and I learned that missionary work is work, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Keep the commandments, but only if you want to be happy and want God to bless you.
Hermana Christensen
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