Okay so I’m trying to think where I should start....this is always my problem on Mondays haha cuz a lot of things happened this week. We’ll start with bad news and progress to good news to end on a good note!
This week there was a special on Discovery Channel about the beginning of the Church that Camilo saw. Obviously they focused a lot on the part about polygamy and even believe that the church of Jesus Christ still follows this practice. So we showed up at his house and he began to ask us a bunch of questions about Church History, we were definitely not prepared for that. Anyways he was way bummed out, and I think he lost a lot of confidence in the church. Unfortunately that’s what happens if you don’t read and pray about the Book of Mormon, that’s what we told him. We explained the whole story and invited him again to make a sincere effort to study the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it’s true. We left feeling better about it, and he said he was going to come to church, but he didn’t so now he has us even more worried. We’ll have to work with him on that.
Johanna and her kids were doing sooooo well this week, until Saturday. Before that Johanna was so happy and excited because she had stopped smoking, and gave so much thanks to God and to us for that help. She was so excited about the baptism of her kids and the changes that her family was making, and there’s definitely a different spirit in the home. They have had some serious problems to overcome in their family, especially Danitza. Apparently on Saturday Danitza told her mom she hated her and that she wished she’d leave or die, along with other words I’m sure. We don’t know the exact reasons why, but I’m sure it was because Danitza wanted to go to some party over the weekend and Johanna told her no. Anyways that really hurt Johanna and she popped a whole bottle of pills....we were so sad when we heard. She was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, and thankfully is stable now, but she’ll be there for about a week. We went to visit her yesterday and she appeared healthy enough, she was up and walking around, but she looked so sad and without hope. We honestly love them so much so it hurt a lot to hear that story and see her like that. We gave her a blessing and are going to go back and visit her when we can. Now we’re worried about Danitza. We haven’t seen her for a few days cuz she didn’t come to church with us when we passed by their house to pick them up. Sebastian came and is doing better, but still we’re going to have to take care of that family a lot. I had the idea that today we’re going to go over there with cookies and chocolate milk and treats, and take over paper and colorful markers to make Get Well Cards for their mom. We also hope to have the chance to talk to Danitza and explain about repentance, cuz she needs to do it. Sebastian told us he still wants to be baptized, and so we’re hopeful there, we just don’t know how Danitza is, so pray for them.
Saturday and Sunday we didn’t leave the house (except to go to church), and just slept, and studied and rested cuz Elder Lopez and I are still sick and not getting better. Elder Lopez has actually been sick since he got here about 2 months ago, so we thought it a good idea to take a weekend and just get better. We’re still sick today, but I feel a lot, lot better today. We’re also going to have our Zone Leaders buy us medicine so we can get better and keep working.
I’m a little frustrated with the week we had, partly due to being sick, but we really don’t have anyone else besides Sebastian and Danitza to teach. We have some others, but they’re not coming to church, so I don’t know how seriously they really want what we’re teaching. We’re going to have to do a lot of contacts and finding, which never is a fun day, hours and hours of knocking doors is not the best way to use time, but I don’t think we have any other choice at this point. Faith, work, and a lot of prayer is what we need to get going again and rebuild our pool of investigators.
As for good news as I said Sebastian still wants to be baptized and his baptismal date is for this Sunday! Danitza also has that same date and was excited about being baptized, but we’re going to see how she’s doing tonight. I really hope we can reanimate them both and get them happy and excited again.
Also I am currently writing this email here in Talca cuz we had to come back and pick up Elder Lopez´s visa and buy medicine so the secretary of the mission, Sister Fishbeck called the zone leaders down here in Talca which are Elder Jensen aaaaaand Elder Pitcher to come pick us up to go with us today! So I’m with Elder Pitcher today haha. It was cool to talk to him for a bit, but right now we’re both just writing. Before this we went to the mall and bought ties, cuz I needed some new ones. And we’re going to go get lunch together before we head back to Molina. Fun, fun stuff, but it was weird to have my pre mission American Fork life merge with my current mission life haha we both found it kind of weird, but it’s been great to see him again. We took a picture with his camera and so I’ll send that! President Humphrey wrote me and told me that we’ll be having a conference in late September or October, but that he or the Assistants to the President are going to come up to Curicó to give some presentation or orientation thing, so I will be getting that package within the next few weeks and will take a lot of pics to make up for all the lost time!
I had a nice surprise today as well. Elder Viana, Elder Mayberry, and a member from Piduco named Rafael (a teenage kid that always came out with us to work) all wrote me today, so we had a mini Piduco reunion haha it was way fun to hear from them. I really, really miss Talca and those first few months of my mission and honestly would go back in time to do it again cuz i loved it. It was so much fun living with Elder Viana, Mayberry, and Jorgenson (who now is brother Jorgensen as he finished his mission last transfer). The mission is sooo sooo cool and I love it and the time is going by way too fast. I feel like there’s not enough time to get everything done. I’m going to have to be a leader here to finish out this transfer cuz Elder Lopez is really passive and just follows what I say, so if I’m lazy he’s lazy, if I wake up late he wakes up late. So I have make a lot of goals and even a goal sheet to mark down if I’m completing everything to help keep me going and get things a bit more organized. I really want to be a good missionary, but sometimes I feel like I can’t do everything and I still have so much to learn, but I’m trying.
On Saturday like I told you we didn’t leave to work cuz Elder Lopez said he was too sick, so he slept all day (literally) and I studied all day from the Bible, Book of Mormon, the Liahona, and wrote in my journals, and listened to music. It was a good day that I think that I needed and I had a couple cool personal experiences. First I was reading an article in the Liahona about the Aaronic priesthood, and I thought back on all the awesome times and experiences I had as a teenager and a member of that quorum. For some reason I had tears streaming down my face and was filled with homesickness (which isn’t a problem that I have, don’t worry haha) it was just a random moment. As I was feeling like this I had the clear thought come into my mind of ¨Be strong and of Good courage for thou art laying the foundation of a great work. ¨ Even as I’m writing those words I am feeling the spirit confirm them to me that they’re true. Anyways that comforted me a ton and I got on my knees and said a long prayer of gratitude and prayed for all of you and my investigators and thanked God for all of the people in my life. Then I thanked him for my Savior Jesus Christ and for His love for me, during that part of the prayer I broke down again and was sitting there bawling in our study room while Elder Lopez slept. Anyways I’ve really come to love my Savior, that is what that experience taught me. He’s not just a famous character from a fairytale, He lives and loves us and this is His work!! That’s my motivation cuz I don’t want to let Him down. Anyways I thought you’d enjoy that story, and wanted to end with the good news and that good experience haha so that you didn’t think that I’m sitting here depressed about the set backs we’ve had with Camilo´s and Johanna´s families. We’re still going to keep working. We’re still going to keep teaching, and we will have baptisms shortly!
I love you guys tons tons tons and thank you for all your support, emails, and updates on life back in good ol´ AF!
Les amo mucho y cuidense,
Elder Christenson
No comments:
Post a Comment