Dearest Family,

 

Happy birthday to Grandma and Grandpa and Sheri!  I am with you in spirit on your special days this month!!!  I sure love you!!!

 

I want to thank you for writing me and thinking of me every week.  I feel very grateful and blessed.  There are lots of missionaries, including my companion, that never receive emails from their families.  Please forgive me for being behind on my hand written letters.  I will get them in the mail soon.

 

This week was a very good learning experience.  Hna. Grijalva and I have had some struggles, but I think we`re overcoming them.  The mission has helped me to overcome my fear to talk about problems.  When I started the mission, I tried to keep working without talking about the problems, but it didn`t help.  I think I surprise Hna. Grijalva a little bit when I regularly bring up problems in our night time planning, but it`s the best solution that I have when we don`t `llevar bien.`

 

We contacted two female attorneys this week.  I enjoyed the experience.  One of the ladies told us bluntly, `I don`t like your religion.` We gave the woman a little bit of time to explain her feelings, and she expressed that she doesn`t like that we don`t get up to clap and shout.  We responded to the attorney that what really matters in a church is the doctrine.  Everyone has different methods of worshipping.  I enjoyed the experience because I felt afterwards that the Spirit had really helped us to respond with an answer that was appropriate for the woman.  As an attorney, doctrine and principles matter to her.  I think that she will always remember that what matters about the LDS church is the doctrine, and I hope that someday she will accept the gospel.

 

 

Love,

 

Hermana Blunck II

Dearest Family,

I feel like I`m in Oregon.  The rains have set-in in the jungle.  Fortunately, I have my handy pair of rubber boots. 

President Calderon visited us this past week.  He gave several trainings to the leaders here and we missionaries also attended.  I really, really appreciated the trainings.  He also gave training to the missionaries that clarified everything for me.  I feel confident now that I can work as God desires and President Calderon will be happy with those efforts.  To put it simply, I can focus on looking for families to baptize even if that means that there will be less baptisms.

When I arrived in Puerto, Hna. Benites and I had several baptisms.  During some of the baptisms I felt confused because the Spirit was agitated within me.  I didn`t feel joy in the baptisms, but my mind couldn`t make sense of why I didn`t feel calm.  I thought, `They`re baptisms.  I should be happy.`  I expressed my concerns to my companion, and she replied that baptizing children is often a means of motivating parents to learn about the church.  This comment quieted me.  In fact, I felt a little bad that I hadn`t considered that perspective.

President Calderon`s visited helped me because he talked openly.  He said, `We don`t want to add the church`s list of inactives.  Few, few young people stay active after their baptisms.  They come to church mainly for the social interactions.  Even if the young people are intelligent and they like learning about the church, few of they will remain active.  Many young people excite missionaries because they are excited about the church, but the excitement quickly fades.`  I know what President Calderon told us is true because I`ve seen it a lot.  It`s a different story when children are baptized with their parents.  They stay active.

In sum, I realize that what the Spirit led me to feel with my previous baptisms was the Spirit talking to me.  The Spirit didn`t tell me exactly what was wrong, but I definitely felt confusion.  That confusion signified that not everything was as it should be.   I`m glad now, however, that I can finish my mission working towards what really matters most. 

Love,

Hermana Blunck II