ANOTHER WEEK IN LA SELVA!!!!!!!

January 9, 2012

Dearest Family,
Thank you for writing me this week.  It`s always fun to skim your
letters a little bit before I print them out.

This week has been a little challenging because we do not have
investigators with baptismal dates.  I know that we are doing the best
that we can, but it is hard for our leaders to accept.  Something that
encouraged us is that our branch leader told us that he really
appreciates that work that we are doing.  We have several recent
converts that are going to receive the Melchizedek priesthood this
Sunday!  One of our converts gave a great testimony yesterday.
Hna. Giron and I have been trying to help the Relief Society of our
branch with their visiting teaching program.  We`re trying to help the
presidency catch the vision of their responsibility to excite their
sisters.  It was pretty funny yesterday because Hna. Giron and I put
up a big posterboard with stickers next to the names of the
companionships that have done their visits solos or with us.  As soon
as the sisters saw their names posted up front without a sticker next
to their names, they got crackin.  Everyone starting making
appointments with their companions to do their visits.  Even the
relief society president started feeling nervous.  Hna. Giron and I
pray that in the process of helping the sisters we can have more
references and we can meet less active families.

We`ve finally got branch fellowshipping nights going.  The big
challenge will be having enough members and investigators present to
make the nights effective.  The members always say that they`ll come,
but it`s never definite.  There is a companionship of elders in our
branch, and we`re coordinating the fellowshipping nights with them and
with the brother that is in charge of our branch until we have a
branch president.

I hope that you remember that I love and miss all of you.

Love,
Hermana Blunck  II

Please send my birthday wishes to Jana!!!!!


HOLA, HOLA, HOLA!!!!!!!!!

January 2, 2012

Dearest Family,

Happy New Year!!!  We enjoyed a great fireworks show in Puerto
Maldonado to celebrate the New Year.

Yesterday we had a neat contacting experience.  While Hna. Giron and I
were walking to an appointment, an older man sitting outside of his
motorcycle repair shop called my attention.  It`s funny because about
ten minutes before we contacted by him, I thought `I don`t really like
walking through this area because there`s never anybody ready to
progress.`  God, though, did have someone prepared.  I never would
have thought that contacting a mechanic would be so fulfilling, but I
left the contact excited.  The contact is named Jose Quispe.  He is
different than almost all the men of his stereotype because he doesn`t
drink.  Jose is a simple man, but I think he`s one of the `salt of the
earth` kind of people.  I hope that Jose and his family can progress
because we are really struggling to have people with baptismal dates.
Sometimes I don`t understand that we don`t have more families with
baptismal goals, but I try to trust the Lord.  The good news is that
Hna. Giron doesn`t complain about how many people that we have with
baptismal dates.

This week we`ve been making an effort to teach from the Book of Mormon
more and to invite our investigators to pray about the Book of Mormon.
 I hope that this can help us to have more people that receive
testimonies and commit to progress.

I love you all very much!!!

Love,
Hermana Blunck II