January 17, 2010

Dearest Family,

It is wonderful to hear from you.  I never cease to be amazed that the news I hear from you is always positive.  There is no doubt Heavenly Father is pouring out the windows of heaven upon our family.

Hermana Cuenca and I were not blessed with the blessing of a baptism this week, but it was still an inspiring week.  We had family home evenings with members and non-members almost every night of the week.  I really loved one of our lessons because we prepared a creative lesson and we taught to the needs of the people present.  Teaching creatively and teaching to specific needs is always something that I desire to do more because it invites the Spirit.  For our lesson, Hna. Cuenca and I cut out feet prints.  In the family home evening, we placed them side by side like footsteps, but we eventually had the paths of the left and right feet diverge.  We asked one of the children to walk this path with diverging left and right feet prints.  The child observed, while laughing, that they could not do it after a while.  Hna. Cuenca and I explained that this example represents that we cannot neglect our spiritual goals in pursuit of temporal goals.  When we work to fulfill spiritual goals in addition to temporal goals, we can walk a comfortable straight line.  When we forget our spiritual goals in pursuit of the temporal, it is like we are walking two different paths with our right and left feet.

One of the other reasons why the week was inspiring was because Hna. Cuenca and I began receiving some references from our ward members.  Our efforts to serve the members and teach them are starting to bring forth fruit.  We are really excited because many of these references attended a performance of De Nosotros, El Mayor last night.  This program is a powerful testament of Jesus Christ.

Last night we missionaries also participated again in the performance of De Nosotros, El Mayor.  (The album in English is called The Greatest of Us All.  Kenneth Cope is the composer of the songs.  We sing Brother Cope`s songs of this album in Spanish for the program).  So many people came to the 7pm performance that we had another performance.  In total, we have participated in 5 performances of De Nosotros, El Mayor, and all of us missionaries and the choir are going to travel to Sicwayni next Sunday to give a performance there.  Sicwayni is about two hours away from Cusco.  This program has been a great missionary tool for Cusco.  Many people have been able to learn that we believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  Hna. Cuenca and I have not received any references from this event for our area, but other missionaries have received references, which is the purpose of the program.

This next Saturday we are going to have our first missionary work activity with the ward.  The activity is called El Ataque.  We are going to divide up the ward into areas and have companionships of ward members visit less-active members.  I think the activity could be a little more exciting, but it is a good start.  The assistants have done this activity in the past, so they want to do it here. 

The photo I have attached is from last night`s performance of De Nosotros, El Mayor.  Hna. Cuenca and I are with our district leader who is from Guatemala.

Please let me know what I can do for you!

All my love,

Hermana Blunck II

January 11, 2011

Dearest Family,

I know I`ve said it before, but I really think today has been the best preparation day ever so far.  I received the Christmas package from Oregon and a package from Mom and Dad.  I have not opened the packages yet, but I am super excited.  I don`t dare open the packages with all the elders around because they`ll rob me of everything.  I also received lots of letters today.  Thank you so much for all you doing to support me.  I cannot explain my gratitude adequately.

Hermana Cuenca and I had an interesting experience yesterday.  We got to see ourselves from an outsider`s perspective.  To go to a choir practice for `De Nosotros, El Mayor,` Hna. Cuenca and I hopped in a combi.  There were not seats available for us initially, and so we stood in the bus.  As I looked around while standing, I noticed a North American with blonde hair.  Immediately, I felt interested to talk to this girl.  To my happiness, a seat quickly opened up next to this girl.  I asked the girl if she spoke English and, much to my surprise, to said, `We`re missionaries too.`  This girl was traveling with a Latina girl, like Hna. Cuenca and I travel as companions, but I had not noticed the American`s companion because neither of them had plaques.  The Latina companion appeared like the normal Peruvians in the bus.

Hna. Cuenca and I proceeded to ask the American missionary and her companion all sorts of questions.  I expected the missionaries to explain that their mission was for two to three months.  I was completely wrong.  Their mission is for twenty seven months!  They are missionaries for the Nazarene church.  The American spent three months studying Spanish.  The Latina and the American will be companions for the entire twenty seven months.  They will spend all of their time in one area.

The missionaries explained that their goal is solely to help people come closer to God through the Bible.  They are not trying to get people to change their religions.  They hinted that their work is challenging because they said `practically everyone tells us `I`m Catholic` and shuts the door.`  Learning about the facts of these girls´respective missions and their feelings was fascinating for me.  Talking to these missionaries strengthened my faith in my calling.  As missionaries for the LDS church, we have every blessing in the world to help us succeed and grow.  We have Preach My Gospel.  We have district and zone leaders.  We have the priesthood.  We have the opportunity to serve in many different areas with various companions.  With every new area and new companion, we learn new things.  Some of the greatest blessings on the mission include the gift of tongues, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and our own testimonies.  In addition, we have the message of the restoration and the promise in the Book of Mormon that every person we teach can receive their own testimony from God.

This week was challenging for my companion.  We lost four people with baptismal dates.  This hit my companion really hard.  Heavenly Father is buoying me right now.  I actually feel excited about the work, and I feel a greater love for the mission even though our work had challenges last week.  On the whole, every week and every month I love the work more.  I`m learning something new every week.  Hna. Cuenca and I have determined, for example, how we are going to approach our area.  In our area, we need to find the people that are already married.  The couples just don`t get married, even when they have testimonies.  Although the married couples are challenging to find, I know there are some in our area and Heavenly Father can help us find them.

I have attached a picture of Hna. Cuenca and I in our room.   I`m going to try to be better about sending pictures.

I pray for each one of you.  I am proud of everyone one of you.  I can see how the gospel blesses our family in every moment.

All my love,

Hermana Blunck II

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 Here are a few pictures of me in Cusco.  I especially love the families we are able to teach.

 This is my new companion.  She loves the gospel and is a really hard worker.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.!

I hope your hearts have been filled with joy in this special time of year.  My heart has been filled with joy as I've thought about my Savior and His great sacrifice for the world.  I have felt happiness, real happiness, as I've taught the people of Cusco that the church of Jesus Christ is on the earth .  It has been a joy to teach my brothers and sisters that God loves us, His children, so much that He has established His church on the earth in this day. 

I thought you might enjoy some pictures because I know pictures speak more than words. 

Many of you have asked how is my Spanish coming.  The good news is that I participated in a dinner last night with three Peruvians, one Chilean, and one Guatamalteco.  I was the only native English speaker.  I would say that I understood 85% of the converstation. And don't worry, I talked a lot too.  All the missionaries at the dinner were really interested in talking to me about driving.  I was the only one who could drive.  In South America, there is lots of traffic congestion so it makes it very difficult for people to learn to drive here. 

I love that I have the opportunity to speak Spanish and learn about a culture different that mine.  For example, yesterday I got to experience a Peruvian New Years.  The New Year is much bigger than Christmas.  To celebrate the New Year, practically every Peruvian buys fireworks to set off.  The whole sky comes alive at 12pm sharp.  Last night it was incredible.  I have never seen such a firework show in my life.  The fireworks are awesome because they fly up into the sky and explode. I live up on a hillside so the whole sky was lit up as we looked across the valley below us.   

Love Hermana Blunck

Dec 20, 2010

Dearest Family!

     I hope you have a very, very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!.  I am thinking of everyone of you in this special season.  I know each of you are thinking of me because I received nine letters today!  Thank you so much for taking the time to write me and email. me.!!!
    
     Yesterday was wonderful.  First of all, Hermana Cuenca and I have the opportunity to baptize Ciprian.  Ciprian is the spouse of  Martha.  Martha and Ciprian were recently married in Dec. 11th thanks to the hard work of my former companion Hermana Pizarro.  Ciprian has been coming to church for about four years with his wife, but he could not receive the ordinance of baptism because he and Martha were not married.  There was a special spirit at the baptismal service.  It made me excited to continue working with my new companion Hermana Cuenca so that we can help other people in our area receive the eternal blessing of baptism.
     Hermana Cuenca is a hard worker and is very focused on her purpose... to invite others to Christ. The doctrine of Christ is clear,  the necessary first step is baptism.    I like this because we are extending the baptismal invitation a lot more.  I am feeling more comfortable inviting people to be baptized.  It is an invitation to others to take some action in their life to come unto Christ. 
     I am excited about the plan Hna. Cueca and I have for the week.  We are going to  contact all of the people in our area book who have attended church before but have not been baptized.  We hope that now might be the right time for some of these people to be taught. 
     Yesterday I also had the opportunity to give a five minute talk in sacrament meeting.  The bishop let me choose the theme.  My theme was the Book of Mormon is the best gift we can give to our families and friends this holiday season.  I think the bishop likes me more now because he met Mom and Dad at the temple.  It's pretty fun because he's starting to joke with me.  Even greater than my opportunity to give a talk, was the opportunity to  participate in two performances of a  major Christmas program that the two stakes in Cusco and the Cusco Mission have produced, entitled "De Nosotro, El Mayor."  For this program, a combined choir from the two stakes sang the songs composed by Kenneth Cope about Jesus Christ.  We have Kenneth Cope's CD at home.  While the choir sang, there were continuous video clips and images of Christ displayed on a huge screen above the choir.  The missionaries joined with the choir to sing the final song about the second coming of christ.  We all dressed in white tops, and we were supposed to represent the angels declaring the second coming of Christ.  The program was a huge success.  We had one performance on Saturday and two on Sunday because so many people showed up for the Saturday performance.  I loved singing in this performance.  The spirit was incredible!  Every person who attended the performances knows we believe in Christ.  
     Here is my huge story of the week.  Hna. Cuenca and I went to talk with Martha on Wednesday about the baptism of her husband, Ciprian.  When we arrived, I noticed that Martha had a friend over.  I tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she appeared unattentive and distracted so we preceeded to talk with Martha in Martha's kitchen.  A while later Martha's friend, Yanida, joined us in the kitchen.  We talked to her for a while, and then she started crying.  She told us that she was three months pregnant and she had almost taken a pill to abort her baby but "could not do it".  With that, she opened her hand and threw a pill on the ground.  I was in complete shock at this point.  When I had said hello to Yanida, it was moments before she was going to take this pill.
     Yanida almost aborted her baby because she is in extremely difficult circumstances.  Her husband is a drunk and spends all of their money on alcohol.  He is violent when he is drunk.  He always promises he will change but he does not change.  Yanida feels badly for bringing a baby into the world when there is no money to provide for it.  Hna. Cuenca and I did our best to inspire Yanida.  We commended her for saving the special spirit within her.  I think the experiecne with Yanida will forever be in my memory.  I could literally see the pain,  the poverty, and the humility in Yanida's face.  I was heartbroken for Yanida. 
     Every time I think of Yanida's story my testimony of the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are reinforced.  There is a reason why we marry in the temple.  There is a reason we go to church.  There is a reason we live the word of wisdom.  Truly the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring us happiness in this life and in eternity! 
     
Remember I love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Blunck II

Dec. 13th

Dearest Family,

     This Friday and Saturday was pretty crazy.  Our couple that we were trying to help marry needed to sign paperwork on Friday. The sister never arrived at the municipalidad
to sign the paperwork.  We went to her house and she had forgotten.  We dashed off to the municipalidad again with only thrity minutes to spare until the municipalidad closed, and blessedly she was able to sign the paperwork.  There is a lady in the municipalidad that is a true angel.  She could go directly to the celestial kingdom for how nice she has been to us in our frantic moments.
     Saturday morning was kind of the same situation as Friday.  The couple arrived forty five minutes late to the marriage ceremony.  This is so Peruvian, arrive when you can.  I was a nervous wreck until they arrived.  Saturday was also fun, because I was able to be one of the two witnesses in the marriage of this couple.  Can you believe I was a marriage witness? 
     The spouse ultimately decided that he did not want to get baptized on Saturday like he had planned.  His baptism is tenatively planned for this next Saturday.  It was heart breaking because he can finally be baptized now that he is married.  The big problem that exists in Peru is a lot of couples live together and have a family together but they haven't been married by law.  Peru does not recognize church marriages.  We can not baptize them until they have been married by the state, as we believe in living the law of the land.
     Here is my favorite experience of the week.  I was riding in a combi ( a small van they pack a lot of people in) and I started up a conversation with a man in his fifties.  He first informed me that he solely believes in God.  Shortly there after this man named Juan started asking me all sorts of questions.  All of his questions centered around the first lesson we teach. So, in the bus I shared the first lesson with Juan and gave him a Book of Mormon to read.
     All the questions Juan asked lead me to believe that Juan believes in more that just God.  I think he made that statement becuase he did not want me to be pushy with him.  I tried not to be pushy.  Rather, I tried to honestly answer Juan's questions and sincerely share my testimony of the message we share. One of the questions Juan presented, which I loved , was how is your church any different than the Jehovah's Witness church.  I explained that we believe in personal modern day revelation and that we have a living day prophet.   I also explained that we do not ask the people we teach to believe our words as missionaries or as a church.  The promise in the Book of Mormon is very clear in that every person can pray and ask to recieve a witness from God in their hearts if  our message is true and if the Book of Mormon is true.  Everyone can find out for themselves if the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ.  The one thing that saddens me is Juan doesn not live in my area.  The elders I have given Juan's name to are lucky.  Juan asked some great questions.  I think Juan could be a very strong investigator and member of the church.
     The news is in, I will remain in Raymi for a least another six weeks.  Tomorrow I am going to meet my new companion.  I don't feel nervous to meet her.  My only hope is that she is not finishing her mission at the end of six weeks.  I hope to have a companion that I could potentially work with a couple of transfers in Inti Raymi. 
     Mom and Dad, I can't believe you met my bishop at the temple in Lima.  How awesome!  Heavenly Father's tender mercies are truly amazing.  Of all days and hours to be at the temple at the same time. 
     I am thrilled Janeece has our house in Oregon decorated.  Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I can envision it perfectly in my mind. 

All my love,
Hermana Blunck II

Dearest Family,

Did you enjoy the Christmas Devotional last night?  I got to watch it
in English.  It was so much fun to think that all of you were watching
the broadcast at the same time as me.  What I love about being a
missionary is that it totally changes the way you think.  For example,
Elder Eyring said something that really stood out to me as it applies
to missionary work.  The majority of the truths we know about Christ,
and how we worship Him in this season, have come thanks to the
restoration.  Because a fourteen year old boy had a lot of faith, we
know during this season that we worship a Christ who is a distinct
being.  We can read about Christ in the Book of Mormon.
Here is an update on the three families we were trying to help turn in
all their paperwork last week for a marriage on December 11.  One of
three families will get married on that date.  In the afternoon, the
father of the family, who is the only nonmember of the family, will
get baptized.  The man`s name is Ciprian.  His spouses` name is
Martha.  It is funny because I did  not expect this family to be the
one to follow through with their paperwork and make a marriage a
reality in their lives.

I have fallen in love with Ciprian, Martha, and their family.  There
have four kids now and are expecting a fifth.  The kids love to speak
to me in English.  This family is probably the poorest one we are
teaching.  (I helped them wash their laundry a few weeks ago and sent
a picture).  I would love to introduce you to this family.  I think I
will forever have pictures of them in my mind.

I am trying to do lots of contacting like Dad encourages his
missionaries to do, but I am still waiting to receive the fruits of my
efforts.  Many people and families are nice and say ´come to my home,´
but then they reject us when we come to their doors.  I am not going
to give up on contacting with everyone, however, because it saddens me
when we missionaries do not share our knowledge with everyone.
All my love,

Hermana Lynette Blunck, Hermana Blunck II