Dearest Family,

I want to send my love and support to David and Sheri.  I am sorry
that Preston did not come home with you.  You are in my prayers as
well as Marisol and Preston.

This Saturday was the best day of my mission.  I was an amazing day
because a family was able to be baptized, and I believe that Piter and
Yuli are real converts.  That gives me more delight than I can
explain.  Both Piter and Yuli have received real answers to their
prayers, and they`ve shared of their experiences with us.  Piter and
Yuli were baptized with their niece.

Another wonderful woman was also baptized on Saturday.  Her name is
Indira.  Indira gave my companion and I the surprise of our life by
showing up to our baptismal service to tell us that she wanted to be
baptized too.  Indira told us that the night before that she studied
and prayer all night and received her answer that she should be
baptized.
A sweet little girl was also baptized on Saturday.  Her name is Anely.

Thank you for all of you support.  I received several letters today
which was a sweet surprise.

I send you all my love from Puerto Maldonado,

Hermana Blunck II

                           

October 17, 2011

Dearest Family,
It`s been such a delight to read you emails and read about Preston`s
birth.  I have no doubt that Heavenly Father is blessing our family.
This week I had one of the favorite lessons of my mission.  We were
visiting our investigator that got married on Friday in the chapel and
will be baptized with her husband this Saturday.  On Tuesday, we
visited Yuli and we noted that she seemed discouraged.  Her fiancé`s
family was not being supportive of the wedding.  After Yuli expressed
her feelings to us, I felt the Spirit strongly.  I felt an urgency to
testify to her that she can have an eternal family.  I pulled out our
family picture from Stephen and Shara`s wedding, and I began to tell
Yuli that I wanted to tell her about a family.  While showing Yuli our
photo, I explained our family’s story.  I testified that Mom and Dads`
decisions to join the church have affected the lives permanently of
every one of their children.  I testified that the gospel truly
blesses the family.  While I shared my testimony, I cried.  I`ve felt
a great nearness to the family this week, and it could be because
Preston was born.  To put it simply, this lesson was one of my
favorite lessons because I had the opportunity to testify of eternal
families.
I love you!!!
Hermana Blunck II

October 10, 2011

Dearest Family,

I`m now with my new companion.  Her name is Hna. Grijalva.  She is from Guatemala.  I`ve attached a picture that shows all my companions that are still in the mission field.  Hna. Grijalva wears glasses.

It`s a great blessing to work with Hna. Grijalva because she comes from an area in Cusco.  There`s great ward support there, and now Hna. Grijalva and I are working to develop better relationships with the branch members here.  This last week we visited the district president, a district counselor, the branch relief society president, the elder`s quorum president, the primary president, and the young woman`s president.  With each of these leaders, we had family home evenings with investigators.  I love working in this way with the branch members.

Earlier this week was exciting.  I went to Cusco.  There, we had a conference for all the sisters in the mission.  There are 19 of us.  We listened to spiritual thoughts, and then we also got haircuts together. 

Mom and Dad, I just want to tell you that a missionary named Hna. Alcantara from Tarapoto talked to me this week.  She told me that her sisters always writes her about how well Tarapoto is progressing.  She says that all the missionaries in the Lima North Mission are super obedient.  This made me so proud.  I know you`re doing a great work.  I`m so proud of you.
 
Wtih all my love,

Hermana Blunck II
 

 Lynette just celebrated her 22nd birthday in the mission field. 

 A tradition in Peru.

                                       Sisters in Lynette's rama or branch.

                                  Noche de hogar or Family Home Evening

                             All of Lynette's companions during her mission.

Dearest Family!!!

I agree with all of you!  General Conference was fantastic.  It`s amazing how I receive different impressions from the talks as a missionary.  My perspective has changed.

I feel content because the last week has been full of opportunities for me to receive answers to my questions or confirmations of my ideas.  For example, I expressed concern to my companion a while ago that we were baptizing many young children.  She explained to me that baptizing children often helps parents to take a bigger interest in the gospel.  This comment quieted me because I hadn`t looked at the baptism of children in that perspective, but I still didn`t feel comfortable.  This week I received a letter from Mom.  She explained that Dad is encouraging missionaries to wait to baptize children when their parents get baptized.  It`s okay to wait for a baptism in order to baptize families.  These comments from Mom have touched home, and now I feel content.  Something that excites me is that I went with Hna. Benites this week to the municipalidad to work with one of our couples on their marriage paperwork.  It`s not as hard as I thought it would be to help couples in Puerto Maldonado to get married.  I have greater excitement now to look for families to baptize. 

My birthday was very lovely.  Thank you for your kind words and lovely gifts.  It was a delightful day because we had two baptisms in the night time.  I never imagined before that I`d celebrate my birthday with baptisms

I am without a companion now.  Hna. Benites is finishing her mission, so she`s already traveled to Cusco.  It will be interesting to see who my new companion is.  I feel nervous of course, but I know that "it`s better to look up."

Love from Cuzco,

Hermana Blunck II

Dearest Family,

Happy General Conference week!  I am super excited to watch General Conference.  We had the opportunity to watch the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday.

This week was lovely.  Two younger girls were baptized.  One of the girls is the daughter of less active parents.  We are still working with the parents to help them remember their baptismal covenants, but I am excited that the daughter chose to be baptized.  The couple`s son should get baptized this next week.

A while ago Hna. Benites expressed to me that she had an idea to have a companionship of missionaries in Puerto focus on less active families. Hna. Benites surprised me because that`s what Mom and Dad are doing, and she had the same idea.  I suggested to Hna. Benites that we propose the idea to President Calderon.  I wrote the idea in one of my weekly letters to President Calderon.  He hasn`t responded, but I really hope that he considers the idea.  I`d love to have that responsibility.

Everyone asks me if the heat kills me.  It doesn`t do me in like some of the other missionaries.  I feel very blessed.  For our preparation day activity last week, we rode in the back of a truck into the jungle to a place that has a soccer field.  We also walked into the jungle a little bit.  There, we all hung from the type of vines the Tarzan swings from in the movie. 

Happy Birthday Rita!!!  I can`t wait to talk to you!!!!   I love you very, very much.   Happy Birthday!!!!!

I`m not actually sure what I`ll do on Thursday, but I`ll definitely eat some ice cream!  Maybe everyone in Oregon can enjoy a piece of marionberry pie for me =) and some French muffin puffs too =).

Please say hi to everyone for me!

Love,

Hermana Blunck II

Hermana Lynette Blunck in Puerto Maldonado Peru.

September 19, 2011
Dearest Family,
How are you doing?  This week a wonderful investigator named Carina
was baptized.  Carina has been a testament to me that there are really
people prepared to receive the gospel.  They just don`t know where to
find it until we talk to them.  Carina is a single mother.  She lives
at home.  None of her family members came to her baptism, and before
her baptism they all told her that she was making a mistake.  Carina
didn`t let her family`s comments shake her even a little.   In her
testimony, Carina shared, ｴeven though my family didn`t come today, I
know that I have a family here.ｴ  This really touched my heart.

Love to you all,
Hermana Blunck II

Sept. 12, 2011

 Dearest Family,

 Thank you for writing to me.  I love hearing about your adventures.  Has everyone started school?  I can`t believe how the time is flying.

I`m really grateful for the time I spent in Urubamba because it`s helping me to have hope for our branch here in Puerto.  This week in Puerto was eye-opening.  I realized that the branch needs some support.  Missionaries before have worked hard to have lots of baptisms and they`ve done that, but the branch has been neglected along the way.  I`m not exactly sure what a good starting step is to help a branch improve, but I`m confident that revelation will come.  What ideas do you have?  Something else that I realized this week is that many of the baptisms that have been enacted were for youth.  Unfortunately, many of these youth have gone less active.  I continue feeling an urgency to look for families to teach.  This last week we actually found a promising family.  The mother`s name is Eve.  Even though we didn`t teach any lessons to the family before Sunday, the family attended church because we invited them.  I`m praying that this family can progress.

 This week has been a fun week discovering jungle fruits.  Hna. Benites and I have gotten to laughing really hard as we chucked rocks at trees in hopes of knocking down fruit.  This week we discovered guanabana and kaimito.  Kaimito is my new favorite fruit.  We also found coconuts, and a little girl hacked open the coconuts for us with a machete.  I was quite impressed. 

Love,

Hermana Blunck  II

My new companion in Puerto Maltonaldo,  Hermana Benites.
Sept.5, 2011
Dearest Family,

Thank you for your beautiful letters.  I am sweating it out here in Puerto, but I am content.  Puerto is a place very prepared for the gospel.  We have found many wonderful people to teach this past week and they are progressing.

The work in Puerto feels very different for me.  It`s less stressful.  Whereas my companion and I taught in all of Urubamba and the nearby cities before, now my companion and I only have our small area where we focus.  There`s a small number of members that live within our area, so there aren`t members frustrated with us because we don`t have time to visit them.  The fact of the matter is that we don`t leave our area.  Hna Benites and I don`t walk as much as I used to, but that`s okay.  I liked feeling that we have a little space in our agenda to contact well. 

 Love,

 Hermana Blunck II  

August 29, 2011

Dearest Family,

Thank you for writing me such lovely notes.  My new area is Puerto

Maldonado.  I`m about three hours away from the Bolivian border.  I`m

in the jungle!!!!!!!  I am super feliz!

My new companion is Hna. Benites.  She`s finishing her mission this

transfer.  I feel very privileged to be with her because she has lots

of experience.  Normally, missionaries with lots of time in the

mission are put with younger companions.  Thank you for remembering

me—this week I complete one year in the mission.  I`m not sure yet

what we`ll do to celebrate, but Hna. Benites and I are planning

something.

Hna. Villegas is in Puerto Maldonado.  I didn`t think that President

would send me to Puerto. 

I know that I need to have lots of faith and excited for the next few

months while I`m here.

I send you all of my love!!!!

Love,

Hermana Blunck II