Temple Trip

Another week! Time generally goes by quite fast. Actually, Monday thru Friday goes fast and then Saturday and Sunday are the more stressfull days and it feels like they move in slow motion. But we had a good week! Last night there was a crazy thunder and lightning storm; every strike of lightning lit up the whole room. Looks like you guys had a great time in Lake Powell!!!! Heaven on earth. And Cate is miss Homecoming queen! I’m not surprised one bit; she´s a babe. 

 

We got to go to the temple this week! It was so wonderful. As I mentioned, we are only able to go every six months so we definitely have to savor the time we get there. There is a tradition after the Temple session where all the missionaries go to a Wendy´s that is nearby. I ordered a frosty and they gave me something that resembled vanilla ice cream with a spoonful of Nesquick. But it was such a fun day and I love hanging out with other missionaries!

 

I have included a picture with the Gimmeniz family. It’s in their little one room apartment. The woman is the grandma and she is an incredibly strong member and has raised her three grandkids. They walk so far to go to church every Sunday. We have been working with the one on the right because he is preparing for baptism and would technically be a convert because his parents aren’t members. He is autistic and it has been so fun to see his progress and he loves us to quiz him on the different commandments and topics. I´ve gotten really close to them but yesterday they told us the sad news that they are moving today. The grandma gave me her bracelet and she gave Hermana Thomas the cover for her temple recommend. It was what she had with her and they really wanted to give us something to remember them. I thought it was so sweet! We surprised them early this morning with a going-away cake and some presents. You would have thought it was Christmas. They are so darling. 

You Can't Take D.C. out of the Girl! 

I have been thinking a lot lately about the sacrifices our investigators are willing to make. Of course the grand majority do not. Most don’t read the things we leave them, Many don’t want to walk to church because it is far, and changing habits and lifestyle is difficult. But then there are the few that are willing to make the sacrifices. They are willing to change their life. There is one man I think I’ve mentioned before. He had heard of the church about twenty years ago and said he could never forget the things he heard regarding Joseph smith and gold plates. Well, this man has continued to progress. The problem is that he does not want to become a member until he finds a new job. He owns a mini bar next to his house. It’s a pretty comfortable set-up. He only has to work in the night time and he makes pretty good money. However he is willing give it up. He has been searching for a new job and it looks like there is a pretty promising opportunity for him in November. It’s far away and the hours will be more demanding. It would be in Casa de Campo. I am so impressed with his willingness to change. 

 

Have I mentioned Casa de Campo before? It’s a town right next to us that is pretty much a city of gold. It is full of mansions and we are told the most expensive resorts in the Caribbean are there. Supposedly, many different celebrities, politicians, and actors have homes there. It is technically in our area but we aren´t allowed to enter. I guess we won’t be converting any celebrities. It does provide a lot of work for people here in La Romana so that´s good. 

 

Also, I learned a very interesting history lesson this week. Columbus first came to the D.R. and the Spaniards killed all the natives that lived here. They then brought in African slaves to work the land that is why most of the people here are from African rather than Latin; a sad history.

 

Love you all so so much! 

Hermana Christensen

 Sugar Cane

Light

 A Typical D.R. Street

Hello familia! I´ve missed everyone lots this week. Hannah´s wedding looks like it was so beautiful! 

My companion has been really sick for the past few days. We´ve tried going out but she feels so weak and has a lot of body aches so we spent about three days in the house this past week. My body was exhausted and needed a break but I was quite bored. I read and studied. I organized all my stuff and wrote in my journal including important events before the mission. I was able to finally record a detailed account of our adventures in Italy. Haha much of it consisted of “And then we wandered in big circles and people tried to point us in the right direction. Then we received bad directions.” I didn´t realize at the time what good mission prep that trip was. 

My Friend, Hermana Romero

 

One thing that was really fun was that I went back and read all the letters and emails I´ve received. I love reading about home. One thing that has stuck with me is something Gram and mom both wrote about light. They both wrote that we are here to collect light. I love this concept and visualizing it. As we do good things we collect light. As we work to accumulate wisdom, truth, and knowledge, we gain or collect more light. But we can also lose light. 

We had good teaching sessions for the days we were able to go out. Quite a few investigators’ went to church yesterday. Church is the moment of truth to tell us who is really progressing. 

There is a Haitian family that we´ve been teaching for a while now. They are quite poor and the mom hardly speaks any Spanish. They go to church every Sunday. Every Sunday! But last week they weren´t there so we stopped by there house after church to ask what happened. The son explained for his mom that she had found a job cleaning a house but she had to work on Sundays. So she quit her job that day to be able to go to church. Sure enough, she was at church yesterday. I don´t know how much she understands, but she loves being there. 

A common problem we encounter is that you have to be married in order to join the church.  Marriage here is a really big challenge. Hardly anyone is married. It´s a little expensive and all the documents and paperwork are a pain. Because hardly anyone is married, there is an attitude that it’s too big of a commitment. Dominicans are hard enough to get married. Haitains are ten times harder. Most of them don’t have legitimate passports and often have even less money. But hopefully with time this family will be able to overcome these challenges.  

We are also teaching this one family that was a referral from the Stake President (eek lots of pressure). The Stake President is always there as well so I get nervous for these appointments. But the family is progressing and they go to church. I really like them. 

In other exciting news we get to go to the Temple on Wednesday - yay so excited! We can only go twice a year. So, it’s been six months since I was there last. Happy Birthday to the lovely MEISHionary! I sure miss her. 

Until next week, 

Meg 

Sister T - Sick in Bed

Man At The Market

We Pass This Guy Every Day

This letter is going to be short. I wrote President a nice long letter and then when I was getting ready to send it - the computer shut off on me. I had to rewrite it. Other than that - it was a good week! 

 

We are teaching a man who has been smoking for the past 64 years and he has smoked a little more than half a pack a day. He has now almost quit smoking completely. I read from Spencer and Meish's blogs that they gave their investigators gum. We tried doing the same thing and he loves it and says it helps so much. He says his life has improved in every aspect since we've been meeting with him. I'll have to send a picture of him. He's wonderful. 

 

I taught my first lesson in English this week! Last p-day we were at the supermarket and a man came up to me and said, "You are a Latter-Day Saint, right?” His dad said "They are Mormons." This man told his dad, "no, they don’t like to be called that!" The father apologized and we laughed and said it was ok and invited him to church. And he actually did come to church. He grew up in New York and went to school in Canada but his parents are Dominicans. It was so different teaching in English. I phrased some things really strangely but I loved being able to expresses myself a little more. He is very intelligent and analytical and loved our doctrine. We'll see what happens. 

 

We're still waiting for autumn to kick in and for the temperature to dip a little. But all is well! I loved reading Adelide's letter from last week. There really are moments that are so discouraging and exhausting. But we grow and there are moments that are so awesome and make it all ok. Thank you Chari for the treats! I am so excited to hear about Will's experience. Have a good week in SLC.

 

Peace, 

Meg 

D's Baptism

Para siempre juntas con la Hermana Thomas en La Romana. So Hermana Thomas and I are still companions and still in Benjamin. Since first meeting her in the airport in Miami, I have seen Hermana Thomas's beautiful face every day. By the end of this transfer it will be almost half of our missions living together or being together as companions. I was positive that we would be transferred this round – not to be. All the other missionaries think it's so funny that we are still together. I got a call from President on Saturday to say that Hermana Thomas and I are the Sister Training Leaders for the La Romana area. 

Saturday we had a baptism service for D. I have written about him before. He has had previous encounters with the church. His sister doesn’t have a leg but a wheelchair was donated and on the back it has La Iglesia De Jesucristo De Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias. I assume it was donated by the church. He loves to read and write and will often write us notes that are difficult to decipher. We studied one of the notes carefully and noticed that he referred to us as Mormona Thomas Obama and Mormona Christina Clinton. He was baptized on Saturday. The font didn’t fill up very well; there was about a 1.5 feet of water. So it took three solid attempts until he was baptized, but he was a good sport about it and laughed as everyone tried to give him advice on how to bend his knees. But it was such a wonderful baptismal service. However, his baptism was a little bitter sweet. When we passed by his house the next morning to walk to church together, it was apparent he had a few more things to work on - so he wasn’t confirmed in church but we are going to work with him and help him. 

 

I told Hermana Thomas that my dad went to a Bronco's game and before she let me finish she said, "Was it on Thursday? It had to be on Thursday because the Redskins play tonight and The Giants played Sunday. Did he see Peyton?" I was shocked she was all up to date with the current NFL schedule thousands of miles away. She always keeps me updated on the latest happenings with sneakers, cars, and sports. She is the best.

The church released a new manual to help missionaries adjust to mission life. Hermana Thomas and I were laughing reading through it because it really is spot on with the challenges you face in the mission field. The mission is so unique and so completely different than any other experience. But it is so terrific. And this new manual is really awesome.

Hannah's engagement pictures look gorgeous! So happy for her! And Will is going to be SO wonderful in Chile!! Go Will!!!

Con mucho amor, 

Meg

Capital of New York

 

Buenas! 

We had stake conference this past week. It was SO fun to see all the Villa Verde members. The conference was top notch and the congregation was huge. I looked back at all the members and just wondered how many missionaries it took over the past few decades to fill all those seats. The church is relatively new here; about forty years now. Most of the members are first or second generation members. It will just continue to grow. It’s true that sometimes you don’t see the fruits of your labor but the fruits come.

We have now hit the rainy season. But, the weather definitely has not started to cool down yet and it’s more humid and raining quite a bit. The vegetables here are pretty cheap so i've started making lots of soup. It’s been fun to experiment. 

There are about one million Dominicans that live in New York. Hermana Thomas and I always laugh because Dominicans consider The United States and New York to be the same thing. We often get asked, "when are you going back to New York, What part of New York are you from? Do you miss New York?" This week a man asked where we are from and when Hermana Thomas said Washington D.C he said, "Wow the capital of New York".

We haven't had water for the past few days so we are starting to smell. But life is good!

I am so happy for Hillary and her engagment... but someone please sabatoge this wedding and get her to postpone it until next summer.

Happy 25 years of marriage mami y papi!!! Love your emails and pictures. 

Cuídense!!!! 

Meg 

 

Heavenly Choir

 

Hermana Romero from Honduras is one of my favorite humans - so hilarious

 

This week cruised by! We had zone conference on Tuesday and it was wonderful. Elder Zivic from the seventy spoke to us; he is also in the area presidency for the Caribbean. Let me just say we put an end to the misconception that all women can sing. They asked the Hermanas to do a special musical number. We put together The Spirit of God and practiced singing it half in Spanish, half in English. The chorus is similar so we thought it sounded good; however we didn’t practice with the instruments. Two of the Hermanas played the floute and piana. They decided to take it up a few octaves. So pretty much it was just the four of us singing The Spirit of God as high as we could.... well it was more like three singing because I was trying to compose myself the whole time to refrain from laughing. It was a disaster. I feel so bad for disturbing the ears of all the listeners especially Elder Zivic and Presidente Hernandez and their wives. And the picture I attached of Zone conference was just La Romana missionaries; there was an additional zone there that was blessed to hear our lovely voices. One elder came and found us after the conference and tried to make us feel better. Bless his heart he had the best of intentions but he told us that he admires us for our courage and when we fall we just have to learn to get back up again. All the other elders may be laughing and talking about it, but they need to learn to listen with celestial ears. Thanks elder. Made us feel worse. 

I love the district we have right now!

Gracias for the talks you sent me! I especially love Grounded, Rooted, Established, and Settled by Neal A. Maxwell. It is a reminder that we need to find meaning and purpose despite the routine of life that at times appears very mundane. It is incredibly applicable for a missionary. Every day on the mission is absolutely the same and yet very different. I am learning so much about how to gauge success and growth and to enjoy every day. Maxwell says:

 

Occasionally I see individuals who are meeting life's challenges reasonably well but who unfortunately fail to appreciate the general adequacy of their response. They let the seeming ordinariness of life dampen their spirits. Though actually coping and growing, some lack the quiet inner-soul satisfaction which can steady them. Instead they seem to experience a lingering sense that there is something more important they should be doing or that their chores are somehow not quite what was expected, as if what is quietly achieved in righteous individual living or in parenthood is not sufficiently spectacular. 

Loved this talk! Loved his analysis on how we can find meaning. Also, this week we have had a couple experiences that prove a lot of times we are planting seeds for future missionaries. One man we contacted said he had visited the church twenty years ago and could never forget some of the things he had heard about the Book of Mormon. We are now teaching him and we went to church on Sunday and loved it. There is another investigator with a similar story. Effort is never wasted. 

 

Les Quiero

Hermana Christensen

 

Dogs

 

We have one investigator progressing right now. That is we have one that is going to church. He is an older man, really tall and skinny. He loves to read and write. He has a giant satchel of all sorts of stuff he has written on notebook paper and collections of pamphlets and newspapers. He gets embarrassed to go to church because he thinks he is too skinny. He is very kind and humble. He gave me a note but it appears to be in some ancient writing so I'm going to have to find a Urim and Thummim to decifer it. Hopefully he can continue to progress.

It is official, I hate dogs. Whenever we are in certain neighborhoods that I know contain a plethera of dogs, I arm myself with a stick or rocks. Another exciting update is that Dominicans' don't like licorice. We can find a lot of the same treats here that we have at home but Hermana Thomas loves licorice and couldn't find any so her family sent her a ton in her birthday package. We have been giving it out occasionally. Almost always they make a face of disgust or spit it out and say it needs sugar.

 

I have mentioned before how incredibly religious the DR is. From what I have noticed, it is mainly divided into Catholics and Evangelicals (who usually call themselves Christianas). Many of the Sects are quite radical and don't permit make-up, listening to music, or wearing pants. Quite often, when we meet people they right away want to know what our rules are. I am still trying to come up with a good response but I never answer it directly. I don't want them to close their ears out of fear of our "rules", and I especially don't want people to only be interested because the rules are comfortable. We have the "rules" to help prepare us. It makes me think of a talk by President Uchtdorf where he said we should never forget the why - why we have certain standards

Wow, Spence looks like he is baptizing all of Mexico! Keep up the good work Spence. Hermana Thomas and I also have a baptism every week - I just forget to mention it and send the photos... But I was talking to an Elder from Mexico and he was telling me about an area in Mexico where something bad happened four years ago. Then I asked Spence about that area and it is the area he just reopened after four years of being closed... ah scary! Everyone pray for Spencer.

Love you so so much. Big air hug all the way from La Republica Dominicana.

xoxo

Hermana Christina, Christensence, Christen. (The names I usually get)

Sister Thomas Burning a Blouse She is Sick of at 6 Month Mark