Jovelys

We had a baptism this week! Jovelys is a darling 14 year old, who was baptized Saturday. There was a little bit of miscommunication about the clothes she was supposed to wear so she came in her own white dress and shorts and was baptized in them. She looked so beautiful. Her mom owns a store where she sells used clothes. We have been meeting at her mom´s store after it closes for the night to teach her Jovelys. She is so intelligent and always had the desire to get baptized. Her boyfriend is a member and she knew a little bit before we met with her. We are starting to meet with her mom and little sister now. It’s a very cute family. 

Not everyone is so easy. To say that every single person on this island believes in God would only be a slight exaggeration. Religion is very important to Dominicans. The grafiti on the street is commonly Cristo Viene, many stores and restaurants are named something to do with God, and there is a church on every corner. One thing that always makes me laugh is after every lesson we invite the people to pray to know for themselves that the message is true. More often than not, the people jump into a speech about how they pray all day every day. I usually say “that´s perfect, will you say the closing prayer.” They usually get embarrassed and don’t want to say the prayer. But religion is very important to Dominicans. There is also a very prevalent mindset that there is only one God so it doesn’t matter what religion you are. It makes our job a little tricky trying to explain why it does matter. Even after explaining the restoration many people think it’s a beautiful message but that they already have their church.  

At times I do wonder in what way our message can add to the lives of our investigators? Many of them are very spiritual and dedicated to God. But I would have to say that I know our message can add to their lives. The evidence of the blessings of the gospel is the lives of the members. I am so impressed with the members here. In Mattew 7:20 "By their fruits you shall know them". We are in so many houses every day. And in each house you can get a pretty good sense of the lives of these people. Many of them are outstanding people. But something I did not realize before my mission is the extent the gospel blesses families. There is peace, harmony, and love in the families. Of course none of us come from perfect families, but the families in the church have been a huge testimony to me while I have been here. In Stephen Mansfield’s article The Mormonizing of America  he says:

“Plant Mormonism in any country on earth and pretty much the same results will occur. . . . It will produce deeply moral individuals who serve a religious vision centered upon achievement in this life. They will aggressively pursue the most advanced education possible, understand their lives in terms of overcoming obstacles, and eagerly serve the surrounding society. The family will be of supernatural importance to them, as will planning and investing for future generations. They will be devoted to community, store and save as a hedge against future hardship, and they will esteem work as a religious calling.”

It is so interesting to see that the foundation of the gospel can give its members distinct characteristics, anywhere in the world, independent of nationality. Of course, there are so many wonderful people out there who live incredible lives; I just think the emphasis of the family is something special. 

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchen prove to be more controlling than what happened in congress? When the surf of centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside a telestial time." -Neal A Maxwell 

Almost every day we pass by a man who sits on the corner of a street. Every time we pass he sings an American song. There has been a great selection so far from Killing Me Softly to Stand by Me, to a great Backstreet Boys song which I sadly cannot remember the name of. I secretly love seeing him – it’s a little piece of home. 

I miss you family! I love hearing about your lives and everything back home. But life is very good. I love my companion like a sister and I am learning lots. 

con amor, 

Hermana Meg

 

On A Scale of 1 - 10

Meg has had a stomach bug these past few days - so no new post this week.

 

I emailed Meg back and asked how sick she was on a scale of 1 - 10.  She said to watch the Brian Regan bit on rating pain.

 

In the picture below, Meg is with Elder Matt Cowley (Joe Jr.'s Son).

 



Mother's Day

 

 

I think everyday should be Mother's Day! What a treat to talk to the people I love most. There are few things that can make me happier than seeing the familiar faces of family members after months of being away. And a birthday shout-out to the woman who I am convinced is the best mom in the whole world.

 

I had the best week yet since leaving three months ago. It is fun to be able to connect more with members and investigators as the language barrier is slowly lessening. And I love my companion. Hermana Thomas has made it her job to shake the white girl out of me and turn me into a Sista. I think I’ve made some serious progress but she says ive got a lot of work to do before I’m an honorary Sista.

 

My favorite thing to teach is Lehi's vision. It is my favorite story in the Book of Mormon and I love to share it with investigators progressing. At the beginning of the vision Lehi sees a man in white (the Savior) and follows him. The man leads him to a dark and dreary waste. It’s not exactly the place you would expect the Savior to lead you. But after hours pressing forward in the darkness he encounters the tree and the most sweet and delicious fruit. I would say those first few weeks in the field felt like a dark and dreary waste. But I know that if we trust the Savior and press forward we will be led out of darkness into light. I love seeing our investigators connect with this vision. The imagery and symbolism is rich. There are mist of darkness, great and spacious buildings and strange roads in all of their lives; but there is also a tree with fruit most desirable. And there is nothing more sweet than partaking of the fruit with your family.

 

I am so grateful to be here and love the people here.

 

"We have been created for greater things. Not just to be a number in the world. Not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and be loved." Mother Teresa

 

 

Blind Leading the Blind

 

It’s official, the blind are leading the blind. Transfers are tomorrow and they are shipping my trainer back to the capital and I am now companions with Hermana Thomas from Washington DC. Both of us only have six weeks under our belt in the field and technically the training program is twelve weeks - but they need our trainers for a massive group entering the field. All the other other Hermanas are in tripanionships to finish the training program; muchas Hermanas. I’m glad the president trusts us to be on our own... hope we don't destroy the church out here. The problem is that both of us are still trying to figure everything out. I have learned that having a sense of humor is the best way to deal with stress and being out of your comfort zone. I have learned from my experience here that my life is easy and my struggles are nothing compared to the struggles that many people have. We will still be living with Hermana Espinoza and the two Hermanas she is training.

This week we contacted a house with two deaf ladies. Either they knew a little American Sign Language or Spanish sign language is similar; but we were able to communicate. It was so fun to talk (or sign rather) with them and share a little bit of our message. They were so kind and patient trying to understand me.

There is a woman we have been teaching and she lives in a pretty house. My companion complimented her on her rug, telling her how beautiful it was. When we were finished and leaving, we heard the woman call after us. She had the rug all folded up and gave it to my companion. She insisted she take the rug with her. The rest of the night my companion carried the rug with her to all our other citas.

I often get asked if I am Italian - way more often than if I am Americana. And everyone asks if Hermana Arce and I are really sisters.

Those are all the updates for now. I’m so grateful for all the prayers and support. It’s not easy but it’s an experience like none other.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in" Greek Proverb

Hermana Christensen

 

 

"How Are You?"

 

 

Hola!! A wonderful week in the DR. It’s fun to feel a little more settled in. We pass by a lot of the same streets everyday and it’s fun to have the ¨regulars¨. There is a little girl who every time we pass by says, "how are you?"  We respond in English but she just repeats how are you over and over because it’s all she knows. This is starting to spread and the whole street is now saying it. I absolutely love the Dominican people. 

We greet all the women with a kiss on the right cheek. Men also greet women this way, but as missionaries... we don’t kiss the men on the cheek. Something interesting- all the women have curly hair and all the women want straight hair. They all wear curlers around everywhere and then blow it dry and wear these hair nets to keep it straight. I guess we all want what we don’t have, I love their curly hair. 

Mango season is in full swing. YUM. My companion and I were at a members’ house and we had a bag of mangos. We offered her a mango and she accepted and then ran into her back yard and put a handful of mangos from her tree into our bag. This is completely symbolic of how the people are. So kind and generous. 

Everyone on this island has heard of the Mormonas; the church is pretty strong here. It’s amazing to see how much missionary work builds the church. Most of the members are converts. All three of the missionaries I live with were either converts themselves or their parents were converts; and now they are on the flip-side of the work. It really is a church built on converts.  Of course we are all converts. 

I believe I have found my new favorite talk: Faith, Reason, Knowledge, and Truth by Richard N. Williams. It is incredible and it has changed my perception of faith.

This letter is a little bit all over the place but that is how my stream of consciousness is, so it is fitting.  

Thank you for your letters!!!!!!!!!!! I am far from the office so it may take a while for the package to get to me. But transfers are next week so someone may bring it to me. Thank you!!!! I am nervous about transfers. I think I’ll be in a tri-companionship. There are four of us together now and because I was with Hermana Thomas in the MTC and we live together now; we have grown close. She is from D.C. and she is already fluent because her mom is from El Salvador. I love laughing with her and talking to her. Thanks for setting up the Skype account. I am SO excited for Mother’s Day.

Loved your letters!!!!! and pictures... cute Owie as a lunch server. I am glad you guys are doing well. I get so much strength from your insights and laugh at your stories. LOVE YOU!

Thank you for all the support and love. 

Hermana Meg

 

 

The London Fog

I am learning what it means to be humble and to trust in the lord and have an eternal perspective. The past few weeks I have been trying to wrap my head around how it is not fair that I was born with so many opportunities, to a wonderful family, with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve seen many things that are painful; kids are homeless, families that don’t have food to eat, and many people that don’t have hope and something to live for. There are Haitians enslaved in the cane fields and many families are separated- half in Haiti and half here. We were told in the MTC that the D.R. is the third poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti, being number one. At times, seeing these things has made me feel very insignificant and discouraged. I was expressing my frustration to my companion and she reminded me this isn’t my work, it’s the Lord's. It seems obvious but I absolutely needed to hear that. It isn’t my work and it isn’t my world. There is a lot of pain, sickness and poverty in this big world that I can’t fix. I can’t give everyone a home, food, and a family that loves them. But everyone can have the gospel. It’s neat to be a part of something bigger and better than I am. I have leaned on the story of President Hinckley when he received the advice from his father to forget himself and go to work. He recalled how he felt the London fog was lifted then. I have experienced a similar feeling. There's a lot I don’t know but there are also things I know with certainty. God is just and fair and things will work out. 

Some positive news is that we have a family that is progressing. They have two cute little girls and have been going to church and ward activities. They want to get baptized but need to get married first. Most couples aren’t married here because the process is a little difficult. This couple isn’t married but they have a marriage date for July. It’s a little far but she wants to get married on her birthday.

To answer your questions about food; we aren’t allowed to eat with members or out of any houses for sanitation and financial reasons. However, the people are very generous and sometimes make us take their baked goods, which we re-gift to other houses we visit. There are four of us living together and we all cook for ourselves. And yes, I am still vegetarian! The apartment we live in is cute. We have to unlock four locks to get inside. We have fans to keep us cool but the power goes out often. Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers!  You guys are my source of strength. I think about you so much. And dad, I am so excited to help you garden, and I mean that. Tell uncle Steve muchisimas gracias for the family history package he sent. I love all your insights and everything. I dont have any photos because 1) most people who plug their cameras into the computers here lose all their pictures and they get a virus in the camera 2) because there are thieves looking for electronics. LOVE YOU!!!

"Just as doubt despair and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope and charity. The latter however must be carefully and constantly nurtured; whereas despair, like dandelions, needs so little encouragement to sprout and spread. Despair comes so naturally to the natural man." - Neal A Maxwell

"You cant do everything for everybody everywhere, but you can do something for somebody somewhere."

Con amor, 

Hermana Meg

Saludos

It looks like the weather in SLC is a little bit different than in the DR. It is hot, hot, hot here. I have a really nice sandal tan- any sunscreen I put on seems to just sweat off. 

 

To describe La Romana... Our area is quite large and covers both city areas and more of the country side. There is a large river called Rio Salado in our area that is pretty. Most of the streets are really loud. Music is always blasting and they are not afraid to use their horns. They are the champions of the wheelie (wheely?) here. It is not a rare occasion to see a motorcycle or bicycle pop a wheelie for an entire street. The houses are really bright vivid colors. There are fruit stands on every corner and all the mango trees are ripening as mango season is just beginning. Dominos is a favorite pastime and people play it on tables on all the sidewalks.

We don’t typically knock on doors, mostly we bang on people's gates outside their houses and yell, "buenas", or "saludos". When I introduce myself I think many people think I am saying I am Christian rather than Christensen because often the response back is, "Christiana, amen, amen." I love walking around - which is good because we do a lot of walking. My feet are holding up pretty well - so far! There are times where we take a carrito to things if it is too far to walk - such as district meetings. A carrito is pretty much a car that claims to be a taxi. 

Many of the people live in impoverished circumstances. It isn’t rare to be sitting on buckets, teaching in a one room house with the six children and chickens running all over... (ok well the chickens only happened once but there are a lot of stray chickens, dogs and cats everywhere!) It is a challenge to see the way other people live. They have such simple lives; it makes me wonder why I was able to be born into a good LDS family in the United States and why these people weren’t. As I have thought about this, it helped to hear President Uchtdorf’s talk about West Africa and seeing the light in places where there are challenges. Light is always triumphant. Many of these people are still happy and radiate light despite their circumstances. I also liked the quotation you sent from President Uchtdorf’s Priesthood meeting talk: “Remember that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built not for men and women who are perfect or unaffected by mortal temptations, but rather it is built for people exactly like you and me.”   The gospel gives us much to hope for (Ether 12:4).

I read the other talk you sent with me, His Grace is Sufficient and I absolutely loved it. We had to turn in our mp3 players at the Mission Home, so I am not able to listen to the talks you sent with me, but I love the hard copy ones - so thank you! 

Every day is a new adventure. 

 

 

"If we all threw our problems into a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back"

Con Amor, 

Hermana Christensen