I love you! There´s just something about the Gospel that makes me want to give everyone a hug sometimes. It reminds me of how I´d feel when I´d leave the Provo temple every week after doing baptisms. I think it´s so interesting how the Spirit will touch us in different ways at different times, according to our needs.
Thanks to all that have written me letters recently. I don´t know who you are because I couldn´t get pouch from the district leader today. All I know is that I have at least 5 letters. Somebody loves me and I´m about to die in the mission!? That´s definitely a miracle.
So, guess what finally happened? That´s right! I got a change! (or transfer, as you normal English speakers might say.) I felt it was coming, and that I´d be heading down south to Baños, one of the places Mom and Dad had already planned to visit. As it turns out, I´m in Baños! Actually, we live in Ambato and ride in a bus for at least an hour everyday to get to Baños. Why don´t we live in our sector? Very good question. We´d love to and all, we´re just not allow to, as it is situated right by the most active volcano in the country. But don´t worry, Mom (and everyone else), we´re just fine. The volcano is the one the erupted when I was in the MTC. Tungurahua. It´s also the one that was always spurting smoke and ash when we´d pass by coming from the Orient. I´m pretty sure I sent Mom and Dad pictures a long time ago. Anyway, it´s really interesting. I´m not sure why, but it´s most active at night and you can hear its activity. From Ambato, it sounds like far-away thunder. During the day, though, it´s pretty quiet.
Other than that, my sector is a complete paradise. It´s this beautiful, mountainous, jungle-land. Baños is a huge tourist place for its quaintness, constantly beautiful weather (although it seems that I brought the rains with me from Quito), and river rafting options. There´s a bunch of beautiful cascadas (waterfalls) around, too. The sector is huge, too. It includes all the little towns and random cabins in the woods out toward Puyo, in the orient. Just to cross our sector, we´d be in a bus for 2 ½ hours at least. It makes me happy that we are where we are because I remember travelling through those parts between Ambato and the Orient (for zone conference) and wondering who would teach all those people that lived so far out. Now I know. We will! Baños itself has a little branch. Apparently attendance is usually about 30-40, but I think yesterday there were 60, seven of whom were investigators.
There´s a lot of part member families that we´re working with. It seems that several really do know the church is true (and have even borne testimony of that to us), but lack the faith to really act and make the decision to be baptized. I think other family and tradition influences have a lot to do with that. However, there are others that really have a desire to come unto Christ, and I just love that I get to be part of helping them in the process. I am so grateful to be a missionary. I know it´s the truth. Whenever people are rude or I feel down, I just remember that, and keep going. As I have told many people, all the rejection and rudeness is so worth it, even if we can just help one person come unto Christ. One soul has so much worth.
My new companion is Hna Lucas, an amazing missionary that´s been out 10 months. She´s my second companion from Guatemala (the first was Hna Gomez back in Tena) and comes from a convert family that has now sent out 3 Sister Lucas´s. I feel so blessed to be here and to serve with her. It´s like the Lord is saying, "well done, now just enjoy your time working hard until the end"…and without having to teach anyone the same sector again. Oh yeah, Hna Merback is training for her last change. That should be fun.
One of my favourite investigators is Símia. She´s from the coast and her daughter is a less active member. She also comes from a family of 9 kids. We clicked right away as we started chatting the first time we met. I also found out that she had surgery around the same time as you, Mom, and has been resting and recovering. That made me feel like I should take care of her as I would my own mom. Yesterday she came to church one her own because Diana, her daughter, was taking too long (but followed soon after). I wanted to jump for joy when she walked into RS. (Meetings are backwards in Baños, so she didn´t come at the very end.) She liked it a lot…and we´ll see when she´ll be getting baptized.
We´re also working with Manuel Arcos. His family members are members and he´s apparently been going to church for a long time, so he is excited and prepared to be baptized this weekend. He´s funny, though. I think he´s about 62, but he´s really forgetful, so every time we teach we thoroughly review and then teach something new. We´ll just mention that to the elder that does the interview… I love how he understands and applies as we teach, like when I was teaching the 10 commandments and talking about not having graven images. He´s asked "like that statue right there?" and I knew he would not have a problem learning to apply the scriptures in his life. Good stuff.
Thanks for all your love, prayers and support. I am very grateful to each and every one of you.
Love,
Hna Henrichsen
P.S. Yes, Mom and Dad, there are Laundromats we can use down here.
Ecuabit: People are generally very nice on the buses here. If there is an older person or a woman with a baby, people (especially men) will jump up to offer them their seats. The other week, Hna Merback and I were shocked to notice something the other week as a woman with a baby got off the bus. Now, we don´t know what her intentions were, but we do know that her baby that got her a seat was really a large plastic doll (that actually looked like the "divino niño"…a baby Jesus idol that people worship down here). We lost it laughing. Thanks to all those who are even gentlemanly enough to stand for a woman with a doll in swaddling clothes. haha
The pictures: 001 Here I am with the Flia Bustamante on Christmas Eve.
002 Hna Merback and I after meetings on Christmas day...the cracker "gingerbread" houses
003 With Bro and Sis Ottosen, one of the sweet couples that did the Christmas lunch thing for us missionaries in Quito. :) Oh, I mean, Santa Claus stopped by...
005 Hna Merback and I with an año viejo at the bus station
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