Team Work

Dear friends and family,

Simply put, this week was INCREDIBLE with my hijita Hermana Aldana. These past few days we have been contacting, implementing new work methods and strengthening the ward missionary effort three fold. Hermana Aldana is an amazing missionary and it's hard to believe I have been called to train her! She has strong experience working with the missionaries in Argentina before she came to the field and her ideas blow me away! One of our greatest accomplishments from this week has been our ward missionary meeting yesterday that we assigned the missionaries to visit all the recent converts in the ward. I'm so happy to see this getting underway because our ability to reach all the recent converts is very limited! I'm so excited to be working in Huanchaco with Hermana Aldana!!

I had a great study in Jacob this week in chapter 2, and the last verse of the chapter really caught my attention. It's so aching and sorrowful that I had compassion for Jacob in his admonition to the Nephites. It says:

 35 Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.

Reading this verse makes me think about the examples of parenthood that I have seen in all my life. My own parents, the parents of friends, aunts and uncles, the fathers and mothers I have seen in Peru; all have given me a great range of parenting styles. I know that not one child is ever raised the same as another and being a great parent isn't accomplished without God. To read this verse though, it really gets to me. It's so emotional and so tragic to think about the damage that can be done when we throw our families to the side. God has ORDAINED the family and, according to the scripture's definition, it means, "To appoint or confer authority or office."The family IS a position in the church, or even an office that requires our compliance to fulfill it's duties. We are very aware of the consequences of not fulfilling our church duties, which includes the salvation of our own and others' souls. To think of the family in more serious terms, this verse has helped me understand the eternal consequences of the hurt we can cause our family. I testify of the blessing that a loving family can bring to an individual, thanks to my family and their love for me. I know that when we make the best effort to communicate our love and serve them daily, we form eternal bonds and blessings that will await us and will support us all our lives. 

Seems that's all I have time for this week, everyone. But I'm so thankful for families and for the love they give. Love you all!

Hermana Furness

P.S. Photo of our last baptism for Hermano Enrique Chuquipoma and also a photo of me and my companion.