A visit from Earl

September 1, 2010
Dear Family,


This week was a special visit from hurricane Earl.  It was a huge hoopla and craze.  Not too much damage here in the inner island, but I heard that Fajardo had some flooding and the island of Culebra as well.   Basically what I have learned about tropical hurricanes is that is means that just before the storm hits things will get very, very hot.  I didn't think things could get much hotter here. But the entire day before I was just dripping wet.  It didn't matter where you were shade, sun, inside, outside, it was miserable.  Also the sky just before the storm is beautiful.  It is a panoramic kaleidoscope.  Every 10 minutes the sky is completely changed.  Clouds above are just streaming across the sky and the colors and shades fade dramatically into one another.  Blue, pink orange, blue, purple, black.  It was gorgeous.  The island of Puerto Rico however, was not so beautiful or so serene.  There was panic and mayhem.  Everyone was rushing to the store the morning of and stocking up on water and food.  The day of the hurricane there was tons of rain and lots and lots of wind.  It was interesting to try and do missionary work in the midst of a hurricane.  We were out working until 6:30 pm, but it was just ridiculous trying to find things to do.  Anyone we talked to asked "Do you know there is a hurricane coming?  What are you doing? Go home?"  Of course all of our appointments cancelled and trying to do contacts in the street was just absurd. Anytime we left the car we got completely drenched.  We were able to find a few less-actives who were cornered into their house and unable to avoid the missionaries so that was good.  We also taught a lesson to Christina via telephone.  That was fun.
But in the end hurricane Earl was a typical Puerto Rican event.  Lots of hoopla and shouting and flamboyance for nothing.  The wind just knocked a few trees over and gave everyone a big scare.  At 8:00 when the storm was supposed to hit things were pretty tranquil and the frogs were croaking serenely.  It was very fitting.

Sister Krout and I are working a lot with our investigator, Christina.  She is amazing.  She has finished the Principles of the Gospel book and is in Helaman in the Book of Mormon.  She is just eating everything up.  I can see her being a real leader and powerhouse in the church in Puerto Rico.  She has overcome some real doubts through sincere prayer.   Her testimony is growing so quickly and beautifully.

Teaching with Valeri Izarry

Tutoring Daniela Anderson

Church on Sunday was a paradox.  Sacrament meeting was so good and so spiritual.  The talks were well prepared and 100% doctrinal.  Nadia, my recent convert, was actually one of the speakers.  She spoke about nurturing the family and ward.  She had some powerful points about visiting teaching.  She is the visiting teaching coordinator and she had some wonderful testimony and insight on the matter.  This ward needs to hear it.  Sister Krout and I did a musical number which fit in perfectly with the theme.  It was a very spiritually uplifting experience.  Relief Society, however, was not.  The President gave a lesson on "Appropriate Dress for Church"  and basically railed on people who wear pants to church in an extremely not tactful, not spiritual way.  The spirit was not there and instead there was a cloud of discomfort and awkwardness.  The teacher spent 20 minutes with a pre-lesson apology asking that no one be offended.  That was our first signal that something was up.  The teacher was extremely cynical and went on horrible tangents of fashion fuax-paux and just was extremely offensive. I learned the importance of teaching  pure doctrine in church.  The spirit can be present and testify in that situation.  Did I mention that Christina was wearing jeans?


Christina left church saying that she would never come back to church again if there were people like that in the congregation and that she did not want to be baptized.  We are so grateful that as she was driving home in tears she felt impressed that she should pull over and pray.  She prayed to know if the book of Mormon was true and if this was the true church.  She felt, of course, that this is the true church and decided that even if the people in the church are not kind or Christ-like that they would not keep her from the truth.  She has now decided that the reason that she is in the Juncos ward is to help change the atmosphere.  She is taking the problem head on and asked if she can come with us to other less-actives and share her testimony and experience.  She will one day make a great leader.  I am so grateful that she prayed and that the Lord answered when she needed it.

I am so grateful to be serving here in Juncos and with Hermana Krout.  We are working so hard, learning so much, and just loving it.  I miss you and hope you are doing well.

Hermana Palmer