This past month has been absolutely nuts. A week after President Glazier called hermana Anderson and I to be sister training leaders, we were forced into quarantine. Little did we know, we would be there for over 2 weeks and later sent home to be temporarily released.
During our time in quarantine, we relied on our small Nokio phone to help us with arranging appointments, contacting references, and even to hold our weekly district meetings. At first, we ended up having a ton to do inside the apartment. We deep cleaned ( which holy hannah) is saying a lot, we played sticky-note twister, sock-basketball, disney karaoke, visited the roof and occasionally had breakfast up there too! However, as much as I would like to say we spent every day filled with fun activities, our creative sides definitely had a limit.
Being stuck in our apartment was mentally challenging and at times it even felt surreal. Outside of our house, we were not allowed to wear our plaques, missionary attire or really anything that would connect us to the church. Regularly, Perú had a helicopter circling San Roque and on every corner you would find a guard casually holding a rifle and a shield. A week after the quarantine was issued, the President of Perú also had enforced a curfew. So, everynight at 8 a band would play in the streets and when they finished playing you absolutely had to be inside otherwise you would be arrested.
On March 22, or in that week ( la verdad, I really don't remember) we received a text from our mission president saying that we would hold a mission-wide, mandatory conference @ 8PM for 15 minutes. Hermana Anderson looked terrified, because she thought that the President might be sending us home. However, I had full confidence that something like that would never happen because yeah it had never happened in the history of the church! Unfortunately, I was completely in the wrong and within the first two minutes of the phone call the President had told us awful news: All North American missionaries would have to go home. When the call ended, my companion and I just laid on the bed together in silence. Neither one of us had the words, and for thirty minutes we just tried to process what we had heard.
That night was hard. Trying to plan for our friends was nearly impossible. Every time we did our daily planning - we always asked ourselves three questions. What can we do to achieve our goals? Is there anything we are doing that is a waste of time? And what more can we do? Well, you can probably guess. We were both a hot mess. We didn't know how long we would be in Perú nor did we know how we could really make or achieve our goals.
To get a new change of scenery, we chose to go up to the roof and call our friends from up there underneath a light of a flashlight. We called one person, but after our appointment we were both in tears. So we thought the best decision would be to call President Glazier. On our phone call with him, we told him we felt as if we no longer had a purpose here and finding the motivation to continue the work was very difficult. After a long pause on the phone, he simply told us he could not help us but the Lord could.
We came back to our apartment, closed the door, and chose to follow President Glazier's advice. As he said "The book of mormon is like your personal liahona - whatever page you open to, the Lord will find a way to help you" We opened up to Mosiah 27:13-14. The first verse told us about how nothing could destroy the church of God, and the second verse told us how the Lord hears the prayers of his servants. The spirit was so strong, and for the first time that night we felt peace.
Returning home was difficult, but I am glad I was able to spend some time with my family and haha even take some naps. For those who are wondering, I have chosen to return to the mission field and will be serving in the Atlanta, Georgia North mission. Right now I do not know if returning to Perú is an option, but we will see. BUT! To say the least. I am very grateful to be a missionary of my Savior again.
Thanks for all the love and support. It means so much. If there is anything I can do for you guys, let me know! :))
LOVE,
HERMANA PULVER
