Eight

I TOTALLY forgot about the 4th of July until the night before, and a investigador asked me about the holiday...oops. 

 So I´ve been asked to describe more what my sector is like.  My sector is a sliver of a section in the Quinto Normal section.  The main thing we have is Liders (Walmart spanish made store) and tons of homes.  The homes range from apartment complexes to shacks made out of tin.  Tons of dogs (all which sport clothes) no matter if they are a stray or not.  My view on dogs is slowly changing...sorry Sadie.  

Tons of people in our sector are from Peru that live here due to the necessity of work.   When it comes to contacting we do a lot of walking through the streets.  I am starting to learn the difference in the streets, because all of them looked the same in the beginning.  I am really learning to appreciate and use the graffiti art as a way of navigation.  Some people here are really good at their murals.

Let resfri y gripe season begin ( cold and flu).  This week I don´t even know how many hours I have been on the phone with misioneros, the doctor, la oficina misional, o Hna V.  I am quickly picking up more medical words in spanish. Hna S. is getting really good at acting things out when she has to translate for me some of the medical calls.   I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the misioneros here with my knowledge.  I guess some of the Elders were nervous about having a regular sister missionary be the nurse, but I am working hard to build trust and confidence with my misioneros.  Dog bites, bike crashes, rule out meningitis, carpal tunnel, psych, bloody stool, all this week...learning tons!!

 I felt my first earthquake here!  It sounds like it is usually once a month you can feel one here.

I am really loving the miembros that live in our sector.  There is an amazing hermana, Hna. V has parkinsons and seizures.  But she is so valient with her faith.  I guess the last General conference she could not find a ride so she walked all the way from her home to the Stake Center...and with her severity of parkinsons that is a feat!  It is breath taking what people are willing to change in order to follow Christ.  

Contacting is getting a little better with my spanish.  It is funny when people just want to talk to me to practice their english though.  Funny story of the week.  So we had a Conference with the new mission president.  Hna S. y yo were in charge of the music.  For the prelude we were singing many songs.  I still have a hard time sometimes with the page numbers in spanish.  They announced the next song, but I heard it wrong...so basically I was conducting the song while making up and mouthing spanish words during it hoping that I did not totally look lost.  Good times.

I love it here.  I have so much to work on these next months, and am eternally grateful for the oportunidad to serve aquí.  The Atonement is real.  Every day there are things to repent of.  Before, I thought I just needed to repent of any huge sin, but repenting is a daily thing.  Through daily repentance, we can experience the mercy that our Savior Jesucristo gave and gives us.

Thank you for your love and support.  

Mucho amor

Hna Duffy