Saturday, March 21, 2015

Forty












We started this cambio strong as a trio.  We have been doing divisions with members from the branch which has been awesome...to do double the work at the same time.

This week was full:

-Council of Leaders:  learned more about the enfoque of the importance to teach about the spirit of Elijah and the temple to the investigadores.

-Painted the living room of a family (the parents were menos actives and their daughters were bautized recently).

-Pday with the hermanas of the distrito de Colina.  We spent the afternoon in the ¨Centro¨of Santiago (mapocho, el mercado central, etc).

-Awesome lesson with M.  Long story short...we were teaching her about the book of mormon, and when we showed her the book, she basically said...Oh I have that book because a friend of mine gave me a copy and I have been wanting to read it.  She told us that she has been feeling like she needs to do something for herself and she feels like reading the Book of Mormon is the answer she has been needing!

Love the mission

Love you guys

Hna Duffy

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Thirty-nine




Cómo está mi familia ?????

We finished the cambio with many blessings!  We have been praying that personas would let us enter their houses...and Dios answered our prayers this week...but even more than we asked for.

C (who is now super active in the iglesia) is fantastica!!!  There are people that I have met here in the mission, that I know that we were friends in heaven before this life....premortal friends.  She carries this light, and here is the cool thing that happened with her this week.  Her husband (who is inactivo) has been working for 2 months far away in the northern part of Chile.  He suprised her this last Saturday by coming home early whoot whoot (new person to enfocar in).  And despite all of that she still attended all 3 hours of Church.  Maybe that does not sound like a big deal...but it is.  She is reading the book of mormon, doing her family history, and attends church solo each week.  She knows that Heavenly Father is blessing her and her family, and she is not letting anything get in the way of this promise she has made to stay faithful.  What a great example!

In the beginning of this cambio we contacted this young man named Ma.  He told us that he is atheist but he accepted the idea of a later visit.  Two weeks away más o menos we contacted his mom who also invited us come back another day.  We passed by 3 or 4 times during this time but without any success.  This last week my comp felt like we should pass by again.. and the mom Mar let us in!  All of the kids were there too.  I have had some lessons in the mission what I will NEVER forget...and this is one of them.  I felt super strongly that we should share a video (which we usually do not do with the first lesson) with them to begin the lesson ¨Gracias a El¨watch it if you havent yet!  I suggested this idea to my comp and she agreed.  (After the lesson she told me that she received the same inspiration...I LOVE when the Spirit inspires both of the comps!!!)  WOW.  This family is so prepared to hear the gospel.  She told us about an accident she had which left her in coma for almost a month, and about a year later her husband left the family.  The spirit was SO strong as she testified about her faith and trust in God.  Hna Clark asked her daughter in the end of the lesson..how would you feel to start a new life with a baptism.  Her eyes light up and she said PEACE!  Keep the Family L in your prayers.  

Another lesson bacán was with a family we met through doing service.  One night the mom was outside painting her gate and we stopped and asked if we could help.  She accepted and after she invited us to stop by for once or dinner that next sunday.  I have a strong testimony now how doing service opens up the hearts of people.  

We have been doing classes of english with a lady in our branch.  We decided to show her a video which we randomly picked from the church website to listen to together in english.  The video was about this grandson who was able to strengthen his relationship with his grandfather through doing family history.  After the video we asked her some questions, and she began to cry because recently she has been having dreams about a cousin of hers that passed away along time ago.  She wants to do the work in the temple for him but she is having a hard time finding the dates.  We were able to testify to her about the power of family history and that she will have heavenly help as she continues to look for these dates.  Nothing is coincidence...but inspired.  Prayers are answered in soooo many ways.

Funny incidence of this week.  We had an investigadora leave during the middle of a lesson because her cat was meowing none stop.  She went outside began yelling at the cat, picked up the hose and soaked the cat, walked back into the house and felt a lot better.  You had to be there ;)

Today was the day of cambios.....drum roolllll.  Hna C and I are staying in Valle Grande.  BUT we are going to serve as a trio now with Hna Y.  The mission president wants Hna Y and I to get to know this sector super well...because pretty soon there is a great chance that we will be forming a rama in Valle Grande.  WHOOT WHOOT.  Hna Yourstone is great.  I know that we are going to get a lot of jokes....she is really tall too;)  

I love you guys ton.  

Hna Duffy

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Thirty-eight













Wow it continues to snow there in Ohio eh!  Give Sadie a big hug from me.  It is funny because I remember talking to returned missionaries before the mission that would say that they had a strong hatred towards dogs...I understand this more now in the mission hahaha.  But I am sure I will have a change of heart after the mission....I hope.

Talking about dogs....story.  So almost every morning Hna Clark and I run ....usually it goes something like this.  Yo:  Hna. do you want to run this morning or do exercises inside (and I am hoping that she says the latter).  Her response:  RUN!.  I have never had a strong passion for running, but I am learning poco a poco to enjoy our morning runs.  Anyway.  One morning there was a herd of dogs and one of the dogs (a pitbull ...huge....pitbull) followed us.  We crossed the street back and forth like 6 times to try to convice him to leave us alone..,.but he was super loyal and followed us.  When other dogs came up to bother him He hid behind us which put us in a predicament.  In the end he followed us all the way to our front door (see pic). Having a pitbull follow you is motivation to keep running forward.  We are now famous in Valle Grande as the girls that run in the morning.  Here in Chile, most of the people do Zumba or lift weights for exercises.  Almost everyday we do a contact in the street and they ask us...are you the girls that are always running in the morning haha.  It is one way to start a conversation right?

Today we had an activity of all the hermanas líderes.  We painted and decorated shirts with spray paint. Love the hermanas in the mission TONS!!!!!

What else has happened this week......Nina received her confirmation.  It is crazy how Satan attacks a person before and after a big spiritual step like a baptism.  The week after her baptism she became super ill...a bladder infection and stone algo así so she was not able to attend church the next sunday to receive her confirmation.  Then this last week, some other things happened, but she was able to beat these temptations and receive her confirmation.  Now with the gift of the Holy Ghost she has more support and strength.  

C is officially reactivated as a member of the branch!!!!!!!!!  (see pic).  

We had our Zone Conference this week to!  Guess What !!!!! I got to travel to the campo campo (the most country) part of the mission for the conference.  Imagine hills of vineyards of grapes ready to eat.  SOOO pretty.  Seriously this country has everything..beach, mountains, desert, llamas, penguins, volcanos.  In the conference the theme was about the Gathering of Israel. I am not sure if I have already mentioned this but...STUDY IT!.  We live in this time of the gathering of Israel..The last dispensation.  We need to help are brothers and sisters remember about their heritage and the plan of God that they have already accepted to live.

I love the mission.  Serve with Joy and Suffer with Joy is one of the phrases of our mission. I have felt the most peace and joy here in the mission than I have had in my whole life.  I know that my Heavenly Father wants me here in Chile for now and I am grateful that through prayer we can learn what is His will for us.

Love you

I am soooooo proud of Cam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hna Duffy