Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Forty-nine

I think I am the luckiest sister alive to have two wonderful brothers...seriously...you guys are stellar!

Sacan la mugre...caleta

This week the mission had the goal to contact more families. It is a lot easier to contact a person in the street who is by themselves, but to contact a family in the street requires more faith and confidence in the Savior. It was awesome to see how the missionaries took this example to heart this week.

It was a week a lot more tranquila....but I was able to feel the spirit guide us in the things we needed to do.

So we are still looking for more people to teach. In this sector of Valle Grande we have been trying to ¨open¨ a new sector that missionaries have not worked in for a long time. We have been working in this sector for a couple weeks, but we have not seen a lot of ¨fruit¨ with our labors. And this week it did not feel right at all to be in this sector. We were at a lost, so we said a little prayer and felt like we needed to change sectors. After weeks of closed doors and hearts, we entered a new sector and received a lot of blessing within the first 10 minutes. Seriously, I have loved seeing the hand of the Señor in this work.

We have a family in the branch that were baptized (almost a year ago) but have fallen back into their old pit falls. I am learning that even with our efforts to help, people have their agency. It was really interesting because we entered in their house and I literally felt the Spirit leave. I could not talk properly, could not think properly, and I felt weak, relying on my own strength. It is the WORST feeling ever. One thing I have learned in the mission is without the spirit...I am NOTHING. Without the gift of tongues, without the inspiration of the spirit, I am a helpless instrument/missionary. Never put yourselves in situations (movies, parties, music, etc), where the spirit can not accompany you. Because without the spirit, that is when Satan attacks his hardest. That is why the Sacrament is SOOOO important because with it we are inviting the spirit to help us for the next week. Nothing should impede us from taking the Sacrament.

In contrast, right after this experience we went to visit C (the women who is now super active in the iglesia). The moment I walked into her house I felt better again. We did not have a plan on what we wanted to share with her so I began to talk and to open my scriptures. But nothing felt right. So I paused and waited and felt like I needed to share with her my feelings about the Holy Ghost. WOW. The Spirit flooded the room, and once again I felt the companionship of the Spirit. There is not a feeling more maravilloso then to feel the Spirit talk through you.

M accepted a baptism date, the 28 of June and assisted this Sunday in the church for the first time and LOVED it! She is one person that I have met here in Chile that I will never forget. Please keep her in your prayers.

Also the Family S is progressing!!!! M is una mormona seca (dry mormon/without a baptism). A still does not want to get married legally, but he is progressing un montón. Keep them in your prayers too. This family is going to bless the reino de Dios here and I know that with the Spirit the softening of the heart of A with happen. We did 2 noches de hogares (FHE) with them this week where we invited families from the ward to compart with them their experiences. I love listening to the testimonies of the members!

Funny language mistake of the week: So here in Chile a lot of people say pedacito which means a little bit. But for my whole mission I have heard parasito (parasite)....so for my whole mission I have used this word equivacada UNTIL this week we were doing language studies with a member and she corrected me. We all had a good laugh. Casí.

Love you guys más que puedan imaginar


Hna Duffy

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Forty-eight

I think this week has been the craziest week I have had in the mission.  Voy a explicarla.

So I would need like a whole day to type what happened but here it goes.

Basically our house had an electrical problem.  Lights turning on and off without us knowing.  But this happened for the first time this week when we arrived to the house in the night.  We were a little concerned that someone was in our house (no worries mom I am basically in the safest sector in the mission...literally).  But my comp did not feel good to enter.  sooo we called our lider misional who came with his wife to investigate to see if someone had entered in the house.  Pres. V. got word of this and told us to pack up everything and in the end we slept in a different apartment.  Yes...in the end was an electrical problem..but it is better to be safe than sorry right.  But for like one day we were thinking that we were going to be sent to a different sector until the house problem was solved.  I might have cried..not because of me, but because I love the people in this sector and branch sooo much.  Sometimes we don´t realize the amount of love we have until it is put to a test.    
But wait this week continues.  So the next day we entered our study to do our morning studies.  We closed the door to keep in the heat because the califactor was going.  My comp got up to leave the room to get something but she could not open the door.  I thought she was joking but no in the end the lock of the door had broken and it was impossible to get out. We tried EVERYTHING...I felt like Mcguiver  (the guy in the show that always uses random things as tools) because we used many objects in our study to sack the hinges from the door to dismantle the doorknob but even after this nothing worked.  So we called the pensionista (nanny and poppa palmer probably have received lots of calls like this ;) ) saying we were stuck in the study.  4 hours later we were saved jaja.  I am learning a lot of patience in the mission.  Always there is an adventure right;)  Oh and then the next day the bike tire of Hna C got a thorn haha.  We are just praying that this next week is a little more tranquila.  

Highlights:  O taught a class in church!  He and his wife M have changed their lives around to return to the flock...next step to return to the temple.

-In Relief Society, the president asked someone to volunteer to take a Book of Mormon to give it to a friend, family member, etc.  M raised her hand (she is not a member yet...but a investigadora de oro!) and already gave it to her friend.  And asked us to give her more BOM to give out.  WOW  she has changed everything to follow Christ and radiates this light.  We are now working with her husband A so he can follow with a marriage and baptism.  And...he went to church this last sunday too!!!!!!!!  

-La I who was baptized in febrero her husband J now is listening and participating in our visits.  Poco a poco.  

-Wow so the Holy Ghost can guide us to the needs of the people.  We were teaching M.  We have been teaching her for about 3 months right now.  She is progressing but super slowly.  But we had an awesome visit with her.  We were not sure what her needs were, but she told us that she wanted to tell us something.  She began to tell us about things that have happened in her life..things that she has seen/dreamed that happen etc.  I felt very strongly to compart with here in Moroni 10 about the gifts of the spirit.  It was EXACTLY what she needed to read.  I LOOOOVVVEEE feeling the Spirit working through me.  

-Another experience that I will never forget.  So I was feeling a little frustrated during the day so I went upstairs and said a little prayer asking for a confirmation in what I needed to do or what Heavenly Father thought in me.  I descended the stairs and in less than 5 minutes my comp began to talk to me and to give me words of counsel...exactly what I needed to hear.  She stopped talking, and I said to her, that was not you speaking was it...and she said no but it was the spirit.  LOVE the mission and being able to recognize the hands of God more in my life.  He listens to our prayers and answers them in many ways.

I love the mission.  I love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love my Heavenly Father.  I love feeling the spirit so strongly.  I the moments when I have my ´spiritual eyes´opened.  

I recently read about Samuel the Lamanite.  He was so tired of receiving rejection so he started to head home.  But he was told to return.  So he did but still the people did not want to let him in the city.  So he climbed the wall of the city.  But even after this the people tried to kill him.  I love this story because even when we are trying to do the will of God it does not mean it is going to be easy all of the sudden.  Perhaps our first, second, third try does not work out.  And sometimes we have think of new ways to seguir adelante (to climb a wall) but when we give our all and when we give up our will to do the will of God that is when we will find this peace. 

Love you guys tons

Sorry this letter is bien larga

Hna Duffy

Forty-seven




Hna C and I are `opening up`another sector here that missionaries have not worked in for a long time.  Knocking lots of doors and looking for the people who are prepared to accept the gospel of Christ in their lives.  In the mission sometimes we have periods of searching. It has been incredible though for 2 cambios.. we have worked mostly in 2 streets and we have seen a lot of miracles.  This last saturday we were able to participate basically in a `block party`for one of these streets.  One of our investigadoras  named Margarita was in charge of the party so she asked us if we could do face painting with the kids.  I will just say that I am definitely no Picasso! But it was fun to press service in a new way.

Talking about M...she is progressing and growing each day in her testimony...it is incredible.  She was talking with us yesterday about how she has quit smoking, drinking, etc. which is incredible because we still have not officially taught her the Word of Wisdom, but then she mentioned that she felt guilty because she had drunk a little bit of Coke with her lunch this last week. As missionaries in this mission we can not drink Coke, but she thought it applied to her too.  I love seeing how the Spirit changes hearts. 

Last Thursday we were able to do a session in the temple, in spanish, which was awesome!  I love the temple here in Santiago!  Days before our visit to the temple I was thinking about the things I wanted to take away from the experience. I had forgotten the peace that exists in the temple.  I know that the temples are the houses of God here in the earth.  While I was reading the scriptures in the temple, in Moses Ch 1, something really called my attention. Moses talks about his `natural eyes`and his `spiritual eyes`.  I love this so much. He continues to say that he learned that man is nothing in comparison to the work of God. I feel like this says a lot about my experience in the mission.  I arrived here in Chile with my natural eyes...but now I feel like I am learning how to use my spiritual eyes more:  to recognize answers to my prayers, to feel the love of my Heavenly ¨Father, the cleansing and strengthening power of the Atonement.  

Funny experience of the week.  So I was trying to close this huge gate that is in front of a street.  And I was pushing and shoving and I was so confused why it was not budging until I realized that I was pulling the part of the gate that does not slide shut.  yahh..so I felt a little silly but I was hoping nobody but my comp saw it.  But then I looked up and a man had been watching me the whole time in my failed attempt.  He did not saw a single word but made a face that summed everything right up!
:) love ya tons


Hna Duffy

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Forty-six

It has been incredible to see the many blessings that Heavenly Father has put into our lives.  My love for each and every one of you has grown more in this past year than I think I have ever felt before..even though we are farther apart.  Heavenly Father knows what our family needs, and as each one of us looked more for the will of God in our lives, our family bond strengthened as we walked forward in faith together.  I wish every family could have the gospel of Christ in their lives to bless and guide them.

We have a family of investigadores named A, M, and A.  M is AMAZING!  Someone mentioned the Word of Wisdom to her first or second sunday in the chapel...and without us saying anything, she has stopped drinking and smoking.  The Spirit is the one who changes hearts.  She is SOO ready for her baptism, but her husband (not legally because they are not married) not so much.  A is the kind of guys that thinks more about the science and logic then to follow his heart.  M wants to progress so much, but we are trying to do it as a family.  Keep them in your prayers.  We left a pamphlet about the importance of a marriage for them, and M told us that she keeps putting it by A and saying ¨Read it¨. jajaja...I have full faith that the Spirit can change his heart just like it did with M.  

Our mission started a new focus with the youth with the ages that qualify with seminary.  Now we are going to have a meeting weekly with the seminary teacher to pick certain teenagers to focus on to get them to go to seminary.  But with this that means we need the support of the whole family!  Thanks mom and dad for driving me to seminary in the morning bright and early ...appreciate it ;)

Cute comment recently:  For lesson 1:  The restoration, there is the image of Christ holding the lamb.  A, the son (6 years old) of A who was just baptized always says...this is Jesus Christ and I am the lamb.  It is incredible to see how in tune the kids are with the spirit.  

Love you tons


Hna Duffy

Monday, May 4, 2015

Forty-five






This last monday we had cambios....I stayed here in Valle Grande whoot whoot!  This will be my third cambio here and I would be happy to serve here for my whole mission!  My new compi is Hna C.  She is the first hermana I met in the airport..we arrived to the CCM together.  I feel so blessed to serve here, and am excited for the new lessons that I will learn.  It is going to be super genial this cambio because we will pass our year mark together 7 de mayo...and what makes it even better is that our Zona got assigned to have a session in the temple this same day.  We get to do a session in the temple 1 time during the mission, so i am REALLY excited.

Have you seen the news about the volcano here in Chile.  This country has it all!

This last sunday was really lindo.  A received her confirmation.  She told us it was like a current of energy that flowed into her.  Also the Elders in the Branch were able to see a baptism from there sector...her name is I.  She is my age and is going to move to Utah to study medicine.  She is awesome!  The first time we met there was a ¨click¨so I am so happy I will be able to see her after the mission too!!!!

The C family came to visit Chile, because Hna C finished her mission.  They attended Church in the branch so I got to see them which was fun.  S, graduated with me from Nursing School so I was crazy to see her down here.

The awesome experience of the week:  
So we have a investigador named M..who is progressing poco a poco.  But Heavenly Father blessed us a ton.  So basically we were teaching her...but then her sister arrived and wanted to participate in the lesson...and then the husband of her sister came too.  Long story short.  The brother in law named C is a menos activo since his youth.  In the end of the lesson all of them accepted a date for a baptism and we are going to have a lesson with both of the families tonight.  Heavenly Father puts the people in our paths!

LOVE YOU GUYS TON!

Remember who you are.  Remember the purpose of this life...to grow as a child of God, to accept that only with Christ we can achieve our potential, to help our brothers and sisters in this path, and to have JOY!

con mucho cariño 


Hna Duffy