Thirty

How is my family doing?.....tranquila ?;) I didn´t realize how often we use that word here until I talked with you guys. My comp. told me that I was talking a lot in Spanglish with you guys...sorry jaja. It was SOOOO good to see your lovely faces. This week was a little different with the feriado (holiday) but we learned a lot. Christmas eve we had lunch and dinner with a family from the ward which was awesome. Then Christmas morning my comp and I had our little celebration together (thanks sooo much for the packages) and then had an asado (BBQ) while we took turns talking with our families. After that we visited some investigadores y miembros in our sector. The night finished with a call from obispo that he was outside our apartment with his wife with treats for us (best bishop ever!). Did you know that here in chile people open their presents at midnight instead of in the morning? There is this bread that everyone eats...I do not know why because it is pretty hmm what is the word...it is called pan de pascua...fruitcake but super dry. This week has been interesting because a lot of people have left for vacation. I am learning more and more patience with myself and others ;) We have been doing a lot more contacts and have some awesome potential in this sector. Little miracles every day. For example we had basically finished all our plans for the day and we were without a lead on what to do next. Prayed and felt that we should pass by this lady we contacted the other week that lived far away. So we went and nobody answered the door. But a group of kids who lived next door approached us and started talking with us. In the end we talked with the abuela of these kids and found out that she had visited with missionaries before, and we have an appointment to visit them this week. There is no such thing as luck or chance...but the spirit and the hand of God in our lives! I have been receiving tons of calls from missionaries this week after navidad (christmas). A lot of heat plus a lot of food equals GI problems. I can basically give my speech about what someone needs to do for diarrea in record time ;) Thanks so much for your love and support. Hna Duffy

Twenty-nine

HOLA!!!!!

Sí pues vamos a conversar esta navidad!  We have everything planned out

 to use a computer in the home of a miembro.  There are 4 hermanas that 

will be having Christmas dinner with this family so I am not entirely sure 

what time...but if possible probably Christmas day is the best for me...if not..

let me know and I will work on something else.  But if you assign me a time 

I can work with that too;)  SOOOOO  excited to see your beautiful faces in Skype.  

This week was the last week of the cambio.  It is a time to reflect on what went well this cambia 

and what we need to work on the next cambio.  I love that in the mission we are always reevaluated 

our progress and goals.  There is always something we can work on.  

CAMBIOS:::::::::the suspense.

I am staying in my sector.  I will be a hermana trainer again..and my comp nueva is a very 

cute hermanita se llama Hna Henry.  The first time I will have to have a compañera gringita 

en el campo.  She is from California and I am sooo excited to serve with her.  We have a lot 

to do in this sector.  Vivaceta es la máximo.  We have tons of support from the ward which has 

been a great blessing.

One thing that I have been thinking a lot about is the many ways we do missionary work.  

For example this last cambio, nobody was baptized in our ward.  It would be easy to think 

that this was a ¨failure¨but what I have learned is there are many ways to have success in a 

cambio.  And furthermore it is not our success but it is the spirit.  Our job is to remain 

worthy to have the companionship of the spirit, and in the end people have the opportunity to decide.  

A couple experiences from this week.

We contacted a lady in the street who said she is atea...atheist.  We asked her if she had

 something happen in her life that basically shook her faith.  She responded that there were 

a lot of reasons..but we could pass by her house one day and maybe she would be there.  

So of course we went.  A miracle happened and she came out of her house and talked with us.  

She told us about her experiences with missionaries, with churches, with God.  It was super 

interesting to listen to her.  One thing that happened with missionaries in the past she said was 

that the missionaries just talked and did not listen to her.  And as soon as the missionaries 

stopped talking they tried to push her to commit (missionaries from lots of different churches). 

 I learned  a lot about the importance of being a good listener.  Often it is more easy to enter 

a home, give a spiritual lesson, and to leave, and then expect changes.  But each person is 

different, and at times we just need to listen.

I have been thinking a lot about this because in the mission I have had the opportunity to meet

 a lot of people in really poor conditions-physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Sometimes in my

 mind..I am wanting to teach a family ¨without¨any huge problems.  That would not have to give up 

addictions, etc. to progress in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I read a talk in the Liahona this week 

where Elder Uchdorf stated that if Christ was living in the earth again He would be found amoung 

the meek, humble, and poor in heart.  This was a answer to my prayers that it is not up to me to decide 

who would best fit to progress in the gospel of Christ, but I need to seek out those who need this 

message of hope, love, and purpose.  

I know that lives change when we accept the Atonement of Christ more into our lives.  We accept that 

we are not perfect, that we need help, and that even when we try with all our might to do what is right 

we can confide in Christ to make up the difference.  

Christ was born in lowly circumstances.  Lived a humble life.  And in the end of His mortal life, 

He was still focused in the needs of others.  I know Christ lived and lives.  That He already suffered 

for all that I will do in this life.  And that this gift, the greatest gift of this season, is the mercy He offers

 us to return with Him to live with our Heavenly Father.  

I love you guys so much

Hna Duffy

Twenty-eight

Hope you guys passed Thanksgiving wonderfully with mucha comida....I was able to eat pavo (turkey) this week for the first time in the mission which was awesome that it happened the week of thanksgiving.

en serio I am soo sorry my spanglish is getting worse every week....

Oh there is a niño en my ward here who wanted me to write to you guys to tell you that he thinks we look like the creatures from Avitar jajajaja.  

Update on the dog whistle...it works.  It was the best thing ever.  We passed by some dogs that we dont have the best relations with this week..and the sound that the whistle makes..causes them to run away.  Thank you Presidente Videla for the gift!  But we found out if the dog is old it does not affect them.  We were in a house and my companion used it and the dog didnt react at all.. it´s old ears did not pick up the sounds oh well.

This last sunday...Una jovencita se llama Mitxi and I sung in the sacrament meeting.  We sang the song, A Child´s Prayer..pero por supuesto en español.

We live right next door to the Hipodromo en Santiago (horse races)..and there was a huge race this week..fireworks and everything..whoot whoot.  There is an investigador en our ward right now who is a jockey and races in the Hipodromo.

Awesome experience this week.  We are teaching this jovencita se llama Berta.  We had been teaching her mom (who is through o through evangelica) but in the end she stopped progressing and in the end we are now teaching her daughter.  We introduced her to the Book of Mormon..and basically in 3 days she read up to 1 Nefi 10.  This was the first time in my mission where someone has really ¨feasted on the words¨in the scriptures.  She said she loved the vision of Lehi and felt like she was a part of this vision when she was reading it.  Please keep her in your prayers!

We had another milagro/miracle this week.  We are teaching a menos activo hombre and his wife.  They just had their first baby and are super bueno.  Are sacrament meeting is the last meeting of the 3 hour block.  We had invited them to attend the church Saturday night and they said they would.  During the last talk of the sacrament meeting...they walked in holding their baby!  There is such a joy to see someone that was baptized years ago but has been inactivo for mucho tiempo to enter the chapel again.  The ward was awesome to befriend them...always helps when a couple has a cute newborn too ;)  If you can put M en your prayers too (the wife) the next step they need to take is matrimonio.  I love the mission!!!!!! I love the opportunity to see people use their agency to make changes in their lives.

My comp and I have started studying Doctrina and Convenios.  Read Section 6. Especially verses 14-15. 29-30.

I have been thinking a lot about what is my purpose as a missionary..what does Heavenly Father desire of me in my time in Chile.D and C 1:24....we are called as representatives of Christ..but still have weaknesses.  With these weaknesses it forces us to trust more in Him...to Repent each day..and realize that the Atonement is a gift we need to utilize every day in our lives.

Christ lived and lives.  He fulfilled His mission in the earth to carry about the plan of God our Father.  He did it out of love and he was perfectly humilde en everything.

Con cariño y amor

Hna Duffy

Twenty-seven

I realized that today is exactly one year from the day that I will

 board a plane to return to Los Estados Unidos.  Wow 6 months 

has flown by...I seriously feel like I still am just starting the 

mission.  These last 6 months have changed my life, changed

 my heart, and changed my future.  It is interesting to reflect on 

the things that lead up to making the decision to serve a mission.  

Because seriously the mission was never in ¨MY¨plan.  Heavenly 

Father Knew and Knows how much I need this experience.  

Each day is a day to learn how much more I need to accept the 

Atonement in my life.  I love Chile, I love the mission.  

Experiences of this week...

_presented an overview of health with the new missionaries

_today we traveled to ¨La Vega¨ which was super fun.  My 

companion loved it because she is from Peru and there was 

tons of food (fruits and vegetables) that are from Peru there.  

Seriously the food here is really cheap especially the produce..

tan tan rico.

-cool experience.  So we were walking in the street and this 

woman ran up to us and asked us if there was a drug rehabilitation 

program with the church because her husband if struggling with an 

addiction.  We were able to talk to her about this and set up a time

 to visit them.  The lección con ellos was really powerful, and she 

talked to us that when she was a girl she participated in the

 ¨mormon¨activities.  It is cool to see how seeds are planted in 

peoples lives to later open up doors to the Evangelio de Jesucristo.

-another cool experience.  We were taking a taxi and almost always

 we are able to share a good message or contact about the church 

with the drivers.  But this time was a lot different.  When we arrived 

to our destination he turned off his car and we were able to give 

most of the 1st lección with him (The restoration).  I love to see  how 

the Spirit touches the hearts of people and to see when people have 

been prepared to accept the message into their lives.

-seriously I need to learn french...there are so many people from 

Haiti here.  The people from Haiti are the most loving, giving,

 selfless people I have ever had the chance to know in my life.  

It is really funny to talk with them.  Because my spanish is not 

perfect and they are learning spanish too...which leads to lots of 

confusion at times.  For example..yes I have a story to back this 

statement up.  We were teaching un hombre se llama, Djery.  I asked 

Djery what I could ask (pedir) in my prayer for him.  He understood 

my question as (perder) ...¨What am I going to lose if I pray to Dios?¨ 

He was very surprised by this and ended up giving my a power talk 

about the importance of prayer and my relationship with Dios.  

Lets just say my companion couldnt help but laugh.

This week I studied some about how Christ accepted the will

 of the Father.  In everything He accepted the will of Heavenly 

Father.  Before the mission I had a hard time to distinguish the 

differences in the roles of Christ and Heavenly Father.  I am 

grateful for the ability to work on strengthening my relationship 

and understanding with my Heavenly Father and also my 

Salvador y Redentor Jesucristo.  

They are very aware of our needs. 

Prayers are conversations with our padre celestial.

We receive blessings each day

mucho amor

Hna Duffy

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Twenty-six

There is a reason why I am writing today and not yesterday......ready....

Elder Russell M Nelson of the 12 apóstoles came to Chile.  My mission (Santiago North) and another mission, Santiago East had the awesome opportunity to join together for a conference with him.  I will never forget this conference.  A couple points that really struck me was from the talk that Sister Nelson gave.  She talked about pondering and reflecting about our ¨premortal selves.¨ That she wishes everyone could have a DVD player that would allow them to watch 10 minutes of their premortal life when we lived with our Heavenly Father, when we accepted to follow His plan, the moment we left before we were born.  That we were born with a ¨list¨of things that we were to do in this life.  She said that she knows one thing on this list for each of us as missionaries was that we was to serve a mission here in Chile.  When she said this I felt a confirmation of this truth.  That part of Heavenly Father´s plan for me was to serve 18 months here in the beautiful country of Chile.  She also talked about our relationships with others in the premortal life.  How there are times in our life when we meet someone and it feels like we have known each other before or for a long time.  Premortal Friends. How true is this.  

Elder Nelson gave a blessing as an apostle for us.  In the blessing he included a great part for the families of the missionaries.  I want you to know that many people, including leaders of the church are praying for you.  He talked about certain things we should concentrate in our studies.  In the spanish scriptures there is a extra guide to the scriptures which is fantastic which we studied with him in the conference.  He said that with investigadores, we as missionaries need to be able to see them dressed in white in the temple.  The temple is the goal.

Funny story of the week.  My companion had a appointment so I was seated outside the office waiting for her.  I was studying my spanish/english dictionary..when this mother and son entered and sat down close to where I was sitting.  I also had my Book of Mormon in my lap during this time.  This mother and son were conversing and I am guessing they thought I did not speak spanish ...so I would not understand their conversation.  They started talking about the Book of Mormon..how many times they have read it, their thoughts etc.  I decided I would make a medical call to check up on one of the Hermanas in the mission.  The moment I started talking in spanish in this phone call, their faces were priceless jaja.  After the call I talked with them.  They are members ( menos activos I believe) but it was one of the funniest experiences I have had in the mission.

Mucho amor y cariño

Hna Duffy

Twenty-five

Wow...it looks like you guys went all out with Halloween!  Chile had a feriado (holiday) this past friday and saturday.  Halloween is now a holiday here.  I guess it is new as of the past 5 years in the way that people are celebrating it.  It was tons of fun to see kids dressed up in costumes and trick or treating...phrases they use here are ¨dulces o travesuras¨-  It is interesting because here in Santiago the culture is a big melting pot of many countries.  So much fun!

Awesome news....I am staying in my same sector with Hna V.  We are super happy to have more time in this sector.  This last cambio was to reactivate a lot of menos activos and now we are going to set goals to maintain and look for people who have been prepared to accept the message of the restauraction of the church of Christ into their lives.

We had some really awesome opportunities this week to give lessons with the help of members.  This is the goal of our mission right now is to do more lessons for investigadores with a member present.  It has made a grand difference in the obra.  It does not only bless the investigador but it also strengthens the member.

One realization I had this week.  I entered the mission thinking that by the end of my mission I would have become the most perfect person that I could become in this life, but now I know that when it comes time to leave chile...I am still going to have weaknesses and defects, but now I know that I can rely and confide in Christ to lend me support, change my heart, and comfort me in my life.

I know that Christ lived a perfect life in the earth that He created under the direction of our Heavenly Father.  I know that He lives and is directing this work...la obra misional.  I know that each person is a son or daughter of God.  I know that I am knowing without Christ.  I know that Thomas S. Monson holds the authority and the keys as the living prophet.  I know that the Book of Mormon is more evidence of Christ and is evidence that Heavenly Father gave us a guide in this life.  

Mucho amor

Hna Duffy

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Twenty-four

EN SERIO

no way....that is so exciting that Caden will be serving as the medico in his mission also.

I just sent him a list of medications with the names in spanish and english, and tips on how to treat the exciting things in the mission...diarrhea, dog bites, gastritis, inflammed knees.  He is going to be fantastico.  Maybe he will be inspired to change his major when he gets back home jaja

So I realized this week I might need to learn some french.  There are tons of people from Haiti in this sector.  The people from Haiti are super receptive and open.  We are teaching a man from Haiti named A.  A and his family attended church this sunday which was awesome.  His wife only speaks french but hopefully the spirit was able to carry the message to her heart.  It has been really fun to serve in the city because like any city there are people from all over.  We have a street in our sector which basically only has people from Peru.  It is really funny because people often will think my compañion is american because she is with me.  We are practicing on helping her with her english.

Wow it gets hot here.  Maybe it is because I had two winter in a row, and so my body is not use to the heat.  I am SOOO happy to feel the sun once again.  I am going to have Christmas in the Summer.  Sorry Frosty the Snowman.

The medical problems have changed since the weather has changed.  Now we are dealing with allergies, bloody noses, heat exhaustion, dehydration, and food poisoning.  Hna V, the mission president's wife has done tons for the mission in regard to the health of the mission.  My role really is to help with the calls from the missionaries right now and to translate the needs to the Doctor that is supervising the missions in Chile.  Hna V was so kind the other day.  We were communicating a lot about a missionary in the mission who was experiencing some problems.  She was using a lot of medical words in spanish that I had no idea what the meaning were.  So the next day she got up early and translated and practiced everything in english for me, so she could explain it more profoundly to me in english.  I know that the ability to work with her is a blessing and a grand part in my mission.

I had my 1st completo...the hotdog of chile....with members this week. They made them especially for my comp and I because both of us had not tasted them.

There were emergency cambios in our zone, so we were given the sector of the elderes for the rest of the cambio.  We are focusing on contacting and visiting the members of the ward in the sector for the time we have the whole ward as our sector.  I love the ward...VIVACETA.  There is soo much support and love from this ward.

One lesson that I keep on learning in the mission is that I am NOTHING..without the Spirit and without the Atonement of Christ.  Everyday you can try to accomplish everything and give all...but still you will fall short.  Everyday we need to ask for perdon and to ask for the strength to try a little bit harder the next day.  I love the experiences in the mission when both my comp and I feel the same prompting to do something at the same time...la obra misional es la obra de missionaries...it is the work of our Heavenly Father.

Mucho mucho mucho amor

Hna Duffy