Sixty-one

Hola

So this is going to be a letter a little shorter. But I am sending it with a lot of love.

Cambios- I am staying here in Independencia but as Hna L (so for the intercambios I will be staying in my sector instead of traveling) and my comp is Hna H....again!!!  I was her trainer like 9 months ago...loco.  Heavenly Father has a plan for us this cambio.  We are super excited to work together, and we can hit the ground running because we already know how the other works.

Hna N by comp is going home today.  I am so grateful for the many lessons she taught me this last cambio.

J and M are progressando a lot.  We taught them almost every day, because they kept asking us to pass by.  Honestly they teach us.  They always read between the visits, so in lessons we are just contesting their questions.  Wow!  They have been a blessing in my life to see people with spirits so prepared to accept the gospel of Jesus.  J has been sick this weekend so please keep her in your prayers.  muchas gracias.

Dad you inspired me with your letter about goals.  I have a goal this cambio to set more goals and to cumplir them.  I will let you know how it goes;)

It was interesting this week.  We had to do tramites with our Visa etc and we did not have our time to study the scriptures like we usually do.  Man I felt a difference.  The scriptures are the spiritual waters that give us the enegy to keep going. 

love ya tons

hna duffy

Sixty

Querida familia mìa

As you can see from the series of selfie pics we did a lot of intercambios this week!  I love doing the intercambios ....seriously.  It is my favorite calling I have had as a mission thus far.  The hermanas in our group are amazing, and I learn sooo much from each of them.

It is getting harder and harder to put into words exactly how I feel, because I am seriously super happy and constantly am seeing miracles every day.  We had a really awesome experience this week.  So we were in route to an appointment and we saw this woman walking with her baby chicatito.  We felt to talk with her so of course we did.  Her name is J, and she is from Colombia.  She was super receptive with our contact, and we were able to set an appointment with her for the next day.  In the end of the contact she told us, and I will make sure my husband is in the house too because I want all of us to learn together.....because this week I actually mentioned to him that we needed to find a church for our family, and I feel like meeting your guys is the answer from God.  I was in an intercambio when they taught them the next day, but my comp Hna N told me it was a lesson super genial.  The next day was Sunday ...and they assisted!!! All 3 hours.  They were participating in the classes with questions etc.  Wow.  Seriously there are people prepared to hear the Evangelio de Jesucristo.  Please keep J and M in your prayers!

We were able to teach the two haitiano children this week...Y and R.  Wow.  Another lesson I don’t think I will ever forget either.  R, He is 12 y.o, had a Joseph Smith experience during the lesson.  It was amazing.  He understood the apostasy and the restoration perfectly.  Seriously during the lesson one could see the light in his eyes.  Some people have spirits sooo powerful, and can recognize the truth of the gospel right away.  During the lesson too Y and her grandmother were playing with my hair hahahaha.  Love the people from Haiti.  When I serve another mission, I would love to serve in Haiti! Cam you will have to help me learn some French!

In my lecture of the BOM this week I read Mosiah 2:21-24.  I remember the first time that I read this passage in the mission, I wanted to cry....because we try so hard to give everything during the mission, but even with our best efforts we are going to fall short.  My offering to my Heavenly Father and Christ as a missionary will never repay them for everything They have done and do for me.  In the end, even after I have tried to give everything...I need the Atonement.  It is interesting in my mind, even when I try to give everything to Christ to show my gratitude for the Atonement, I need the Atonement to do it.  We are nothing without Christ.  

Make it a great week.

Love you guys!!!!!

Fifty-nine

I love you guys so much.  Wow,  we are found in all sorts of places in the world...africa..south america...provo (a world of itself ;) ) MTC (other world of itself haha), ohio.  

It was a another amazing week here in Santiago, Chile.  This week we had a rain storm for 3 days.  The first day we had to stay in the house because the streets literally were changed into rivers.  The drains/gutters here are tiny, because it does not rain here a ton, so it has taken some time for the water to get drained...but now the air is a little bit cleaner.  

This week also meant a Zone Conference and a Medical Conference.  I think I have restless leg syndrome now  ;) ...I can’t sit still for a ton of time, I am happier walking.  

I can not even put into words some of the experiences I had this week.  The mission is amazing...the gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing.  I am learning how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and naturally by living it, we are going to want to share it with others.  Missionaries for LIFE!

Funny story.  We were looking for a menos activa that entered the church this last sunday.  The direction that we had was bad so we decided to knock a couple doors around this direction to try to find her.  Her name is Y.  We knocked this door and a abuelita from Haiti answered the door.  The Y we were looking for is Chilena, but we decided to ask her anyways. ...`Does a Y live here?`the abuelita said yes and left to go look for her.  We were a little confused but waited.  A little haitiana girl came up and we asked her, her name and she said Y hahaha.  and she told us to enter.  To be short in writing, we were able to teach her and her brother and we have another appointment with them for this next week.  I honestly don’t believe in chance or luck.....there are many ways that the spirit and Heavenly Father helps us be lead to the people that are ready.

There are so many moments that touched my heart this week.  I love this work, and am so grateful to be where I am right now.  Live in the moment.

Fifty-eight

It was a great week here in Santiago, Chile.

So we went to Portillo today as a group of hermanas here in Independencia.  It was quite the adventure..they almost did not let us through because there was so much snow.  

IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  We were able to play in the snow, and what made it even more special was that for a couple of the Hermanas it was their first time touching snow.  Dad I thought of you...you would be in heaven skiing here...the powder was perfect!

Slowly, but surely we are finding more people to teach here in Independencia.  It is one of the oldest stakes here so a lot of the work is trying to work with menos active families and to increase the unity in the wards.

It has been awesome doing a lot of intercambios with the hermanas from our group.  Quick story.  Hna F and I in Los Olivos did not have any more plans because all of our plans fell through.  We were outside the house of someone that had a appointment, but was not answering the door.  We decided to pray and the moment we said amen, a group of people approached us and ended up letting us in the house and we were able to find someone to teach that night.  Also, another quick story.  My comp contacted a homeless man in the street, but set up an appointment with him to teach him in the house of his family.  We passed for the appointment later in the week, and he was not there but his brother was.  His brother told us that he met with the missionaries before, assisted a la iglesia, and he would like to have more visits.  It is amazing how Heavenly Father leads us to the right people.

I love you guys a ton.  Cam Cam I am praying for you every day.  So proud of my family.  Keep the faith alive.  

Fifty-seven

Wow

#duffmissionariestaketwo

I am sooo happy for Cameron (mom will you send my letter to him..por fa ;) ).

So this week was packed.

I am traveling a lot more which has been fun to work in a lot of different 

sectors.  I love the misioneras in my group.  It has been a lot of fun 

working with them and seeing their unique strengths, talents, and ways 

to work in the obra de salvación.  

We celebrated pioneer day (24th) the traditional way...we walked a lot 

haha.  It is amazing to think in the faith that the pioneers had.  They did 

not know where Zion was exactly but they had faith that Heavenly Father 

did.  I feel like that sometimes as a missionary.  We leave our apartment

 in the morning praying that the Spirit will lead us to the people who are 

honestly prepared to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Patience is an 

atributo divino de Jesucristo.

I honestly can not think of a time in my life when I was so happy.  

I like a quote that Dad wrote me a long time ago...but I use it a lot.  

A mission is not a numbers game.  Even when I do not have the best 

`numbers` in the mission, if I have love for the people, confidence in the 

atonement, and trying my best, Heavenly Father will do the rest.  READ 

Alma 26:31.  I am so grateful for the patience that my Heavenly Father 

has with me.  We of all people, who know the gospel of Jesus Christ, 

should be the happiest people of all.  There is nothing to complain 

about, because we have this hope and peace knowing that the plan

 of God is perfect.

We had a Leadership Council this week and one misionera comported 

this scripture which I loved.  Helaman 7:7-9.  Basically for me this is 

talking about the syndrome `the grass is greener on the other side`. 

 The only person with whom we can compare ourselves is our former 

self with our current self, and our current self with Christ.  I know I am 

where I am for a reason.  

Some awesome experiences happened this week, but they are too

 long to tell in this letter.  But I will share one experience super bacon 

from this week.  So we are passing by the old investiagadores (people

 who listened to the missionaries before.)  The last week, we talked

 with a abuelita and she told us to pass by a different day.  So this 

week we passed by, but she was not there.  But this man came out 

and talked with us and told us to come in.  When we went in there 

was a group of his familiares.  To put in better words, his cousin, 

and his uncle who were there ended up being members.  Everyone

 are not active members, besides the uncle who is super active.  We 

were able to compart with them about the priesthood and the temple. 

 It was so awesome to see, that is was not chance, to have found

 all of them together in the house of this abuelita.  Heavenly Father 

knows where we need to go and to be.

Love you guys a ton.

mucho mucho

en serio

su hermanita y hijita

Hna Duffy

Fifty-six

Elder Cameron Duffy....write about your experience with your setting apart as missionary, and the promises in the blessing.  I read mine often.  So proud of you man!

So this was a week of adjusting.  After a week in the casa, my body learned how to walk again.  Literally, I felt like a little child learning how to walk again after spending 6 months riding a bike EVERYWHERE.  Dont worry mom my shoes are still in good condition (at least in comparison with the shoes that Caden used ...duck tape ...hahaha).

I know this is where I need to be, even though it is still a shock to be back in the city.  The graffiti is really beautiful....not a joke...I am serious there is some true talent here;)  

We have already started the intercambios, and this last week I was able to serve with Hna H in Vivaceta (I was her trainer in Vivaceta and she now has 6 cambios in this sector).  It was fun returning to the sector and seeing many beloved faces.  I love being a leader because we are not only worrying and praying for the wellbeing of OUR sector, and OUR plans, but we are able to guide and support so many amazing misioneras here in the Zone of Independencia.  

My comp in the sweetest most tender being...seriously.  This week we have made some big changes with the sector ...leaving investigadores that do not want to progress, etc. which means we are in Search mode.  It was really cool, so our first night (monday night) we talked with this man named R, and he has comparted with the Elders before hace mucho tiempo, but we were able to set an appointment with him and he has true potential.  

Cool experience. so my comp Hna N felt like we should try to pass by for a man named Orlando.  He recently was baptized in Colombia and just moved here to Chile.  My comp had ¨lost¨her planner with his number and direction and they had not seen him for a long time, but she felt super strongly that we should go ask the receptionist of his apartment building.  She kept saying, pray in your heart for a miracle.  We asked the receptionist, he searched the directory, but found nothing.  BUT the next morning we were walking and a man came up to us and it was him!  Sometimes the miracles do not happen in the moment, but with a faithful prayer the blessing come.

As a zone of hermanas we decided to do a fast as a group that every compañerismo will have a baptism this cambio.  We are super emoccionadas to work with this ayuno and goal.

Love you guys so much.  Keep on smiling..because the light of the gospel outshines all the sorrows.

mucho cariño 

Hna Duffy

Fifty-five

I have loved reading you letters.  You guys are receiving so many blessings, siga adelante with your faith and diligence, and share this joyous testimony with the people that Heavenly Father puts in your path.

So this week, was a week of patience.  My comp Hna C has been off and on sick for 2 cambios, but this last week, the last week of the cambio, her body gave out.  She has pneumonia or a SUPER bad case of bronchitis (with her asthma).  So we spent the majority of the week in casa.  It was weird...really weird to be inside.  She literally slept for like a week, so I had time to read a lot, organize and clean the house more than once, and to ponder about lots of things.  It actually was a week that I will never forget.  I am grateful that I could be there for my comp and to feel the peace of the spirit.  I could feel the love of our Heavenly Father soo much and even during a trial bien difìcil, He helped us through it.  

and today.....we had cambios.

After 4 cambios (6 weeks=one cambio....you can do the math haha) I have left Valle Grande.  I think I have grown as a person and a missionary more during my time there than I thought was possible.  I am so grateful that Heavenly Father allowed me to meet so many wonderful people and to have so many experiences that have helped to mold and form me. Now I am in the city again and actually almost the same sector as before.

Independencia .....(is the neighbor of my sector anterior of Vivaceta).

I am Lìder numero 2 with Hna F (the most angelic person I have met...she is going to teach me a lot).  We are over 5 compañerismos of misioneras, which means I will be traveling a LOT doing intercambios...Whoot whoot!

It will be a culture shock again for me (Valle Grande is basically like a normal residencial neighborhood sector) to return to the hustle and bustle of the city, but I have faith that we will see miracles this cambio!

I wrote a list this last week of some of the most interesting medical calls I have received and I thought I would share a couple of them with you...be excited.

-Elder called super worried that he had overdosed on her flintstone vitamins...eatting 3 instead of 2.

-Elder called worried because his snot was white, and he thought that meant he had diabetes,

-Elder called to ask me if he could eat or use frozen chicken he had in his freezer even though the date was expired.

-Elder called because his pee was slightly pink after donating blood, but he also told me that he had eatten a LOT of beets that week.

-Elder called stating that he had diarrhea and constipation.  So a member gave him a natural remedy to help with this which ended up being a tea of horse poop. And surpise..He was not feeling tooo good after that.

These are just a few.  I love the opportunity to teach some of the missionaries as the nurse.  Cam....please learn a few medical things from Dad before you head out to france...okay;)

The gospel of Christ is my life.  The mission is helping understand how to live this heavenly plan.  Love my Savior, and all He has done for me and continues to do.

Love you guys more than you know.  Un abrazo (hug) muy fuerte

con harto cariño

Hna Duffy