Two

What a life changing week this has been!  When you think you have fully developed a certain attribute, the Spirit stretches you a little farther in order to become a little closer to Christ.  This week I have really been pondering and studying the Christ like attribute of Hope.  Hope is simple in nature, but complicated in nature.  I have lots of hopes for serving the Lord here in Chile, but in order to work towards these hopes I need to ACT in faith.  

So this last week was more classes!  It has been really fun being a student again..me and my spanish dictionary are really close friends now.  A typical day consists of getting up at 7 am (they play the song Called to Serve over the loud speaker as our alarm clock), personal study for an hour, quick breakfast, we get to run in the park, get ready and then we are in class from 10 to 10.  It sounds daunting writing it right now, but I am truly loving it!  I can truly feel the Spirit supporting me physically, emotionally, and spiritually, as I try to prepare to serve more fully.

Today a big group of missionaries left the CCM to go serve in their assigned missions.  Im going to really miss them, especially my roommates Hna. F and Hna. E.  These two wonderful sisters were so loving and patient with me my first week while I was trying to pick up some basic Spanish phrases.  Funny story.  One night I asked Hna. E to clarify when to use the word bien and bueno.  She gave me the example of saying "A good investigator" "A buen investigador." I heard her say "A buen pescador (fisherman)" I started nodding in agreement, and acting out like I was going fishing.  She looked at me and busted up laughing.  Now our inside joke is that we are going to go preach to all the fishermen in the area.  Im so thankful for these beautiful sisters and I know they are going to be amazing missionaries!

The language is coming...slowly but surely!  Yesterday me and my companera Hna. B, taught a lesson to our practice investigador "Pedro."  The Spirit was so strong in the lesson.  We were able to pray with him, testify to him, and commit him to be baptized.  Even though now all of our lessons have gone that well, the ones where you know the Spirit is truly manifesting the love of God to an investigador makes all your Spanglish worth it!  A humbling experience I had this week was concerning my ideas on teaching.  For the past year as a nurse, I was trained to know the answers, to go off my own experience and to have that professional take on teaching.  However, when teaching the gospel, I am the vessel that the Lord and the Spirit are teaching through.  To teach you have to turn to the scriptures.  Im so thankful for Preach my Gospel, what an inspired guide

The weather has been very mild this week, but you can definitely tell winter is rolling in!  Let winter begin again! 

 I was able to run into my mission president and his sweet wife this morning.  They were picking up the missionaries that were leaving to go to the Norte Mission.  Hna E said that when I get to the mission I will have 10 days with her before they leave so she can train me on the medical part.  She said she is going to give me the responsibility of the "medical cell phone" probably my second day there.  Im so grateful that I will have her there to help me the first week or so.  Also this Thursday I will be meeting with Hna. T who is a Medical Nurse Specialist in the Santiago East mission, so maybe she can give me some tips also.

I love Chile I love the people here. They are so warm and loving, and I cant wait to serve them!

This is what Im suppose to be doing...I know the Lord needs me here, and I need to be here.  

Yo se que el Evangelio Restaurado is verdadero.  Dios is nuestro Padre Celestial.  Nosotros somos sus hijos.  Nos ama.  Estoy agradecida por la Expiacion, y el ejemplo de Jesucristo.  Yo siento el Espiritu Santo cuando yo ensenar.  Yo tengo paz y gozo porque familias son eternas.  El Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios y si nosotros leemos de las paginas, podemos felizidad y ser comodo.  

If anyone that is fluent in spanish and reading this their may be a few grammatical erros ;)  Give me a few more months.

I love you with all mi corozon.

Con amor,

Hermana Duffy