I choose to be happy and grateful

Monday Oct 4, 2010

hey we are really short on time because of travel time in between here and santa fe where we went to get my money. so yeah i am going to just shoot you a note. she was only able to pull out a thousand so i guess i will just have to see my beloved kus another pday! haha. [talking here about getting 'extra' money to her via Hermana Kuselik via sending her mother a check- since Carmen's debit card was stolen and I can't deposit it to that anymore]

President told me that on a pday i can go and look at my schedules and get that worked out. so maybe next pday we can be in touch and i can look at classes and we can work it all out and then you can sign my up at midnight? i think that would be great. thanks for all your help. [and this is in reference to me getting her registered for the correct classes for BYU in January]

So yeah. this week we invited three people to be baptized, i dotn think they really understand but hey its what we got. we also invited billions of people to the conference. not one person came. sad. (not one person as in no investigators) we even had legit plans for people to come. this being the case we were able to attend only the sunday sessions. I loved them. I love this Church!! Many times this week my testimony has been strengthened especially about the book of mormon and about the authority only being in the church of Jesus Christ. We have had many discussions with testigos de jehovah, catholics, and well my comp doesnt say anything in these instances, she says its becuse she would get too angry. But they all expect like scriptures, and yeah i use them, but i mainly just try to stay calm and bear my testimony. its really frustrating though to see all the satan crap lies that people believe. I thought about all the lamanites and how they were taught wrong. But usually when they heard the truth they accepted it! what has happenend to today´s lamanites. they have no interest at all. My area is still tough. the members are rude. the organizations are really broken and hardly anyone goes. But i will follow the counsel of the Prophet of God. I am so grateful for my comp (she is so fun) I am grateful for the growth I have made here in the mission, I am so grateful for the love I feel from my Heavenly Father. Sometimes life is just really stinky. not all of the elders are going to be cool. Not all of the leaders will fulfill their callings. Not all of the people want to understand our message. But I choose to be happy and grateful. I still have millions of faults. But something here that i have learned on the mission is that i have really saved myself. and my future family.

I know Jesus Christ is my Saviour and that through His example we can be truly happy if we strive daily to follow it.

I love you a tons! booyah i am so down for mexico! and for losing weight! hahaha.

Love you

Hermana Dunford.

We all get wounded.

Monday Sept 27, 2010

so this week was another capacitacion [training] and Hermana Garcia and hermana Keller from La Paz came and stayed in our pench from Monday night to Friday morning. that was fun!! It was a little hectic though. I was a little relieved when they left so that I could just have normal schedule time and enough sleep. yes, we stayed up late talking. Hna Garcia told me she laughed when she found out i was with a Latina. (we used to always joke fight about talking in English and Spanish) she told me it served me right. but it was neat to get to know some other sisters a little better. we have a lot of hard working hermanas that really just kick butt. It was interesting to do divisions, because well it was a bunch of comp mayores. i kinda reeled back and let the sister i was with take the wheel. it was kind of nice. also a little embarrassing. a man talked to us through the door and said im sorry estoy solo y ciego, pueden pasar en otro momento? yo grité, o perdon, no me puede escuchar? he said he was blind and i said oh sorry, so you cant hear me very well? i got my words mixed up. Then we contacted this other guy that said sorry i have to go but i really want to listen, i will be back in 15 minutes. the hna i was doing divisions said yes we will be back, and i said yeah how about saturday at four? i didnt understand the whole fifteen minute part. ugh. i felt really dumb. but luckily the next house the lady let us in and we were able to teach a really good lesson. But man just when you think you´ve made it with the whole language thing something happens to just push you back in your place. que va a hacer.

So that was fun, but man this week was really tough. we literally have started from zero. The kid who wanted to get baptized i talked to his mom and she was like heck no! then just about all of the contacts we have made the people lied to us. Then we have visited a good number of menos activo familias who have treated us very rudely ( one was an rm, sealed to his family, who said no I dont need God) We left almost in tears. They just wanted hermanas to come and be their friends i think, and we wanted to help them make the necessary changes in their lives to be happy and on the path to the CK.

It was pretty frustrating. But hey. my whole mission has been a test of faith! just like our whole lives! in Alma it talks about the 2000 stripling warriors. They did not die, not one soul perished. but they all left wounded. I think life is like that. overcoming the trials and trying to save our souls while slowly healing with the Gospel because we all get wounded. And we all have scars. however, If we work right , and have faith in the Lord, the scars can be attributes of Christ, spiritual growth, or a determination to just be happy and obedient no matter what happens. Im grateful for the Saviour and that He knows me, and that He wants to help me. I love His gospel. I love the Book of Mormon that teaches it to us. I´m grateful for my family. I love you all very much!

Sister Dunford.

a billion streets

Monday Sept 20, 2010

first news first. Fabian got baptized on Saturday! yay!!! im so happy. i wasn t too worried cuz i know he has a testimony. but still, not being there to see it all through, can be a little nerveracking. (how do you even spell that word?) ok so my new comp is really a sweetheart. she is so little and pretty! i feel kind of like a giant next to her. She is from el salvador. we already get along great and have found some mutual loves- good food, good music (go motab! thats all we can listen to right now in the mission) saying how things really are, and of course the Gospel.

we arrived to 5 Esquinas in Paraná. It is so nutty! there are a billion streets with a billion names and a billion cortadas and pasajes. ugh. It also happens to be very large. huge! maybe that will help in my ¨getting ready to finally go home¨ diet. It was a little unfortunate to find the carpeta de area pretty out of date, and upon passing by all the investigadores that are ¨sooooo good¨ not really have much interest at all. bummer. it is a real whitewash. We have been walking a full and trying to navegate ourselves the best we can. THe members are nice, there just arent many that really understand the commandments of keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and Taking THe sacrament weekly. I gave a talk and played the piano- back to full on involvement! i really took the Parque Independencia ward for granted. (It was so hard to say goodbye to the bishop there and his family, especially his wife. i really love her a lot)

So yeah. Last Christmas zone conference a really cool family made this delicious food and then the dad played the coolest song i have ever heard!! about the restored gospel and about Jesus visiting the Americas. Anyway we were looking for an old investigador and she told us the lady that lived across the street was a member. we didnt really beleive her but we went to check anway. it was that same family!! it was so cool. i told him i remembered meeting him and that i loved that song. i sang a little part of it for him and he said well hey ill play it again. man, the spirit was so strong. im going to ask for a recording of it. they then invited us to lunch and sang some more songs for us. it was so tight! they arent too keen on many commandments though (hno farias has two dangling gold crosses in his ears) ayyayay.

that was a cool experience. then we had some pretty ridiculous lessons with people saying thank heavens when answering their question that yes, the lesson was over. and other people complaining on and on andon about the catholic church and how ridiculous it was, but then just being completely convinced its the only true church.

I love you all, and im excited to see what other adventures we will have here in Paraná.

Sister Dunford.

White Washing Parana

Tuesday Sept 14, 2010

well, chau to the grand ol city of rosario. I am going with la Hermana Espinoza to Parana en Entre Rios. We are doing a white wash. I am already getting tired of writing those two words. haha. Its a little sad though because we are getting whitewashed here as well. We finally had the time to really get the work going. I mean- Fabian is getting baptized on Saturday! but i think its due to the fact that i was robbed and all the nice parts were taken out in the ward limit change. i really hope that now that elders are coming it doesnt change any of that. it was tough to say goodbye to that family. they really are super great and we got really close with them. Fabian even cried! but he is definitely prepared to be baptized. Mirian unfortunately says she does not feel ready for this Saturday, but i know she will get there soon. On sunday lisandro, mirian, estefania, and fabian all came on their own! it was really tight. Lisandro still says there is no way he is going to get married but, i know their hearts will soften with time. I have already seen so many changes in this family. its been a big blessing for me to have been able to meet them.

well. This last week was the special sisters conference. It was just the day but it was really fun to see all the sisters. I really have learned to love so many people. I also love President and Hermana Villalba. I love being able to joke around with them. Its fun heehee. we watched errand of angels. it seemed a little fakey fakey to me. but hey, everybody, ive come to learn, has quite a different mission experience. so hey, maybe someone´s really was like that.

Ok. I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. I know that, because I have personally seen the effects of the Atonement in my onw life. I also know that God is my Father in Heaven and that I can talk to Him and He hears me.

I love you all, I love this church. Bye!

Sister Dunford

good week at church

Monday Sept 6, 2010

hello! this week was really great at church. i was super stoked that mirian, fabian, lisandro and estefania all came!! for all three hours! (ok ok we got there a little late) but it was really great. Fabian in gospel doctirne even ansered a question. when they teacher said, why are we faithful to God? he said to enter into the kingdom of God. hmmm, guess i can teach pretty well. haha jk.

so in sacrament they made a pretty huge announcement. they split our ward! well they cut off a HUGE chunk and now its in the others hermanas ward. i felt really sad saying goodbye to some members. i thought this wasnt even a ward i felt like a was a big part of. but it affected me to hear that and i was like man. im sad. i love this ward.

so the weather here is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!! last night we went to the river and kind of just appreciated the beauty for a little while. I think God is ok with that. :)

Well i seguir adelante con firmeza en Cristo, esperando siempre que mi testimonio pueda llegar al corazon de alguna persona. muchas personas no dan ninguna importancia al mensaje que tenemos para compartir y me da pena. pero tengo la fe y sigo trabajando. yo creo un milagro que veo cada día es poder sentir el amor que Mi Padre Celestial tiene para mi.

bueno. chausito. y les amo mucho!!

Robbery and new family to teach

Monday Aug 23, 2010

first off, congrats dad!! way to kick trash in the lawyering world, and then be a missionary in the process. not going to lie, got a little teary eyed when i read that you wore the tie i gifted you.

welp. Yes i was robbed. ok i´ll give the whole story with a little extra details. So my comp and I had about twenty minutes before our coordination meeting with the ward mission leader so we thought we would knock a street on the way over. the street is called Lord Kelvin. haha i laugh everytime cuz its just funny. Anyway. So i did a contact in the intercom box (everyone has them here- so it makes it harder to do like a legit contact when yoiu cant even see their face!) and this really creepy voice was like si.... i swear i was talking to voldemort. It gave me chills so bad, and i was just like uhh nos encantería pasar y compartir mas de este mensaje. and then i was like there is no way im entering that house. so i just like walked away as fast as i could. we stopped at the next house and i kept looking over especting like a ring wraith to leave and attack me! it was really weird how scary that voice was and that it just made my heart stop. luckily the next lady came out and was a super great contact. so we then realized we had to head over to the church by that point and had almost reached the main street Oroño when i heard a guy talking for like a sec before he was all up on me and yelling ¨quedate quieta quedate quieta!! which is keep quiet! i looked down at his fingers which were poking into my stomach and looked at him and instant reaction yelled no!! and was just trying to hold on to my bag, and he ripped it from me hopped on a running motocicleta and they jetted. we ran a little. these experiences are so crazy, cuz it just all happens so fast you cant think! anyway. unfortunately i had some important things in my bag, (debit cards, money, keys, my agenda, my fake passport) and it has complicated things bastante. I had gone to the doctor the day before and just forget to take things out. the money, hna villalba had given it to me, and well her and president basically think im an idiot now. but im just really grateful im safe. i was pretty upset though. haha i was crying and yelling a little. we went and waited at the church (couldnt get in for lack of keys) and the mission leader shows up late for the first time. when he shows im covering my face with my hands because since ive been sick i have had an insane amount of mucus and it was all down my face. anyway, the people have been concerned for our safety (well mainly just the members, all the missionaries are like, well you are on a mission....que va a hacer. i guess its true. but i personally dont want to get robbed!) we were even in a pretty safe part of town. its just that it was 8 at night and everyone here is SO SCARED of being in the streets that no one was outside. so i guess now i really dont blame them.

ok better story now! so the other day we found this family (ok a little disfunctional) but they are so great! there is mirian (the widowed mom) estefania (the 19 yr old daughter pregnant with her 2nd) lisandro (the boyfriend of estefania who sells vegetables) Jose (mirian´s dad, who does NOT STOP TALKING) and anyway. its fun to teach them. they have a lot of questions and are really into like superstitions, but they recognize the Spirit and are really eager to learn more. Estefania and mirian said that when we talked they felt a lot of peace. Lisandro and Estefania came to church on Sunday! they brought their 2 year old son Tiago and i had never been so grateful for all the other screaming kids in my whole life. I think it helped them feel super comfortable. They have a long journey ahead of them, as they aren't married and lisandro smokes un monton, but they are super great. It took us three hour to hour and a half lessons to just teach the restoration. im telling ya, jose really is a yapper. at the end, hna gibbons would just turn and listen to him so that i could teach the others. thats getting me a little excited. even though this last week we were really persecuted for our beliefs. ( haha i think it sounds so old fashioned to say persecuted, but its true, people say some really hideous things to us, even after they´ve asked for our help and its really hard and sad.)

i love this gospel and I love the truth that it brings us. ruego que siempre vivamos en una manera que las personas nos reconozcan como discipulos del Señor Jesucristo. May we always live our lives in a way the people can recognize us as followers of Christ.

i love you all!

An Invitation

Monday Aug 16, 2010

ok this week has been fun! love my comp, we are talking to millions of people, and working hard. Although most of our citas fall through, there have been a couple choice ones where the Spirit has been really strong. we met Terecita the other day who owns a ferreteria (like hardward store) and her dad was baptized 40 years ago. She told us she was mezmerized by the good looking northamerican chicos, but her mom didnt give permiso so that she could also be baptized. She remembers very little, but understood very well the message of the restoration.

ok backing up a little, in zone conferences and district meetings and leadership training, one of the main things we always focus on is inviting people to be baptized. to do it sin verguenza and when the Spirit is very strong. So i´ve practiced doing it a million times, but in like the last four months of my mission, the opportunity hasn´t really risen to extend said invitation. However, I've been looking for the opportunity.

The lesson continues with Teresita. We talk about a baptism, and how it needs to be done by the proper authority of God and by immersion. I asked if she would get baptized así. She said yes if she knows it is true and can see a baptism of someone else first. It felt so good to have a real investigator say yes. I think for a really long time now the programado dat had been zero. anyway. something maybe insignificant to you all, but it really was a blessing.

On saturday and sunday my comp was having back problems and Kus was on commanded bed rest so I and hermana Recinos went out to work together. it was really fun. It was really neat too, because we went to visit a member in her ward and the Grandma isn't a member, so i gave a book of mormon and she said she will read it! its a different experience to go and work in another area for one day. it shouldnt be, but yeah...

Well I love you all. I love this gospel. I love the power that God gives us to be powerful teachers, strong examples, kind and loving, and that with time, we can just turn in to being those people. I know this is the only Church with the authority of God on the earth. I know that the words of our living prophet are the words of God. i love you all lots!

Love Sister Dunford.

I'm the short one now! =)

Monday, August 9, 2010

Welp. This is the first week of the new transfer! It is really fun to be with my new comp. and its weird to be the short one now. but she is a workie workie with lots of good ideas, and its neat to see how she works. Im grateful to get to know her and learn how to be better.

This week was relatively uneventful, we just did a lot of contacts. One lesson that we had was this woman let us in and so we taught her and her granddaughter. She had contracted cancer and was a punto a morirse cuando [about to die when] an evangelical minister came and healed her. she has been super faithful in her church since then. we explained the whole authority thing though, and she understood really well. Unfortunately she wasn´t there when we went to get her for church. But i have just been thinking about that a lot lately. i have met many people recently that have changed there lives either through spiritual or physical healing, because of these evangelical people that heal or teach about Christ. and then there is what Dallin H Oaks says, that we aren´t trying to help people change their lives or be happier just for the moment, but that we have the ultimate goal of eternal life. I truly know that the only way to get this greatest blessing of God is through His church which is the only one that has the authority. I am grateful for the people that listen about Christ and learn of Him to be better people, but we just have to help them understand there is more. And they can understand that through sincere prayer and the answer from the Holy Ghost.

This week i got a little sick, nothing serious, but my voice has gone a little weak sauce. every time I talk in Spanish my voice is like a 13 yr old boy who hit puberty. it sounds a little ridiculous but it's funny.

welp. thats all i have for this week. I love you all with the heart of a daughter of God. I dont know what that is supposed to mean.

Love Sister Carmen Dunford.

from the photo archives

These pictures are fairly old - circa Jan/Feb. But somehow I did not get them posted, so here they are - kind of fun. I have not received any new pictures in months.

RE: COCKROACHES

August 3, 2010

So some more cockroach stories. We were making hot chocolate to all drink on sunday night with the 8 sisters and i was tasting it to see if it was hot enought yet. when i noticed a chocolate chunk that hadn´t dissolved i pulled it out and upon closer examination i noticed it to be a relatively large cockroach. Yuck! haha i didnt tell anyone and we all drank it anyway. Today at lunch we went to a restaurant and on my burger there was a bug. I killed it and kept eating. Im kind of excited to not have that be a normal experience.

** After Carmen sent me this tidbit in a personal note, I had added it to the email I forwarded that week. My sister Sandra (who served in Ecuador) responded with this:

Did I already tell you that in my mission it was a joke that you could tell how long a missionary had been out by how they ate:
If a greenie found a bug in their food, they just stop eating.
Halfway through the mission if you find a bug, you just push it aside and keep eating.
When you're ready to go home, you just eat the bug.

Fairly accurate, too : D

New companion, big ward.

Tuesday August 3, 2010

Hello! So we received news of transfers this morning. I am staying and getting a new comp. Her name is Hermana Gibbons. She is really cool i have heard. And this will be her fourth transfer. I guess she is a baller, so that will be fun on Pdays. I am sad though to see Hermana Peterson go. She is a really good friend to me. I love her lots.

So this whole weekend was really crazy in that two sisters went home this transfer and so they and one of their comps came to stay with us on sunday night. we were 8 sleeping in the pench! then Hermana Kusilek went with one of the comps at four in the mornign to help her get her stuff cuz they ended up doing a whitewash and we had to go get Kus at like 4 in the afternoon. Anyway. it was pretty crazy. Kus came with us to teach a lesson to this awesome reference from a member. this lady, ana maria, has heard the charlas a lot but is still convinced that what her dad taught her was the truth, he was an evangelist. i think to honor him in his death, she doesn´t want to change religion. But it was really neat, we taught a really great lesson, and even because of her depression she is going on a vacation super tranquilo to relax. she is taking the book of mormon and nos prometió que va a leerlo entero! Im super stoked. It was really cool because we didnt think kus would be there with us but the mom of this lady is really sick and old and a super sweetheart. anyway hna kus used to work in a nursing home and was able to help this woman get in her bed. ana maria was super impressed and i know just the whole situation in the lesson helped her feel the Spirit. She is ready to get baptized after she gets her answer! she even uses word like albedrio and el camino estrecho y angosto.

feel like there is a lot of great potential here but it will just take some time to get it all figured out. We also taught this woman who is living with her boyfriend, well and him too. She is a member and he is not. She gave birth about 3 weeks ago and it was really complicated and was going to die. and all she could think about was not being able to be in the presence of God because of her great sin. It was a really neat experience to testify strongly of the power of the Atonement and I think now they both are seeing the changes they need to make in their life and he said he will listen to us. We are excited. well i am. my new comp will be too im sure.

Something that is a little difficult about this area is that the ward is fully functional. Haha that is actually a huge blessing. but i have had to do nothing in helping giving talks, or teaching primary, o lo que sea. before i just wanted a good ward, and now that i have it and can just focus on the work, its a little difficult for me as I kind of just feel like not necessary. Like Im not integrated in. It makes me kind of sad. But i have the faith it will get better and I will be happier.

I love the Gospel. I love repentance. I love my friends that I have met here in argentina, other missionaries, ward members, investigators and even loco contactos we do. Iam really grateful to be a member of the true and living Church of Jesus Christ.

I love you all!

Love Hermana Dunford.

Leadership Training

Monday July 26, 2010

so this last week we had a leaders training for four days! i think i might be training soon or something because i was invited to go. It was a reallly neat experience, but i felt like i was a little bit in school- we even had homework every night! Anyway we focused on 8 different ways to improve our teaching. for example, revelation received through prayer, teaching the person not the lesson. We had a lot of practices. It was with all the Zone leaders and trainers and President Villalba his wife and the assistants would go around and listen and analyze. wooh! talk about making me nervous. Fortunately, I was blessed to be able to teach well, and invite the Spirit. The best part about it all was how I was able to apply what I learned to a lesson with Miguel Flores, the remis driver.

So last Monday we had a NdH with him and his family. We watched how to find Faith in Christ, and it turned out pretty well. He said at the end he would pray. Well come to find out the next lesson we had we just asked questions to see where he was at find his dudas and sacarlas! anyway we just listened (turns out he prayed but a memorized maria prayer) and invited him to pray with us right then on our knees. It was beautiful! He did it! His family after said they really liked to hear their dad pray. I hope that touched his heart. It was really neat to feel guided by the spirit and let the silences be moments of reflection. My comp did awesome too! even though she didnt go to the traning thing she picked it all up super quick, and the lesson was really powerful.

But there are sad things too. The recent convert in this area doesn´t want to come to church anymore because of feeling overwhelmed by the projects and requirements of the church (seminary, personal progress, mutual, church meetings) That made me sad. If anything, those were my favorite parts about being a member in my youth. I really hope we can figure out how to help her. Our awesome bishop knows and he will help with that I am sure.

I love you all! I am grateful for your prayers.

Love Sister Dunford

Companions suffering together =) But I feel good.

Monday July 19, 2010

Hello! This week was a toughie. Bueno, voy a empezar del principio.

So, we were really stoked because of an activity we had in the ward and some members brought their friends, with almost all we set appointments. However, we found during the week, none of these people were to be found, or had decided to ignore us (maybe the mission has made me a little untrusting, but I guess that happens to you when everyone and their dog has already lied to you)

SO, that was frustrating. To make it worse this week has been unbearably cold!!! and as we have zero people investigating the gospel of Jesus Christ, we were outside knocking and talking all day long. The only relief came when we were able to go and enjoy lunch with a member inside. I told my companion, it says a lot about you that I´m still happy and working, even though no one in this whole town will let us in. She agreed and said she is glad we´re together suffering and it´s actually kind of enjoyable.

The part that is frustrating to me, is that I personally feel my contacts have been more what the person would need and with more conviction and power. My president said that I explain this message is so important and that everyone needs to hear it that they can´t say no and that now is the time to hear. Así fueron los contactos, and still people were content watching us walk away in the cold. (I finally learned what humid cold does to you, no matter the clothing used, it still penetrates to the bone.)

Bueno, Sigo diciendo que aunque las personas no acepten nuestro mensaje de la felicidad, sé que hay alguien que necesitamos encontrar. We went down to a different area of the area (haha) the other day and I just felt good there. we left to go to our lunch appointment, but I told my comp we are living there this week to find those people.

Another adventure we had was trying to get permission from the city of Rosario to be able to do an activity proselitismo in this huge awesome beautiful park in our area. the whole zone and the oficinas wanted to come and do it, because on sundays in this park, im pretty sure just about everyone in the town goes. So on thursday morning we went to the municipalidad and they directed us to another building,. There, the nice secretary directed us to the bottom floor of another building about 5 blocks away. we then found that only the third floor people could help, to then find out that actually its public property and they could give us no help in any way. Luckily this nice man told us to take the 110 colectivo to the Control Urbana para conseguir permiso. So we ended up riding it a little too far, had to turn back, and finally when we got there, the man that could say yes, had already left for lunch. Welp. (this took all morning basically) But Something Really really great happened from this whole adventure.. This family in our ward invited us to eat lunch with them (the dad is not a member) They are from Peru and we went and it was really good. Because he lived in the US for two years he was able to come back and buy a car to be a remis driver. Anyway after eating he and his wife drove us home (haha dessert was terrible, she tried making this sweet orange thing with quinotos little baby baby citrus fruits and it was so bitter and just not edible. The whole family was just kind of stirring it around not really eating it, I did the best I could haha) This was last saturday. . Anyway as we were so up north thursday morning to get this park permission thing, we had a long way to travel south to pick up our lunch that a member had made for us. We were trying to find the bus stop that would take us down there when all of the sudden Hermano Flores pulls over in his car and says hey where are you guys headed? He took us to get the food and then back to our apt too! ( I made him accept our money so that us being in the car with him wasn´t disobeying) Anyway i told him i wanted to do a noche de hogar and he was like sure just arreglarla con mi esposa. Bueno, el domingo we did and she said yeah for some reason my husband really likes you guys because he like gave you a ride and stayed at lunch for the spiritual thought. So when we left the church he was there in his car to take the family home and was like come on we´ll give you a ride!! so they drove us home and yeah i dont know he is just so cool and the family is so wonderful, and it was perfect to be like yeah we are coming tomorrow and they are going to make us dinner. at the end of the ride i was like yeah we glad you are always around, nuestro amigo fiel. I feel really good about this and im super excited tonight. We were going to focus on eternal families, but i feel he first needs to understand the role of His Saviour Jesus Christ. So we are going to watch finding faith in Christ.

We also met with another member who says she wants us to teach her husband and her friend and another appt with a woman whose friend had listened to the charlas before. Im really really grateful. I love teaching, so Im stoked to actually teach again.

We ended up going back the next day to the control urbana and the guy was really chill and was like yeah you need some sort of traumite to get the permiso but i can just sign for you right here as there isn´t enough time. Sunday though the weather was pretty hideous and so we canceled the activity. This next Sunday i have hope for sun!

One really neat thing too is that last night my comp was like I cannot have a week without one new investigator. lets go right now. and i was kinda like man who cares. ya está. But of course we kept knocking and the last house we knocked before having to go home, the man (who didn´t let us in in house, i just dont get it) basically let us teach the restoration to him at the door and leave with him a book of mormon. He is super into the bible, so I was grateful for the help I received in being able to explain that yes indeed a church is necessary to return to God. using bible references. We felt it was a miracle too, to finally have someone we can go back to.

The ward is awesome, even if a little vago at times. The assistance in sacrament meeting HALVED this week, due to the cold. Hardly any women came with their kids. I was grateful to see the bishop and his whole family, as such they set the example.

I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ that I am trying to share. I know that it is the only way we can return to be with our Heavenly Father and be truly happy now as well. I am so grateful for my family, (even though i was a little sad you had so much fun playing video games with out me heehee)

but i feel good. I feel happy. I know that even though these people aren´t willing to hear about our Saviour, I´m doing the best I can, and I know someone out there is waiting to hear and accept it.

Love you guys tons!

Hermana Carmen Dunford

pig ear with wiry hair in stew. eww.

Monday July 12, 2010

hey to keep things short, this week was good. A lot of members brought their friends to the ward activity where we ate locro. its just like a stew with cron and garbanzo beans. and just about every piece of meat of the pig. (i had an ear in mine with really wiry hair in it)

i know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know He is my Savior and that we can know him better (conocer) through reading the Book of Mormon every day. I love all the people in my ward here. My bishop gave us blessings and i know it will help with the work.

I love you all! sorry better letter next week!

(we played futbol a little too long today)

Love Hermana Dunford

mom did you and dad want legit jerseys? they are like 300 pesos. let me know. i will try and get good truch ones.

love ya bye!

Not what I require, but what God commands-

monday, July 5, 2010

hola como andás? im tired today. we played a lot of soccer and basketball this morning. sad to say, some Latins pounded me in around the world. ive got some practicing to do when i return.

Saturday we couldn´t leave the pench because argentina lost. really, it was really chill, it would have been way more dangerous to leave if they had won. but we did hear some really angry yelling. we were kinda bummed, because we thought it would be really neat if argentina won the big kahoona. welp, maybe in four years in brasil. (i knew they were going to lose when they were holding signs saying that argentina is God)

we have been going around meeting all the members, but all are satisfied with the fact that everyone in their alrededor has already had the chance to hear the gospel, y no hay nadie por aca. ayayay. we been challenging people to pray and find those people, because God always provides us a way to be obedient. And it is a commandment that we share the gospel. If they dont accept, its ok, at least we abrimos la boca. I shared with one family, we dont want this for the numbers. Like laman and lemuel said, this is a hard thing you have required of us, and lehi (?) said it is not what i require but what the Lord commands. we are asking for referrals because it is what God has commanded.

The weather here has been beautiful. today it is in the 70s- i think. it is really warm. it was weird that yesterday really felt like 4th of july weather, even though we are in the middle of winter. I sang the national anthem to celebrate a little. just like you guys said, powerful song. i teared up a little.

I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ. There is only one church that has His authority, and only one that can help us be the best we can be with all the required ordinances to return to God our Heavenly Father.

I love you all.

Sister Dunford.

Great new ward, and World Cup Soccer craziness

Monday, June 28, 2010

My. new. area. is. so. AWESOME!!! So first of all, the pench is really cool. we have roof access and we can see the whole city and it is buildings for a really long time. (the bad part is that elders lived there before and they didnt clean really well, and apparenlty the roach infestation didnt bother them. THERE ARE A MILLION. there were a bunch of dead ones in the fridge. our toilet doesnt work either and we have to fill up a bucket to flush it. but its super fun and we are get along really really well).

ok next off there wasn´t anything to work with. el elder que estuvo antes ya se murió, digamos. but thats why im here i guess to work really hard and find a lot of people to baptize.

so we called some members, met with the bishop (is great. he is ready to see some action in the ward. he is so willing to work with us and is really young and is totally in the mindset to help the missionaries.) and also the ward mission leader (also super great, a little embarrassed i think at the lack of progress that had happened before). Everyone in the ward is really young and super excited to work with the hermanas. The ward is like normal!!! i cried when there were four deacons to pass the sacrament. (ok i didnt cry but it was really cool) The bishop basically dropped cane about the obra misional in relief society.

so the bishop told us that we really needed to be obedient and have unity and work with the members in order for them to trust us. that made me sad, and i was like yeah we´re here to be like that. and i really wanted to start off with a bang. so i was praying that we would be able to find someone and take them to church on Sunday. Anyway so a miracle happened saturday night when we were knocking and found a family that let us in. married 35 years. and have a 25 year old daughter studying to be a lawyer. super cool and speaks a good amount of english. Anyway. we then invited them to church and they were like nah demasiado we´ll read the ldm and then see. but i just kept pushing it and they were like alright we´ll go. So they came to sacrament mtg!!! I was so grateful. I dont know what happened, like if they liked it or not, cuz i sat next to a recent convert and her little sister. and they just left but my comp set an appt for tuesday and the ward mission leader is going to come with us. They said they are too old to change. but we know that isn´t true. I was very glad that Heavenly Father let us find someone and that we can give a good impression to our new ward.

So the game was yesterday. HOLY CRAZY. Argentina beat mexico 3-1 and the whole city went NUTS. we stayed inside because we were supposed to study during the game and then after everybody was honking like crazy, and screaming and there were tons of people in the streets. the elders called us and were like yeah, best that you stay inside (they said that all the people from their area left to head to our area to party because we live dowtown) the honking and craziness lasted for 3 hours. without any sign of slowing down. it was quite the sight.

i am so grateful for the opportunity to be in the area that i am in now. the ward has all the tools, willingness, and love to see a lot of success. i pray that i can stay strong and alwyas do my part to see a lot of success. We´ll see what happens!!

I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ and i know that He is my Saviour.

Love, Hermana Dunford.

ps i want pics of nathan and aaron´s wedding announcement. or something.

mom there is an elder here, bret nielson, from vernal, and he knows sara and derek. anyway he is super funny. i guess you can tell them at the reunion. have fun there and tell everyone i say hi!

Whitewashing Rosario

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

welp we received news on Sunday night that our area is getting ¨whitewashed¨. They are putting in Elders in our area. I think it will do a lot of good. So then we had to wait a whole day to see where we are going. Turns out I m whitewashing an area too. My comp and i are both going to Rosario and we are going to live togehter but have new comps.(she is whitewashing too) we are stoked! i guess the new are is right down town in rosario and it is like a legit city. there are mcdonalds and subways and the wards are awesome. There is even a ward mission leader!! im excited. My president told me I have to have a lot of faith and diligence to see success in my new area. Im really grateful i get to go and still be with hna kusilek. she is the bomb. my new comp is sister peterson. She is so rad. I have actually worked with her before (that one time we were stuck in santa elena for a couple days when we had no where to live in la paz) anyway. we get along really well, she is really happy and positive and i now we will be able to do great things together.

So since we are leaving pergamino, we have been saying good bye to people. and realizing the impact that we had on them. It is such a great blessing to know that I am here helping people change their lives, feel the Spirit, be happier (even if it isn´t in a baptism, per se) The best is when we went to say goodbye to the Patriarch and they weren´t there so we left a note so they called us to wish us luck and tell us that we really blessed their lives and the ward. they also hope we keep in touch after. That was really special to me.

On saturday we ate lunch with the Stake President (son of the patriarch) and his family. It was so fun! and delicious. Anyway His wife, Alejandra Lombardo, the coolest lady ever, she told me i have a beautiful personality because its very transparent (haha i said oh because you know exactly what my emotions are all the time?) and I say what I feel. Very beautiful family. The stake pres reminds me of you dad. He is a cool guy. It made me happy because he said that he was really glad he was ther for lunch (he never is) because it was really fun and enjoyed it a lot.

ON Sunday miracle happened first of all ester and rolando came (ok the papers are done, they just need to pay for them, i dont know whats stopping them) but she came even thought the night before she said that she didnt know cuz she felt sick. I said listen you have to come, even if you feel sick. God will bless you. I was very happy to see her there.

Then yohanna came in with her friend to relief Society. I was like pointing at her and whispering, is she a member? yohanna said no, woohoo! haha so we went and had principles of evangelio and i just taught the plan of salvation. it turned out really well. she was commenting and everything. Then after sacrament (in which i gave a talk without notice and sang in a musical number haha, Brother Fernandez told me im like salt, there is a little of me in everything) i asked yohanna if we could set up an appt with her friend isabel. she said no, give her time lets see what happens. Anyway, I went to say goodbye to Isabel and i thanked her for her comments and she was like yeah you guys can come by my house anytime you want! I like leaped for joy. oh that would be great can we set a time? booyah. today at 330. im stoked. Also we have an appt with Carmen. That should be great too. I hope the elders that come, really turn this area upside down, but that they dont leave behind the people we have been teaching.

Anwyay. Im greatful for the miracle of the mission. I have learned so much. I have grown so much. And I have been SO blessed to be able to come to this place and become friends with so many wonderful people. Im sad to leave Pergamino. I love the people here. BUt im excited to go to Rosario and start another adventure and get to meet so many more great people.

I love you all and wish you a great first week of summer!

Hermana Dunford.

To obey is better than sacrifice!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Lately we haven't been seeing much success (numbers wise, people to teach wise) but our investigator Carmen came to church on Sunday and stayed all three hours this time! She is so great. we have an appointment with her in 2 hours. Im really excited. We haven't been able to teach her like we have wanted to yet, with all of the activities she has in her life it's been difficult to find a tranquilo time to teach her. But she is so amazing. She says she read in the book of mormon and really likes the church, and she loves the members and she loves us- pero todavia no me tienen convencida. With time I know the Spirit will touch her and she will know the truth.
We left on Thursday to go teach some citas we had set up- but everyone was a little miffed that we decided to ring their doorbell and distract them from the game. Thats ok. We went to our lunch cita early and make the lunch- empanadas! which luckily, being involved in the preparation I was able to tell hna fernandez i wasn't interested in having green olives in mine (their flavor is really strong and they use them in a lot of foods). And yes I watched a little of the game. My comp and I have repented and decided to not watch any more games. It is a little tough when everyone is like yeah just come in and watch it with us!

Another thing happened that kind of popped me in the head, like something clicked finally.
We went to teach some recent converts, and right as we pulled up we saw them leavig in a taxi. But then their brothers were there who invited us to play soccer. we accepted. we played them and halfway through when we were down 3-2 hna k said ok but if we win you have to come to church.They agreed. With our amazin skills, we won 5-4. Anyway they said all right we have to go, see you tomorrow. (we aren't supposed to play soccer with members or investigators, or any sports)
I rationalized it in my head, well hey if it gets them to come to church- its ok!
Ok back tracking a little, my comp four transfers ago was reading in the bible the story of Saul and how he was commanded to kill everyone and everything. but he kept the best animals to make sacrifices to the Lord. Anwyay the Lord gets angry because he says To obey is better than to sacrifice (ok sorry i dont have the bible with me right now to quote it). I said I dont get it! if we are sacrificing we are obeying. i just didnt understnad.
Ok So now i get it. Because playing soccer was for a ¨just cause¨ it was ok to disobey, because we were sacrifiing to get them to church. Number one- this was the lesson in sunday school and number two- they didnt come. So no matter what- God knows better, and He made the rules and the commandments for a reason. So we just have to obey. And if we have faith, like i know we all do, we obey. Faith=obedience.
A really good thing that happened on sunday is that we went and worked in another area for the night and did divisions. I left with this 20 year old super sweet girl. Thank Heavens someone let us in, and we taught a married family! I had almost lost hope for being able to find such things. I am really grateful that God knows I needed that. And i dont care if they live in another area- if it is a family that will accept the gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ- it doesn't matter who teaches them.
Welp. I think thats it for now. I love my comp. Im sad because next week are transfers (you'll hear from me on tuesday) and i know for sure we wont be together again. BUT hey, change is always good, and usually, if we have the right attitude, it inspires to be even better.
Thanks for everything, i love you all.
Hermana Dunford

Scary story!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Hello!

This week, has been good. We are still struggling in finding people to teach. But you know,

we´ve had some success with the few we´ve had the pleasure to meet. Priscila. I know she feels the Spirit. She still feels confused about what is the truth, but i know she feels good. She said she would like to get baptized. We still haven´t taught the law of Chastity though... Anyway She came again to church on Sunday and she is reading the Book of Mormon, and we watched the Restoration video and she says she feels like Joseph Smith -really confused, but is still looking for the answer. We´ve explained quite clearly how the Spirit works- I guess we just need to pray and keep working until she finally recognizes it.

We also called Carmen, this contact we had in the street a while ago. I dont remember if I already talked about her, but we called her and she was like yes i am so glad you called! anyway we went to teach the plan of salvation because she told us in our contact that she lost her only son a while ago. she talked a lot and got off topic a lot but she felt the Spirit. she also said she just loved us so much and that if we were selling her something she would buy whatever it was. Luckily she bought it (haha) and she went to church on Sunday. unfortunately after Relief Society she went home to make lunch or something (i personally dont understand the schedules of meals and the siesta here) but I know she liked it.

We had a missionary work activity yesterday so the members could leave with the missionaries and get exctied for the work. We had a grim turn out. The bishop didnt even come. My comp and I did divisions, and left with a girl from another ward, who didnt feel comfortable doing any contacts (it sure is draining to just do everything alone for 2 hours, i am so grateful for companionships of unity) and my comp went with a member who doesn't feel comfortable doing any walking. At first i felt super frustrated, but I was grateful for those who did come (the rest were just missionaries from other areas) and that they were willing to help.

I just think as regular members we need to remember the importance of missinoary work. Go out of our way to help the missionaries have success in helping our OWN barrio grow. offer to bring investigators to church, dont expect anything and always be willing to give service. For those who have served missions, we can always remember the yearning and hard work we have and do (or had and did) to have good relationships with the members and see success in the saving of souls. the work truly is mejor with the work and cooperation and willingness of the members.

Alrighty then. enough on my part. people are getting excited here for mundial, and i am keeping my eyes out for a rocking jersey, and for the family who is ready to prepare for the eternities.

I love you all. I love this gospel. Everyday I thank my Heavenly Father for the blessing to be a member of the true and living chruch. I know the Jesus Christ is My Savior. I know that every good thing we have is because of Christ and the blessings that come from our Heavenly Father.

Bye!

ok mom this is for you. I dont have time to open a new window haha.

ok so i am doing better. Thanks for everything. yesterday doing those contacts was rough. i am pretty sure it was the most rejection i had gotten in a while. but i still am learning to get used to it. anyway. I bought some tights today, really thick and good, im excited, I know they will keep me warm.

ok i just want to share this story. but you have to promise not to freak out. im totally fine and we are being way more careful now.

the other night we were walking down a street that we ALWAYS walk down at night. these guys like whistled at us and we just said hi to get them to stop and then this really fat really drunk guy from the other side of the street came down and started talking to us. I was like ok well thanks and we tried to keep going but he grabbed my comps coat and and we couldn't go. I felt ok when a woman came down thinking she was going to calm the situration. she didnt. she unfortunatley was just as drunk and they kept asking if we were with god. and i was like we have a folleto for you and i tried to give it to them so they would take it and leave us alone. they wouldnt. then she whips out a knife and keeps saying she will hurt us. I was like oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!! then one of those guys game over to stop her and he just like hugged her and hna kusilek yelled run! i started running but freaked out when i saw her chasing us. i stopped so i could go the other way (it was hard to think straight i was so scared) and she stopped and came back at me with the knife. she had it up to my face and with the fence at the back of me i had no where to escape. sister kusilek came back and were just trying to talk sense into her. then the fat guy came and was like all over sis k and we couldnt leave! she was yeling at us if we were virgins and i just was like yes yes half crying. and we were so scared the fat guy was going to do something. finally she said im not going to hurt you and said she wanted a hug. we hugged her then we ran as fast as we could to leave. we were surprised at a couple things, one, that none of the guys helped us or did anything to stop the people, then two that the drunk lady ran so fast and so straight to catch us. but i am so grateful everything is okay. i know God protected us in that moment. i have never been physically threatened like that before (te voy a lastimar! she yelled) and i know nothing stopped her fulfilling her word except God´s protection. our mission presidnet knows and the event seems like a movie now or dream. but we never walk anywhere in that area at night and we are so much more careful now. anyway kind of an exciting story i guess at best. we told our bishop and he laughed.

welp i love you all. and dont call the mission or anything with worry. i just thought you might want to hear the story.

ps can i have your cheesecake recipe? and maybe a pie recipe too? apple or somehting. ooh and peach! i would greatly apprectiae it.

We are all beggars

Monday, May 31, 2010

ok so today for pday we went to Arrecifes to eat this huge asado out on a farm. it was really fun. even though the meat wasn´t as good as I was hoping, it´s ok, at least i can say i tried cow intestine. not that delicious, haha. We also got a pretty good idea of just how much of the cow they cook. I saw some hooves and teeth and a big hide hanging around. It was so beautiful and very crisp. It was a fun day on the farm.

Last week we were contacting and I saw this beautiful couple walking along, and you know people like that are a little intimidating, but i knew I had to contact them. The woman was very interested and said we could pass by whenever because she is always there.

We passed by on Thursday and taught The restoration, and she understood perfectly. Then on saturday for our return appointment she couldn´t attend us because the testigos had passed by and she was about to leave to go to their meeting. I was freaked out. my heart sunk. but still i asked if she wanted to go to church with us the next day. so we went and got her and on the way there she said she didn´t like the meeting of the testigos so much because she ¨didn´t feel something¨. I rejoiced internally. She really liked the church I am pretty sure. She had a lot of questions but i know she felt something. After she invited us to eat with her and Dario her boyfriend. (they have plans to get married but not until december) anyway it was so fun. I love priscila. She is so great and I already consider her a close friend! Even though she was our only investigator in the church it felt like a great blessing after a long week of many many disappointments and well yeah.

Sunday I gave a talk too, and I gave it on charity. I was reading in Mosiah 4 and felt compelled to share it with the ward. The verse the really struck me is when King Benjamin says Are we not all beggars? It is so good. We truly are- we are all the same before God, but when we are humble and obey Him we will receive blessings. I know that all of the people we see can use a smile por lo menos. In verse 26 it says that we need to nourish people temporally and spiritually, so even if we feel like we can´t give something of monetary value, we can always share our testimony and help them feel and know that they are also children of God, who loves them infinitely.

I love you all and I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ and as His disciples we must give to and love others as He loves us.

Bye!

Sister Dunford

Stake Conference visitors

Monday, May 24, 2010

Hello. This has been a week medio dificil. Well the past couple weeks have been like that. The investigators that we do have, lie to us or are jealous or just aren´t progressing at all, and then the investigators that we don´t have, well there are a lot of those.... We just keep working and hoping that with our obedience and talking to a lot of people we will be able to find the people that have been prepared to receive the gospel. It is just tough sometimes to have the animo to keep going. Another frustrating thing is that a lot of people we do contact do not live in our area. we contacted this family the other day- so awesome! but they were roadtripping from cordoba. The dad said he owned a panaderia and that the elders went there all the time to eat but he had never talked to them. Anyway they were super nice and gave us their direction. hopefully that information can get passed along.

ALso a really good thing that made me feel a bit happier was on sunday. There is this menos activo in our ward who is pretty crazy but hilarious and we really love her. anyway we walked past her house on friday and her and her husband were outside and they were like come here! so we went inside and chit chatted and invited them to stake conference. they came too! then we ate lunch with them after and that was really fun. they really liked it too. but the husband Hector who isn´t a member was really apalled at all the kids with cell phones and that were playing around and not listening. I honestly didnt really know what to say. But luckily he enjoyed it and they both saw a lot of people that they knew. including that edith hugged the bishop and we found out they both got baptized on the same day like 18 years before. that was neat to see. I really feel that they may be on their way to activity and baptism. The only problem is that Hector prefers to talk about things from the US and not necessarily de la Iglesia. My comp and I also sang in the choir for both sessions, and it was well frankly like the worst choir I´ve been in. The director wasnt too pleased with our efforts, which well. It doesnt matter I just think we all need to try and thank people that go out of their way to give service. I think we need to also be gratfeul to those that help us even if it seems like something little to us. Also I think we need to be especially aware of the blessings that we receive from our Heavenly Father and be sure to always thank Him.

I know that this is the true church of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also know that when we obey Him and do His will and stand as His witness we will be blessed in all that we do(even though sometimes we don´t always see the success or blessings right away) We don´t understand the plan God has for us sometimes but we can trust in Him and His Justice and mercy. I love the verses in Mosiah 4:9-10 (creed que el hombre no comprende todas las coasa que el Señor puede comprender)

I love this gospel and I love all of you. I hope you enjoy your fun vacay in Florida! sounds like a blast. dont forget to buy me a souvenir. haha jk :)

bye!

Want Blessings? Obey God!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Welp, I guess everyone forgot that my pday changed to mondays as I received no news from anyone, but thats alright.

So This last week was my birthday and it was really great. On wednesday my comp and I had fun buying whatever treats we wanted because ¨it was my birthday¨. Then on Thursday, no one really remembered, except this one family that made me a delicious cake. And then Agustina, the girl that got baptized, she and her aunt and her cousin each bought me a little piece of jewelry as a present. It was really great! I felt very blessed to have people here that cared.

Also, on Friday we had a zone conference, it was so good! Everytime we have one, I have mixed feelings, like oh man I am a terrible missionary and i need to be so much better. But Then I also feel like yes I can do it! Lets go and baptize everyone we see!

This time I still felt both but, I always try and be positive and have the faith that if I work hard God will help us make up for the weaknesses we have have and the strengths we lack. Besides, Jesus commands us to be like Him anyway- perfect.

I also got my package! IT IS SO GREAT!!! I am stoked. I love getting packages. And I love sharing all the treats with the people from here. They love seeing anything from the States. and they are all obsessed with mms for some reason.

ON saturday we had some frank lessons, and I just felt really tired after, like it takes a lot of strength from my Spirit. We had a lesson with Eva, this woman who is just so great, but since her marido left her, she says she has no ganas to do anything. She said, my whole life people tell me that I will receive blessings, but and maybe this is bad to say but where are the blessings? when are they going to come?

I said, have you ever thought that God is wondering, when is Eva going to obey my commandments?

Then I said, sasha (her grandaughter who is so precious) if we want good grades what do we have to do? Study she says. If we want to receive money, we need to work. If we want to receive blessings, we need to obey God. she said she really will read the book of mormon. She also says she likes everything we say. Unfortunately, she wasn't there when we went to take her to church.

Then we had another lesson with Ester and Rolando. We said, ok last time we set this date so you guys can get married. and it passed. and you still aren't married. Then we taught about revelation. And we said, Listen This time you have to choose a date to get married, and then you can go to God in prayer, and ask is this what you want? and if He says its ok, then no matter what happens you can get your papers, you can pay the money, because God says its ok and wants it to happen. So they said now by june 4th and then get baptized the fifth. At the end, Rolando offered a prayer and it was so great. I realy hope that everyone can have the faith and complete with their part so that finally they can be married and baptized!

I know this is the true Church of Jesus Christ and that only through Him and HIs gospel and His Atonement, can we be happy, and can we be saved and return to live with our Heavenly Father. I know the Book of Mormon to be true and that it truly testifies of our Savior. I love this work and I love the people that I get to work with and serve and be friends with. Thanks to you, my family, I know also, that I have a strong force backing me up back home. I love you all!

Love, Hermana Dunford