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!