Nov. 17, 2014 Milagros son de fe y flia!

¡Hola amigos y flia!                                                                               Nov. 17, 2014

Nuestro distrito for Elder Augustin's bday

We had the GREATEST meeting with Elder Christofferson! His message was about the Atonement and we discussed what it means to preach repentance. The Spirit was amazing, and his message was really clear. He left his apostolic blessing on us and it was AMAZING! One thing he told us is that he always thought that the second coming would happen when the world was wicked enough. But really, the world is alread wicked enough. The only thing lacking is a group of saints worthy enough, big enough, dedicated enough, etc. to prepare the way for the Lord. What will YOU do today and every day to be a part of this group and to help add to its numbers?

In other news, we are now a trio! Hermana M--t will be with us until she goes home on Thursday. She is amazing and I am learning a ton from her. I´m really grateful for the opportunity to work with her. And it´s great for Hna M-o too, because she can practice her English more with her. :)

Hermanas Medeyro y Zomora came to help for the day

R--l came to church with her son K (he has 8 years!) yesterday! It was the primary program, so I was playing the piano. And Hna M-o helped with holding the poster and getting the kids to sing louder--she worked with the primary before her mission, and she really loves kids. She is really great with them! Hna M--t sat with R--l. We have primary first hour, and so when they were practicing all the other kids had a part, but K didn't. He asked for a part, but his mom didn't know about it. So when he went up to say his part she was SUPER happy! He did a really great job! And he told his mom that he wants to have a white shirt and tie for next week! For sure they are going to get baptized! R--l is really spiritual, and has a baptismal date for 20 Diciembre. In our lesson with her on Friday she shared with us about some of her spiritual experiences. She´s amazing! 

 

Con mucho amor!

Hermana Durfee <3

November 10, 2014 Con fe todo es posible

¡Hola familia y amigos!                                                                        Nov. 10, 2014
 

 

     First of all, if you ever get the chance to eat Cow Intestine...don´t. Ok, so it wasn´t super super terrible, but the consistency is really squishy and gross. Luckily, this was (hopefully) a rare occasion. Por lo menos, it was the first time in almost two months that we ate something really weird like that. And the family is Bolivian and they eat weird things like this in Bolivia...so...yeah. 

las hermanas en nuestra zona

    Second, WE ARE HAVING A FIRESIDE WITH ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the choir I told ya´ll about a few weeks ago is going to sing for the fireside, so we are going to sit on the front row seats! (Unless they change the plans, but so far that´s the plan). We are singing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" in Castallano (I don´t know what the difference between Castallano and Spanish is, but the Argentines say that they speak Castallano, not Spanish). Anyways, it´s going to be a huge deal--all of the mission is coming; and we have missionaries that are working 10 hours away from the offices, so they are going to come the night before and there are a ton of plans and coordination. (And for things like this, I am really grateful that I´m not an office elder). Also, we are bussing the whole mission to the Buenos Aires North mission area for the conference. I think that the South mission and the CCM  (MTC) are coming too. 

Mi Zona despues de actividad

    Thirdly, WE FOUND NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!!!!!!!!!! We found a family (R-A-B-) and taught two of the daughters and 1 granddaughter on Thursday about the Book of Mormon and how we can follow the teachings we find there to live happily with our families for eternity. They lost their father when A- was 1, and R- lost a baby, so this was really meaningful for them. We also found R-l while doing street contacts, and she let us in and was really open and gave us abrazos and besos when we gave her a Book of Mormon, so that was cool. We have a goal this week to have one or two FHE´s with families in the ward, and they are going to invite either their non-member friends, or less active families in the ward to come. It´s going to be a great opportunity for them to start learning the gospel in a non-threatening environment with their friends. 

    Weekly Challenge: Have an FHE and talk about the importance of missionary work and what you will do as a family to start sharing the gospel more with your friends and aquaintances. Use 1 Nephi 8 (see following email). Pray together and personally to know which of your friends is prepared now for the gospel! (Or better yet, have a FHE with your nonmember friends or less actives and have a lesson about a basic principle of the gospel--like prayer, reading the BOM, and attending church =) And then write me and tell me about it!!!

¡Mucho amor por todos!

Hermana Durfee

October 27, 2014 Happiness is . . .

¡Hola familia y amigos!                                                                               Oct. 27, 2014

My Zone:  The Kingdom of God in Ramos!
 

We had THE BEST lesson with N-yY- on Wednesday! We have been working with them since before I came. They are really great, and have improved a lot. But they have not been progressing the last little while, because they have not been attending the church. N- came once, and the difference in their home all week was amazing, so they both understand the difference it can have in their lives. But every week there is some difficulty that keeps them from coming: one of the babies is sick, they sleep in, they have visitors etc. So we had a lesson about guardando el Día de Reposo (Keeping the Sabbath Day). It was amazing. At the begining before we started our lesson, hey were chatting with the member we brought with us, and I was having a hard time focusing and knowing what was going on, and was feeling a little bit frustrated. So I started to pray for understanding through the Spirit and that we could know how to teach the lesson, and while I was praying I could suddenly understand everything that everyone was saying clearly. The lesson ran super smoothly and I knew what to share, when. The Spirit was super strong, and they felt it. At the beginning of the lesson they said that they would not be able to attend church on Sunday because they had a Cumpleaños all night Saturday, but by the end of the lesson they said they would come. They did not end up coming, but I know that they know the importance, not only of attending church, but of keeping the WHOLE Sabbath Day holy. 

 

Me with mi mama y mis abuelas
 

God is the happiest being alive. And He has given us the opportunity to come to this earth, to learn to be like Him, so we can be as happy as He is! He has given us the guides of the scriptures and the prophets so that we will know His words and know how to be like Him. I know that when we keep the commandments, we will be happy. God gives us commandments because He knows that they will make us happy and help us become like Him. For example, in Exodus 20, it tells how God rested on the 7th day, and so we too need to rest every 7 days. God sacrificed His Son for us, and so we too need to make sacrifices. We can know how to be happy like God as we study the life and teachings of Christ in the scriptures--the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and words of the living prophets. As we apply the things we learn with the help of the Spirit, we will have greater happiness and peace in our lives.

Random news:

-We are going to have a choir! We have our first practice today at 4. 

-We are in week six! Transfers are next week! Crazy that I have already been here for over a month. 

-We had "tramites" this week--all of the new gringas went to do paperwork and pay money to work on our visas.

-I eat like an Elder. We are constantly walking and burning calories, so we are always hungry. Lunch is the most important meal here, and we eat a TON! Two or three servings of everything. Luckily, the members in our area always feed us, and the food is tan rico! So no complaints there. :D We eat a lot of chicken, rice, salsa (not Mexican salsa. Salsa=any kind of tomato/veggies chopped up or blended), potatoes, eggs, bread, fruit, juice. They like to put mayonais on everything--dip the milanesa (best meat ever!) in it, and they have a lot of "ensaladas" that they use it in.  Definitely going to be gordita cuando vuelvo! 

¡Les amo mucho! ¡No olivden leer sus escrituras y orar cada día!

Con Amor, 

Hermana Durfee

Nov. 3, 2014 Esta hermanita fue completamente mojada! (This little sister was completely wet!)

Nov. 3, 2014 Querido Familia y Amigas,

WEEKLY CHALLENGE!!!! STUDY 1 Nephi 8 as a family and discuss it! Talk about the different types of people and which one you are going to be. 

   The greatest thing in life is to see someone progressing towards their Heavenly Father! During Sacrament meeting on Sunday Hna M- nudged me and I looked over and saw Hna R- sitting there! She is a Menos Activo (Less active) for I don´t know how much time, that we have been visiting. She has a lot of difficulties in her life, and has to work on Sundays, so she can´t attend the church. But she was there yesterday! I was super happy. :D (I think it might have been because of the rain. Usually, rain stops people from coming to church since people don´t want to leave their house or do anything when it rains. But I think she works selling things outside, so the rain stopped her from working so she came to church!) 

    Side note on the topic of rain:Argentina can not make up it´s mind. The beginning of this week was super hot--in the 80´s farenheight. And now it is back down to the 60´s, pouring rain every day. Which makes it a bit difficult to find new people since they don´t want to leave their house or talk to us, etc. But, we are perservering! And it is actually kind of fun, since we get to use boots and walk through rivers of water in the gutters a veces. But, we also get very wet! Yesterday we were completely soaked when we came home, but the good thing about being completely wet is that you can´t get more wet, so you may as well keep working. :)

    Also, yesterday we had an investigator, R- attend church! It was his first time attending, and he had a lot of questions such as why we use the term "Elder," etc. But he is very open to learning new things since his church is "Escuela Basilica.....???" and they believe in learning always and so are always changing their religion--from what I gather. But we will see how things work out. We can only teach him on Saturdays because of his work, but he is reading the Book of Mormon and believes that it is possible and also that the first vision is possible. 

    This week we found DOS NUEVAS FAMILIAS!!!! One was by street contacting, and then later when we returned, V- (the mother) who we talked to before wasn´t there, but we had a very good lesson about prayer with M- her daughter. I think they are going to progress very well, since they are open to religion, and M- wants to casarse con su marido. And V- gave us a reference for Y- the mother of her other grandson. We met Y- and talked to her for a little bit, and then returned on Saturday to invite her to church. She is very easy and open to talk to, and agreed to come to church with her 4 brothers she is taking care of and her son. She didn´t end up coming because she was sick (or maybe it was the rain?), but we have an appointment for Wednesday, so we will talk to her then!

    Probably the best part of missionary work is getting to see how the Lord works through you to help others make the changes in their lives that they need to, and the joy you feel when people follow through with commitments because you know how much it is going to bless them. And having a clearer idea of your purpose and what you need to be doing with your life. One of the harder things is figuring out where to focus and keeping that focus without distractions from things of lesser importance. 

    Keep up the great work at home! Don´t forget the importance to always hold tight to the iron rod (the scriptures) so as not to be lost in the things of the world! And keep up the great member missionary work! Truly, members are the key to missionary work, and more people will be converted and come to Christ as more members get involved in helping them in their journey!

¡Les amamo mucho!

Hermana :Durfee

 

Oct. 20, 2014 A new investigator

Oct. 20, 2014
¡Hola familia y amigos!

No tengo mucho mas tiempo para escribir, entonces este carta va a ser un poco corto. 

WEEKLY CHALLENGE!

1-Find an opportunity to serve someone every day this week! 

2- Email me 3 sentences about your experience! 

¡Tenemos una nueva investigadora, y ella asistió la iglesia!!!! Se llama N-, y tiene dos hijitos y es de Paraguay. Ella tiene 19 años. Ella es muy tímida y tiene mucho tiempo solo; entonces la iglesia fue difícil para ella porque fue muchos personas. Pero vamos a hablar con ella hoy sobre como ella siente y más sobre nuestro propósito de ayudar personas a venir a Cristo. También, vamos a tener hermanamientos para ella entonces ella puede conoce más personas antes de la iglesia y tiene amigos en la iglesia cuando ella asiste. Tenemos un poco desafíos este semana con ayudando investigadores progresar. Trabajamos muchos con los miembros este semana para ayudarles pensar en la obra y en como ellos pueden dar a Cristo. Entonces este semana vamos a trabajar más con los miembros con nuestros investigadores. Siento que esto va a ayudarles progresar mejor, y especialmente asistir la iglesia. También este semana los elderes y nosotros tenemos un reunión con el nuevo obispo y hablamos sobre como vamos a trabajar con el barrio mejor, como vamos a tener correlación mejor (un representativo de cada organización va a asistir los reuniones), etc. 

¡Les amo mucho!!!

Con Amor, 

Hermana Durfee

A little help now from Google translate:

Hello Family & Friends,

We have a new investigator, and she attended the church !!!! It is called N, and has two children and is Paraguay. She is 19 years old. She is very shy and has a lot of time alone; then the church was difficult for her because it was many people. But we'll talk to her today about how she feels and about our purpose of helping people come to Christ. Also, we will have twinning for her so she can learn more persons before the church and has friends in church when she attends.
We have some challenges this week with helping investigators advance. We work with many members this week to help them think about the work and how they can give to Christ. So this week we will work with the members with our researchers. I feel that this will help them make better progress, especially attending church.
Also this week the elders and we have a meeting with the new bishop and talk about how we'll work with the best neighborhood, as we will have better correlation (a representative from each organization will attend the meetings)

Oct. 13, 2014 Tenemos 7 investigadores!

Oct 13, 2014 

Todas las hermanas en mi zona

¡Hola familia y amigos!

First! WEEKLY CHALLENGE!!!

This week´s challenge is to have a missionary experience!!! 

1-Read DyC 33:9, Jacob 5:70-75, and Elder Bednar´s talk from Conference, (and I think there is a chapter or something about this in the Every Member a Missionary book if you want to read that to.)

2-Pick a date by when you want to know who and do it. 

3-Pick a name of a friend and pray about them to see if they are ready and what you can do to help them and what you can invite them to

4-Invite them to FHE, Mutual, Church, to meet with the missionaries, have a church discussion with them, etc. 

5-Write me about your experience! Tell me what you liked, how it went, what you{re going to do differently next time, who you{re going to invite next!!!!

This is really annoying, since every single word is underlined in red because it is a Spanish computer and doesn´t understand how to read English. Also the ´button is in the wrong place. { Is where ´is supposed to be, so sorry about the misspellings and stuff. 

 

Todos los personas de el CCM who came to BAW plus one random guy

First of all, ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡el don de lenguas es muy muy real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously. Today is the start of my 4th week here, and I can already understand the majority of what people say, and can express myself decently. And my compañera says that I have a fantastic accent. So that is good. It´s funny, since every time I pray, my r´s are very rolly, but when I talk normally they´re not. Now I need to work on learning more words. 

We have 7 new investigadores this week! One is J-, a chico que tiene 12 años. He is super awesome! He loves to read and to learn and was really earnest when we were teaching him. I think he is Evangelico? There are a lot of those here. But we gave him a Book of Mormon and a folleto about the Restoration, and he said he would read and pray. And he has a baptismal date. 

 

    F-o is the abuelo de J-. He is not religious, but believes in God. But he is a very analytical thinker, and has a lot of tough questions he throws back at us. And he does not want to commit to anything. Every time we ask him to read, or pray, or attend church, he always says "trataré" (i will try). But then most of the time he does it. We made him pancakes on Saturday as incentive to go to church and to gain his trust more. I think he really enjoys the company, although he does not say it. 

 

    R-o is a young man que tiene about 23 años. He changed his religion one year ago from Catholisism to School of something or other. He was very persistant that he has his religion, but he shared his version of the plan of Salvation with us, and then we taught what we believe. He is very open to new ideas, but at the same time very set in his ways. But I think that we may be able to reach him since his church ("escuela"=school) believes in always learning new ideas and incooporating them into their religion. He agreed to read the follet and to be baptized in Noviembre if his prayer about it is answered. He understand the importance of baptism, but he was baptized as a niño en la iglesia Católico, entonces we will have to work on that. 

 

¡Hoy es mi cumple-mez! ¡Entonces tengo dos mezes en la misión!

 

Funny story: The office elders were bringing us another dresser, but it was very large and awkward. One of the elder´s said "Necesitamos planear. ¡Tiene su agenda?" (We need to plan. Do you have your planer?) (Because we use them constantly, etc.) 

Con Mucho Amor!

Hermana  Du-free (They can´t get our name right in Spanish either! It´s hard for them to say Durfee, but when I met someone for the first time and they read my nametag, a lot of the time they say it Dufree. No sé porque. :)

Oct. 6, 2014 This little sister esta en Atalaya!

Oct. 6, 2014

 

¡Hola familia y amigos!

WEEKLY CHALLENGE!!!!!
This week´s weekly challenge comes from Elder Andersen´s talk.

1-Find scripture in the Book of Mormon that you know are true and share them!

2-Read the Testimony of Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price out loud. Record yourself saying it, and listen to it in your own voice. Share it with friends!

3-Write me about how it went, how your testimony grows, what you learned, how much you loved doing it etc. by Monday October 13, 2014 in the morning!

So I´ve been here for about 20 years now. The work is going well. We got 5 new investigators this week. Some of our investigators with Baptismal dates are struggling, so we are going to focus on commitments, and how they can make personal plans to keep them and to get better. We are going to have a Baptismal service either this or next week depending on how our investigators are progressing.

Birdseye view of Buenos Aires
 

My area is called Atalaya in the Zone of Ramos Mejia. Apparently this is the hardest zone in the mission, but I think it is great! Hermana M- told me that our Zone is the most city-like of the mission. Downtown where the Mission Office/Stake Center are kind of remind me of New York City except the buildings are not quite as tall or  as claustrophobic, and there are not as many people. It takes us about 40 minutes in the "colectivo" (bus) to get from Atalya to Ramos Mejia. But our area is more of neighborhoods with lots of houses all crammed together. Some people have some yard space, but there is not a lot of green yet. But the trees have flowers on them since it is spring, so that is pretty. All of the windows have bars over them, and all of the houses have gates in front of them. So we rarely knock on doors, but rather we clap outside the gate and the people come unlock it to talk to us. A lot of people run businesses out of their houses--like mini stores. So the bars over one of the windows is changed so there is a box like space where they can pass things out. And people will come ring the bell and buy things from them. We also have a "supermercado" that we usually get our food at. It´s probably 2.5 times the size of our garage and has 5 or 6 aisles.

Hermana Durfee y Hermana Rasmuson

We had "divisiones" (splits) on Saturday and most of Sunday so I could come into Ramos to watch conferenc en ingles. My companion stayed in Atalya with anothe rmissionary so that she could be with our investigators, but unfortunately none of our investigators came. But the internet connection was bad, so we ended up listening through the radio function of the Mormon Channel. It was so great! If you did not get to watch it, por favor watch it!!!!! I loved how they had people speak in their native languages (althogh they had a translator who changed it to English since we were listening and not watching), but we could hear parts of their language when there were pauses between the words. I loved President Packer´s talk about Christ. I loved his story about how there were 18 pages of references to Christ in the Topical Guide. I am going to start studying from there to understand better the Character of Christ. Mom: To answer your question, we saw the Women´s conference in Spanish in between sessions on Sunday. I loved the focus on temples. The assistants/office elders are going to make DVDs of the womens and priesthood conference and give it to all of the missionaries. We asked them to make copies in English and Spanish, so hopefully they are able to. (The elder´s couldn´t watch the Priesthood session on Saturday because it went from 9-11 pm!)

¡Yo sé que Presidente Monson es un profeta de Dios! Cuando seguimos los palabras de él, tendrán seguridad y felicidad en nuestros vidas.

¡Les amo!

Hermana Durfee