Ya Tengo 7 Meses y no entiendo como.....

Hola!

Well, firstly I just want everyone to know that I love my companion. I mean, I have said that about my other comps, but I really love this lady. Hermana Laguna and I laugh all day long. Our personalities just click and everything is hilarious. She is great, absolutely great. 

This week, she was ill. So we had to stay in the house one day. Let me tell you....staying in the house all day as a missionary is not the greatest thing. However, we got to talk a lot and that was fun. 

We also had a very special baptism on Saturday. A family of four baptized, all together! La Familia Enriquez Ramos...Juan, Silvia, Angel, y Juanito make up the most beautiful family! Oh, and Osvaldo tambien, pero solo tiene 2 anos, entonces no se bautizo. And the baptism was perfect. Actually, it was funny becuase the baptism clothes for the boys were huge and we had to use a white tie as a belt for Juanito, ha. But He loved it.  This family is incredible. There is such love in there home and they are the definition of prepared. Truly, the Lord works in our lives. He prepares us and helps us and guides us. With this family, we learned how to be instruments in His hands, we were reminded that we arent the teachers, the Spirit prepares, teaches, and testifies. We are just here to invite. They understand and accept everything with such ease and faith and have the goal of getting to the Temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. I am so grateful to have met them and learned from them. They are a great addition and will become a great strength to Barrio Juarez. And it gets even better, this family was a reference from Hermano Chuy, they are good friends. And I have never seen someone as excited as Hermano Chuy. He baptized all of the family and was just glowing. 

Oh, and just to remind yall, I love Barrio Juarez. The other day we had to go to the chapel and no one was there to do the cleaning. Entonces, mi querido companera y yo limpiamos. Turns out, cleaning the chapel with just two people takes quite a while, ha. But it felt great to serve the ward that supports us so much. And the Bishop was there working on a few things and He just loves us even more now. Somos chiples y las favoritas. 

La mision es maravillosa y la amo. 

LES AMO

Hermana Dudley

My dear companion let me borrow her camera to send some pictures. She is the best. 

La Familia Enriquez Ramos...Son Maravillosos. 

Her mother is very ill and probably wont make it through the week. Prayers would be appreciated. 

LAS CASCADAS DE BASASEACHI

Hola Queridos!

Listen, I don't have any time anymore. Between divisiones, reuniones con presidente, nightly calls, and our own investigators....wow, no hay tiempo. Entonces, this week flew by faster than I can even understand. But it is awesome.

Highlights include divisions with the other hermanas. It is so fun to get to know other areas and other Hermanas. I met this one Hermana from Utah and she is absolutely hilarious. And Hermana Corzo from Argentina, gosh I love her. It is awesome to work with the other Hermanas and learn from them and I hope I can help them the way they help me.
The only downside to divisiones from this week is that I lost my camera. I think I left it in a taxi because in one day we were in like 6 different taxis running all over the place. I tried to find it...but to no avail. And honestly, I am kind of sick about it.

So, coolest thing from this week.....all of the leaders of the mission went to LAS CASCADAS DE BASASEACHI! It is this huge waterfall here in Chihuahua. It was amazing. It is like 5 hours in bus from Chihuahua. When we got there we had to hike down to the waterfall and it was about an hour. It was amazing. So green. Here in Chihuaha, everything is brown, so it was even more amazing to see green again. Ha. And when we finally got to the waterfall, ay, it was breathtaking. We were all soaked from the mist and it was so loud! But it was the most beautiful thing. Then we had to hike back up...that was quite an ordeal. But we learned that sometimes in life, we focus on the downhill, on the waterfall, on the easy part. And when it comes the challenging part we want to give up. But, if we can push through and hike back up the mountain, something even more amazing will be waiting for us. Gosh, it was so cool! I cant send pictures because I don't have a camera. But my comp is going to pass me the photos.

Overall, the most important thing that we have to do in Life if Endure. Even when we are super hot and we are hiking up a mountain and our clothes are soaking wet and our pants are falling down because we forgot a belt. Just endure. And then we will receive more blessings, and have the experience of the waterfall and the hike to look back on.

I love y'all
Hermana Dudley

What a Week!

HOLA!

Y'all, this was the fastest week of my mission so far. Holy cow, I woke up this morning and was like, what...Monday...wow......

Time flew by this week because I didn't have any time. Here is the low down. Last week, after I wrote a whole email about our cambios, we got another call from the asistentes y cambiaron nuestros cambios. Todavia estoy en Barrio Juarez. and I am in a new area and a new house, but I am not with Hermana Godinez. I am with Hermana Laguna! She is from Oaxaca and has one year in the mission. I am actually really happy about this change. And yes, we are CAPACITADORAS.  We get along great and we laugh a lot. We hardly worked at all this week because we had to take care of all of our responsibilities as CAPACITADORAS, but I am beyond thrilled to be with her and in this new area. 

We went to Chihuahua en Miercoles para Consejo de Liderazgo. It was bien suave. Presidente esta bien feliz porque en el mes de Agosto la mision tuvo 154 bautismos. We all went to eat at a Chinese restaurant afterwards. I do not recommend Chinese Food in Mexico, ha, but it was so cool to see all of us there. There are like 12 hermanas and like 50 zone leaders. It was so much fun and I am really excited to continue. Then, on Thursday we had to capcitate our zones. Hermana Laguna stayed with our Zone and I went with the other Zone in Delicias and I spoke for over an hour about what Hermana Chavez taught us. I was so nervous, and honestly thinking why on earth and I called to be a leader...but I started to speak and everything just flowed and it was great and I thought, wow, I can do this! I know that I have so much to learn, but I am so excited to learn everything and help these Hermanas! And I know that the Lord will help me in every way to reach the goals He has. I know that this is a calling from the Lord and He has a purpose for me. 

Oh, and this week Antonio got baptized. He was a reference from My Aunt, Judith Fuentes! He is 84 years old! Just goes to show that the Gospel does not have time limits, age limits. It is for everyone and changes lives of all those who are open to it. Antonio is hilarious, he speaks a bit of English, so he always tells me things in English. 

Anyways, it has been a great week. There is no time to think anything different! Ha!

I love y'all and I want every one to know that The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth. Today we have the authority necessary to efectuar ordenanza en el nombre de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo, y en esto podemos lograr Exaltacion. 

HERMANA DUDLEY

P.S. Watch the movie 17 Miracles, it is amazing! Oh, and I make cinnamon rolls this week, SO GOOD!

SEPTIEMBRE....AY YI.

Hola a todos!

Firstly, I forgot my cable en la casa, so there will not be any photos this week. But, next week a lot. Because we had an activity and we are having another one today (MILAGROS) so I have a lot of great photos to share with y'all. 

Let me tell you, I have learned that The Lord knows us. He knows exactly what we need and how to help us. Gosh, I have such a strong testimony of that today. I say this because VAMOS A TENER CAMBIOS!!!! WHOOP! So, yesterday I completed 5 full months in this same ward, same house, same area. And at times I was feeling restless and frustrated. And at times I thought, "Gosh, I want a change, please send me cambios."  But, whenever I thought that, I always changed my mind becuase I remembered Manuela and Jazmin and Fransica and Perla and Joel and all the members here that I LOVE. So really, I didn't have any idea what I wanted. But, I knew that change was needed. After 5 months I kind of got to a point of comfort and I didn't feel like I was progressing as I should. But cambios are in two weeks, so I figured, ay, two more weeks and something will happen. BUT, yesterday we got a call that we needed to be in the house early becuase we were going to have cambios early. So we got home and we waited for 3 hours and no one called. I was all over the place, thinking, yes I want something different, no I don't want to leave, ay our district is awesome, but what else is there, AY YI YI. So finally, at about 10 our Zone Leaders called. And this is when I felt the incredible love and knowledge that the Lord has for me. 

Yes, I have cambios. But, I will still be in the ward! Basically, I will just be changing houses and areas. And companions! I am going to be with La Hermana Godinez. Ella es de Dallas, Texas! WHOOP! But, Her family is Mexican so she speaks Spanish fluently. She has a very strong and fun personality, I know I am going to learn so much! Tomorrow I have to pack my bags and move across town, ha. It is so perfect because I will still get to be with this ward that I love so much, I will still see the people that I taught, but I will get new opportunities, new sights, new investigators, and a new comp. El Senor sabe, en verdad, sabe perfectamente que necesitamos.

Here is the thing though....Hermana Godinez  and I aren't just going to be companions. We are going to CAPACITADORAS! Or in English, Sister Training Leaders. Basically, we are in charge of all the sisters of the two zones of Delicias. There are 8 other sisters that we will be in charge of. It is kind of zone leaders, but just for the sisters. In all honesty, I never would have expected this. And actually, I didn't believe it. I made my Zone leaders tell me about 50 times because I didn't believe it at all. And really, I thought, how is it possible that I am going to be a leader when I still feel like a baby in the mission, ha. But, this also added to my Testimony of the plans that the Lord has for us. I felt incredulous, but I didn't feel panicked. And well normally, I think I would feel panicked. But I felt calm, and more than anything I felt super excited. I am so excited because I know I will learn so much, I will meet more missionaries and I will be able to help them. I know that I will develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father and I will come to understand the Atonement more, I know I will need their help so much. I am a little nervous...today they are going to explain all of our responsibilities and we have to call all the sisters and presentarnos y todo. Ay, en verdad es bien raro. Todavia estoy pensando....que.....como.....AY CHIHUAHUA! HA! 

Solo quiero dejarles mi testimonio, El Senor nos ama y nos conoce. El tiene un plan por cada uno de nosotros y aun cuando no pensamos que podemos, podemos con Su ayuda. Les amo mucho!

Hermana Dudley

P.S. The Man in the Big House may not be a drug dealer. Another Hermana told us that he has some sort of business in the U.S. Who knows. But now he wont be in my area.  

Well Howdy

Hola a Todos!

Another week down! This week I completed 6 full weeks as a missionary....what....so weird. And Alma is about to hit her 9 month mark in New York! WHOOOP!

Business. All of you should look up the facebook page of the mission. Hermana Chavez uploads photos and updates. It is www.facebook.com/missionmexicochihuahua1316

Also, our ward mission leader has a facebook page for just our ward. He uploads photos of our day to day activities and baptisms and everything. And He is awesome. The name of this page is obra misional Barrio Juarez Delicias Chihuahua. Sara, maybe you can add the link to my blog and facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/332380953601821/

I tell y'all, I love Barrio Juarez. I do not ever want to leave it, ha. Which probably means I will leave soon. But seriously, it is great. Hermana Duran, our mission leader, is giving us an activity today. That is a big deal becuase activites were banned for some reason. But He called President and got special permission for us!  Yesterday, I GAVE A TALK IN SACRAMENT MEETING! I was so nervous about my Spanish, but I had practiced and practiced and prayed and prayed and it went really well. Actually, afterwards I got compliments on my Spanish, ha. Hermana Jackson, who doesn't speak a word of Spanish, told me it was perfect. And I asked him if he understood any of it and he was like, "Nope, but it doesnt matter." Ha! He always calls me Little Girl. He is like 80. Ha. But really, as I was speaking, I was looking at the faces of all the members. I have truly come to love them. They are so strong and their testimonies are incredible. I am so grateful for all they do for me. I love learning from them and working with them. 

Really, we have seen miracles this week. My Companion only has about 3 weeks left, and it is starting to hit her. So we have had several sessions of tears and comfort. But all is well. 

I love yall!

Hermana Dudley

I Hit 6 Months Tomorrow....What....

Howdy!

Yall, 6 months...

Update on the big house with body guards...according to our neighbor who we are teaching whom I also love in part becuase she gives us cake, told us that the guy that lives there is the son of the Highest General here in Mexico. So, he is a diplomat, but he is also a drug lord. Makes sense, ha. That doesn't change our goal of teaching them the Gospel. 

There is also a little dog on our street that has decided it hates us and chased us yesterday. But don't worry, its a little thing and it is scared of my umbrella. 

Ok, so coolest experience this week happened yesterday. We ate with Manuela again. She signs up every chance she gets and yesterday was irritated that next weekend someone else signed up to feed us. She said that is not okay because we are hers, ha. But anyways, after la comida I was helping Jazmin with her Persoanl Progress. We were learning about Faith and we read Hebrews 11, which I love, Alma 32, and Ether 12, and Joseph Smith History. All of these selections are excellent and I invite all of y'all to read them. But anyways, as we were reading Joseph Smith's words there was such a strong spirit about us. And Jazmin stopped mid sentence and told me that she was feeling this burning in her chest. She was smiling so big and she said "Hermana Dudley, es la verdad. Jose Smith tuvo esta vision, es cierto." AH!!!!! It was the coolest thing to see her faith, see her testimony form. And I was so happy for her, to see her progress, and through her experience my own testimony was strengthened. I want all of y'all to know that I know that Joseph Smith was called a prophet of God to restore the true church of Jesus Christ. I know it. And if you do not, take 5 minutes to ponder it and say a prayer and ask. I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, that this is the truth. 

I love y'all, I love the Gospel, I love my mission. 

Hermana Dudley

Su Familia No Va a Salvar Su Alma

Hola a Todos,

The subject line is a quote from Manuela, she is preaching the Gospel to her whole family and when they cite family as an obstacle she tells them this, ha. She is so great. 

Manuela is my topic this week. I have come to love her and her family so much, I just can't explain it. She has signed up to feed us 4 times in the past 2 weeks. Really, she doesnt have the resources to do so, we had a wonderfully humble meal of soup and cheese quesadillas, but there is so much love and I just loved every minute of it. 

Manuela taught me something so important this week. The value of self sufficiency. Here in Mexico, the Church emphasizes this a lot becuase there are a ton of people who have nothing, but don't want to do anything to improve their situation. Manuela doesn't have much, but she is willing to work her tail off. So this past week a Sister in the ward fronted the cost of the supplies, and Manuela made Gorditas to sell for the Comida on Saturday and we went to help her out. I witnessed miracles. 

First of all, Manuela woke up at 6 in the morning to get everything ready, so when we arrived to help it was already done and she made us eat, ha. She called all of her family and told them that she was making gorditas and she had several orders. We left for a couple of citas, and we came back for Comida and the house was crazy. Miracle number one, her Sister came to help her. Seriously, that is a miracle, for a long time they were not talking. Miracle number two, we had great success. We actually ran out of supplies and had to run to the store to get more. Miracle three, Manuela....She was so nervous to do everything right, but she was so happy. She was singing hymns at the top of her lungs, even though she couldn't remember all of the words, we were all helping and we are laughing hysterically because Manuela felt like she had to do everything and was all over the place. And finally we sat down to eat together and it was just like family. Manuela has confidence and she has faith and she recognizes the value of work. This opportunity brought her family closer together and helped her provide for their needs. And Manuela paid her tithing and knows that she will be blessed for that. It was awesome. Oh, another miracle, while we were cooking and eating I didn't see one cockroach, ha. 

But I also realized that the importance of self sufficiency is not just in physical terms. It is more important spiritually speaking. Manuela has her own experiences, her own faith, her own testimony. She has a personal desire to go to church and doesn't rely on us. And that is my goal for the mission, I don't want people to be converted to the missionaries, I want them to be converted to the Gospel and be Spiritually Self Sufficient. 

Amo a mi mision y les amo todos. 

Hermana Dudley

HOWDY!

Happy ONE YEAR TO ELDER AARON MATTHEW LOPEZ! I feel like you left yesterday, but already half way...Oh, we're half way there, oh Whoa, livin' on a prayer!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RACHEL JORDAN HATTEMER! 20 YEARS OLD AND WE HAVE 10 YEARS OF BEST FRIENDITUDE!!! WHOOP!

Just so everyone knows, the Mission is incredible and I love it. Every day there are so many set backs, but there are so many miracles! Manuela and Jazmin went to the Temple! There is not enough time in the day to tell y'all how many challenges they faced to get there, but get there they did. And then, on Sunday, everyone shared their testimonies of the Temple and all the youth shared their testimonies of EFY and it was incredible. They actually wound up extending Sacrament meeting to two hours becuase there were just so many people who wanted to share their experiences. THE SPIRIT WAS AMAZING! La Familia Jiminez was sealed for time and all eternity and hearing little Brayan (7) say "Sé que mi familia es eterna" was the most beautiful thing. Everyone in the Chapel was crying. Manuela was sobbing like a baby and told me thank you thank you thank you for finding us. Actually, in the morning we went to their house and they were still asleep and we woke them up and reminded them that it was Sunday and Manuela was like, What, it is Sunday, Jazmin, why didn't you tell me, get up, get ready, lets go. And she paid her tithing and signed up to feed us twice this week! I dont know what we will eat becuase they have nothing, but in her sweet humility she wants to share what little she has with us. I love her so much! It is so amazing to think of How she was when we first found her. I testify to all of y'all and the whole world the the True and Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives!

Also, cambios were today. And.....I am still in Delicias. Presidente has a habit of having cambios like 3 weeks in a row, so I don't feel totally safe yet, but for now I am very excited to remain here. I love Delicias and we have great converts and investigators that I do not want to leave. 

Also, our neighbor is trying to marry me off to her son. But only so he can get his passport back. Ha. No worries, I am a missionary. 

I love y'all!

Hermana Dudley

P.S. Yes, I had menudo. It really is not as terrible as everyone says. It is just a bit strange to chew the intestines of a cow. And Hermano Duran, our Mission Leader. He is hilarious,. a convert who used to be a straight up cholo. I love this guy. He calls me HERMANITA DUDLEY. I use caps becuase he is always yelling, ha. 

3 Generations!

Howdy!

Great news, this week Fransica was baptized and confirmed, meaning there are now 3 generations of her family in the church! She is so tiny and fragile and adorable, ha. 

Interesting thing that happened this week: In the morning my companion and I were talking about the age of accountability, and baptism, and that led to a discussion of children, and young deaths, and all that that entails. It was very interesting and Moroni 8 is very enlightening. Honestly, it strengthened my testimony of the Plan of Salvation a lot. But, we still had a few questions. Then, when we left the house, one of our neighbors asked us why there are so many babies dying in the world. My first thought was, Uh, I am only 20 years old, why on earth do these people trust me with their questions of the soul...But then we looked at each, said a silent prayer, and told her we could help her understand. We wound up having a great lesson and I know that it was not us teaching, the Spirit truly helped us. Not only were we able to help her find understanding and peace, but we both now have this awesome experience and testimony of the power of the Spirit. And I am comforted because now I understand that these people trust us with their questions because their spirits recognize our spirits. 

Right now, Hermana Velasco is sick as a dog. It is terrible. But we went to the doctor and have medicine and faith, ha. 

Love y'all!

Ahora Entiendo

Hola a todos!

First of all, I want y'all to know that I love my Companion. She is so great and makes laugh all the time, usually not on purpose, ha. 

Also, Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door this week and were like, ah, this is where y'all live...and then they tried to preach to us. I am thoroughly confused about their beliefs. 

Also, we forgot to turn the volume of our cell phone up last night and the elders were trying to call us for like an hour and we didn't realize. And they were very concerned and sent members to check on us, ha. And then, when they knew we were alive and well, nos regañó....no nos gustó. Ja. 

Pero, la cosa mas bonita de esta semana....MANUELA Y JAZMIN SE BAUTIZARON!!!!!!! Ay Caray, no puedo explicar el gozo. Primero, tantas cosas nos pasaron antes del bautismo, pero nada importaba cuando ellas entraron el agua. Y the coolest thing! Jazmin told us that she was having some doubts about her baptism. She is twelve and honestly has more questions than anyone I have ever met, ha. But she said she was doubting a little bit the day before the baptism but then she had an amazing dream. Mexicans are really big on dreams, ha. But she told us that in her dream, she was sitting at home and someone knocked on the door. When she answered she saw Hermana Velasco and I and standing behind us was Jesus Christ. Jazmin said with this, she knew that she was making the right decision. How cool is that? And really, it made me think. We are Representatives of Jesus Christ, this is His church. He really is with us, just like in her dream. 

And I just cannot explain the love I have for this family. I have discovered that the really hard thing about the mission is not staying in the house of your converts all day every day, ha. When we leave, Jazmin and Perla ask us to please stay just a little longer and as we are walking out the door they are following us and Perla always runs down the street to give us just one more hug, ha. It is so wonderful. 

I love my Mission. I love Delicias so much and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here, to work with these people, and to share the joy and love and truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Dudley