March 28, 2011

I guess I asked too many questions, since she was transferred.  Just an overly anxious mother.

hola familia. mom, I know you are curious, I just dont know if I will have time to answer them all. yes I am famous in paraguay now. actually a lot of the members and even people we talked to on the street recognized me. how embarrassing. yes it was hard to leave coronel oviedo, but I can already tell I am going to love it here. it is interesting that hermana sargeant said that leopardi isn't very upscale because compared to coronel oviedo it is way rich. it has been a while since I have been in a house you would find in the states. I got in the habit of always keeping my backpack on my lap because the ground was always dirt, but I realized that I dont need to anymore because we are inside. before I continue, mom, thanks so much for the packages and such. you need not worry when they arrive and all that. I am just grateful that I am going to get one. you are the best and I am so blessed. sounds like you can take a break from the package sending for a while. 

a little run down of my living conditions.  I live normally. dont worry. we have someone to wash our clothes, we have air, we have water, a microwave, food. dont ever need to worry about that. you can worry about dengue. jk. it comes from mosquitoes and they are pushing repellent because a few missionaries have gotten it, including the hermana that was hermana knapps companion before. she got it right before she finished her mission, but is all better now and I am supposedly in her house.

this week was full of miracles. first of all, yes, the ward is incredible. they are so willing to help. it has a lot of families that have been members for a long time. I was really nervous for me and hermana knapp at first, but I feel really good about our companionship. she is so great and her spanish is awesome. I think my spanish is coming along. I understand more, which helps. 

yesterday was possibly the happiest day of my mission so far. we had an investigator come to church. Ruben Dario. he is golden. we found him just by knocking on his door. after we taught him he said, I am going to go to your church tomorrow. we were like, ok. ha. he came and participated in the classes and we had the perfect lesson about prophets since next week is general conference. at the end of the lesson he said how he is searching for the truth and searching to know the will of God for him. It was so sincere and I seriously almost cried I was so happy. I cant even describe the joy I felt. not only that, but this week we found so many people to teach. miracle from heavenly father to find him and the other people too. I am so blessed to get to be part of this work. 

last night too we were walking back because our appointments fell through so we decided to knock a few doors. we talked to a lady for a sec but she said she didnt have time, so we left her a pamphlet of the restoration. we were about to walk away but for some reason I couldn't. something inside me was like, no, you have to give her the pamphlet of the plan of salvation. I was like, no, she is already back in her house and I dont want to call her again. I tried to leave again and felt it even stronger that I need to give her the other pamphlet. so I told hermana knapp and she said too that we should just do it. I felt so awkward, haha, but i clapped again (we clap here not knock actually). she came back and I told her that I really felt she needed the part of our message and I explained more. still she said she didnt have time but I invited her to read the pamphlet anyways. i dont know why or if she will even read it, but I felt good that I had followed the spirit. only heavenly father knows. well, got to go. love you all so much. I love this work and know Jesus Christ is our savior. 

love,

hermana plummer

March 24, 2011

Transfered to Leopardi with Hermana Knapp


hola familia, thanks mom and dad for the updates on everything. what a miracle with the story of the missionaries in japan. everyone here is talking about it. seems like every year there is something more that happens around the world. sign of the times. those families are in my prayers. well, surprise, I am now in Leopardi. never saw that coming. I knew it was a possiblility that hermana lozano would leave so I was all prepared for her to leave. felt like I knew the area well enough. that took for ever because it is grandisimo. but they changed me to leopardi. my new companion is hermana knapp from kansas. she has one transfer. yup. two greenies together. hermana lavaka is now with hermana lozano. I was really nervous at first that we both are still figuring everything out. but I feel at peace that we are going to be ok. more that ok. I am really excited to work with hermana knapp. she is so great and we agree on a lot of things we want to do. the barrio is incredible. we had a meeting with the lider misional last night and he is a returned missionary. he helps the hermanas out so much to get the help of the members in the lessons and such. you have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear that. I can tell that the members really help in this area and i am so excited. we really struggled with that in coronel oviedo. they are great, but don't really have the drive to participate in the work. it is sad to leave coronel oviedo. I didn't feel like my work was finished. we were finally seeing some progress and had two with a baptismal date that we found this past week. I am sad to leave behind the families and investigators that I love. I keep thinking how lavaka and lozano are doing. so weird that lavaka is sleeping in my bed and walking the streets that I walked, and teaching my investigators. but I know there is a miracle waiting to happen there. I was way surprised, but I feel comforted that this is where heavenly father wants me.
well, my last week in coronel oviedo was good. I ate the liver and heart of a chicken. ya. took a while to get the courage to do it, but wasnt bad. I wasn't about to eat the head though. they seriously eat everything they can. all the members in pindoty work in a polleria and it is killing time for the pollo. smells awful. I will send some pictures. I also took pictures with a lot of the families when I left that I will send.
we were looking for antiguos investigadores this past week to look up again to contact. I found one I felt we should find. we found the house and the chica didn't live there anymore, but we decided to teach the girl who just moved in. paola. she is so ready. when we shared out of the libro de mormon, she was like, where can I get one of those, I want to mark that and read more. we were like, uhh, you can have this one. we invited her to be baptized and she accepted. I hope she progresses so much. I wont be able to hear about her progress. sad day. I know that was such a blessing to find her. she is so ready.
well, I have to go. I just got my valentines day package and yes I think I got your second letter. I finally got margarets letter too. thanks so much for the package and the books. I love the inspirational book. part of it really helped me. it says that even when life throws us a curve ball, we can still hit a homerun. so true.
and and by the way. even in spanish I cant escape jokes on plummer. they say plumero.
oh and I am famous in paraguay now. when we were waiting in the terminal, all the missionaries that had transfers, some news person was interviewing a few of the elders. I was sitting minding my own business writing in my journal when the guy decided to interview me. my hair was all messy because we just got off a 3 hours collectivo trip in which I slept the whole time and i just look awful. he asked me my name and where I am from and how long i will be in paraguay and where I am going right now. I said I came from coronel oviedo and how I am now going to leoparti for a while. didnt think very much of it, but when we went to a members house last night, the sister was like, oh, you came from coronel oviedo and are from atlanta. huh? they saw me on the tv. another member we met saw me too. so weird. anyways. that is the story of this week. love you all so much and am so blessed to have you all as my family. I love this work and know it is the most imporant work in the world.
Love,
hermana plummer

Transfer week and no email until Thur.

March 14, 2011

Coronel Oviedo District

Hna Lozano has finished her mission and sent these

pictures to me (Louise) on FB.  

Map Of Coronel Oviedo and location of pension.

What a payback to a parent.....  We did something right!


hola familia! goodness, sounds like you all had a crazy week with skiing and baby Zade! I was so excited to see pictures. so tiny. get well soon amy! can´t wait to meet him when I get back. thanks for filling me in on eveything mom and dad. so fun nicole and justin have visited twice already since I have been gone. crazy to believe it has been almost 5 months since I entered in the mtc. crazy. but already it seems like I dream that I was anywhere but here. mom, muchas preguntas. haha. I will try and fill you in on everything you want to know. well, this week was good. we worked really hard to find new people to teach, asking for references from everyone. We have some hopefuls, so I pray that the spirit will work out what is out of our hands. It seems like everytime we think someone is going to progress, we can´t find them or they cancel. frustrating, but we just keep pressing forward, trying to do everything we can. trying to keep the faith. I know I need more faith. to believe without seeing. to believe that someone will accept without seeing it, yet. oh and before I forget, I haven´t gotten the letter from margaret. hopefully it will come tomorrow!
we give talks every second sunday of the month. haven´t cooked much yet. but I am getting there. one thing that hna lozano loves from el salvador is fried bananas. she fries everything. anyways, it is with this special type of banana that is sweeter. it is short and fat. it is way good. but we don´t have this kind of banana in the states sadly. but if I like it and don´t like bananas, it must be good. I dont´really know what I eat. a lot of apples and cereal, and eggs, and pasta, and carrots and I don't remember???   hma lozano eats a ton of black beans. apparently they eat it with everything in el salvador. we eat lunch either in the pension or at a members house like twice a week but don't eat dinner till we get home at night. my clothes are holding up good. one of the buttons on a shirt came off. story of my life, but I will try and fix it today. shoes are still going strong. sorry you have to have such a crazy diet mom. it wouldn´t work here that is for sure. we are in a district, not a stake but I am sure they have district conference. yes they have a way to watch general conference. I am so excited! but I think I will have to watch it in spanish. they always have it in english mainly for the elders, but I can´t be in a different room than my companion, so I might not understand total, but it should be fine. I was reading the conference liahona yesterday from the last conference. I was reading the talk by elder holland where he shared the story about his mission and how his parents didn´t use his money. ya that talk. I remembered him crying while giving that talk, and started crying yesterday reading it. I thought of so many faithful members of the church who give everything they have to be obedient. who do whatever it takes to help another and to fulfill their callings. I am realizing a lot more what I have been blessed with in my life. My eyes have been opened to the reality of a lot of things. we talk about the family everyday and how our message will help people protect their families and unify their families. I thought of the times when I was young when dad wanted us all home to eat dinner and I was so annoyed because I wanted to eat at my friend´s house or what not. I look back and realized all the things you both did to try and unify our family and protect our family. I am so grateful now for growing up in a home with parents who taught me correct principle. I see kids 10 11 years old who walk a long way to church alone because their parents are less active. I cry thinking of how I took all that for granted. thanks mom and dad for setting an example for me and for doing all those little things, like family prayer and family scripture study and family dinners. I see now how important it all is, epecially now that I am trying to help others do the same. I love you so much. I can´t even describe how blessed I am. well, I have to go, I won´t be able to write until next thursday because next week is cambios. I love you all so much! I know jesus christ is our savior and we can look to him to help us through anything. until next week.
love,
hermana plummer

March 7, 2011

hola familia! i can´t believe another week has gone by.  i do feel a lot more at peace now. i got a lot of things sorted out. i was really praying to find out what was missing. i don´t know. i just felt like something was missing. one morning i sat down to do my personal study and prayed that i could find an answer in my studies. i had planned to read some where in preach my gospel, but i decided not to and happened to pass by a page in chapter 9. So i looked up the scriptures and came across 1 thess 2. read it. it is way short. i realized what was missing. i really do feel a love for the people, but i realized i was missing something. the motive behind it all. i realized i needed to do it more for them and for God rather than to feel like i am being obedient. yes i need to do my part to build up the kingdom of god, but i need to remember more that it is to help and serve his children. I needed to take my love for the people to another level and really leave myself out of the picture completely. we still have a lot of challenges with the rama and everything. we met with one of the 2 chicas from the rainy day one other time but she didn´t have much more interest.  i know that we really need to work hard to have a turn around in the rama to be in a state that can support new members. when that happens, i think it will be blessed. I am learning the difference between sadness and discouragement. we are sad when someone doesn´t want to accept bc we know how much it can bless their lives, but i can´t let myself get down about it. they have their agency. i know there are people here ready to accept, we just have to find them somehow. i have been trying to do whatever i can to be worthy of the guidance of the spirit. trying to keep myself more focused always and not let my mind drift off. the language is hard. understanding is the hardest part for me. the paraguayos kind of mumble a bit. but everything else has really been more difficult than the language.
thanks for the updates with everything. i can´t wait to hear zade is here safe and sound. i don´t have much more time, but thanks mom for sending the package. i can´t wait to get it!! whatever there is will be perfect. a piece of home. oh and we played tennis again today! a good day. love you all so much. always remembr that through our Savior our family will be together forever. you are stuck with me.
love,
hermana plummer

Feb 28, 2011

Zone 8 at Zone Conference.  Can you find Hermana Plummer and Lozano?

hola familia! mom before I forget, can you get on facebook and find kate´s address? she sent me a letter but it came from the mtc and I know she isn´t in the mtc anymore, so I need her address in VA. that would be so awesome. and you asked if I listen to my ipod. YES. everyday. whenever we are in the pension, we are listening to it. it is my saving grace. I don´t know what I would do without it. I put on a lot of music from the house that dad would always play on sunday mornings growing up through the intercom. I hear them and feel at home. I hope this old Ipod lasts through the mission. cross your fingers.
well, this week we had zone conference. one zone has to travel to ciudad del este to join up with the 2 zones there. apparently not very many hermanas get to visit ciudad del este because all the others are in asuncion. we were the only females besides hermana callan. we are always quite the minority. so we got up at 2 in the morning to catch the collectivo and ride there. it is about 3 hours. thankgoodness I slept pretty much the whole way. being short i can just curl up in the chair. they are big coach buses with chairs that ricline and all that. the zone conference was so great. I learned so much that helped me out. we really have been praying to be able to dig up some more faith. pres callan shared a quote from joseph smith that basically says if we want more faith, we need to sacrifice more. i was like. dang it all. no jk. so I guess I need to make some changes. I realize that i need to consecrate my time more and not let my mind wander. also, I really got a confirmation that it is ok if I am doing everything i can and dont´have baptisms. I think i got really bogged down about that. every night when the distric leader would call to ask for our key indicators, i felt ashamed, but I feel ok about it now. hermana lozano and i both feel the spirit more and feel like we are improving in a lot of ways. we have a lot of obstacles to overcome in this area. we are living out the consequences of things other people have done here in this rama, but I keep thinking back to a quote i heard in the mtc that says, are you going to tell God how big your problems are or are you going to tell your problems how great is God? A lot of the time i feel inadequate to handle everything. i don´t have any experience, don´t really know the language, can´t do it kind of thing. But one thing we learned about the atonement at the zone conference is that after all we can do with our ability, the Savior fills in the rest. I realized that no, i can´t do it based on my experience and ability, but with my Savior, i can. I have to put behind me my doubts in myself. That is where my problem is. I am learning to rely on the Lord in a way that i have never ventured to try out before, but I know it will be ok. Thanks mom for the words of wisdom and also the ideas! they will be so great and helpful. ok speaking of ideas. i have been meaning to share an idea with you forever. I am so happy right now that I finally remembered. you have to try this drink. blend oranges with carrots. if you have already tried it then you know it is good, but i had it at a member´s house and it is so good. anyways, I am glad to hear that i am not the only sister missionary that started out rough. I felt so guilty with thougts that i really didn´t want to be here. when I saw hermana lavaka, she was saying how much fun she is having, and I was like. I felt really guilty. I think this is the first p day I haven´t cried. yay. I am really trying to take what I have and be happy no matter what and be thankful. we were really excited yesterday because a bunch of inactives came to church. we had the highest asistencia in a while. a member who we have been visiting finally came and a few others. oh and our relief society president finally came after 5 weeks. this member though we have been visiting is so great, he has just gotten really bogged down with problems in his family and needed a boost of energy. he is the only member in his family. his 2 children join for the lessons but his señora is a catolico fanatico as they say. she won´t listen. anyways, we were really excited about that. now we just need them to come consistently.
we played tennis again today! it was so great. I do what I can in the pension to exercise, but isn´t much. so it is such a relief to be able to run around and play TENNIS! well, I have to go. any news on Tiny? how are you amy? can´t wait to hear when my new nephew is here safe and sound. love you all so much. I think of you and pray for you everyday. Like mom said in her email to me, I am away from my family for 18 months so other families can be together forever. I guess it isn´t too much of a sacrifice for such a reward. mom, I hope you are continuing to get better. We are going to play so much tennis when I get back. love you all so so much.
love,
hermana plummer

Feb 28, 2011

oh mom!! I am so proud of my Chiefetres that is so awesome!!!!!!!! 7h in the nation in kick and state champs in kick and pom... keeping our legacy... this picture is so sweet. please send carmen a note how excited I am for them and that I wish I could visit sometime to say hi. for some reason i still feel like it is my team even though I probably don´t know even half. haha. all those girls are seniors right? I don´t even remember how long it has been. please send a message that I love them and wish them the best of luck.