Final Mission Email

hola mom, dad, y familia, happy mothers´ day! I love you mom. and all
my sisters who are such great moms too.
wow. it seems unreal that I am writing my last email. I remember when
I was in leopardi when mom sent me carli downs´ last email to her
family, and I couldn't even imagine how she felt. today I had my last
interview with president callan. he started out by asking me to
reflect a bit on my mission and share my feelings about what I have
experienced. I sat there for a second and thought. As I thought, a
strong feeling of gratitude came over me, gratitude to Heavenly Father
for telling me that I needed to serve a mission. I tear up right now
thinking about how grateful I am for what I have experienced, felt,
and learned in my time here in Paraguay. I notice the change in me. One
of the most precious things I have learned is the power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was thinking the other day what has made
the change that I feel. I have felt the power of the atonement in my
life and have seen how it changes the lives of the people that I have
taught. That difference is the spririt. I understand that is so
simple. If we want to feel that our burdens are lifted, if we want to
feel the joy of repentance, if we want to feel peace when there is a
storm in our surroundings, all we have to do is do things that will
invite the spirit into our lives. because the spirit is what testifies
to us that God exists, that He knows us, that Christ really atoned for
us, and that we really can find comfort and peace in Him. Countless
times I have felt the calming sensation as I have testified of these
things telling me that it is true. Everything in the gospel,
everything that I have learned in my mission all goes back to the
Atonement. I don't know if I ever would have gained this depth in my
testimony without my mission. Heavenly Father knew what it would take
for me to learn what he wants me to learn. he knew why I needed to
serve in Paraguay. every area, every companion, every investigator,
has taught me something. I only hope that I was able to be an
instrument in the Lord´s hands. That is what I always pray for. That I
can be what he wants me to be so that I can be His hands. But I think
that I got way more out of this than I could have ever given, and I
know that as the years go by, my mission will mean more and more to
me. It is a sacred experience that will affect the rest of my life. I
feel so weird knowing that I will be back in the United States. I feel
at home here. this is what I am used to now. But I guess life goes on.
I am excited for hna little and her new companion. I love our
investigators so much. It breaks my heart that our investigator T
can't be bapized right now because her marido needs a divorce, and
divorces here are so long and costly. but she loves the church and has
such an excitement to know more. yesterday, right after my call to mom
and dad, we were walking in the street when a family contacted us.
ya., contaced us. she said, hey, we want to join your church. we are
new in the neighborhood and were visiting with the elders before but
had to move. We know a lot of mormons, and they are all so happy and
are always progressing in life. We want to be Mormon too.
We were so excited. What a miracle. This is the Lord´s work. He really
does prepared people to receive the gospel. were are teaching such a
humble man A. He wants so much to find the truth. He
feels so helpless and confused in this world. He shared with us his
concerns for one of his daughters who is having trouble. We shared
with him how the restored gospel will bless his family and will help
him know how to guide his family. He just said, oh please, I really
hope so. It is hard to leave these people in the middle of their
progress, but I will keep praying for them because I love them.
Sunday hna samaniego made the best lunch. she asked me what I wanted,
and it was all there. she is amazing. I took pictures. all my favorite
food of paraguay. Hna samaniego is kind of like our grandma. we say
goodnight every night to her, and she always comes knocking on our
door if we don't. they are a special family with such strong
testimonies of the gospel.
well, I think my email is really long. I will say chao, because I will
see you all very soon. I love you tons and tons!
love,
hermana plummer

May 7, 2012 Sprinting to the End!!

hola familia!

bueno, mom, 

What other hermanas are in your zone?

hnas in my zone. us and hna lewis and hna anrade de mexico. 

Mother's Day phone call?

as for the phone call on sunday. we were actually planning to do it not in yennys house but in her moms house where we live. hna little will talk at 3pm and I will talk at 4 pm.   we will eat lunch with them that day, so it will be perfect. 

Using Yenny's hairdryer?

I will ask yenny about her extra hairdryer.  you need a transformer if you want to use your straightener. well, mine blew out. and I think I got confused in leopardi because there were so many left over transformers. well I don't really know how it happened. I thought I had everything, but I don't have mine. sorry dad.  I don't know what happened to it. also mom, yenny said that she wants to talk to you today to explain a few things about the best way to go to ciudad del este and brazil.

What kind of clothes should we bring?

as for the weather, you need to check the weather report, because it is always changing. last week was way cold. and this week is hot again. that is the way it is. so I don't know what you will need. I don't need anything. what I have is good. the prayer rock is way cute. I think the best way to say it would be roca de oracion (accent on the o in oracion). they are super cute. not sure if I want a quilt with my mission clothes. I plan to leave what I can and take back what is useless. they are pretty funny. what is in my heladera? yogurt, milk, bread, bananas, pears, mermelada de guayaba, mayonesa, mustard, ham, cheese, pinapple, cucumber. thats about it.

please tell the ward MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS for donating so much to bring. that is so generous.

this week yes, we had zone conference. it was so great! the focus was on our purpose as missionaries. invite others to come unto christ through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentence, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and endure to the end. we need to have that purpose as the focus of everything we do. if we do that, and even more important, apply it to our personal lives, we will be successful missionaries. well, there is more to it, but that is the essence of it. We have to convert ourselves before we can really help others be converted to the gospel. We focused a lot too on the sacrament. as misisonaries, we tend to be thinking about our investigators and so many things in sacrament meeting, but pres callan told us that we need to prepare better, and focus on ourselves during the sacrament. we need firm testimonies of the joy that the spririt gives us when we can know that as we enter in the meeting with our sins, we can leave completely clean again. pres callan shared an experience he had when he was able to be in a sacrament meeting with the 12 apostles in which they passed the sacrament and had tears in their eyes as they participated in this special ordinance. I think we often overlook just how important the sacrament is. what an incredible blessing God has given us to be able to start fresh every week and have the promise to have the spirit with us always. then at the end of the conference, each missionary has their turn to share their testimony. about 1 minute each person. I loved feeling the sincerity of each and every missionary as he or she shared their simple testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

on another note, I got a letter from Ceci today! she came back from angentina. hna jones wrote a quick note and said she would make sure ceci is home when we go to ñemby. I am so happy!! i thought i would never be able to see her again. i am so excited to see her and her grandkids. this week we were so blessed. we are teaching a woman who came to church with her cute 7 year old twins. they loved church, and it was so spiritual. we had a missionary come home, so he and his family all shared their testimonies, also the bishop blessed his new baby boy, and it was just great. teresa, our investigator, had tears. as well as everyone else. sunday's church meetings were probably the best I have had here in paraguay. yenny shared here testimony in relief society, and I had tears in my eyes. she has such a powerful testimony, and is such an amazing woman!

we also finally contacted a reference we had received a while back who has a family member who is a member and who invited him to the general conferece. this man has such interesting questions. many concerning the plan of salvation. where do our spirits go when we die? what happens after the resurrection? unfortunately he is only at home sundays, but we were excited to finally teach him. now we can prepare to teach him again. well, I have to go. I am super excited to give it one last push this week and finish sprinting. I get depressed when I think about leaving paraguay, so I try not to think about it. it is part of who I am now. I feel comfortable here. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for this short time that I have here. I love you all so much.

love,

hermana plummer

April 30, 2012 Two more weeks!!

hola mom, dad, y familia
well mom, I will try to respond everything rapido.
bueno don't know why you didn't get my pictures, I sent them a few weeks ago. pictures from M's baptism. I still have all my pictures, but I put them on a cd, so they aren't on my flash drive. I accidentally erased them, so the cyber put them on a cd for me. oops. yes I worked with miriam. our first lesson was so spritual, she cried whem I shared the first vision, and i am so happy that they are going to get married and baptized. I told hna jones that everyone gets baptized when I leave. that is how it was in leopardi. everyone we found right before I left got baptized. that would be good to put on facebook my homecoming. not sure who will want to go, but it would be good. the music ,I will think about. the song I would want isn't in the enlish hymn book, so I will think of what other I want. maybe you can look up oid el toque de clarín. that is what it is called. homemade cafe rio food is perfect for homecoming luncheon.   whatever is less stress. I will make sure I get a picture with elder johnson. as for the mothers day call, I think we are just going to have to do it by regular phone this time. at 3 pm paraguay time on mother´s day in the US. I will send you the phone number next week. as for clothes. you don't need to buy anything new, you can just bring something from my closet. I don't really remember what I have, so it will be like new for me. thanks for everything mom. by the way. did you ever get my letter?
hola familia, bueno, this week I learned a lot. our investigators aren't progressing how we thought, but they are going. we had a few set backs with R and her son and daughter.  did i tell you about them? they are really hard to find.  R works and works. but I love them so much. she is so great. her son A is such a good kid. it didn't rain as much this week. but our shoes got really wet. I had to dry my shoes using our space heater because I couldn't use my other shoes because they have a big hole. but it worked. this week I studied a lot about diligence. diligence it important in missionary work. that is our vision and goal, to become as much like Christ as we can and do it for the rest of our lives. when we focus on that, we realize a lot more of our weaknesses, but at the same time, we can't get discouraged because Heavenly Father is there to help us. He asks us to be perfect like His son, but he knows it will take a while. this week I am going to study patience. we found out who stole our phone. the other night we got a call on our new phone from a guy asking for cynthia. he said that cynthia had called him from this number a few days before. cynthia is the chica in who´s house we knew we had to have lost our phone. we asked her 3 times if she had seen it and she lied to us  .now we know for sure. but we tried to not be mad and handle it how Christ would. it helps that we have nametags because I am not whitney, I am hermana plummer, representative of Jesus Christ, so it helps us be more like Him. well I have to go. time is up. I love you all so much. soooo much!!!! 
love,
hermana plummer

April 23, 2012 Rain, Rain and more Rain

hola mom, dad, y familia, 
mom, did you get the email from the mission? they sent me an email with my travel plans, but they are not the ones you sent me. maybe you can get in contact with the secretary again to tell him that you put me on different flights. also, as for the baptisms that you asked me I will have to see what I can do. i have not way of getting in contact with anyone from my other areas. so i dont even know if they will be able to go. and they have to get recommendations. but at least i could talk with shabanna to take her because she is here. also, as for taking the car across the border. since you cant, I think it is better anyways to take the car to ciudad del este and take a bus from there because the bus will take us exactly where we need to go and back. also, someone told me that it is better this time of year to see the argentino side of the falls anyways, and that there is more to see. but I know you will get all the info from yenny. no I dont have a hairdryer. I still have my straigntener, but it burnt out. doesnt work. the plan seems good to me. I want to ask and see what else there is we could do. 
Also, feliz cumpleaños keri!! i am so bad with birthdays. sorry. love you tons and am super excited to visit you and Chris all the time when i get back!
as for la obra misional, this wee in paraguay, it rained. a lot. my shoes took two days to dry out. we are doing good. this week was a bit of a struggle since we had to stop teaching a lot of investigators that we had a lot of hope for. the family we havent been able to find again. sandra, ahh. we couldnt find her all week. it was so sad. then, finally we found her in the street. it was such a miracle. especially because now we cant call her. we dont have our cell phone anymore. long story. we are almost sure someone stole it. but it was such a miracle to find her. lat week, it didnt work out to do the pancakes, but one night this week, we were so wet and tired. the whole day, every single plan had fallen through, and we just didnt know what elso to do. so we went to yenny´s house and asked her, ¨can we do service for you´? so we came in, and she said that our service can be to make them pancakes. which we did.and they were soooo good. her son had brought a mix and syrup from the US. so we had a bit of dinner, and then went to our last appontment, which was so awesome. haleluia. we are teaching a mom, and her son and daughter. they are so great. she has a son that was baptized a long time ago but lives in ciudad del este now. they really have a sincere desire to know the truth and feel so confused with so many religions that say such different things. we havent taught them very many times, but I can feel the spirit so strong in the lessons. their dad doesnt have any interest yet, but hopefully soon. the son came to church yesterday. the daughter was really sick and the mom working, but she had already told us that she couldnt and would go the next week. they are our little shining star of the week. Heavenly Father alwasy blesses us. also, Shabanna is loving seminary, and Maura is great.
I am feeling just a bit ragged (not just my clothes.  but i know that if I can have a spirit stronger than my body, i can have the strength. I know what i share is true, and that it changes people lives. 
love,
hermana plummer

April 16, 2015

hola mom, dad, and familia,

mom, before I go on, I will ask yenny about the brazilian consulate today. we are going to her house to make pancakes. I am almost sure that you can use temple clothes here. they have extras. that is what the missionaries use all the time when they come. I want to take a few converts to the temple too to do baptisms if that is ok? yes I wrote you a letter. I sent it the week after I sent dad´s, so it should get there soon I hope. it has been a really long time. like 3 months almost. 

well, this week was really good. hna samaniego, our vecina where we live, said that last night she dreamed that we were drinking mate together (mate is a herbal drink that missionaries can't drink) and that I was talking to her in guarani. how I wish i could learn gurarani. she is like our grandma here and is yenny´s mom. they are members for a looong time. pioneers here in lambaré. 38 years ago. M's baptism was so great. she wore a skirt that I gave to her. when she came out of the water she said, ya estoy con Dios. when you translate it, it doesn't work the way it does in spanish, but it means, I am with God. and then when she received the holy Ghost, she was very emotional and so happy. she keeps saying just how relieved she feels and what an answer to her prayers it was that we came to her house. she said that thanks to us, she is on the right path to eternal life. I just can´t wait for mom and dad to meet her. hna little and I sang the primary song about baptism, and a hna in the ward always makes a yummy cake. S was confirmed too yesterday, and her mom came! she had tears during the confirmation. her mom is so great, and I love them so much. hna little and I miss them alot. thank goodness shabanna is going to seminary, because we can't visit her that much. or at all. but what a miracle that the elders of where they live, live in front of them. heavenly father is watching out for her, and we feel she is in good hands. she wakes up to be at seminary at 5 30 in the morning. temprano! we have a new investigator sandra that we taught for the first time on friday and came to church yesterday. she is 21 years old and lives with her sister, brother in law, and uncle. her dad died a few years ago, and her mom has another family. she has attended a lot of different churches and said that she feels confused like joseph smith as to where to be baptized and why they are all so different. it was such a spiritual lesson, and we fasted for her yesterday. sacrament meeting was great with testimonies and the confirmations. and turns out that M is her aunt in some way on the side of M's husband, but they lost contant for 10 years until yesterday. what a miracle. we also found another cute family yesterday! they have lived right by the church for 12 years and the missionaries never talked to them yet. he said that he was always curious about the mormons and wanted to listen. they are way way busy during the week, but pray pray pray they read the chapter we left in the book of mormon. we had a kneeling prayer at the end of the lesson offered by the head of the household, and it was so great. 

this week we had interviews with president callan. that is always good. he asked me to make a list of goals for after the mission about all aspects of my life to share with him in my final interview. I will have to think about it. well, I am out of time. I love you all soooo much. I hope I am not forgetting a birthday again. if so, please forgive. I think it was margaret´s birthday the 14th? it is either the 14th or the 26th. I dont know why I always confuse it.  mom, can you check on that and wish her happy birthday for me? until next week!

love,

hermana plummer

April 9, 2012 Love for her converts

hola mom dad and familia. Felices Pascua! mom, before i forget. the sign things need to say. familias son eternas. be sure to not put familias para siempre. families are forever doesn't translate how you think. they are going to be so cute. thanks.  (Amy (sister in law) and mom are making small tile plaques that say families are forever to give some of the families that have loved Whitney and she them too.  We'll take them with us when we go to pick her up next month.)  dad described the easter dinner. sounds pretty yummy. there is an hermana from the ward that makes something like augratin potatores. she calls them papas savorosas or yummy potatores she says. she speaks english very well. thanks dad for the pictures. everyone looks soooo churro. Nic, I remember looking at my calender of birthdays and said. there aren't any in march, so I don't have to worry. then april started before i knew it, and I didn't wish you a happy birthday last week. lo siento. I love you so much. I don't remember how many years you have, but you can know that you look great for your age.  so don't worry a spec. you still have all your teeth. happy birthday to you too Chris. your birthday was just yesterday, so i think it is ok to wish you feliz cumple hoy. rohayhu chris. te quiro. 

well, as for this week. this week was a bit loco. well, it was semana santa as they say here. everyone left. it is interesting because they have viernes santo. holy friday, the day of the crusifixion of christ. on this day, everything is closed. no one does anything. we were in a lesson with one of our investigators the other day when she commented on how we don't recognize viernes santo the way they do (the catolicos). we were with a member who used to be way catolica. she said that our sunday every week is their holy friday. instead of just dedicating one day out of the year to remember christ, we do it every week. As I watched the conference, I just felt so grateful to have the apotles and prophets who teach us so clearly, what heavenly Father expects of us and what we need to do to return to Him. It is a lot more than what most people think. it takes sacrifice, like joseph smith said. one of my favorite talks of general conference was by Pres. Eyring. I always love his talks. he talked about having a firm foundation of faith to carry us through the trials of life. he said that the way to build that firm foundation is through personal integrity, I thought that was interesting and so true. the way we live our daily life, our daily decisions are what little by little build a firm foundation upon which we cannot fall. helaman 5:12. by the small and simple things in life, we can be happy. 

please pray for S. because of family stuff, they have to move tomorrow. her mom asked us to help her find a place near the church so she can continue with everything. she searched and searched like crazy on saturday when she told us, but we found nothing. she only found a place in a different ward. I think she is going to be able to stay in our ward, but now is far away. I don't know how she is going to get to church and seminary . the other ward meets in our chapel, but they don't have seminary. I kind of started to have a breakdown last night with worry because I started to think about what will happen when we are not here. everything will be ok for now, but when I am not here? It hit me that I have to leave her and maura and gloria and everyone. I Iove them so much and probably will never see them again. I don't want to leave them. It is so hard for me to trust that they will be ok. I just want to be here with them forever to make sure everything is ok and to help them. i have a feeling I am going to be an overprotective mom or something. well, I have to go. oh, by the way. hna little and I stayed together. Heavenly Father answered my prayers. l love you all 

April 2, 2012

This week starts the beginning of Whitney's last and final transfer.  6 weeks from tomorrow Dave and I leave to pick up our sweet Whitney.  I'm excited beyond excited.

hola mom, dad, and familia. sorry mom. I dont know why but i couldnt see your photo. it doesn't work or something on these computers. no mom, i didn't notice hna sargent´s sister. i only met her once. david archuletta neither. how funny. that is great he is going on a mission. I bet they sent him far away. haha that is fine to bring 10 of the famlies are forever. but, make sure you change it. it is wrong to say familias son para siempre. familias son eternas is better. sounds like they are going to be so cute. by the way, yes I get your cards. they are super cute, and I love them, only I wish you would sent pictures of the family instead of pictures of me. I want to see my family. all the pictures I have of my nieces and nephews are old now. except from nicole. well, I haven't purchased much because there hasn't been anywhere in my areas to buy anything. but I bought a few things recently. the scripture covers and stuff. would you or dad want a scripture case or something? I will check on temple clothes. they have a few because we use their clothes when we go. I will ask a member to call and ask or something. I think I would like a day in asuncion to be a tourist. there is a mercado that I would like to go to. I will ask the members and hna little. 

as for the work here, thanks for all of your prayers. this week we saw so many miracles. shabanna´s baptism was great because all of the young women of the ward came and participated. and drum roll. all of her family came! they pulled up to the church all together, and hna little and I looked at each other. no way. well, her mom, step dad, and little brother. they really enjoyed it. woohoo. because of the conference she will be confirmed this coming sunday. I will try and send pictures. conference was so awesome!! I was so sad it ended. every session flew by. we had someone come to every session except the first. It was such a blessing. I prayed and prayed that what was said in the messages could be just what they needed. I have to look over my notes and send some thoughts about it next week. I haven't looked over them much yet. last night, i didn't even write in my journal or read I just went right to sleep. we were soooo tired. sooo happy, but soooo tired. I think I heard the words covenant and atonement more than a million times. a ton about the family, plan of salvation, and love. I learned so much, and just felt such a gratitude to have apostles and prophets of God on the earth. as Pres. Monson spoke, I felt through him the sincere desire Heavenly Father has that every one of His children returns to Him. I felt Heavenly Father´s love through him even though I am thousands of miles away and it was translated into spanish. I know he is God´s prophet on the earth.

one of our investigators is vicki. she is a woman of about 55 or so and lives alone in a very very chuchi (fancy) house. but anyways, she came to conference saturday afternoon. when we called her to confirm the plans she said. remember yesterday when you were here and prayed, as I had asked, for a compañero (she wants a husband), an hour later, I got a call, she said. she said how fast God answers your prayers. it was so funny. everytime we visit she wants to invite us to tea. we drink herbal tea and she drinks cocido. a common drink here that missionaries can't drink. the members drink it, just the missionaries cant. but we are trying to learn to say no. she just says, ¨we are going to drink tea now¨. oh. have to go. I love you all so much. thanks for you love and prayers. I love you!!!

love,

hermana plummer

March 26, 2012 Miracles in Paraguay

Hi mom, dad, and family,

I got the package mom! it came this morning all safe and sound. thanks so much. I'm sorry the office can't get me a Brazilian visa.  We'll just have to see if we can still see the falls?  did you get your Paraguay visas? I hope it all works out.  I don't even know what people do there at the falls. or how to get there. do people spend a few days there? did you ask sis sargent´s mom what they did? I am not sure when to go to coronel oviedo. we don't need to spend a lot of time there because I don't think the members remember me much. I would like to pass by the area and show you and dad a few things and pass by one or two families, but that is it. I will ask people here what else we can do. thanks for doing the classes. pd bio and physics would be first priority for sure. labs fill up fast too though. you would be surprised. then d & c and shakespeare. I don't remember what student development class I wanted and for what credit, but you can sign up for that one you found, and we will see. it is good to have most classes on tue and thurs so I could have other days to work. I don't remember much how I had my schedule the other years. ha. it is a distant memory. I don't know who to say to add names to what you are going to bring? do you need the names, or can I just give you a number and then decided? hna little still has a few of the skirts. I think she his given a few to people who don't have a skirt. everything sounds great. thanks for thinking of others and wanting to help the people here. one thing we could do is take things to the branch president´s house in coronel oviedo or something. that is where skirts and shirts are more needed. 

as for the work here, we have some awesome investigators right now, but they are the only ones we have. we couldn't find anyone new to teach this week hardly, but M finally came to church. she is so cute! she doesn't understand everything about the restoration and everything, but she feels that it is true. she said that so many missionaries from other churches have come by and nothing really had any effect on her. she didn't feel anything. but when we came it was different. she feels that it is true, and is so excited to be baptized. we cracked up laughing yesterday in the lesson because some drunk who lives a few houses down was saying to her, why are you going with the mormons? and stuff like that. he said the mormons are the worst. she said, before I realized it I said, ¨no you are the worst¨. it was so funny because she is the sweetest, soft spoken little lady. we got a laugh out of that one. we also had an awesome lesson with a family that lives one street from us. we contacted them and made an appt to pass by in a few days. but when we got to the appt. their futbol club was playing, so we fixed another appt. this time we took our ward mission leader with us who is a returned missionary. it was the best to have him there. the investigators are so much more relaxed when there is another one like them there. another paraguayo. the mom is a bit more interested than the dad, but she loved it. we passed by 2 days later and she said all excited that she has been reading in the book of mormon. also, turns out that the dad knows the bishop really well and just happened to run into him. the next visit we are going to have in the bishop´s house. pray for them! they are so golden. I hope they keep progressing. that was our miracle of the week. well, I have to go back out into the rain. all the streets are flooded and my shoes and skirt are wet. oh well. it is all worth it. 

love,

hermana plummer

March 19, 2012

hi mom dad and family, sorry dad that you are still not feeling 100%. but that makes me so happy that you and mom were able to go to the temple together after so long. I just love the temple. mom, I haven't gotten the 2nd package yet. I got the first one a few weeks ago and ate all the red vines in one day. haha. my favorites. thanks so much. lambaré is a very big city. yes it is an upscale community. I am not sure you need to bring a lot of white shirts and skirts. well, a few. I will see. at least here in lambaré very few lack those things. skin is ok. as for the brazilian visa. he said that I need one.   I will call again, because you just need to coordinate it with the office elder in charge of travel stuff. I don't know what the law is and stuff. I haven't heard from kate lately. I got a letter from mrs wallace. she is so great and sends me letters, which I love. anyways, I hope the package comes soon. I need it. hna jones gave me a deodorant from the states that i am using thank goodness, but I just really miss MY deodorant. I have absolutely no makeup right now. it is a sad sight.
well I hope you all had a good week. I am sure mike is loving having the whole house to himself. this week here wasn’t as hot, so that was a blessing. I learned a new word. caracola - seashell. I also just bought something to take back to the states. it is super cute and something that all the paraguayos have in their house. I am excited to have it in my house too to always remember paraguay. I realized that I haven't boughten anything. we had a super awesome thing happen, shabanna´s mom said YES! she is way excited for her baptism. at the temple we bought her a personal progress book to start. oh as for the couple, umm. we went to an appointment the other week and she said that they talked and decided they don’t want to meet with us anymore because she is scared of what people will say if they have mormons coming to their house. ya. it was rough. but when one door closes another one opens. I don’t know if I talked about moura. she is 70 years old, and can’t really walk, but is the sweetest ever. she wants to come to church so much and is preparing for her baptism. she always remembers the exact hour that we said we would come, and is waiting for us with her Book of Mormon having read total. she is understanding the concept of the restoration little by little, and has such a faith in Christ and wants to be baptized to follow Him. I will have to take a picture with her to send. this week went by a bit slow because we just couldn't seem to find anyone to teach. we try to do everything, but then everything just falls through. I have a hard time accepting when that happens. I tell myself that it has to be my fault because I must not have done somthing right, but i am learning that it isn’t quite that way. yes there is always something i can do better, but as I read about hope today in preach my gospel, i realized that hope is having calm confidence that the trials we have will be for our benefit in the long run. maybe my mission has had a few more bumps in the road than I would have liked, or maybe it just didn’t go the way I had planned. But I just need to trust in Heavenly Father's will that if i did my part, my mission has been what he knew would teach me what I need for my life. we all have the same objective, but we all also have different things to learn. hope is patiently trusting in the will of God and obediently pressing on. Don’t think that I immediately came up with that. it has been a struggle to feel what I have said, but I am getting there thanks to a lot of help from the Lord and my companion. it is ultimately how one can just be happy. well, I got to go. I love you all so much.
love,
hermana plummer

March 13, 2012 Life in Lambare and living in the city.

They were able to attend the temple today, so their pday and emails were a day late.  Take a look at these pictures that were of the short lived trio companionship in Nemby.  

hi mom dad and family. mom before i forget, did the secretary from the mission contact you about my visa for brazil? I gave him your email. also, I think you have to sign me up for classes soon. not sure when, but it would be good to check on it. it is always at midnight. yenny is the daughter of the couple who we live behind from the ward. familia samaniego. she knows english really well, so I asked her to contact you. she is such an exemplary woman. you would get along. I thought that you might already know from other moms, but just to make sure so that you didnt have a let down. I am glad you are doing better. maybe you should do a fast before you come on the trip so you can make it through the plane ride. but you have been on longer before. also, I forgot to tell you to tell elder richards' mom that her son is doing great. he is my zone leader. also, I talked to elder allphin today and he too is doing well. so you can tell their moms that. I guess elder allphin is in my zone because I saw him today at the TEMPLE! last night I got your dear elder about what aunt kris's  sister's son wrote about his experience in the temple the day of doug's passing. (Elder W is serving in Mexico and had attended the temple the day Doug died, not knowing of his passing.  It was a very sweet experience, feeling his relatives on the other side.) it was 9 months ago for me, since I went to the temple. I just feel so good right now. last week I was still struggling a bit with the changes and a few things, but I am doing better, especially after the temple. there is not other place like it. it truly is like being in heaven but while still being here on earth. everyone is so nice to us, which is refreshing. jk. people are nice here. but I just sat and felt the calmness of the spirit in the last part. one feels such a special connection with our world and the spirit world, knowing that our loved ones are so close. it is like the primary song a child's prayer when the child says, " heavenly father, are you really there? and do you hear and answer every child's prayer. some say that heaven is far away. but I feel it close around me as I pray.´´ I am ready to press forward now. a lot has given me a good shake recently, but there are always those tender mercies that come in different ways.

this week, I was completely blown away by the maturity of the 14 year old we are teaching S. she is so excited for her baptism on april 1st. all we need is the signature of her mom on the record, and we are good to go. she has shared with us how much she is changing and has changed since hna little and her other companion found her (on christmas eve). she feels that it is true and describes to us so sincerely how she feels that someone is there with her listening to here when she prays and that someone being Heavenly Father. she reads a chapter or more in the Book of Mormon every day, and basically I am just in awe of her. please pray for her and her mom especially. it is great too because there a bunch of great young women here that are good support for her and good examples. 

people say that the investigators feel more comfortable with the sister missionaries, but I think they feel a bit too comfortable with us. every single person went on for about half an hour or more telling us all of their problems. I have everyone's problems running through my head. we want to be here to help people, but this week was overload for us. I have so many people I have to pray for it is overwhelming. thank goodness we are sharing what will help them with everything, they just have to let us teach it. well, I am out of time. I love you all so much. please pray that I don't come home a fatling because everyone here wants to feed and feed us and think that when we say no more that it is just because we are embarrassed to say yes, but I really dont want more. haha. we are running every day. thank goodness. well, until next week. 

con mucho amor, 

hermana plummer

March 5, 2012 Unexpected change to Lambare

Hi mom, dad, and family. mom first i am going to answer your question.
What makes me happy? a lot of things make me happy. if I were to write it all, i could go on all day, but one thing here in the mission that makes me happy is when i see how the gospel changes the lives of those with the faith to act on what we teach them. like with G. she is the perfect example. 
Did the elders put in a 3rd bed?  yes the elders put a 3rd bed and a third everything in the house. 
Did you ever watch Amazing Race - a reality show.  They were in Asuncion last week. no I never watched the amazing race.
Did the youth talk about going to EFY? yes, about 10 youth from ñemby went to efy and loved it. the sunday after they all took a bit of time to talk about their experience. it is so great to have it here to strengthen the youth of the church. they are the future.
our trio companionship was awesome and had a lot of fun together that first week. but right now, they will be having fun without me because I am not there anymore. I got a call tuesday night at about 10pm from pres callan. he told me that the hermana that hna little was training was going back home to guatemala and that the next morning I would be going to barrio lambaré. ya. so i am with hna little again in lambaré. I am happy to work with her again because she is way awesome and we got along super bien the last time, but I did not want to leave ñemby. i didnt get to say goodbye to practically anyone. I called three people, the last being gloria, and I was so distraught that I couldn't call anyone else, besides it was way late. lets just say that I cried a lot. we were finding so many people and i was so excited for the people we were teaching and loving our companionship and the ward. we passed through some really rough times and were finally coming out of it, and then I am gone. I felt badly because I wasn’t too excited to come to lambaré. hna little is grateful to have me here to help here because the last week with this companion was really really rough for her. I am excited to work here, the ward is smaller, but the members seem really great, really good, quality people, I have just been missing everyone from ñemby a lot. G made me promise to never forget her, which i could never do. (this was one of Whitney's baptisms) she was crying a lot. especially now that I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone, I really hope it works out for mom and dad to come. it was all really sudden, and I find myself thinking how our investigators are progressing, but I am trying to go with it and dive into the work here. we are teaching a joven shabanna, who had been a bit scared to set a date for her baptism, but the hermanas had invited her to pray, and she put april 1, the sunday of conference for a baptism. we are really excited. hna little said that it has been a challenge to work with the members here, but we fasted with the bishop and the elders in the ward too for their help, and the bishop spoke in sacrament meeting about how much we need their help if we want to grow as a ward. the success of missionary work is minimal without the help of the members. the members here are great, so I know we will be able to get them excited to work with us. so that is the news of the week.
I am grateful for the help i am receiving from Heavenly Father these past few weeks. this change was hard for me, and I didnt want it, but I am trying really hard to be humble and to try and learn what Heavenly Father wants me to learn. sometimes it comes bit by bit and is too hard.  I want to learn it all right now because I can’t take any more surprises. I hope you all are doing okay. you are all always in my prayers. I know you are all busy, but I would really love to hear from someone as to how you are doing or something. it doesn’t need to be long, just a quick email. I really miss you all.
love,
hermana plummer

Trio Companionship for only 1 week. But what fun for that week.

Hna Plummer, Arnell and Jones

The Three Amigos

Feb 27, 2012 Thoughts of Uncle Doug - Atonement and Trio Companionship in Nemby

hi mom dad and family. I sure missed you all this week. I can imagine that is was a rough week for everyone, but I am glad everyone was able to be together. thanks mom and dad for your emails last week. dad I sent you a letter in the mail and had sent mom one the week before, so you should be getting those soon. dad, I took the time to write to you what I was feeling, and what I wanted you to know. i hope you get it soon. it was really hard at first to do what you said and to think about others like Christ would do.  All I wanted to do was read my letters from you and mom over and over again in an attempt to feel close to you. But I realized that just opened the wound again and again. I knew I shouldn't keep reading the letter, but all I wanted was to feel close to you. So on wednesday hna jones, hna arnell, and I sat for about 15 minutes at 2pm here, and for a moment I thought and prayed as I remembered uncle doug and thought of you all. (This was our special time we planned to be with Whitney.  Stop everything at 2pm and think about one another, our family, Uncle Doug and the atonement. We were in the pre-funeral viewing for Whitney's, dad's twin brother Doug.) after, I prayed, and then we went to work. I know that only through the help of heavenly Father was I able to forget what I wanted and focus on what God wants, which is what I'm teaching others, what they so desperately need to know too, that through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we can prepare ourselves to be together as families for eternity. that knowledge doesn't bring someone back to life and doesn't fill the hole that now exists where, for example, uncle doug had filled, but it calms the pain and makes it much more bearable. hna arnell gave me a talk by elder holland called, lessons from liberty jail. I recommend it. he talks about how without the atonement, all of our trials, that in our eyes are sometimes so unbearable, would be so much worse if He had never suffered to be able to succor us. this morning i was reading in Mark the chapter of the crucifiction of Christ. it brings tears to my eyes what He so willingly did for us. the atonement is the center of everything, and it is so true that the more one learns about the Atonement, the more he or she is able to find joy in life and have the desire to follow Him, because the Spirit touches something inside of us and changes us. 

on another note, who is hna arnell you might be thinking? she is our new companion. we are a trio. another blessing form the Lord to give me support right now. she is great. from riverton, utah, has 4 and a half months in Paraguay, and came from Coronel Oviedo. it has been fun asking her how everyone is doing there. we are all really excited. it takes adjusting, and it is kind or weird at first, but so much fun. she is also 6 feet tall and towers over me. 

we are teaching some really great people. I love them so much. N is going through such a rough time, doesn't have a job, then this week her cell phone and her refrigerator broke, which put her super anxious and stressed, but she always reads in her Book of Mormon. she was super stressed about everything, so didn't feel up to going to church, but please pray for her that she will come next week and that she can start to feel her faith grow. she is so special to us. well, I am already out of time. I love you all so so much. oh and mom, I think the valentines package came, because I am going to get one today, but the other is still on the way. thanks so much. 

love,

hermana plummer

Feb, 20 2012

This was a tough week for Whitney and our family.  Whitney's uncle Doug, Dave's twin brother passed away unexpectedly this past week.  Pres and sister Callan were able to go to Whitney's apartment to share the sad news.  We were given permission to skype with Whitney on Sunday.   We needed this time together to mourn and sort of be together, which was a tender mercy.

hi mom and dad and family. I sit here in the cyber wanting to have something to say to be of support to you all, but at the same time I feel just a bit desperate for the same and to just be with you. it was such a tender mercy of the lord to talk to and see you yesterday mom and dad. on saturday, I never expected to get news of this kind. pres callan first read me the email dad had sent him. we talked for a bit and then pres callan gave me a blessing before they left. I told you I would send a few things hna jones and I wrote down to be of comfort in the coming weeks. he blessed me that I will have the strength that I need to be able to stay focused and that I can also be a strength to my family. he blessed me with the understanding and assurance that doug is happily serving beyond the veil having lived a life of service. he blessed me to find strength in the convenants that I have made. he blessed me with a love for the people here and for my family and that i will seek for and receive guidance from my family. and he Blessed me to know that heavenly father loves me. saturday was a bit hard. I hoped to be able to focus, but it started out pretty rough to focus on the people we were teaching. I know heavenly father needs my whole heart to be here, but it is really hard. But I know with time I will be able to keep focused. there are times like these in which we feel such comfort knowing the plan of salvation, knowing that heavenly father´s plan is perfect and that if we keep our covenants, we can be reunited once again. after my blessing, I was reading in alma 12:28-30. it just happened to be what I was reading. it says that God created his plan long before we came to earth and that it all has a purpose. it talks about the angels sent to adam and eve to reveal the plan of salvation and all of these truths to His children. As I thought about it, I thought about all the angels God has sent into each of our lives to teach us about and help us find strength in God and his plan. It doesnt mean it isn't painful, but I can't even imagine the pain not knowing that we would be together again. Doug was like a second dad to all of us. I know we all feel that way. he loved and served us as his own. I know we are all so forever grateful to have had him in our lives. we will miss him so much. our family has been through a lot, but we are strong because we have each other. I long so much to be there with you all, but I know this will be a time in which I will learn even more to rely on the Lord.
this week we were blessed in many ways. we had some really special experiences in finding and teaching people with such a sincere desire to find their faith and turn to Christ. on saturday we taught N, who I may have talked about last week. we couldn't find her all week this past week, but we finally found her on saturday. we taught about the book for mormon, what it is, and how, what is found in it helps us in our lives. it is amazing how the spirit, if we listen, leads us to know what to say or to ask. the right question at the right time can be what gives them the trust to share with us their worries or doubts. when we invited her to baptism, she began to open up to us and to share all the things that she feels have debilitated her faith, but the desire she has to find it again and to help her sons. her husband died 6 years ago, and she feels so alone. we shared with her alma 7:11-12, which describes the atonement of Christ. she felt like it was talking to her. we left feeling so grateful for the Gospel and the opportunity to share it with those who are searching. well, I have to wrap things up. I love and miss you all so much, and I love with all my heart the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in all of its fullness. we are so blessed.
love,
hermana plummer
here are a few pictures of the area,  and la familia correa from the ward.

Feb 13, 2012

hi mom and dad and family. mom, thanks so much for sending the package. I hope the silly string cans don't explode in the airplane. if not, I am sure the kids here will love it. by the way, all the members to whom I gave the temple recommend holders absolutely loved them. they were so excited to show me when they put it in. thank you so much. as for the travel plans. hmm. I think one day in Coronel Oviedo will be good enough. I am not sure they will remember me. all I know is that the member who we tried to buy a Mormon Doctrine in Spanish was really bummed that we couldn't get it. but a family in the ward here has it in Spanish. they said they got it in the distribution center in Argentina because the lady who translated it is from there. maybe there is a way to look for it there. so ya one day or less there and in Nemby and Leopardi. I am not sure where I would want to go to church. that is a hard one. I will ask about the falls too. be prepared to do a lot of walking. the zone conference was so awesome. I learned a lot. as you know hna Jones and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch this change, but we left with a lot of energy to find new people and work hard, and we saw so many miracles this week. we found a lot of new people who are super golden. one day we were walking looking for a contact or something, but as we passed by a street not in the direction of the contact, hna Jones stopped and started into the street. I was a bit confused, but thought, if she wants to go in this street, it has to be because the spirit told her to do it because otherwise there would be no reason to think that street would lead us where we were headed. sure enough, the first house we knocked on, the woman received us very warmly and in fact was a woman we had contacted a few weeks before but we didn't understand how to get to her house. the streets don't have names half the time, and it is more like, turn here and there and a block and a half turn at the house with the mango tree. She was so happy to receive us. it was a really spiritual lesson. she just said how content she felt and really wanted to go to church. unfortunately something urgent came up, but she for sure is going to come next week. ojala! she is a widow with 3 sons and has recently lost her job. is going through a hard time. I know heavenly father sends us to those who are prepared when they will be humble enough to open their hearts to the spirit. she is really great, and we are really excited to teach her again. another story that is super awesome but kind of sad at the same time goes like this: last Monday hna Jones got her hair cut at a tiny place by a woman who was there with her daughter. her daughter is the happiest and nicest person I have ever met. you would not believe. so as I waited we talked and she asked questions about what we are doing here in Paraguay and really wanted a pamphlet or something. we didn't have any. I don't know how that happened, so we promised to pass by another day. so about Thursday we were walking and the thought came to my mind, we can go to their house. we found the house and she was so excited that we came. she started telling us that she is very interested in all religions and really wanted to read about what we believe. so we asked, why is it that you like to learn about all the religions? and she said, ¨it is because we are looking for the true one. we really want to find which church is true¨. we were like, huh? did I just hear that? and then she was asking, where is the church, we want to come this Sunday. so we taught the restoration and invited her to prepare to be baptized. she said, oh and what do you have to do to be baptized? is there a way that I can go in Japan? huh? Don't know how we missed that, but she lives in Japan. the mom lives here, but her daughter got married and moved to Japan with her husband and has been visiting since December. we were super bummed, but she is so set on finding the church in Japan and keeps asking if we are going to be able to get her information as to where to go. maybe her mom will get baptized, here, but for sure she will get baptized in Japan. Doesn't matter where, all that matters is that she finds the truth she is looking for. I know those that are prepared are waiting for us, we just have to be patient and work hard and follow the spirit. our purpose is to help others come unto Christ, but it doesn't matter how hard I try if I'm not doing it by the spirit. never in my life had I depended so much on the Lord. It is such preparation for the future. but when I see the problems and trials that people here have, I am so humbled and reminded of how blessed our family is. yes we have had our our trials, but what i see here puts it all into perspective. well, I have to go. by the way, I have new shoes. well not really. my brown shoes had a big hole, so I took them to a shoefixer, and he put a whole new sole on both. they look a bit weird, but for about 10 dollars, my feet stay dry. that is a blessing. well, I love you all so much. I miss you all tons and tons. it is so crazy how my love for my family has grown being away from you all, but it is true. 

love,

hermana plummer

oh and could you send ideas on how to do that activity about the kingdoms of glory or something? we want to do it for a ward night. could you look it up or find an idea? Thanks

oh and Luz told me how she talked to you on FB and gave me a hug from you. it made me happy. love you tons

Feb 6, 2012

hi mom and dad and family, I couldn't see your videos. I am kind of sad. I will ask if I can watch them. thanks for your emails. well, I haven't read the email from mom yet. I am going to print it. thanks mom for being the first to get our BYU apartment. Don't worry about anything. I know it will all work out just fine. 

happy birthday Mike! I finally remembered a birthday before it is too late. Happy 24th! oh and mom and dad told me that you got accepted to utah state! woohoo. That's so great. 

oh and also, brian and amy, how is the house going? have you started to build yet?  send pictures please! 

as for things in Paraguay, I remember mom that you told me how elder holmgren had been going through a tough time for a bit and that they were walking a lot and reading lots of talks about adversity and stuff. well that is us right now. we have been walking . . . a lot. It has been a rough few weeks. It is definitely a learning experience though. I talked last week about how we have been trying to look for all the blessings every day. that was a challenge for me some days, but we both felt that we needed to keep going at it. that was one of the main focuses of our fast yesterday, help with having an attitude of gratitude. I re-read the talk by pres. Monson the divine gift of gratitude. It was just what I needed. I don't have it with me or I would have written a few quotes, you will just have to read it. it is from the Oct 2010 general conference. He shared an example of during Chirst's ministry, when about 4000 people were traveling with him as he taught. the people were really hungry not having eaten, but the disciples said to Him, how are we going to feed them with so little food. Pres Monson then made a point, are we a bit like them? focusing on what we lack instead of what we have? then Christ gave thanks in prayer, and AFTER is when the miracle we all know happened when they fed the thousands with just a few loaves of bread and fish. I had never thought about it that way before. what a lesson that was for me that of course, we are not going to see miracles if we are not grateful for what we already have been given. also that to feel grateful and not express thanks is like wrapping a present and not giving it. it is important that we give thanks to Father in Heaven, and not routinely, but specifically. I indeed feel very grateful for the important lessons I learn every day, that I know are meant to help me be more like Christ. when I am walking in the hot sun and sweating to death feeling frustrated, I lose sight of the big picture a bit. But if I take a step back and remember the Savior and His perfect example and his perfect sacrifice, it gives me the strength to accept the trial and to learn. After all that happened in the week, or actually what didn't happen, we had a glimpse of light. we had decided to look for an old investigator, and while stopping to ask if they knew the person or the place, the woman said, oh I was baptized in the Mormon church when I was 12. she now is 40 or so. I stopped going when I had about 18 years, but all my family was baptized and my mom still goes. she let us in, and then told us how her husband also had been baptized a long time ago but that they had kind of just fallen away. they have been living in this house for 2 years, and the missionaries had never known. we pass by her house all the time, but had never seen her either. we taught the restoration to her and her 16 year old daughter, who loved it. she said that she wants to come back to church and knows that it is what will fill the emptiness that she often feels, like something is lacking. it was a pure miracle from God. I quickly was sure to pray and give thanks to heavenly father. 

we also had a great lesson with a 19 year old who sincerely wants to follow Christ and to know the truth. nothing brings the spirit more than when one of our investigators, at the end of a lesson, sincerely prays and asks to know if it is true? 

P came to church yesterday, which was a miracle too. he hasn't come in more than a month because of a few problems, but when he walked in, I just felt so happy. well, I love you all soooo much. I know that the trials we have really are meant to help us grow closer and to rely more fully on our Savior, who will always be there to lift us up. 

love,

hermana plummer

I got this from a sweet, college age girl in Paraguay on my FB page, Sunday night.  Melts a mamma's heart.  This is one reason Whitney is in Paraguay.

>> Hi sister, we don't know each other but I know your daugther Hna. Plummer,

>> she is serving at my ward, Nemby.. and I would like to share with you that

>> today your daugther testimony really touched my heart! I felt how the Lord

>> talked to me through her! And bytheway I wanna thank you for preparing her

>> so well to help and love the people here in Paraguay! Muchas gracias

>> hermana!

Jan 30, 2012

Baptism for V

Ward supporting baptism

Recent convert C and her grandchildren

Caught in a rain downpour

hi mom and dad and family, thanks for your emails. I am glad you had a nice sabbath. I wish I could say my sabbath was super great, but this week was challenging. I always feel such a relief after church, but we just really struggled finding anyone to teach this week. we had a few let downs with investigators we were so sure were golden. these past few weeks have been a challenge, but perhaps heavenly father is trying to teach me to be more grateful. we are trying to help each other be more positive and point out the small miracles to not get discouraged. that is an important lesson. we read again the talk from the conference “It is better to look up.”  it is a great reminder to not feel heavy laden, but to look up with hope and faith in God. Dad you asked me if there are things that remind me of my childhood. I actually have a lot of songs I listen to on my ipod that do just that. remind me of the days when you would put church music on the intercom on sunday mornings. like consider the lilies and a few others. they are special songs to me. mom, i was thinking last week, and I feel like it is best to not talk about after the mission. it is better for me to trust that the spirit will lead you to find the right place at byu. kate said it all. she knows alot more than me about that kind of stuff. haha. I can just imagine her saying it all. everything sounds great. thanks also for the package you sent. I am way excited. I still have on my night stand the card you made from last valentines day. but i think i lost a few letters.  i shower every night and every morning. there is no way i could sleep without showering. I think for that reason our water bill was a bit high. oops.
well, like I said, this week was a bit rough, but we managed to have some great lessons. we are teaching a woman who has the cutest little baby. her baby has been really sick. in and out of the hospital for the past 3 months and only has nine months. the little baby is doing alot better, so she is in her house more, so we can teach her more. she always says how she feels such an alivio when we teach her, so relaxed. she has been going through a lot lately, and the restored gospel of jesus christ is like a breath of fresh air when we are feeling burdened. we don’t have a bunch of people right now, but that is only temporary. but yes, mom, it would be so great if you could say some prayers for salvador aquino. he is really discouraged about a few things in his personal life that impede him from being baptized. he is reading a bunch in the book of mormon, but has doubts and difficulites that are hard to find. he is a huge iceberg. the surface is only the beginning.
one thing we have been trying to do this week is even when we are walking back to the house hungry and without many lessons, we each have to say 5 or 10 blessing that we received that day. it really makes a difference in how we finish the day and start the next. being here in paraguay will make any one of us realize just how blessed we are. we meet new people every day, each with a different story. i feel so blessed to be able to bring to them just what will give them the hope they so desperately need. many times they don’t quite realize, because of a few factors, that what we have is what they need, but nonetheless, we have it and have to share it.
I am sending a few pictures. one is of us with cesi and her grandkids, the baptism of vicente, and us after we got caught in the rain. totally soaked. by the way, I am not sure how, but all the members keep saying, oh we were looking at pictures of you on facebook. pictures that I never sent. hna bracho is funny. I lent her my camara for something, and next thing I know, they are all looking at my pictures with the elders of the ward when they ate lunch with them. haha. my mission is an open book now. enjoy. they moved to another barrio, and we miss them a lot. well, I have to go. time up. love you all sooooo much.
love,
hermana plummer