District in Nemby

hola familia, hope you all are doing well. I think I sweated my body weight this week, but other than that things are good. V was baptized and confirmed this weekend! before the baptism hna jones and I were way stressed because they were supposed to be there at 6:30 and didn't get there until 7:30, but it all turned out well and was super spiritual. hna jones and I sang I like to look for rainbows from the primary. V is so funny. you have no idea. he and his mom are so funny together. every time we teach them, we try not to laugh so much. he was really excited, and the hno that baptized him gave him a white shirt and tie too. it was really nice of him. a miracle of this week was S. remember S that was an investigator of hna little and me and then we saw her again, but could never find her in her house. then the other day we saw her again, and she said that she wants to prepare to be baptized. we are pretty excited about her. she is so great. 

we had interviews with pres callan on wednesday. he told me that I can stop worrying so much because I can know that my mission president is happy with what I am doing. that kind of made me feel more tranquila. sometimes I just need to take a breath and remember that heavenly father knows we aren’t perfect and that he doesn’t expect us to be perfect. something that I kind of realized this week is that sometimes it is hard to forgive ourselves because we look at our mistakes through our eyes, through the eyes of someone who isn’t perfect and who doesn’t quite have mastered the pure love of Christ, charity. for that reason, we don’t quite understand how it is that Christ, with his pure love and infinite patience, can forgive us and forget what we did wrong. to be able to apply more fully the atonement in our lives, we need to develop more charity, more of the pure love of Christ for others and also for ourselves. how do we do it? not easily. moroni says that we have to pray with all the energy of our hearts to obtain it. this was something very special that the spirit taught me, but that I feel that others need too. we all are in progress of learning how the atonement works to cleanse us. 

we went to the hogar de niños again this week. a bunch really wanted to come to church, but their leader person said that they can’t come. we were a bit bummed out, but we plan to visit once a week. it is really fun. definitely one of the highlights of my week. the next time I will take some pìctures. I have pictures to send, but we had to use a different cyber this week, and I can’t do it here. we took a picture last night of us soaked from head to toe. sure enough, right as we were walking home at night, it started to rain, harder and harder. we ran home, but still were completely soaked. but it was refreshing. well, I am out of time.  I love you and miss you all so much. mike, I am still waiting for my letter that you started in august. hint. 

love,

hermana plummer

Jan 16, 2012

hola familia, firstly, I have to wish my niece a happy late birthday. Happy Birthday Leilani!!! I always remember birthdays right after leaving the cyber and have to wait until the next week. david and lindsay, please give her a big hug and kiss from aunt whitney. well, I hope you all are doing well, this week we got a bit of a break from the heat because it rained. and I mean it rained. we left the house, and it began to pour. I always have the greatest stories of how fun missions are in paraguay. we were trying to avoid the river in the street by climbing some hill. then the zone leaders called. so I was trying to talk to them and climb this hill, and then I saw a bus coming, so I was trying to back up to avoid the wave of water that would hit me if I didnt get out of the way. but as I tried to back up, I realized that the bus driver was laughing as he pulled closer and closer to where we were. yup to intentionally splash us. but the best part was that because of all this, ya I fell in the mud. I am sure everyone in the collectivo (bus) had a kick out of that. it was pretty funny. I was so muddy, but hna jones used her water to clean off all the mud. I was basically wet all day long. great fun. on another note, we found 3 families this week! I was pretty excited. we are praying every day to find a family that is prepared to be baptized. i know we will find one. or maybe we already found them.
please pray for V this week. he attended a baptismal service of the elders on saturday and is excited for his baptism this saturday. he and his mom have been going through some rough stuff lately, but I know that they can get through it all. we found out that he was married before, but that his wife had died. his mom has talked to him about the temples, and he has a strong desire to be able to go so he can be sealed to her for eternity.
yesterday we had a super awesome experience. a few weeks ago a woman told us about a home for children. it isn't an orphanage, but where they take in children who i guess for whatever reason need a home. so yesterday we went. turns out there are about 15 boys who live there, and there are señoras who take turns managing things. so we came, and they were all really excited to participate. there are a few that are special needs too, and as they were so loving and welcoming to us, I felt how brian must feel so privileged to be around them every day. they have such pure hearts. there was one who doesn't really talk, but just ran up to us and gave us the biggest hug, and i was just so happy. turns out also that 2 of the boys are members. I don't know what happened in their lives to bring them to this home, but they were so excited to get a book of mormon. most of them don't know how to read, but we mostly talked about Christ and his love for them and a bit about the book of mormon. it was the highlight of my week. I feel the love heavenly father has for his children, and I can't even describe what a privilege it is to be in his hands, to dedicate this time to nothing but that. to bring his children to the truth and to his love. well, that is all for today. my two stories for the week. I love and miss you all tons and tons.
love,
hermana plummer

District 1 Zone 3 Nemby with investigator

Hna P and convert

District Christmas Activity

Jan 9,  2012

hola familia, how are you?  I kind of realized last week that I didn’t even wish you a happy new year in my email. I really can’t believe it is 2012 already. it seems like just yesterday I graduated from high school, but that was almost 4 years ago, and here I am in parguay. 4 years ago I never thought this was in the plans for me, but will be eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for making it part of His plans for me. who knows what 2012 will bring for our family. so many posibilities. I hope you all passed the new year well. at this time of year, everyone is always making goals and new years resolutions I guess. I was never one to do much of that only because I knew that I wouldn’t stick to it. ha. just being realistic. but i guess since the mission is all about setting goals, that will change from now on. i actually have a desire to do it and to stick to it. for me right now, my goals are focused on what I am doing here, but is something very important to carry with me the rest of my life. and that goal is being in tune with the spirit. I was reading the general conference issue of the liahona yesterday about teaching according to the spirit by elder richardson, I think. it talks about how we shouldn’t try to teach by winging it and saying we are going through the spirit. But having the spirit is so vitally important in missionary work. it says in doctrine and covenants that if we don’t have the spirit we don’t teach. I can’t do anything if I don't have the spirit. but he, of course applies this to the family too. parents teaching their children etc.. it is so awesome. recently I have really realized how I have changed in that I don’t have any desire to do anything that could offend the spirit because I realize how desperately I need Him. I still need to have a goal more concrete, but that is a focus I have for the rest of my mission and to carry it into life after also.
a miracle that happened this week was on tuesday. an old investigator, C, that was so great had to leave her house because of family problems. I thought I would never see her again. but as we were leaving our district meeting on tuesday, she showed up at the church and said that she had returned home and wants to be baptized. what a miracle. she has really been throught alot. and I mean a lot. she has such a sincere desire to change her life and follow Christ. i am so excited for her. she has a few challenges in her path, but I know with faith and prayer she will be able to overcome them. also, S is reading a ton in the book of mormon. he is such a testimony of how the book of mormon changes our hearts. he sends us texts of the scriptures that he likes the most and came to church yesterday. he got there before us. I love the book of mormon so much and really is the key to everything.
on another note. we found the biggest scorpion under my bed the other day. but I handled it with calmness. after having to kill so many bugs, it doesn’t even phase me. Ummm, that is a lie, but it is less than before. (Mom and dad remember hearing a scream from Whitney's bedroom, while living in Georgia.  A scorpion had fallen into her bed from the ceiling.  Sounds like she handled this scorpion a bit better.) well, I have to go. i love you all so much. pray that we don’t scare people away with how dirty and sweaty we are every day. that would be great.
love,
hermana plummer

que los cumplas feliz      Happy Birthday to you
que los cumplas feliz      Happy Birthday to you
en tu dia dichoso            in your day happy       (Google translate doesn't always work)
que los cumplas feliz      Happy Birthday to you


hi mom and dad, MOM I can't believe I didn't wish you a happy birthday last monday. when we were in the store afterwards I realized that your birthday was going to already have passed by, by today. sorry, but I want you to know how much I love you and that I thought of you cumpliendo años (fulfilling years) on your birthday.
dad, we had the same lesson in relief society on sunday. it was way great. so true!
sounds like all should be well with my ecclesiastical endorsement since I deferred properly my scholarship. right? 
1.   no I don’t have a guarani name tag, but i want to buy one before I leave.
2.   sorry I havent sent pictures, I was receiving so many!! woo. but looks like hna bracho sent some to you. haha
3.   tell hna lozano that I say hi too.
4.   the name of the single lady and her children are...... and.......... thanks bunches for putting them on the temple prayer roll and for praying for them.
5.  I bought a measuring tape to get my measurements for the bridesmaid dress, but forgot to get measurements.  I'll make sure I do it for next week.
love you so much. please pray that I can stay focused until the end and love love love the next 4 and a half months.
love,
your daughter

Jan 2, 2012 Feliz Año Nuevo

Feliz Navidad in Nemby

Christmas Dinner

hola familia, thanks nic for the pictures of your visit. they are loading right now so I can see them. I love seeing your faces. pictures are the best! more please!! well, I am thinking of what to tell you all from the happenings of this week. I get confused if i have already told certain things in my emails or if I only wrote them in my journal. sorry if there are repetitions. well, it is official that anyone here who asks my first name just looks at me weird after I say it. we were looking for a former investigator and knocked a door of a family, who let us in. we came in with plans to teach them of course, but they had other plans. the minute we sit down they just start talking and talking and bringing out pan dulce and leche (pan dulce is i guess sweet bread that they typically eat at christmas and new years.) they all love it, but i am not sure why. the bread is fine, but it has these dried fruits in it. kind of awful. hna jones cannot eat it. I tried to stop from laughing as she tried to hide that she was putting it in her backpack while the señora was trying to teach her guarani. we did our best to leave, but basically we walked away laughing. the people of paraguay are so generous. jaja. 

we worked really hard this week. hna jones and I have been working on teaching with more unity this week. i love it. we did a special fast on tuesday to help us have more faith and meet the new goals president callan has set for this new year and also to help us have more unity and have the spirit more when we teach and stuff. we are beginning to receive answers to our prayers, and I am so grateful. we also have been teaching alot of children. I feel like they teach me more than we teach them. they have such pure hearts. we are teaching a señora antonia. she is hard to find, but we are teaching her 3 kids that have 8,9, and 11 años. the son with 11 years said that he knows that the church is true because right after we left the other day, he went and prayed and felt the spirit whisper to him. I don't know how to describe what he said, but it was so precious. there is nothing more precious than hearing children pray. 

I have a few pictures to send, but I don't have my camera right now. we have another stream that we have to cross, and every time it is another experience. other missions just aren't quite as fun as paraguay. we all get here at first, we freak out a bit with all the bugs and dirt, but after a while, it is just normal. always something interesting. well, I have to get going. oh mom and dad, an elder told me that the eclesiastical endorsement for byu is due this month or something? I think you might have to get on that stuff coming pretty soon. could you look into that? well I love you all so much. I truly know and feel that this is the Lords work and that His hand is in it every moment we let Him. what a blessing to be here. I have to live it up! love you all so much!

love,

hermana plummer

hi mom and dad, to answer your questions,

1. How do the Paraguayos celebrate New Years?

they set off a lot of fireworks and everyone goes to the interior to visit family. not too different than in the usa.

2. Do you change church schedules? 

we didn't change ward times, we just changed the schedule to sacrament first.  this year starts at 8 30.

3. yes, for Margaret's bridesmaid dress I will try and find some way to know my measurements. my jeans fit fine. maybe I can weigh myself in the store to get an idea. tell her I felt badly I couldn't talk to her on skype, but that I sent 2 letters. ask her if she got them? I will send another soon!  (Whitney was skyping with us and her best friend Margaret, whom she'll be a bridesmaid in Hawaii this summer, tried to beep in.  Whitney felt horrible but was following the rules.)

4.Who are your zone leaders and district leaders?

my zone leaders are elder boydston from idaho I think and elder ponce from honduras. district leader elder avendaño from mexico I think

5. The Canete familia came to visit on Christmas? 

yes hna cañete, david, vera, and silivia came on Christmas right before I called you. it was such a sweet gesture.

6. Your hair is so long.  

yes my hair is way long. hna ramos cut it once but I need it again. 

also mom, I didn't tell you last week how much I appreciated your gifts for the members and the Christmas stuff. it was so amazing.

Love,

hna p

Dec 26, 2011 Feliz Navidad

Canete Famila, Silvia, Whitney and Hna Jones

Feliz Navidad

"The River Crossing"

I received two pictures of Whitney this week, but not from Whitney. See attached.  The Canete familia and Silvia from Leopardi, Whitney's last area, came to visit her in Nemby for Christmas and looks like a Christmas stocking in her hand.  How sweet was that and then sent me the picture on facebook.  I thanked Silvia for taking such good care of Hna Plummer.  She said We Love Her!!!  Mama Canete loved Whitney as a daughter. The other picture I got from Hna Troesch, on FB, her last companion that has gone home.  Another "River Crossing..."  We were able to skype with Whitney on Christmas Day.  Mom, dad and Mike at the house.  Amy and Raelyn joined us for a few moments but her phone died, then we got Nicole's family connected.  So fun..  When we had 3 people on skype the pictures froze a few times but it was wonderful to see and hear her. Whitney bore her testimony in Spanish at the end, and of course we all cried.  Grateful for the technology of skype.

hola familia, last night was so awesome! I loved seeing your faces and hearing your voices. the skype wasn't perfect but none the less was so great. too bad your call dropped amy. but i was so happy to hear your voice and raelyn too. All the kids are all grown up.  for the rest, i love you too. hope you had a great Christmas! i miss you all. next time we talk will be only a few days before I'm released from my mission. can you believe it? but thank goodness I still have time to learn more and experience more of the mission in Paraguay. Christmas was really different here. mostly because it has been blazing hot. more thank 40 degrees celsius. haku! we were teaching persio with his mom, and seriously, I sweat more just sitting there than i did when i played tennis in the heat in georgia. but then it rained, which brings a bit of a cool off.  Thank goodness. 

Christmas eve we ate with a familia B in the ward (by the way mom she solicited your friendship on facebook but said that you haven't accepted.) it was funny because they all wait until midnight to eat, but we couldn't, so they prepared the food early and just sat and watched us eat. well we talked of course, but it was kinda funny. also, they set off a ton of fireworks. more on Christmas than on new years. I also took pictures of their nativities. they make them out of leaves and put fruit in them. i think I might have already said that last week. oh well. today we had a district activity and talked about Christmas in the mission. we all agreed that being here at this time has caused such an increase in our love and appreciation for the Savior. it is all centered around Him. i remembered the part in the Book of Mormon when samuel the lamanite prophesy's about the coming of Christ and the sign of his birth when there will be no night for 2 days. the sun will go down, but it will still be light. i thought about how this sign of his birth was so perfect because he is the light of the world. He came to bring light and hope to mankind. cool huh. 

we are working with a few really great people right now. they all have different needs, but at the same time so similar. they all need to feel the love heavenly Father has for them. V was going to be baptized this next Saturday, but worked all week and we didn't get to teach him last week. it was a huge bummer. he feels really happy learning about the gospel and wants to feel more of it, but he really needs your prayers. he has a few challenges that make it hard for him to really grasp what it is all about. as missionaries it is so important to teach according to the needs of each person individually. that is why preach my gospel is so inspired. i don't know what we would do without it. but he is so great and has such a pure heart. i can really see that in him. 

each week we have a sweet experience to visit an abuelita (grandma) antonia. she is a member but doesn't come to church because she can't walk and a few other things. we visit her every Wednesday. we took her some food from the end of the year dinner of the ward and read from luke 2 and sang Christmas songs with her on Christmas eve. everytime I visit her i feel the love Heavenly Father has for every one of his children. reminds me of the talk by Pres Uchtdorf from the conference called "You are not Forgotten." she sometimes feels forgotten, but i feel so blessed to be the Lords hands to help His children remember that they are not forgotten, and that He always knows what we need and where we are. that is one of the greatest testimonies that i have gained, that Heavenly Father knows each and every one of his children, because when they thought they were lost from his sight, he sent us to tell them that He is there. time and time again I see that. well, I have to go. I love you all so much! feliz navidad!!!!

love,

hermana plummer

Dec 19, 2011

Whitney gets to skype on Christmas Day from the church!!!  Such a blessing we don't have to talk over the noise of a cyber and we know it will work..  The Lord knows this mamma needs to see her beautiful face.

hola familia, I am so excited!! i can’t believe Christmas is in a week. Mom, we took pictures of the decorations you sent us, set up in the house. i will try and remember to send them. it made me so happy and we are always listening to Christmas music. in the lessons, we almost always sing to start them out. I think we have sung every Christmas song in the hymnal a million times. but I don't even care.  Christmas here is different, but I like how it isn't quite so commercialized like it is in the US. almost everyone has a manger scene somewhere in their house or yard. they are a bit different than in the us. I will have to take a picture to send. they put fruit up too or something. right now is the season of a lot of fruits like mango. thar are mango trees everywhere. and I mean everywhere. it is always funny when someone says, oh I live by a big mango tree. wow. thanks for describing all of the houses in paraguay. there are a lot of different types too. they don't even sell them in the stores because they are so abundant naturally here. 

this week was a learning experience.

on another note. V is doing great. he is going good for his baptism on the 31st. we are trying to be more creative in teaching him because he has a very short attention span. so on Saturday we used an example of repentance, baptism and the holy ghost. we have a dirty cup. and repentance and baptism is how we clean the cup. it is all sparkling clean, but the way to complete it is to fill it up with clean water, which is the holy ghost. the holy ghost is what fills us up after being cleansed, or to say it sanctifies us. I am so grateful for the gift of the holy ghost to be our consolador and to guide us in our lives as we strive to endure to the end. I still have a lot to learn, but I am learning the role of the spirit in all aspects of our lives, and how important it is to follow the spirit. on Tuesday we were walking past a park on the way to an appointment. I felt an impression to contact a house but said no, but we need to visit E.  when we got to E, she wasn't even there. so I said. we have to go back to that house. when we went back to the house, the woman at first said she couldn't because she had to leave, but when I insisted just a little bit more, she suddenly began to tell us how this week was the anniversary of the death of her son and that it wasn't even one month since her husband died and that her brother and sister had both died this year too. she then invited us in. she told us about her son and her husband as tears streamed down her face. we listened and then shared with her about how through the plan of salvation she can be with them again. tears welled up in my eyes as I could see the pain she feels but a relief to hear that she can have a renewed hope. it was a really special experience. I don't know if she will be baptized, i hope so. we will see what happens, but I know heavenly father uses us to answer the prayers of his children, and I have to be obedient to the spirit to be His hands. well, I have to go. I will see you all on Sunday I hope and 1 pm your time. I am sure mom will fill you all in. I love you all so much. and am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who came into this world to save us. solely for his pure love for Father in Heaven and for us. 

love,

hermana plummer

Dec 12, 2011

hola familia, I missed you all a whole lot this week. hna J has been a bit homesick. when she cried, I suddenly started crying missing my family. but I know it will get better for her. it is a big shock when you get here. for some it sets in a bit after and for others right away. certain things remind her of her family. so I try and do my best to cheer her up. she is trying really hard to stay focused though. i admire her is so many ways. I never knew what a blessing it would be to train. yes it has its challenges, but I am learning a ton. it is awesome. she has such an energy and desire to do the work. so refreshing. I want to keep the energy all the way to the finish. by the way. my truncky papers came today. it was sad. but I wasn’t the only one.
recenly we are teaching a few new people. i almost cried when an investigator who we have been working with for quite a while said she just can’t believe that there could be a living prophet and that she didn’t want to investigate anymore. it was a bummer. we were really close. I know that mas A will accept. But was really hard though. you just get so attached to these people. but we are recently teaching a new investigator V. he is really great and wants to learn more about christ. it is a bit different teaching him because he was born with a bit of a mental impediment and has lived on the street for the past 20 years. I don’t know the whole story,  but has a heart very pure and a desire to learn. his mom is a member super faithful, and he recently moved in with her after a long time. he has 38 years or so. he is such a blessing. just came to church with her and says he wants to be baptized. so he has a date for the 31st. I pray he keeps progressing! his mom is so funny. she is so excited he wants to be baptized. she has been hoping and praying for another member of her family to join the church ever since she got baptized about 8 years ago. she is so humble, is such an example of one that doesn’t have to be super educated to understand the doctrine. some think that you have to have a tons of estudios to undertand and live the gospel. but she is an example of loving the restored gospel and understanding and living the doctrine is something that everyone can do. it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from.
as I said, I am learning a ton from hna J. i love working with her, and we are working really hard. haha. I was worried that my new companion would walk slow, but she walks fast, so it is all good. jk. (just kidding)
the stockings of Christ and Thanks are so great mom. I realize more and more that when we are mindful of these things, Christ like acts, blessings, miracles, things we are gratful for; we are happier. attitude of gratitude as pres monson says and grandpa giles. i testify of that. I am so grateful for my mission and for the opportunity to serve the Lord in Paraguay. I missed you all a lot this week. I think more than usual. but I get to talk on christmas! I love you all so much!!!!
love,
hermana plummer

hi mom and dad, thanks for your letters. mom, I found out that we can't use computers of the members, so we have to use a cyber. since navidad is on a sunday, we can do it on the 24th, the 25th by phone, or the 26th. I will try and find a cyber that has skype. and I guess you all are 4hrs behind us here. oh ya I forgot to say that I did see elder alphin (Jonesboro Ward.) I know his trainer. we said hi, but it was all a bit rushed and I was focused on hna J. yes we have started writing in our stockings. it is great!! helps us always to remember our blessings. I will be sure to tell hna J to tell her mom about missionary moms. she is really missing her family. a lot. it was great to hear about the ward christmas party. I look forward to my notes! I expect lots of pictures of everyone home for christmas. I can’t believe it is Christmas. oh, and thanks for all the christmas stuff. I am saving all the temple holders and stuff to hand out as christmas gifts. they will love it! well, I love you both so much. soooo much. thanks for everything you do.
love,
your daughter