Transfers to Marambure w/ Hermana Sanders

This week had some excitement! We went to our district meeting and found out that I had transfers (Shocker because I still have 6 more weeks of my training). I'm now in Marambure which is closer to the city. It is awesome I love it here!!!
 

My New companion is Hermana Sanders and she is just the greatest!!! Funny story we had the same trainer and she trained in Ysapy as well! So we know alot of the same members and it has been fun getting to talk about it!

Hermana Sanders and her old companion taught some less active kids that now come to church and yesterday we had to be “parents” and make sure they got to their classes.... They like to run around and so hermana Sanders and I have to gather them up and get them to class. Hahaha it has been a fun adventure! I really love the people in this area, they are so sweet and great!

So next week is general conference!!!!!! So excited! It is my favorite time of year! The opportunity to listen to the Prophet and Apostles is so awesome, they speak with such authority and power! It is so important to really listen to what they say and to apply it to our lives because it is under the direction of our loving Heavenly Father!

This week has taken a ton of faith because we don't know all of our area very well and we have gotten lost a few times, but we have always had the spirit with us as our guide. General Conference is a guide for our lives so pretty please listen with all your heart and I promise you will receive so many blessings as you learn and feel the spirit! 

I love you all so much, keep up all the hard work and remember to always get up again and push through the hard times because on the other side there are blessings and riches that we can't even imagine in this life!

Ciao till next week!

Hermana Dunagan! 

My first baptism!!!! Cow Heart Vs. Cow Stomach

My first baptism!!!!

So after I finished writing last week we got to work! We had FHE with a family and afterwards she gave us cow heart..... Not too bad to be honest, it was better than the cow stomach I ate a few weeks ago!

We have been trying to teach one of our investigators who didn't show up to his baptism, things are really hard for him, but he has a great heart and I really want to help him understand his purpose here on the earth! One of my favorite quotes from the book, Continuous Conversion, is that we aren't earning heaven we are learning heaven. Our life here on the earth is to give our will to the Father just as Jesus Christ did. We must love and serve others and continually nourish ourselves in the Gospel. When we do so our desire will be to fulfill the lords will. Read Isaiah 55! So great!

This week we have been blessed with a ton of rain. We were prepared on Tuesday for it, but on Wednesday we weren`t. We had to run under a tree and to seek protection from the rain and then some nice people allowed us to sit under there patio covering and we talked with them for a little bit. After it stopped raining and we were walking and looking for someone to talk to. We met a younger girl in the street with her baby and her two younger sisters. We talked to her and as she began to have tears in her eyes, I just knew how much the savior loved her and it took all my strength not to cry like a little baby. It was just so powerful and I am so grateful to have grown up knowing I am a daughter of God!

We finished out the week with some Baptisms!!! Yay!!! first was the gentleman  Hna Santos and I have been teaching on Saturday and then he was confirmed on Sunday!!! Yay and then we attend the baptism of the other Hna`s! all and all it was a fantastic weekend and the spirit just keeps teaching me and all those around me! it is so powerful! I love you all and want you to know that you are the greatest! I hope you have a great week!

The coolest sister in Paraguay! (not really hahah)

Hermana Dunagan

Fun Adventures & Fence Clapping

Hola! This week has had ups & downs! Here in Ysapy as we look for a new people to teach we ask if we can share a message and many respond and say they are already members.... But it is an opportunity to rekindle and help others to strengthen their testimonies and invite them to come back. 

We had one investigator who was going to be baptized this past Saturday and he had been receiving lessons since December. We got everything ready for his baptism and when I say ready I mean we had to empty the font from a couple weeks before with buckets and clean it out it was a fun adventure.... Haha  Later we waited for him for his baptism and he didn't show up. It was a hard moment in time.... and was really sad. 

We taught one man a while back and he lived super far and we hadn't really gotten the opportunity to get back to his house but yesterday I felt like we should visit him and we happened to be in that area so it was perfect. We went to his house and it looked like no one was home, but we still clapped at the fence. Low and behold he was home!!! We sat and talked to him, and let me just say he is so hard to understand (one minute I understand Spanish and the next not a single word). But he told us that he had thought about the previous time we had visited and wanted to attend our church!!!! What?! That was an amazing miracle after the weekend we had just had. Heavenly Father really does put people in our paths at the right time.    

It is so important to really prepare our investigators and make sure they have a strong testimony. And sometimes it doesn't always work out the way we plan, but all things are possible through Him and His Atonement!  When we rely on Him we can receive the strength and support we need to get through all our trials! He never leaves us; it is us who leaves Him.  

I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week! 

Love Hermana Dunagan! 

Mba'èichapa (that is hello in Guarani)

March 10, 2014

Mba'èichapa (that is hello in Guarani)

This week has been a great week! I finished two months in the mission!! YAY so exciting, I didn't even realize until Hna Santos pointed it out haha! 

This week we have one of the greatest investigators who has a baptism date for the 15th of March! so exciting! He is just growing so much and is just so open and willing to let the spirit in! so amazing! 

We are visiting with a less active familia and we got them to commit to FHE with us every week! so that was really cool! The mother is so amazing and filled with the spirit! 

We had to stop teaching one of our investigators so that was sad his family didn't want him meeting with us it broke my heart! 

We wash our clothes by hand here and I now miss the convenience of a washer and dryer! 

We had a water balloon fight with our branch and it was just so much fun!

For the spiritual side of things I want you all to know that the Testimonies members have makes a difference and that they mean so much to investigators so any chance you have testify to all those you meet by your actions! 

I love you all and the support you give! 

Sorry for the short email this week, I will fill in more next week! 

Love Hna Dunagan! 

First Week In Paraguay!

                    Hermana Santos, Elder Goss, Elder Whitaker, and I con Familia Ag

Hola!!!

I have survived my first week in Paraguay!!! Yay! My area is called Ysapy A. I believe that is in Guarani... Which is very difficult to understand and speak nothing like spanish! My spanish is improving

little by little and understanding the people here is so hard we are lucky if I catch a word because it is different than Spanish elsewhere. Their words are all slurred together! But it is beautiful here and I love it so much!!! There are trees everywhere and random animals all over (cows, horses, dogs, cats, and chickens)  When I got off the plane it just felt so right, I knew I was where the Lord needed me. The food here is pasta, rice, and meat.... So I will not be losing any weight haha, I love the food here! We eat lunch with the members.

My companion is Hermana Santos, She is from Guatemala!  Her spanish is much easier to understand, but still difficult! She is amazing, I have been so blessed to have her as a companion. She teaches me Spanish and I teach her English so the language barrier is starting to get smaller! We live with two other Hermanas. One of them is from Guatemala as well and the other is Ecuador( don't know how to spell that)

We have been giving lots of lessons, mainly Hermana Santos, with my little testimony and prayer.... But It is growing in Spanish. It is very humbling to not be able to say or understand anything... Hermana Santos and I went to go teach a young girl who is 12 and her brother who is 10. When we arrived I was shocked at there living conditions, I thought that some of the other circumstances I had seen were bad but this one was worse! we talked about the first vision with her and she listened with all her heart it was amazing! I was so amazed at this young girl and her testimony. It is difficult because her parents won't listen to us but she does. She had several little brothers so I gave them the pencils you gave me mom and I almost cried at how excited they were about receiving pencils.... It was just so touching!

We try and get references from investigators and members, and most of the time when we go and visit the references they are members who are less active.. I really want to help our branch become a ward here in Ysapy, The branch is already so amazing and strong! we have the best branch in the Mission ;)

One day we went and visited the branch mission leader and his family, Hermano Poli, and we ate budding, I think that is what it is called, and then we sang Joseph Smiths first prayer together, but before we began singing he sang the first verse by himself and no one was really paying attention, but while he was singing the spirit was so strong it was amazing I could feel his testimony and how strong it was in that moment!

I was studying this morning in the Liahona and I read a talk by Bishop Dean M Davies called a Sure Foundation. It was amazing! It was all about how we must build our spirits on our rock, the savior so that way in times of affliciones (afflictions) and trials we will not fall. I see that the people here need that message, because when difficult times come many of the people fall away from the church instead of leaning on it for strength and making their faith knowledge!

I was also reading in 2 Nephi 28 and wow is that a great chapter! specifically read verses 7-9 (Scripture Mastery), 22, 28-30,32! It is some powerful stuff that the scriptures have to tell us. We must never make excuse or justify things. When we do so it weakens our testimonies and prevents us from progressing and reaching our potential!!!

I love you all so much! And I am so grateful for all of your love and Support!!!

Till next week!

Hermana Dunagan!

Arrival of Hermana Dunagan to Paraguay!

Dear Family of Hermana Dunagan:

We are so happy that your daughter has joined us here in the Paraguay Asuncion North mission!  We know that as she commits to work hard and be obedient to mission rules, and continues to study and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost, she will have a great experience on her mission.  She will grow to love the people, she will be willing to pass through difficulties, and she will come to know and love her Savior in a more profound way than she has ever known.

We were able to give all the incoming missionaries some training on staying healthy, finances, mail, etc.  We were also able to learn about the history of the Church here in Paraguay.  Your daughter was interviewed and met her trainer, Hermana Santos, who was specially chosen for her.  She was trained to help your daughter in all the skills she will need to be a good missionary.  We hope you will enjoy these pictures that we are attaching as well.

Thank you for raising such a fine young woman who is so willing to serve her Father in Heaven and be a blessing to the people here and to her fellow missionaries.  We truly pray for them every day and are committed to working diligently to help them in whatever they need to be happy and successful.

May the Lord bless you, and your daughter, for the sacrifices, the faith, and the love that you are extending to the people here.  Thank you for all of your support.

With much love,

President and Hermana McMullin

Don't Cry For Me Argentina ~ Leaving for Paraguay

This is the last time you will hear from me in Argentina! We leave for Paraguay tomorrow at 4 am and our flight should take off at 7:35!I´m so excited! I wish you were hear to help me pack mom haha, but I am managing on my own! 

Our flight is AR1260 just so you know and it is going to Paraguay Asunción if you forgot! ;) 

My new P-day should be Monday´s so I will write to you soon!

Ok so I'm going to give you a quick little bit of what happened since the last time I wrote! We went proselyting and it was a long day, we had about an hour and a half left and we had handed out a few pamphlets, but hadn't had any success. Then we walked by this young man who was cleaning out his car and all of a sudden we decided that we needed to turn around and talk to him so we did and he accepted el Libro de Mormón!!!! And we got his contact information!!!! Ahhhh! coolest moment ever! His name was Jesus, Yep I gave a Book of Mormon to Jesus Haha! It doesn´t end there either we were walking down a couple streets over from where we had talked to Jesus and we had paused to take a little break and then a young woman walked by in her early twenties and we said hola and she said hello..... Yes hello in english, we freaked out and Hermana Sump called back to her and she came to talk to us. She has been learning english for the past two years and wants to be an english teacher here in Argentina! she talked to us about how she grew up catholic and is now a Buddhist. She was a blessing in our proselyting day! In that moment I just could feel the spirit strongly testify of the Lord´s work, We got her contact info! It was amazing ok I have to go finish packing, but I love you and will hopefully get to tell you if I got to Paraguay safely. We don't get to call at all, but I love you!!!! Keep me updated on Gabriel and Kelsey and AJ and there adorable little family! 

Love Hermana Dunagan!!!!!  

On My Way!

Hola!!!!

So nothing crazy has happened this week! We had the opportunity to go proselyting on Saturday in the rain.... And get eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think there was about 45 bites on just my leg.... That wasn't super fun, and I had the opportunity to clap at several gates and get rejected. It has been very interesting to talk to people on the streets and at there houses. I have learned interesting things. Specifically that courage doesnt come before faith. We must first act in Faith and then the courage will come. I was not excited and was nervous about clapping at peoples gates to see if they would come out and talk to us and then after the first rejection it was a little bit easier... That may sound funny but it was. It was strange when people would actually come out of there house and talk to you... haha.

Well I only have a few days here at the CCM. I am sad to leave all of the people I have come to know and love here at the CCM. They have helped me to really learn and increase my testimony of the doctrine and teaching of Christ! But I'm so eager to serve with those out in Paraguay and to meet my mission president! We watched a devotional from Elder Quentin L. Cook yesterday about how often times when our call is made it is because we are meant to serve with that mission president! I am so eager to learn from him and his wife!

I´m so grateful for your love and support! I couldn't do it without all of you! The Lord has blessed me so much with all of you! Ok so I'm going to talk about my all time favorite chapter of the Book of Mormon and that is Alma 32! Our Faith in Christ is so important and he is the tree of life we must come to know him and follow his example! Specifically verse 42 is powerful! we can become pure and white through him by our diligence and faith! So remember to keep moving forward and to rely on the Lord he is always there. If you ever think he isn't there it is because you left him, not him leaving you! I know that the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true! Prayer is so powerful Hevaenly Father always answers our prayers! Open up to Him and let him into your heart!

I love you all! have a great week! Talk to you next week in Paraguay!!!

Love Hermana Dunagan!

Things Are Good!

Hola! ¿Como le va? 

This week has been good here at the CCM! The spirit is so strong and just teaches so much! We have been teaching our "investigators" and it is hard to get the message across with the language, but I know that Heavenly Father teaches through the spirit and it is amazing when you leave the IP and they said yes to keeping commitments or attending church or most important when they say sí to baptism! 

I am doing good, there are good days and bad days when it comes to Spanish but other than that it is all good! Things are good! definitely scared to get out in the field in a week in a half.... We get new North Americans missionaries today as well as some new Latinos. There has been 8 North american sisters the whole time I have been here so really small we get 7 new Americans so that will be a change. I love this sisters with all my Heart and two of them are going to Paraguay with me which makes me so happy because I don't know what i would do without them here at the CCM Heavenly Father really blessed me!  I would love an English mission sometimes, but I know why Heavenly Father sent me on a Spanish mission, and I know that He will help me through it all! I think I will have a native companion when I get to Paraguay which is intimidating because with the Latinas I can kind of say a few words but I can't understand them, so I'm going to try hard to understand and get to know the new Latina roommates we are getting today! 

We went proselyting on Saturday, it was an interesting day. Not much luck and a ton of walking around. Toward the end of the day Hermana Sump and I were walking down the street and I got the courage to talk to an older man who was smoking in front of his house. When I told him we were missionaries he started talking to us and told us he was Roman Catholic.... At that moment in time I was a little bummed, but we continued to talk to him and while I didn't understand anything he was saying I understood that he had respect for us and he mentioned the spirit and how it is a very emotional experience when you feel the spirit in your life, and boy was he correct! The spirit is so amazing, I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the ability to have him as my constant companion. We talked to this man for a good 20 minutes and when I left my testimony grew on how much Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. I tried to give him el Libro de Mormon, but he wouldn't accept it.  Heavenly Father teaches us all in different ways, and I learned so much in that conversation even with the little Spanish  I know.

As for the helado (ice cream) in Argentina it is amazing!!!!!! Kelsey would love the Chocolate ice cream! so good! 

I'm so excited to attend the temple today! The spirit is so strong and the feelings and emotions with in the temple teach us so much, if you have the opportunity to attend the temple, I challenge you to do it often, that is where our Heavenly Father teaches us the most. Go to the temple with a question and ponder it in the celestial room, the answers you receive will bring you comfort and peace! 

Also if you have the chance read 2 Nephi 9: 41-42 and 50-52, I really liked that scripture this week!!! 

I love you all so much! You are all amazing! Hope you have a great week! Adios! Until next week ;) 

Some questions I asked Kayla and her responses

1.     How is the language coming this week? Any better? I hear that it is tough and then one day it clicks, but to understand and know that it is a process and it takes some time even several months.

Still struggling

2.     How is the companionship coming?

 Good definitely difficult at times but I love her and she helps me so much even when I 'm frustrated... And you know how that is, she deals with my frustration very well... I’m lucky! 

3.     What can we pray for specifically that would help you?

 To be patient and to be diligent and not stress out to much. 

4.     Best thing so far about being on a mission?

 The spirit, when we were walking on the streets of Argentina there were times that just confirm that this is the true church it is so powerful. 

Love Hermana Dunagan! 

Hola! The halfway mark

Hola! I hope everyone is doing well! I have now been in the CCM For about 3 weeks crazy... Time has flown by! I have about 3 more weeks till I get back on the plan and head for Paraguay. 

 

Nothing crazy has happened, but the spirit has been so strong. We have been learning about faith in Jesus Christ specifically this week. Belief is a part of Faith but faith also includes action. When we fear it is the lack of action, it reminded me of being out on the streets of Argentina for the first time and not knowing how to even start a normal conversation or buy ice cream. It was very scary and intimidating. When I decided to just say a few more words to people and tell them about the Book of Mormon is when I received the courage. Courage and strength come after we have decided and have taken the action. it is like the leap of faith. As you stand on that ledge all sorts of things go through your mind and when you jump you find that the harness is there to catch you no matter what, if you are able to grab hold of the bar or not. Heavenly Father is always there to catch us, he wants us to keep trying, He loves us, and He sent his only begotten son so we could return to him but first we must Have faith in Christ and use his gift of the atonement and give up ourselves unto him! Read Alma 5, It is now my new favorite, it is so powerful and it really gets you thinking about if you can see Christs image in your countenance. 

 

As for news here in the CCM, we have a new Presidente! His name is President Willis and his wife Hermana Willis, They are so amazing i love them already and I just meet them last night for about 5 minutes, butI know they love the Lord and that they are here for a reason and are here for specifically me and others so they can teach us things we need to hear! 

 

My district is great! There is 2 sets of sister missionaries and then there are 3 sets of elders! It is amazing the spirit we have had in our disscussions and lessons. We have been growing together and really support one another. I shared my batman voice with them and now they have put Dunagan in for the batman jingle. haha I'm so grateful for each of there spirits and for the knowledge they have!

 

As for info I have heard about Paraguay there is some kinda legend, that elders from Paraguay believe to be true. It is about a Lobizon. Which is some kind of werewolf looking thing.... Not quite sure how I feel about it, but you should look it up, haha. 

 

I am so grateful to be here in the CCM. Teaching our I.P. ( teachers who pretend to be investigators) is difficult and the language is hard but Heavenly Father is really helping me to see my potential and has been teaching me about my faith. I have really been relying on my faith and on Jesus Christ to help me through everything, it isn´t easy, but it is rewarding. 

 

I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! I know that He created this plan so I could become like Him, so that I could learn and progress to my potential. I know that while he may give me trials that are hard to understand that he is trusting me to take those experiences and have them help me to understand who I am and who He wants me to be. I am His servant and His hands here on the Earth. I want to be "steadfast and immovable always abounding in good works"  I am a woman of God and want His trust always! I know that as we turn to the Lord and give everything up unto him on the alter of sacrifice is when we will become true disciples of Christ and when we will be humble and meek like Christ. I know that the temple is the house of the Lord and that He visits there often, that the family is central to His plan! He has given us the opportunity to be sealed for all time and eternity. What a blessing that is! I love each and everyone of you and your beautiful spirits. We each have our own divine role here on the earth and Heavenly Father has given us our free agency to decide who we will be and where we will go! continually strive to be the person Heavenly Father wants you to be! Have His presence with you every moment of every day, because there is no greater person to have on your side! 

 

I love you all and hearing from you just makes me so happy!!! :) 

Remember to be strong and to keep pressing forward! 

 

That is all for now! Have a great week! 

Love Hermana Dunagan!  

Week 2 (CCM)

 Hola! ¿Come le va?

This is your Hermana Dunagan reporting ;)

This week has been very long, hard, and beneficial! I had the opportunity to be on the streets of Buenos Aires! The dropped us off on the side of the road and we went proselyting, with the amount of Spanish I know majority of the conversations were " Hola! ¿Come le va? Somos misionerias de la iglesia Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Dia¨" And then I got completely lost... Had no idea what anyone was saying, but after all of my fears and doubts I was able to get the courage and just try and start a conversation with a few people, no success with making contacts, but Heavenly Father taught me so much! He taught me patience, love, diligence, and that I can do this. Getting turned down isn't the scary part, but not being able to understand was difficult because I wasn't able to answer their questions of the heart. So my new goal for this week is to learn how to really listen to all of those around me in Spanish and English to really be there for others as Heavenly Father is there for each and every one of us!

I'm so grateful for my district after our long day of hard work we came back and at first we were all a little bit hard on ourselves, but we had a very spiritual testimony meeting and decided to change our course of action in learning the language and learning the gospel. Our room was filled so strongly with the spirit and I could feel Heavenly Father had so much for me to hear! He Really wants us to succeed, but we must first put all our effort into reaching our potential as missionaries as, members, as His children!

The temple here in Buenos Aires is beautiful I will try and send some pictures. We listened to the whole thing in Spanish last week which was good, but I definitely think I will be listening in English because I need to really here the blessings and wisdom that come from it.

My teachers are amazing I have been learning so much! It has been difficult and as we are approaching the third week they will no longer be translating for us and only speaking in Spanish! Aaaaahhhh.... It is a little bit scary but I Know that as we only listen to it and only learn our lessons in it we will do much better! Our district is doing and English fast on Friday, which means speaking no English the whole day not even to ask how to say something, so you can bet your money I will be attached to my dictionary all day haha!

We have been teaching our "investigators" (aka teachers) almost every day and now we have two different ones and yikes one of them is so difficult, but I'm trying to prepare myself to just really bring the spirit to those lessons because that is how Heavenly Father teaches and They need to learn from Him and not me, I'm just his instrument and servant and I want to be prepared to be what he needs for each person we come in contact with.

Please pray for my ability to be able to understand the language and to be able to succeed in the English fast!

We are getting a new CCM mission presidente on Tuesday! It is sad but good! I'm excited to learn from the new one as much as i have learned from Presidente y Hermana Openshaw! I love you all! I hope you are doing well!

One scripture I really liked this week, Melanie will appreciate it because it has to go with our motto, "No Excuses", Alma 39:13 That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and ^aacknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done. I hope that is correct I will double check to make sure and let you know next week if it is for sure. ;)

Keep going and remember He loves you! Trust in Him and your blessings will be great!

Love your favorite Missionary!

 Hermana Dunagan  

Hola! It has been a long week but a good one! {Jan 9, 2014}

Buenos Dias! It is early here and my fingers are like lightning trying to write as much information as possible! The CCM Is fantastic, but hard. We are always praying, teaching, practicing! the language is coming slowly so I don't understand everything all the time. It is improving though! I´m so excited to go to the temple today we are leaving right after this! I am going to listen in spanish which will be a ton of spanish so hopefully I can learn as much as possible in the temple!I am so glad to hear from everyone and I can´t believe Carson is already 6!!! Crazy, he is growing up so much! I miss him and Ihope he has a great birthday!We already had a crazy rainstorm which Hermana Sump and I were in trying to get to the distribution center! hah we got attacked by flying cardboard! ;)While at the airport as funny as this may seem Heavenly Father blessed a few of us sister missionaries. We went to do money exchange and the man at the counter asked if we had $1 and 11 cents, and none of thought we had some. I decided to look in my wallet, but I knew I had taken out my change. Lo and behold there was exactly 11 cents in my wallet kinda cheesy, but it all gave us a good laugh :) My district is probably the best! Elder Pulsipher is our district leader, yes bishop Pulsiphers nephew! We are always having a good time, but always trying to increase our knowledge and the spirit in our room! It is amazing how Padre Celestial puts people in our lives so we can Learn from them!And yes mom I make my bed every morning (big shocker I know) and say my prayers (lots and lots of prayers) ;)We watched an MTC Devotional and it was amazing it taught me that in order to have converts I must be my First convert. I never looked at it that way so as I have been trying my hardest to learn things that strengthen my testimony and truly convert mi corazón to the Lord! In order to reach those who I´m meant to teach i mus be more dedicated and become a consecrated missionary! I read a talk by a general authority before coming to the CCM about being a consecrated missionary and I thought it wouldn´t be to hard because I love the Lord so much, but being here it is something that I´m learning I really have to work on. i know I´m not perfect, but I´m now the Lord´s servant and want to be an instrument that works when and where He wants me not where I want to be! I have truly felt his love and your love all the way here in Argentina!You guys are always in my prayers! I love you! And never forget that the Lord is always with you and that He loves you and wants to see you succeed. Continually convert yourself to the Lord and you will see numerous blessings! Have a grand week!

Love your favorite Hermana,Hermana Dunagan!