Sacrifices

First off.....I MIGHT BE AN AUNT NEXT WEEK!!!! AHHH. wow that is just all the excitement in side of me coming out. I am doing good everyone don´t worry. Hey I lost weight. It is possible everyone. oh and random thought. I ate something super good today oh and I had to eat cow foot again on Friday. Let me just tell you it is not always a pleasant experience. Just imagine eating your own snot, but it being hard and tough to chew. That is pata de caldo...

Well in the couple minutes that I have left I wanted to tell you all something that I have been contemplating. My sister told me of a story when I fell in the pool once and she heard a splash so she listened to the spirit and knew to look and follow that prompting. So I was thinking as she told me that and then told me that she is grateful for the sacrifice I have made and the prompting she recieved to look out the window that day so long ago.

  

Then it brought me to think that the only way we can be more like Christ is if we make sacrifices. If we are all like Christ then the world can be a better place. So we should make more sacrifices in our lives. That brought me to think about the promise I made to God when I was set apart as a missionary. I promised to be a representative of him at all times and in all things and in all places. I decided to obey the many rules we have as missionaries and decided to give up my own needs for that of others. Thanks to this sacrifice I have made and continue to make, my life is fuller and filled with the love of Christ. I feel like I have finally developed a lasting relationship with him that makes me want to just keep moving forward and changing my life. I know that the downfalls I have are my own and not from Him and so I have confidence that even when I fall he will alwyas help me to get back up.  The sacrifices we make in this life will help us out in the long run. I am so grateful for that and that I have been given this revelation.

as always I hope these few words that I have scrambled to put together are recieved well from all of you. 

wow I speak english like a spanish speaker now...whoops

Con mucho amor de Armenia,

Hermana Dunkley

oh and shout out on my blog para

la familia collantes. Les amo muchisimo...saludos a todos!!!!

A disciple of Christ‏

Well I thought I would just write everyone now and in general because I don´t have a lot of time. We had to come to Quito to renew visas today so that my companion can stay here in Ecuador for a while longer so that is what happened to me today and for that reason I can only say a little to respond to everyone.

alright breath. haha

okay so everyone has been asking me a lot about the work and everything and well I just wanted to respond to say that the work is hard, but I honestly love it.  I struggled a lot this week with my own dissapointment, but I learned a lot.  We talked about seeing the little miracles in our lives and really in every moment. We must have faith that we can see miracles and we must remember that faith is the opposite of fear and anger and impatience.  I felt more impatience this week with a desire to do good and be an example to others. Then I just remembered a scripture that just hit me,"3 Nephi 5:13  Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." Lots of times we are here to just declare his word and to help people to have everlasting life. We cannot force any person to recieve his gospel because it is their own choice, but we can help them to remember only through Christ can they recieve everlasting life. 

I am a disciple of Christ and all I want to do is help others to recieve that help and example. I am so grateful for all that Christ has done for me. 

I love you all and am so grateful for your examples.

Con mucho amor de Quito...por hoy...

Hermana Dunkley

A picture is a thousand words‏

Hi everyone. 

Well. I am at a loss of words this week. Sometimes I just get to this part and I think well what do I say. It is hard when everyone has lots of expectations for my emails. I try to keep them good, but then sometimes I get here and I am all out of ideas. Well anyways. I was thinking and they always say a picture is a thousand words so here is my picture to explain how I am doing. 

Soy feliz como misionera y solo quiero seguir como misionera. 

I hope that all the mothers in the world had a great day yesterday. I just wanted to tell of my mothers in Claremont 1 ward that I miss them and love them so much. I am so grateful for my own mother and all she does for me. My grandmothers and there examples for me and also just the hard work they do each and everyday for every single one of us. I am so grateful for your support out here and I hope that everything will continue well for all of you.  I love you all

oh ps...congrats to Jared Cicon and Dylan Wride on their mission calls!!! 

Con mucho amor de Armenia,

Hermana Dunkley

How can God permit that to happen?‏

Well we are going to stay together for another change. Hermana Costa and I are so happy and excited to keep going on!!!

Well this week was a hard one, but we learned a lot.  We were able to work hard and try the hardest that we could. That is what matters.

I have been thinking a lot about what Jesus Christ has done for us and as we heard some bad news about a sister missionary in Chile she told me something that her mother said. Even the things that seem the most ugly and hard to live through are just a small window into what Jesus felt for us as he paid for our sins. Lots of times we see the bad things in the world and we ask How can God permit that to happen? There is a simple answer to all of that we must suffer a little of what Christ suffered to be able to truly grow and change.  We may not understand the why of everything, but we do understand that we must have struggles to be able to become more like Christ.  As I was reading the scriptures I read a scripture that made me think even more in this. The scripture said that we must repent now because if we don´t we will have to suffer for all of our sins after this life.  One way or the other someone has to suffer. Christ suffered and gave us the chance to repent, but if we do not accept that gift we too must suffer as Him.  It is so great the gift he has given us and we can all continue to learn and grow if we leave our struggles behind and repent for what we have done.

I know it is true and that we can do all that we would like if we just trust in God and give him our burdens. I am so thankful to be able to serve Him.

Con mucho amor de Armenia,

Hermana Dunkley