July 21, 2014

Monday was pday.  We went to Pizza Hut and had their "all you can eat" buffet.  It was super good.  Then one of the Elders needed a new camera, so we went shopping to find him a camera.  After that we went to the cyber so I could email y'all.  After pday was over, we went to the see the Family Martinez and read the scriptures with them and then played Jenga (thanks again to Austin for giving me Jenga, I actually play it a lot).  Over all it was a pretty chill, tranquillo pday.  

Tuesday we went to the other side of the area and it was not a fun day.  First we went to see Hermana Jara and visited with her.  Then we went over to see Belinda, but she wasn't there.  Then we started "contacting" (tracting).  The first contact we had was an Atheist, que poocha, and that lesson wasn't fun.  The guy was cool, but he wouldn't let us pray or really teach him.  We did talk to him, but it definitely wasn't our best lesson. :)  The next house we contacted was one of the worst contacts I have ever had.  It seemed like I stumbled on every work, and I don't know what was going on, but I pretty much ruined it.  Next we happened upon a guy who let us teach lesson one to him, but he was super critical about everything and he didn't understand much Spanish because he is German, and he kept referring to his German Bible.  Anyway, we felt like we were teaching well, but he kept fighting us.  The worst part is that he was fighting against the Spirit.  We felt like he knew what we were teaching was right, he just didn't want to accept it.  We would teach him a principle and then five minutes later he would use scriptures and doctrine that we were teaching him to try to fight against us.  He told us we were stupid because we wear a shirt and a tie, and it was a very upsetting lesson, but it happens.  The best part of the day was when we were walking home and a lady stopped us and asked us where our chapel was.  We told her where it was, and she told us she was a member but had been going to another church because she didn't know where our chapel was.  Overall it was just a crazy day. 

 

Wednesday I had a division with Elder Davila.  We "contacted" for a little while, and then we went to Juan Pablo's home.  He is a menos activo (less active).  We taught him about Lehi's Dream.  Next we taught lesson one to a woman named Edith.  It was a good lesson.  Finally we talked to Hermana Veron and she was having a lot of struggles with depression.  I felt really good about this visit because I was able to share some experiences of things that our family had gone through and stuff I had personally gone through, and I shared a bunch of scriptures with her and she cried and said that I was sent by God to help her, and that her Spirit was lifted up by my words and thoughts.  It was such a good lesson. ;) 

Thursday we went to the other side of the area again and taught Belinda and Hermana Jara.  We taught Belinda about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and Hermana Jara kind of went off and was telling her that in ancient times if you didn't obey the Sabbath Day, you would die.  It wasn't a good lesson, but we are going to go back over everything and try to fix it this week. Then we went and contacted for a little while.  We taught a lesson to a guy named Jesus (lesson one), and it was a super good lesson.  Finally we taught Jorge DiSilva.  He is the son of a menos activo (less active) that lives in another ward. 

Friday we taught the Family Martinez a little more about the Book of Mormon.  Then we went to visit the Family Achukarro and also talked about the Book of Mormon.  Finally we went to see Angela and read the Book of Mormon with her.  Nothing really too cool happened that day.

Saturday was a little bit better day.  We went out and worked a "fool" (really hard).  We taught the Achukarro Family, Jorge, the Family Perez with Hermana Binitez, and had some really good lessons.  It was pretty chill. :)  Then we taught a woman named Maria who is super cool.  She has cancer and is praying to God to find her way through it.  Overall it was a good day.  We have been working super, super hard and believe we will see the fruits of our labor soon. :)

Sunday we went to church, and then we contacted a guy who really didn't seem to be listening, but he said we can come back and teach him, so we are definitely going to go back.  After we left his house, we were talking to some drunk people, and one of them told us he had been baptized, and so we are going to follow up with him when he is sober because he is a member.  Sunday was the Day of Baby Jesus for the Catholic Church, and so most of the people were celebrating and didn't really want to talk to us, but we did talk to a couple of people, so it is all good. :)

Monday we woke up and ate and then went to play soccer.  I am usually not very good at soccer, but I played goalie and I blocked a bunch, and my comp said I was a champ goalie which made me feel good.  It's been a good day so far. 

Questions of the Week

1.  Names of your investigators (first and last) and how things are going with each. 

 

Jorgelina -- Things are going good with her, although she is hard to reach.  She told us she has her answer, but is having family problems, so we are trying to help her with those.  

Belinda dos Santos -- She is hard to get a hold of, but it feels like she is progressing slowly

Lysandry dos Santos (Belinda's daughter) -- The same as above

Lorena and Laticia Martinez -- They are progressing really well and we are hoping to baptize them in August.

 

2.  What was your favorite moment from this week and why? I was studying my scriptures and happened upon Helaman 13.  It is a super good chapter that has really helped me a lot with my faith this week.

3.  Who is your favorite person this week and why?  Bryan the German, he kept wanting to fight with us and it it was kind of funny.  Haha.

4. What was your most spiritual moment this week and why? The lesson with the Hermana Veron, because the Spirit was so strong and her burdens seemed to be lifted.

5.  What was your most challenging moment this week and why? The German who kept fighting with us and won't accept the Gospel.

6.  Is there anything we can pray for you about? That the people in our area will soften their hearts towards the Gospel.

7.    If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint? Probably the waterfalls in Yellowstone.

July 14, 2014

Monday was pretty good we didn't really do much but we did go visit the Achukarro family and read the Book of Mormon with them, and they are doing good. Other then that we went to a museum, see pictures below.

Tuesday we had a zone meeting and that was pretty good.  President McMullin taught us how to be better missionaries, and it was sick (awesome) because we played a game of scriptures and I won hahaha, who would have thought (I, mom, would, that's who.).  After the meeting President McMullin called me the "champion of scriptures" which was super cool. Things are going good with the president right now. ;) After that, we went out didn't have much time to teach, but we did teach the Britoz Family.  We are reading the Book of Mormon with them and that's good.  Then we taught Jorgelina and she is super cool and we feel like she will progress and was like super interested and wants to know the truth.  It was super cool spiritually because the member, Yannina Lugo, who was in the lesson with us, bore her testimony and it was super intense.  We didn't feel like Yannina was a the most "Mormon" girl, but she bore a wonderful testimony. It was a good way to start the week.

Wednesday we had divisions with Elder O. and he is a super good Elder and they are having a lot of success in their area.  We visited three families.  We taught the Cantero Family Alma 22 and that was pretty cool.  We had a member.  Then we taught a man and his family.  He was just baptized.  The family said they liked me more than Elder O.'s companion which was kind of funny and made me happy. :)   Other than that, it was a pretty slow day.  There was a lot of rain, and when there is rain the Paraguayans aren't outside much. HaHa.  All in all it was a good day ... I learned a litlte more about teaching and so that was good. ;)

Thursday was a good day, we went out and took our ropa (laundry/clothing) to our ropa lady, Hermana Nunez.  Then we read the Book of Mormon with the Britoz family again. After that we gave a blessing to Hermana Jara and that was a very spiritual experience.  She wasn't feel well and we were able to help her feel better, which is a good thing about the Priesthood -- God gives us the power to serve others and it really is important to serve other and not just myself.  Then we met with Belinda and read the Book of Mormon with her.  We are trying to get her into the habit of daily reading and praying.  We read 4th Nephi with her.  It was cool. :)  After that we taught Jose Luis, and that was pretty cool.  We taught him the Book of Mormon and it seems like he accepted it.  Finally we taught the Vela Family and that is always good because they are progressing very well. :)

Friday was a very interesting day.  Before I arrived, my comp had contacted a lot of houses with little to no success and so I had to convince him to contact those same houses again.  Well, we did it and we had three lessons with people that he had already contacted. We were excited about that, and I told him it isn't enough to contact every house, we need a baptism in every house.  After that we taught the Martinez Family and had a good lesson about how the church is perfect.  We explained to them that we, as missionaries, fast and pray for those who don't have the Gospel and then explained to them that the people in the church pray for them too.  Then we taught Juanie lesson two which was kinda embarrassing because apparently we had already taught her that. Haha.  Finally we taught Richard Achukarro about the Law of Chastity, which was interesting.  ;) 

Saturday was good.  We had a "rescue" in another area (I need to ask him what a "rescue" is),  We had two lessons after that but I don't really remember them because they weren't in our area, but it was all good and I enjoyed all of the people we taught, they are super cool.  :) Then we read the Book of Mormon again with the Family Britoz because they don't read on their own. After that we went to talk to Gladys, an accountant, and her lawyer friend, and once again we were able to beat his questions about the Bible.  It's amazing how things come into our minds when we need it. It's crazy. :) Then we went and contacted a girl, Diana, and I really feel like she is prepared.  She accepted the total of Lesson One and that is incredible.  We asked her to say the closing prayer, she would be praying for the first time ever, and she said she would and she cried all the way through it.  The Spirit was really strong, and it was super cool. :)

Sunday we had two investigators in the church which was super cool, Laticia and Lorena Martinez.  It was super amazing, and I really feel like we are going to accept the Gospel.  They really liked church and it was just so amazing.  Now we just need to activate their dad and baptize them, but we are working with them. HaHa.   Then we taught Diana the Book of Mormon, and she accepted our invitation for baptism.  She knows that she needs to pray to know that it's true, but not just one prayer, a lot of prayers.  She actually told us that, and that was a first for us. HaHa.  Que Bien.  After we taught Diana,  Then we taught the whole Martinez Family lesson one.  After that we read the Book of Mormon with Ronald and he is progressing, but poco a poco (little by little).  What is great is that we are starting to have success in this area, and it's taken a while, but it makes me really happy! :) 

Monday.. Today we had all you can eat, Pizza Hut, and that was super good.  Then we went shopping with some of our other Elder friends, but nothing too cool.  I am now here, writing to you.

Well, I am running late and wanted to send off some other emails, so I am going to close this email.

I love you all very much.

July 7, 2014

Hello family and loved ones;) 

Lunes we went to the office and then ate empanadas but  nothing really too cool.  After that we went to the Achukarro Family's home and read the Book of Mormon with them.  It is really tough because they really want to go to church, but they really struggle waking up in the morning.  We are really trying to work with the dad who has had some personal difficulties.

Martes we had a district meeting about contacting and setting goals for 12 contacts every day and 10 references contacted every week which is a pretty good goal.  Then we went out and talked to the Britoz Family.  We are working with them through a member, Hermano Gil.  They are a really great family, but they don't really want to pray because they don't want to have God think that they are doubting their faith by asking if the LDS Church is the right church.  We figure that by working with them through reading the Book of Mormon, hopefully we can penetrate their souls. Then we went out and taught Hermana Jara, and she is super cool. She is an elderly lady. We always read the scriptures with her so that we can have the Spirit before we go teach her neighbor Belinda Dos Santos. Next we taught Belinda Dos Santos who is super, super cool and she wants to know the truth really badly, but wants to study everything so that she knows what she needs to do before she prays, and I understand that.  We are pretty sure she will be baptized, we are just not sure when. Next we taught the Family Vela, Gloria is the mom, Milton is the son, Melony is the daughter, and Megan is the niña (baby).   They lived in Connecticut, like 10 minutes away from Sandy Hook Elementary, crazy, right.  They said it was super scary when that shooting happened.  They are menos activo (less active) and we are slowly activating them.

Miercoles I had a division with Elder Lubomirsky and we found a family who was baptized solely because the missionaries who taught them cried and said that they need to get their goals. I guess about ten years ago the missionaries in Paraguay seemed to be more worried about trying to baptize than they were about teaching people the Gospel.  Then we had a lesson with a menos activo (less active) and I don't really remember her name, but she's not in my area. Haha. Then we went to lunch at the Hermana Binitez' house.  Then after lunch we went and talked to Suni and that was pretty cool.  She is super cool.  We talked to her about how we need to have faith to find the answers that we need.  Then we talked to another menos activo (less active) and she felt us "bay ooh" or something like that.  It is like flour and eggs and it is super good, but super dry. :)  Then we talked to Rey Mundo and he is super cool and is pretty golden.  The Elders are going to baptize him and his wife.  After the lesson we drank Mate Dulce with him which is coconut and milk with sugar added, it's pretty delicious.   Then we talked to the Lugo family and to her daughters and they are super, super funny and the missionaries are hoping their family will get baptized. That family consists of the Mom, Alicia, Sariah, Juan, and Yaniina, and they are all pretty awesome 

Jueves we went to Glady's home and talked to her and her son, Reuben, and his girlfriend, Mirta -- I am not sure of their last name.  After that we met with the Briotz Family, Julia and Gloria, and their son Jesus and Jorge and that was pretty cool.  We read 3rd Nephi with them and talked about obedience.  Then we went to see Hermana Jara and read the scriptures with her which is pretty normal.  :)   Then we talked to Jose Luis, which is super random because we never find him home, but we taught him about the Book of Mormon.  Then we to see the Achukarro Family and read the Book of Mormon with them. It was great because we were able to hit all of our goals. :)

Viernes we went out to lunch and then talked to Ariel, who is a guy lives in my old area.  He works in my new area, though, and so we are teaching him a little bit.  We taught him lesson one. Then we talked to Gladys (not sure her last name), but we were talking to her about the gospel and her friend, a lawyer, came and tried to confuse us about our doctrine.  He tried to us his big "lawyer words", but we understood him and were able to answer everything, which I am guessing is because we have the Spirit. :)  Then we changed companions with some other Elders in our District.  I had one hour to have two lessons, go to our house and get brownies, and then get to the other side of our area for another lesson -- and I was able to do all of it!  We had a lesson with the Achukarro Family, then the Family Vela where we taught the dad, Julio, for the first time.  I have talked to him a few times, and we are friends and it's super cool. ;)  During their lesson, we talked about Youtube videos and about music and he is starting to share with us so that is always good. ;) Then we taught about Helaman 5: 12 but it was all good but somehow my companion got sidetracked and started talking about baby baptism, and it went on for two hours.  I don't know why he talked about that, but it's all good and it was kind of funny.  Then we switched back to our regular companions ;), and we got 7/7 and hit our goals again. ;) 

Sabado we taught the Family Britoz otra vez (again), and read 4th Nephi with them and taught them about how we need to always obey God and whatever he puts in front of us, and sometimes we don't want to, but we always need to. Then we talked to Juani and she was kind of cranky with us and talked about how we were "slaves" for our religion, and that the church is exploiting us, and it was pretty crazy, but we were able to sort everything out.  I think she was just a little bit tired, but I listened and didn't try to fight back.  I know we will be able to work things out because we listened to her and didn't try to fight her back on anything.  Next we taught Estele Martinez and her husband, Javier, and they said that they would go to church.  After that we went to see the Achukarro Family which consists of Gil, Marta, Daisy, Richard, Vanessa, Yelin, Ada, Christian, and Richard.  We teach them a lot and always read the Book of Mormon with them.  We got our 7/7 goals again.

Domingo we went to church and then did our studies.  None of our lessons we had planned worked out, but I was really feeling like we should contact a house that had already been contacted four times.  My companion didn't really want to do it, but he agreed to do it and we found two investigators, Mirian and Estelle, and they are super cool.   Next we contacted into Roman and taught him lesson one and he is super cool. ;) Then we talked to Ronald and Yeni Sanchez.  They made us tortilla, which is like fried eggs and cheese and dough, and its really good. :) Then we went home and slept. :)

Lunes we shopped for the week, and then went to eat.  While we were eating, a bunch of Africans were eating too, and one talked to me in English about the church and how he believes we need a prophet and how he doesn't believe God can change.  He said he has a Libro de Mormon (Book of Mormon) and but can't really read it because he doesn't speak Spanish.  He said he was in Paraguay for three days to be a missionary for his church, and I  told him to find the Mormon missionaries in Africa and they will be able to help him with all his questions, and I also told him to go to lds.org to find his answers.  It was such an incredibly spiritual experience but it was super hard to talk in English about the gospel. ;) After that, we went to the Museum of Mythology and that was pretty cool,  They have very interesting myths here in Paraguay -- I will send you the pictures next week. Now I am here emailing you.

Questions of the Week:

1. Names of your investigators (first and last) and how things are going with each.  

Jorgelina, I don't know her last name - it's going super good, but it's hard to teach her.

Yeny Sanchez and her son Ronald -  they are progressing but its super hard cause they are always busy..

The Martinez Family - they are good but falta mucho (not much) still

 

Juani - I dont know her last name, but poco y poco (little by little) she will progress.

Belinda dos Santos and Lisandry dos Santos - they are progressing well but haven't gotten to church.

2.  What was your favorite moment from this week and why? I was able to talk to a guy while we were eating

3.  Who is your favorite person this week and why? President Holland he is really good at telling it like it is.
 

4. What was your most spiritual moment this week and why? Talking to the guy in the restaurant or contacting the house that the missionaries had already contacted four times
 

5.  What was your most challenging moment this week and why? Not having people in church because it's a little cold. Haha
 

6.  Is there anything we can pray for you about? That we can get people to go to church
 

7.  What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos or Hot Wheels or Playstation. Haha
 

8. What toy would you throw over and over again at a wall if you could? Furbies
 

9.  What is your favorite kind of cereal? Cinnamon toast crunch :) 

Jon burned his tie to celebrate his "Bump Day" (six month mark) in his Mission on July 2nd!  It's hard to believe it's been six months already, but I am super excited for the next 18 to pass!