Elder Jonathan Turley: February 9, 2015

Hello parents ;)

So this week was super interesting. Backing up to last p-day, we were in Abundancia and it was so amazing because I got chips and salsa ... like legit chips and salsa ... it was amazing ... like the Totinos chips and salsa ... I was so happy ... it has been way too long since I have had chips and salsa ... I loved it! (Mom's note: I think he really liked having chips and salsa. Haha). Anyway, we stayed in Abundancia until Tuesday then we returned to Neuland. So the week started out good. We had a bunch of good lessons, and we were very blessed -- we met a man named Philip -- but more about that in a minute.

So on Wednesday the day started out a little bit rough, but we went out and did our visits and everything and kept moving forward. At one point, we went over to an investigator's house, but he wasn't home and so we talked to his dad for a little bit. Then we were just walking around and we happened upon a home where apparently the people don't like the missionaries, so the missionaries have typically not visited, but I felt like we should visit and we did talk to the owner for a few minutes and then we went on our way.

So nothing really out of the ordinary was going on. But then, we passed by a home and I remembered that I had wanted to purchase a "pen drive" (USB drive) -- it's a third generation and so it will copy things to it and so the missionaries are all trying to get one to hold our music and talks, and right then we were passing by the home where the pen drives were sold. Last week we had gone by this home, but the guy selling them didn't have any and so he told us to come back this week. Anyway, so as we walked by this house, I saw that there were lights on and a different guy had just gotten off of the phone, and so I went over to him to ask him if he knew anything about the pen drives. Well the new guy is actually from Australia and speaks English and does not speak Spanish, so I was like "this isn't a problem ... I speak English," and so I went over and asked him about the pen drives. He told me his brother was the one selling them and he wasn't home and so we would need to come back another time.

Then out of the blue, the guy said "You all are missionaries, right," and I said "Yes, we are from The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints." Then he invited us into his house. He name was Philip and he was very friendly and we had a good contact with him. We talked about the Priesthood and other things, and this guy is super cool -- we ended up talking to him for three hours. He is 21 and divorced and has a child. He has had a lot of the same problems that I kind of went through, and so it was super cool to talk to him. At one point he said "honestly, I have been trying to quit smoking and live a better life, and you guys are the answers to my prayers." He said that like five times! It really was a super good lesson ... he is a super cool guy! And the crazy part about all of it is that it was in English. It was one of those lessons you have that you know you will never forget. It really was a miracle that we ended up talking to him, and that I noticed he was home. And the timing was perfect ... we were going to try to go by there earlier, and his brother might have been home then, but he wouldn't have been. So we just happened to be there at the exact time he needed us. There were so many little things that all went "right" that day that led us to meeting him ... like the fact that I spoke English because he didn't speak Spanish, or the fact that we stopped by the man's home who typically didn't like the missionaries and that delayed us a few minutes so we would just happened to pass by this home at the exact time the guy was getting off the phone. There were just a ton of crazy things that happened so that we would be able to meet this Philip -- really, it was pretty crazy, I'm not going to lie, and I definitely thanked the Lord for the blessing he gave to us to meet him.

So this week, other than meeting Philip, a good thing was that we had a combined total of 85 people in church -- that's Paraiso and Neuland together. We are getting a lot of people to church and that's really good. The attendance in Neuland has jumped up from 10 people to about 40 people every week. We are definitely doing work out here. ;)

Also, mom, I just wanted to tell you that we have been recieving a lot of clothes from Hermana McMullin. The help that you and the moms have been, and the clothes and things you all sent, are really lightening a burden for the Nivacle people."

So all in all, it was a super good week. ;)

Highlights of the week:

We had 5 investigators in church

I got my hair cut

I almost killed a kid on a moto, not really "almost"

I ate mac and cheese.

I ate chips and salsa

We are doing good work with the people out here

I have a feeling that Elder Burger is leaving this next change, and that's going to be hard because it is a little hard to speak German, but I know that it will all work out. ;)

I love y'all, and now I'll answer the questions.

Elder Turley

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1. Who are you investigators and how are they progressing?

We have five investigators -- three of them are ...

Elida -- She came to church on Sunday

Viviana -- She came to church as well

Mirna -- She didn't come to church, but we have a really good feeling about her.

2. Who is your favorite person this week?

Philip

3. What is your happiest moment from this week?

Chips and Salsa -- all the way

4. What was your most spiritual moment from this week?

Running into Philip

5. What was your toughest moment this week?

There really weren't any hard moments. In one lesson, the investigators tried to blame everything on the fact that they are different than us and we just don't understand their lifestyle. That was kind of frustrating.

6. What can we pray about for you?

That we can keep working with and help Philip

7. Any special requests in your birthday package?

Beef jerky ... I don't know ... A full package of 5 Gum

8. Are you eating well? Getting enough food and water?

Yes, I eat well enough we cook for ourselves.

9. How is your health? Any specific concerns?

I am good for right now ;)

10. Have you received any packages from us?

I have four from you that are sitting in Asuncion, hopefully I will get them soon.

It's Raining in Paraguay

The only ride way we could get from Neuland to Paraiso for Sacrament Meeting was sitting on chairs on a bed on the back of a motorcycle -- the ride was three hours long and just a little dangerous, but we were protected. It was so dusty that we covered our heads with t-shirts.