June 1, 2015

Hey what's up?

So life is good but this week was kind of a little bit hectic. We didn't get back to our area until Thursday because we went to Filadelphia to email and send our reports and stuff, and then we went to Abundancia to have our District Meeting.  Our District Meeting was super funny because our DL is super strict and apparently he didn't like the fact that Elder Luke and I wanted to have some good old missionary fun and so we switched their closets in the middle of the night while they were sleeping.  He specifically asked Elder Luke and I how we thought we were doing as far as obedience goes, and we told him that we are doing great and working hard, we just like to have fun and like to keep things interesting too.  Anyway, it was super funny, maybe you had to be there. ;)

After District Meeting, we had Zone Meeting and interviews.  It was great to talk to President McMullin and to tell him about some issues we were having in Neuland.  We still haven't received our computer. President McMullin then made a couple of phone calls and things started getting fixed!  It was super cool!  Haha! So good news, we should receive the computer in the next couple of weeks, and if we don't, President is going to "drop some fat Cain" on some people.

This week we were able to visit a lot of people, and it's been super cool because we have been having a lot of success with contacting families that the Branch President has given us.  It has been super amazing! I have been super motivated to give all of myself to my last four transfers.  It's going to be super hard, but I can already see the fruits of the work that I have been putting in.  

So yeah, this week was super cool ... Amazing!  We were able to commit Adolfo and Daisy to baptism and that was exciting.  They committed to baptism the first time we met with them, and they have come to church two times.   Their baptisms are set for the 26th.  Aldofo and Daisy have really liked church meetings.  For class this week we were talked about the First Vision and they really felt the Spirit! It was really an amazing lesson! ;)

I have been reading my P. Blessing and it talks about how I will have success as I serve people, so I have made a goal to do as much service as I can. It is cool because I have read my blessing many times, but this time that part really stood out to me and so I have been trying to put a lot of focus in service.  Yesterday after a lesson, we saw a lady cutting down a tree for firewood and so we went over and I cut the last couple of branches and then we carried the firewood to her house.  After we had served her, we were able to teach her a lesson.  There are so many activities that we can do to find new people to teach, and I am super excited for the opportunity to serve!

Well family, life really is good.  I sure love y'all and hope you have a good week!

Elder Turley 

1.  What was your happiest moment this week? 
Just finding the people and being able to put dates with them to be baptized

2.  What was your hardest moment this week? 
The missionary that just came home early has started drinking.

3.  What was your spiritual moment of the week? 
We had a good lesson with Julie, our Primary President, that was super cool.  Julie saw her baptism photo and she started crying, she really felt the Spirit.  She really is so great and is so committed to be doing the things that she needs to be doing. 
  
4.  What was your funniest moment of the week?
 I gave one of the CTR rings to a lady and she thought I was proposing to her. Haha!  Also, I took a tick out of a dog during a lesson and it exploded all over one of our members from Abundancia.

5.  Did you get our package?
Yes. Thanks for the CTR rings.  We have been visiting less actives and talking to them about making better choices.  Then at the end of the lesson, we have been giving them the rings

6.  How many people were in church? 
Twenty

7.  Who are your investigators? 
Adolfo and Daisy.  They are going to be baptized on the 26th of this month.  

8.  Who is your favorite person this week? 
Julie Alvarez, she is super cool and is getting a lot better with her conversion.  She was wearing her CTR ring when she came to church this week!

9.  Did you eat any crazy food this week?  What was your favorite meal?
 I didn't eat anything too cool.  We make all of our own food and it's nothing too cool.

10.  Do you know I love you more than life itself?  Yes mother, I do.

 Jon received his Package -- Yeah!!!

Jon asked for cookie mix so he could make some cookies!!!

(I am a little disturbed by the uncleanliness of the cookie sheet. Haha)

 

 It's Winter in Paraguay

and raining in the Chaco!!!

 

Jon and his companion found a fun pond ... Really???

I am so thankful he didn't fall in!!!

 

Jon and Elder Luke having some

good old Chaco fun!!!

 

 

May 25, 2015

Hey family what's up?
 

So as y'all should know this week was changes ... and I had changes and I am still out here in Neuland ... at least for the next six weeks!  To be honest, I think I'm going to be leaving in the next change which is a little bit sad, but at the same time it would be nice to be near Asuncion.  It's hard being in the Chaco. Haha!

 

But to let y'all know, my new comp is Elder Eaquinto. He has about 3 months more then I have In the mission, and will probably die (go home) out here in the Chaco. Elder Eaquinto is from California too -- a place called Ukiah or something like that.  From what I understand it is a little more North of Newport -- but I'm pretty sure that everywhere  is "a little more North" than Newport. Haha.  But I really like my new companion.  He is a good guy. :)  He is super motivated and is really in to goal setting, so we've been setting goals and this transfer is going to be super fun! :)

This week was super good.  We went to Asuncion, which we weren't really supposed to do, but it was super funny. Haha!  What happened is that we got on the bus to go to Abundancia to spend the night and wait for our new companions.  We had told our new companions to get on the bus to Abundancia, but somehow things got mixed up and they thought we were going to call them before they got on the bus.  So anyway we ended up getting on the bus and going to Asuncion to pick them up.  I was kind of glad that we ended up going to Asuncion because I got to see a bunch of my friends that are going home next transfer, and whom I will probably never see again.   It's crazy to think that now my mission is coming to an end, I might not be seeing a lot of my friends again. 

So overall this week was super good. We only worked like two and a half days due to all of the traveling, but we got so many lessons it was all good. We were able to find a bunch of new investigators which was super cool. :)  One of the guys we met was the Hermano Vasquez who is super cool.  We walked in to his house and said "We are missionaries, what do you want to learn?"  Hermano Vasquez said that he had been asking around because he had noticed there were so many churches, and he didn't know which one to join.  He said he was looking for the right church, the one "God would be proud of him for joining."  It was cool because we had run in to him and we were able to answer his questions and help him. :)  We are hoping to pass by his house next week and see how he is doing and help him be able to grow as person. :)  We also worked a lot with our Branch President's sister-in-law's family and four of them came to church.  We had another family of three come to church -- so yeah, we had seven new investigators at church this week. It was super good and I am stoked to still be here in Neuland this change --  it looks like we are going to have a lot of success. :) 

But yeah, other than that not much has really changed. I have been writing in my journal more, so that's good. Haha. :) 

I love y'alll and I'm so grateful to be part of your family. :) 

Love 

Elder Turley

 Elder Turley's "accidental" transfer trip to Asuncion!!!

May 17, 2015

Hey family --

So this week was kinda super crazy and a couple super cool things happened. 

So we were in Filidelphia on Monday for p-day and we stayed until Tuesday.  

Tuesday when we got back to Neuland we visited Francisco Martinez.  Apparently he has been saying a bunch of weird things to the people of Paraiso which are contrary to what the branch president has been telling them.  What we think is that he is trying to take over Paraiso by telling the people a bunch of lies.  For instance, he told the people that my companion and I were planning to come to Pariaso mid-week and sleep over there and bring them good things and work with them.  Honestly, this would not be a bad idea, but it really is not in the cards right now -- we are struggling enough to get out there on Sundays.  Apparently he thinks that if he tells the people we are going to do these good things, and then we don't, the people will turn on us and he will gain power over them.  It is really kind crazy, and even after talking with him, we aren't exactly sure what he is doing, but it's been super interesting.  

This week we taught a lot of people.  One cool thing is that ever since our branch president went through the temple, he has really changed and is focused on sharing the gospel and on getting his extended family converted.  Recently he said that his grandmother has been showing interest in being baptized, so who knows ... maybe we will have some baptisms coming up soon. :)  That would be super cool.  :)

One thing that kinda threw me off guard this week is that we went by the house of a member that Elder Burger and I had just reactivated. As we talked to them, they kind of bluntly told us that the reason there hasn't been much success with the members and why there haven't been any baptisms was because the previous branch president had been buying the new members clothes and paying them to get baptized.  He said that before President McMullin came to Asuncion, and when they had their old branch president (way before I got to Neuland), they were having a lot of success -- like one or two baptisms every couple of weeks.  He also said that they use to have a lot of activities where there would be food, and so the people would come in order to feed their families.  He said that ever since the mission and branch presidencies changed, there hadn't been many baptisms because the people want to wear "rich clothes" when they go to church and they want to church to provide their families food.  The man told us that if we start to do those things again we would start to have a lot of success.  At this point I thought ... "Hmmm I can definitely have more activities, but I am not willing to buy people clothes or pay for them to get baptized".  I figure if I am not getting paid to baptize people, I shouldn't pay the people to get baptized.  Haha.:)  It's kind of interesting because it all makes sense now.  When we have talked with the inactive members, they have told us that they don't come to church because they don't like the branch president because he isn't "doing his job" ... he isn't paying the people to get baptized or to come to church.  It definitely makes sense because the only people who really come to church are family of our branch president.  That said, I would rather have people come to the church who understand the real reason we have the church, rather than come to eat or to receive donations. Haha. :) Just another interesting story from the Chaco.

So another interesting story from this week ... On Wednesday we had to go to Abundancia to fix the money problems that the branch has been having because apparently they won't give us a computer because they don't know where our money has been going.  So I get to Abundancia and I log on to the website where we inform them of what our expenses are (Mom's Note:  Jon is the Branch Secretary ... it is only him and the branch president in the branch presidency), and I'm looking at how much money they need records for and I see that we are yet to inform them about 13,000,000 Guaranies -- which is like 2,600 dollars -- and for Paraguay (and more specifically the Chaco) that is a TON!!! So I was trying to figure out what to do because these expenses are way before I got here and the branch had since had an audit and the auditors took all of the receipts and records, and I have no idea what to do and so I just kind of went with it.  I informed them of everything I had done since I had been there ... and apparently it worked because our debit card is working again.

So anyway we spent all day Thursday doing that, and we aren't feeling good and we need to get home and the busses aren't running, and so we start walking to the highway to hitch hike home -- and the highway is like a mile and a half away from where we are -- and it starts to rain!  So we start walking and a couple of cars go buy and no one will stop.  So we keep walking and all of a sudden a van stopped and I looked at the van and was like "no way" ... it was our landlord's van.  Abundancia is like 50 miles away from my house, but it just so happened that my next door neighbor (and landlord) was driving down this particular road at this particular time ... so he picked us up and took us home.  It was definitely a miracle because it was Mother's Day in Paraguay and so no busses were running, and it had just started to rain and in the rain not many cars go out because of all of the potholes, and our landlord happened to pass by us right at that very moment.  Our landlord told us that he usually takes a different route when he goes from Abundancia to Neuland, but that day he thought "I should take a different route today" ... our route!   Really, he literally found us in the middle of nowhere! If it wouldn't have been for him, we would have been sick and stranded 50 miles from home in the rain, and that wouldn't have been good.  It just goes to show you that The Lord is aware of all the things that are happening in our lives and that He is always helping us! :)

But yeah, this week was a good week. We were able to go with our branch president to visit the family of his wife, and they all agreed to listen to a lesson, and the Spirit was there.  It was a little bit different than what we are use to because we went with a couple of  Neviclay Indians who could interpret for us, and we were able to give the lesson and to teach them the first principles of the Gospel.  So the lesson was good, and after the lesson we asked if there was anything we could do for them, and one of the women asked if I would give her a blessing. :)  So my companion annointed and I gave the blessing and the Spirit was there so strongly.  It really showed me that even if we don't know somebody, we can still receive revelation for them if we are worthy and doing the right things.   I love the opportunity to give blessings because it really helps me think about my P. Blessing where it admonishes me to always be ready and willing to serve with my priesthood when called upon.  It's always such a good feeling. :)

So now we are in Filidelphia and all is well.  We receive changes tomorrow and that's gonna be interesting to see if I stay or if I go. I think I will stay but you never know. :)  It has been a struggle out here as far as the work goes, but things are starting to improve and it would be a shame to have to leave now that things are looking up ... but wherever the Lord wants is where I shall go. :)

I love y'all --

Elder Turley

May 11, 2015

Hey family so this letter is going to be a little shorter then it should be, but it's all good. :)

So basically this week was a ton of traveling.

Monday we went out and were in Filadelfia to pass our p-day because we still don't have a computer.  So we were just kicking it, doing to the normal stuff and then we went to sleep.

Tuesday we went to Abundancia and had our distrcit meeting, nothing really too cool. Jusr the same old.  We need to be finding the people to baptize.  Nothing too cool.;)

Then Tuesday we get on the bus to go back to Fili, and when we get there to go take out the money to pay for our rent they said that my money wasn't in my account, that it was in the account of my companion’s card who was in Asuncion.  So that was pretty interesting, haha.  So that was interesting because I was like “okay, I’m going to go and pull it out on Thursday because the DL’s wanted to do a division... 

Wednesday we went out and we did our thing, talked to some families.  Our branch president was out of town and we couldn't talk to him, but we talked to Leonardo and Isabelle and they ended up coming to church so that was super cool. ;)  Nothing too cool just some good teaching. ;)

Wednesday the district leaders called and wanted to do some divisions, and to be honest it is almost the end of the change and I just didnt want to do it, haha.   So I told them I had some things to do in Filidelfia, but sure we can do it.  But on Thursday morning my desires to do a division were still not the highest.. So I then told him that i dont want to do the division and that we should just do it the next week, to which he responded that we needed to do one.  So I accepted it, and I went in to Filidelfia to take out the money and to start our division. Turns out as soon as I got to Fili on Thursday I didn't have my passport so I got to not have the divison and they did one with Fili instead, haha. It was super sick because I just really wasn't feeling one and I ended up tossing it onto Luke.  Haha

Friday we went out and did some work, then went to Fili in the night - nothing too cool. We went to go take out the money on Saturday morning, but I realized that they didn't give me the code to be able to go back and take the money out.  That was frustrating because they  closed at like 11:30 and I wasn’t able to take out the money.  And then we went to go get onto the bus at 6 and turns out that the bus wasn’t  there.  So we had to come back to Abundancia at 5 o’clock in the morning on Sunday to go to church, then we went back to Fili on Sunday night. 

So as y'all can see I am traveling a lot, and I realized that the money I am spending on all the traveling is actually super crazy because I am paying for my comp as well.  Hopefully he wll be able to pay me back when I pull out his money. :) 

But ya not much happened this week due to all the traveling ... I love yalll 

And hopefully I can write y'all a little bit more next week.. I loved seeing y'all, and I’ll be seeing you in like seven more months!  Haha

Elder Turley

 

 

 

 

What was your happiest moment this week? Seeing the family of menos activos in the church 

What was your funniest moment this week? Just all the problems and traveling it’s super funny. Haha 

What was your most spiritual moment this week?  The talk I gave yesterday was super cool. ;)   I felt the spirt and could tell that they listened to me 

Why was your biggest challenge this week? Fransisco Martinez plotting against our branch president 

Who are your investigators?  Don’t  have any progressing at the moment, but our branch president gave us a couple of good references that we are going to go visit with him.

Who is your favorite person this week? Probably my branch president, he is changing a lot ever since he got sealed and that’s awesome 

What is something you have learned from this past week? That God is in control of all things ;) and that things will happen in His time

What was your favorite scripture from last week? 

I really like 2nd Nephi 32:5.  I think it that is the one that talks about how now we have been baptized we need to live by the Spirit to tell us what we should do

April 20, 2015

Hello family --

What's up?  So this week was super interesting. We had work to do and we went out and did it.  And guess what, it's super sick (cool).  When I first came to the Chaco and was companions with Elder Burger, we had really low attendance at church -- 10 to 12 people each week.  Since I have been here, our average has gone from 10 to 25, and that's awesome. 

It's crazy because I have felt that my efforts have been counter productive, and we have had problem after problem.  But it recently hit me that my point of view is crucial.  As a missionary, I have had a lot of success in the baptism area, and it was hard to come to the Chaco where baptisms are not as common.  It's hard to see success when success is measured by baptisms.  So with all the problems we are having and not a lot of baptisms, it could be super hard and super discouraging if  I let it.  But I realized this week that I need to change my point of view.  We are growing as a branch!  Maybe we aren't getting 40 people to church, and I am not baptizing lots and lots of people, but we are still growing! 

Honestly, at first I was kind of scared and a little lost as to what to do, but I was able to change my point of view on things and I realized that we are growing and I just need to show faith and do the things that I need to be doing. :)   Honestly, the past few months have been a little hard out here, but I am doing fine now, and I know that I am here for a reason -- I know that, and so I know that I am going to be doing good things here. :) But yeah, the work is going well out here and we are doing good things. 

So our Chaco problem that we are having this week is that the kid came home from his mission and is now officially "in-active."  This is so sad because we were hoping that he would come home and help his family become active again, but "no," he has decided to go in-active.  This is honestly something you never want to hear as a missionary.  This kid had grown so much on his mission and had gained a testimony, but now he is just going to throw it away because of things that his parents said happened to them by other church members (that really didn't even happen).  It is sad and a struggle, but we are going to keep working with him and his family.  

But yeah, on a happier note, I am in Asuncion right now and we are going to the Temple tomorrow.  I have been able to see Elders Garner, Singer, Mclelland, and all my other friends, so that has been so cool.  It's always nice to "kick it" with the homies (good friends).  But yeah, I will be in the Temple tomorrow and I will be praying for all of you. :)

I love all of you, and hope things are going well for all for y'all!

Love --

Elder Turley

 Scenes from the Chaco

Jon loves dogs so much!!!

This is a picture of a man from BYU Idaho who has come to the Chaco to help the Neviclay people.  

Jon said that the children "loved him."
 

Oh just a little beehive!!!

Pictures of Neuland, Paraguay

 

Jon made chilli for dinner -- he is getting to be quite the cook!

On the bus going to Asuncion -- an 8 hour drive!

(He seems a little tall for the bus)

 

I noticed that his fingers look rough and worn, one of the blessings of living and 

working in the Chaco.  I love him and am so proud of him!!!

April 13, 2015

Hey Y'all --

So this week hasn't really been that cool, so this is going to be a short email.  Basically we went out and worked hard until I got sick -- I think I have a sinus infection.  Today I am feeling a  little bit better although I am still sick, but I am fine, mom. :) 

So usually when I am sick, I go out and work anyway, but this week I felt really yucky and so I decided that I was going to try to get some rest and get feeling better, so my work week wasn't the best.  I am looking forward to this coming week to go out there and get it done. :)

So, yeah, basically all I did this week is paint our Branch President's house, which was interesting. 

We did have a challenge this week as we had to go to F. M.'s house to talk to him about his son.  Let me back up.  I got a call from President McMullin and he said that F.M. is demanding that his son come home from his mission (he is serving a full-time mission here in Paraguay) so that the son can go in-active with the dad.  This is really random, because I have never heard of a person demanding their son come home from his mission (he has been out about a year) and go inactive with him.  It is super apostasy.  So President McMullin told me that he wanted to have a personal interview with F.M. and that he would send his son home after that interview.  So I went to F.M.'s house and told him what President McMullin had said, to which F.M. responded that if the President wanted to talk to him, he could come to Nueland.  He said "I am not going to Asuncion, and if I go there, I will take all my family and we are going to go fighting."  He said "I promise you, if I see the President or a Counselor of the Mission President, I will hit him."  It really was pretty gnarly (intense) and super interesting.  I was kinda confused about it all ... but you know it's just a regular day in the Chaco. :)  Anyway, F.M. went behind the President's back and called his son and convinced him to come home, he will be home tomorrow.  Mockanada ...

So I know this is really not the best email I have ever sent, HaHa, but really nothing happened this week.  Our church attendance is growing, which is a real blessing because we have had so many problems out here.  :)  But other than that I have nothing for you this week.  

I love y'all so much and hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Turley 

Painting the Branch President's House

(You can tell he's sick).

April 6, 2015

Hello Family -- 

So basically this week went really fast and it was a good week.  Honestly, we really didn't do too much because it was Easter, and Paraguay decides to shut down Easter Week.  That means all the stores shut down, the busses, everything.  As y'all know, I am out in the middle of no where, and had to go to Abundancia in order to be able to watch Conference, so we have done A LOT of traveling this week.  We started the week in Filidephia, because as of right now we still don't have a computer at our church (I am pretty frustrated with that, by the way), so I have to go to Filadelphia on Mondays to do all the Branch stuff I do every week, so we went to Filadelphia on Monday and came back on Tuesday. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we spent a lot of the time visiting members and inviting them all to come to Abundancia to watch Conference.  Then Thursday morning we had to leave for Abundancia because the busses were going to stop running on Friday afternoon. So we went as far as Filadelphia on Thursday and then woke up Friday morning and took the last running bus to Abundancia, and I am back in Filadlephia tonight and will be until tomorrow.  Basically I haven't been in my own house since Thursday of last week, and we have changes tomorrow.  I don't know if I am going to get "changed", but if I do that means I will be going to Asuncion to get the changes, then going back to my house on Wednesday night to get my stuff and then going to my new area.  So ... if by some chance I have changes, I will not have been in my house for about a week.  Crazy stuff, right.  I never thought that I would have to travel this much on my mission.  It's actually been a little frustrating because the Mission Clerk has been talking to us because he thinks we are using too much money and he is trying to get us to cut down a bit.  The problem is that the money he gives us doesn't last as long as it should because we have to pay for bus after bus after bus, but it's all good ... just normal Chaco problems. HaHa:) 

As far as Conference goes, it was awesome.  I learned a lot about how I am going to be a sinner if I don't get married right when I get home, Haha, so keep looking for someone for me, mom!  

I really liked Conference.  The talk I liked the most was about the Prodigal Son, I don't remember who gave it, but it was super good.  


Between the last Saturday Session of Conference and before the Priesthood Session, the Elders in Abundancia asked us to all go out and re-invite the members to come watch Conference on Sunday.  Abundancia is a one street town with like 50 houses.  So we all went out there and re-invited the members for the fourth time. :)  There was a part of me that was a little bit down on this idea at first because I didn't understand why we had to personally invite the members so many times, it seems like the members should know that it's Conference and that we should give them an opportunity to show their faith and come, but we decided we needed to go and so Elder Luke and I took the last 20 houses and we pounded through the invitations. 


As Elder Luke and I were walking back to the chapel, we saw the other Elders and we decided to help them finish their houses.  So we knocked on one door and invite the family, and then we knocked on another door and the guy asked us to sit down and talk to him.  The man then told us that his children hate him, that they hit him all the time, and say that he isn't their dad.  He said his children no longer want to go to church.  So we talked to this man about Alma and Alma the Younger.  We told him that he needed to be patient and pray and do his part and his children would come back to him ... just like Alma the Younger came back.  I then told the man that if he were to come watch Conference the next day that he would hear something that he needed to hear.  We told him that as missionaries, we don't always know what people are going through, but God does know and He will talk to each individual through our church leaders.  It was a really neat conversation.  I don't know if the man came to Conference, I hope he did because I know the talk about the Prodigal Son was meant to help him cope with the challenges he was having with his children who were being a little rebellious. 

But yeah, that lesson with him made me miss a good half of the Priesthood Session because we talked to the man for a good hour and a half.  I also didn't get to see the last session on Sunday because I had to get on the bus to go back to Filadelphia.  If we didn't go then, we would have had to hitch hike back and that would have taken forever. 
 

So yeah, this week was pretty crazy as far as traveling goes, but it was really good because about 30 people from my Branch came to Conference, including all of my recent converts and the mom of my Branch President who isn't a member and has never gone to church.  I was super surprised that she made it, it was super cool.  Oh and Vivianna, a cousin to the Branch President's family came too, so we had two investigators there, which was way cool.  

But I am happy that all of you are reading your scriptures (well hopefully) and that y'all were able to watch Conference.  I am in 1st Nephi, Chapter 14 right now and I am going to finish The Book of Mormon in about 80 days, that's what our mission is doing. :)  I would love it if you would all of you would read with me so that you can be spiritually uplifted by the power of the Holy Ghost. :)

I love y'all so much and am grateful to have y'all in my life. 

Love --

Elder Turley 

This is how they watch General Conference

in Paraguay!

Oh no worries, they just have frogs 

and beehives to deal with. :)