June 30, 2014

Hello Family

So Pday was pretty good.  We all got together for a zone activity and played soccer, then we went to McDonalds and I got a Big Mac and two Chicken Sandwiches and it was pretty delicious. :)  After Pday, we taught Juanie.  She is always fun to visit.  It's interesting because on one hand she likes to visit with us and wants us to keep coming back and teaching her and she tells us she will read the Book of Mormon, but on the other hand she says she has her church that she already belongs to.  It's kind of funny because my companion and I know that she is progressing, but she doesn't know it.  :)  Then we had a lesson with the Familia Achukkaro.

Tuesday we had four lessons, the first one with the Familia Briotz.  The mom had a strange experience where she had a spirit come down and talk to her in a different tongue.  The spirit told her he was an angel, but she felt really very  weird and felt the spirit was the devil.  It is kind of crazy to hear about.  After the Briotz family, we talked to Hermana Jara and then the three of us went to talk to Belinda.  We watched the Restoration video with her and that was really spiritual.  We talked about how she can get her answer to all of her questions, she just has to want it like Joseph Smith did. Next we talked to the Family Vela and they are pretty cool.  They lived in Connecticut and so they speak English.  We have visited them before and the dad hasn't been there, but he was this day and so I was able to talk to him for like 20 minutes and he opened up to me quite a bit and it was pretty cool.  Last week it rained so much, and on Tuesday it was hailing and raining super hard, and there was even a tornado about twenty minutes away from me.  Pretty crazy.

Wednesday we had a division with Elder Machuachi.  He and I taught Angela, a sweet grandmother.  Then we taught Gladys, which is kind of hard because she doesn't really remember anything, but we still try to talk to her.  Then we taught the other Gladys.  Gladys #2 isn't a huge fan of the Book of Mormon, so when we teach her, we teach her a lot out of the Bible.  Next we talked to the Perez Family and they have a lot of  medical problems, and so it is extremely difficult for them to get to church.  It's sad because they want us to give them the sacrament, but we can't because they were inactive before their medical problems started.  So we need to get them back to church somehow so we can move forward with them.  Finally we met with Juanie and read the Book of Mormon with her. 

Thursday our zone went over to the area where the tornado had been and did service for six hours.  We were in knee deep water, and apparently one of the places that we did service had an electrical current in the water, but nobody was hurt, probably because we are missionaries, and so that was a blessing.   After our service, we just got home and my companion was showering, and we got a phone call from one of the members in our ward who's home has flooded.  They asked us to come help them, so of course we did.  After helping them, we had a really good lesson with Belinda.  Finally we had our International Comida (Food) activity, and I made tacos and everyone thought they were super good.  It was fun.  :)

Friday I woke up sick.  I am not all that surprised because Thursday we worked outside in the rain all day long, but it's all good because we worked really hard anyway.  Friday the weather was horrible, it was a downpour again, and I worked in soaked clothes for a good seven hours.  Friday we worked with the Briotz Family, Juanie, and the Family Achukarro.  Finally we went to the Lugo home and taught their daughter, Alicia.  She is a really nice lady and is scared to change her life, but we believe in time, she will accept the Gospel and want to join the church.

Saturday.. We talked to Guiermlo about him blessing the sacrament,  and he is super stoked for that.  Then we talked to Juani again.  Finally we went to the Family Achukarro's home and I got to play Tic Tac Toe with their daughter, Jaylee, and that was a lot of fun. :)

Sunday we went to church and then went to the Branch President's house and my companion cooked some Peruvian food, and it was pretty good, but it hurt really badly to swallow.  Next we went with the Elder's Quorum President to the Lugo's home to home teach them.  Then we had a lesson with the Monsen Family, and finally we met with the Bravo Family.  The dad needed to get some information off of the church website, so we taught him how to do that.  We did share Mosiah 2:41 with all of the families.  :)

Monday, today, we went to the mission office, bought some groceries, and now we are here at the cyber emailing you.  

Cleanup after the Tornado

 International Food Activity

June 16, 2014

DRAFT

Monday.. SO monday was pretty sick we played a lot of football and i threw a couple touchdowns as usual ;) but Then we played rugby and that was sick cause i had never played it before and was kinda thrown off before but it was fun ;) Then we went and ate quiznos and taht was super sick cause it was kinda american and we never really eat sandwhiches so it was super good or what we say in sud america es (super rico)..Then we got to talk to a kid elidelio and we were teaching him the lesson one and it was super weird cause it was in his door but we talked for a little bit and it was good but we havent been back to teach him which is kinda sad but kinda awkward cause he is sitting in front of me right now haha super awk;) Then we talked to the Family Achukaro they are super dope but you can tell satan is working on them because they are progressing but things are getting difficult to work with with them..

Tuesday So we had our district meeting and that was pretty cool it was about our goals and how we are going to hit our goals.. then we went to the hermana jara she is super dope an taught her a little bit about how we need to build our relationship on christ super sick then we went and contacted a little bit and ran into a guy named Juan CArlos and that was pretty cool because he was pretty sick and we taught him lesson one and it was pretty normal but haha nother really super crazy just a normal lesson ;) then we walked around trying to find a lesson but couldnt so we went to the church and for a couple hours for a birthday party pretty sick right i ate cupcakes it was awesome i miss cupcakes they werent that sick but cupcakes right ;) 

Wednesday.. Wednesday we had a division with elder wolfgram and it was pretty sick taught a little he is super cool and is going to play for byu when he gets back But it was pretty sick we taught a english lesson and they had like 30 people super mucho we never have people at our english lessons but it was weird cause it is super dificil to teach latins how to speak haha they dont get it 

Thursday.. So thursday we had zone meeting and we talked about like knowing all the scriptures so that we can teach to different situations and like went over like 25 scriptures that we can use and he tested us on them and i got like 80 percent super sick but i got a lot from what i knew and it was super sick.. Then we went and taught a ady who was super good was going to progress a fool then we learned she lives not in our area and that sucks cause it happens all the time that we get super dope people who we could baptize but they always live in the other elders area super stupid;( our area is super hard to work.. But we went and then taught the Martinez family about the sabath day and the improtance of it and i think they will come back her aunt who is a member said that she is going to reactivate to change her life and that she wants to come back to church and have her kids get baptized ;) Then we went to the noche of our ward and we taught some menos activios pretty cool;) Then we talked to the Achukaro family and they were fighting in front of us because we taught about eternal families and they arent ready to be sealed so its super dificult but ehhhhh it can work out..

Friday... WE went and taught the hermana soracho which was cool she is a cool girl but works on sunday so it is a little bit hard because it is super hard to teach to the people who dont have a lot of money that they need to stop working on sunday so that they can get to church and be blessed and they cant really see how it will help them but its al good we are still going to work with them.. Then we taught ARacelli just juan 3.5 about bautismo and why we need to be baptized..Then we went taught ada and jaylee and that was cool.. Then we went back to aracellis house with her mom and we taught the lesson one and she is super cool and like thinks we are right but doesnt really believe in god which is a little bit hard but we think that she will change even though she really doesnt want to ;) BUt it was crazy we were talking to the achkaro family and their grandaughter who is 4 dropped the craziest thing ever she said by the blood of christ i promise that i will not hit my cousin.. IT was sooo crazy she dropped by the blood of christ and she was 4 i was so thrown off i didnt know how to handle it haha..

Saturday.. SO we killed it today.. We were walking and these old investigators dropped cain on how we need to teach them more they wont progress but they just wanted to talk to the attractive missionaries.. Then we talked to a grandma and she is super humble but dont know if she will get to church she is super sick but is like ahhh super old haha.. Then WE talked to Belinda pretty cool they are really weird an her daughter is really her sister not her daughter really crazy but we think that they can progress so we are goign to work that ;) THen we taked to The hermana jara which was pretty sad cause she is going through a hard time cause her neighboors arent accepting her message of the gospel..Then we taked to ronald and it was good cause i dropped all his doubs by using a lot of scriptures about how we need the authority to act and not just anyone can baptize and i used 3rd nefi 11 and it talks about how christ gave the authority and he was like ohhhh super cool..Then we talked to the perez family and then to the achukaro family it was super stupid cause everyone was trying to get out of it it kinda sucked but its all good.. But we had 7 lessons super sick;) 

Sunday..Was normal had church i had to talk about conversion then we had lunch which was asado super rico then we talked to juanie then the martinez family about baptism then achukaro then we taught a lesson in the doorway of our neighboor super awkward but it was chill  it was kinda a normal day but it was pretty good i guess haha ;) 

Monday......TOday we played soccer with the ward and that was pretty sick ;) and now i am here ill answer your questions tomorrow i need to go ;) 

June 9, 2014

Monday… So Monday was pretty unproductive.  We cleaned our house and then we went out and shopped.  We went to Shangri La, which is pretty good but pretty expensive for Paraguay ($12).  Then we went home and tried to have a no he de hogan with one of our memos activos but they didn’t come because they are super cai goy (not sure how to spell that, but it means lazy).  Haha.  We made brownies - cool stuff.

Tuesday...  Tuesday we had our District meeting!  I was demonstrating all my faith when setting our baptism goals and everyone was like “no, we can’t hit that,” then I dropped Cain on them and their faith.  I told them I couldn’t believe that with all the people in all of our areas, we couldn’t get 2-3 people into the water. Haha.  It was pretty funny because I won, and we set our goals higher because we need faith right now.  Haha.  Then we went into the other side of the area and went to see the Hermana Jara.  We talked to her and one of her friends,  and then we went out trying to find new lessons with her.  She pretty much dropped Cain on the people we were contacting and told them they were denying Christ.  It was really cool, and super funny!  Haha ;).  Then we had two lessons with the Achucarro family and that was pretty cool.  We finally hit our metas which was pretty cool.  Then we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and he said I knew a lot of scriptures so that was cool.  Haha.

Wednesday… We had a division with Elder Lunromisky and he is pretty chill.  He is from Argentina and is a good missionary who knows a lot of scriptures - pretty cool. We talked with a menos activo family and she had a lot of problems, so then we talked to her sister who is also think is menos activo but has a daughter who needs to get baptized.  So we talked to her about that, and I think we might be able to get them to go to church but they are super hard to work with.  It is going to take a ton to work with them.  Then we went to the Family Achucarro and taught the wife about some neat things - pretty cool.  Then we switched back our comps and had a good time and went to sleep - the good stuff right?  Haha

Thursday…. I was listening to a talk by President Uchtdorf and he said a thing that really hit me.  It was about Charley and the Chocolate Factory,  and it was about how people let their happiness go because they didn't get the golden ticket.  They lost sight on the real thing - which is that they had a chocolate bar and that was their real form of happiness.   It was really cool it is called “Forget Me Not,” and it was really good and teaches you that you need to not forget the little things, and that we are all beautiful.  It was in the women’s session, and you should look it up because it was super good. ;).  Then we went and talked to some people and taught four lessons the Hermana Jara had set up.  Then we taught the Family Achucarro and some other contacts and were about to hit our goals but didn't because we had an activity called sopa - which means soup, but it wasn't soup it was like a cake thing with like eggs and cheese.  It is super big in Paraguay, and that was pretty cool. ;)  Then we went home and slept.  ;)

Friday...  Friday we hit our goals again.  We contacted a girl named Blanca and she is super cool because she was a nuevo,  but it was in the doorway so I don't know how good it will be. ;). Then we taught Pedro.  We taught him a couple scriptures about how we need to not delay our baptism and repentance Alma 32-34, it was pretty cool.  Then we taught Mario and Julio and that was pretty cool.  We got them to be nuevos which was pretty cool. ;). Then we went and talked to the Family Achucarro which is always kinda “ehhh” not knowing if we are going  to do much with them.  But it was all right because we can always find a lesson there and it is usually good. ;)

Saturday...  Saturday we had a rescue type thing with the stake and we taught two lessons in another area,  I’m not really sure what the name was but it was pretty cool.  Then we talked to Silveria super hard because she has questions.  We answered them, but she just won’t listen cause she doesnt want to go back to church and have a eternal life which is sad, but it’s alright.  Then we talked to the Family Vela and it was pretty cool.  We bore our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and that was pretty cool. ;)

Sunday.. We had church and one thing that stood out is that in every moment we need to think of Christ,  I for sure need to work on that, because I think about him every day, but not in every moment.  Then we talked to Ronald and we are not really sure where he is going with everything but it is alright. ;). Then we talked to the Achucarro Family and had a cool lesson about atonement and about testimonies and it was super cool. ;)

Monday… We had an activity and that was pretty fun.  We didn’t do too much but play football and rugby, and I got to eat Quiznos and that was super good. ;)  I miss sandwhiches!

Questions of the week:

Who are your current investigators?  Right now we have Jazmine, Kevin, Belinda, and Lisy.  But I’m not super sure where they are going, we don't have any progressing 

What was your happiest moment this week?   I taught some super cool lessons and the spirit was there and so that was cool.

What was your most challenging moment this week?  Just having return lessons is a challenge 

What was your most spiritual moment this week?   Just the lessons where super cool.  I liked the one last night about the atonement, it was super cool. ;) 

What can we pray about for you?  That I will find people to teach 

What is your favorite memory with your dad (since it was his birthday yesterday)?  He was always the best football coach, and he was always there for me.  

Elder Turley 

June 2, 2014

Hello parents this is my 5th month in the mission, crazy right - it’s gone pretty quick.

Monday - So today was pretty normal, we went out and did p-day stuff like playing frisby.  Then after that we went and tried to get some lessons but nothing really worked out, so we went to the Family Achucarro and that was pretty cool because we are helping their family a lot. ;)   But nothing really more than that because we didn’t have much time to work.

Tuesday -  We worked our other side of our area and that was pretty cool because we have the Hermana Jara.  She is super old but loves the gospel and so she goes out contacts her neighboors for us and gets us a ton of lessons, and we are having a lot of success with her. ;)  Then we went and talked to one of her friends and she said that she knows that everything we are teaching her is true.  And she and Hermana Jara speak a lot in Guarani and that is difficult because I can only understand like one percent of the things being said, but I think I can learn.  Haha!   Then I had gnarly lesson with the Book of Mormon and straight up killed it!  She is going to read the Book of Mormon cause she couldn't prove me wrong on anything because I whipped out a scripture for every one questions! ;) Overall it was a good day, nothing too crazy. ;)

Wednesday - So Wednesday was super busy we planned a ton but literally nothing went through.  We talked to the Hermana Achucarro and that was pretty cool.  Then we ran through all our less actives and taught four of them, and got a ton of lessons.  It was cool because we got to know everyone that we didn’t really know.  We had a good lesson with the Hermana Roman and it was pretty cool because she has two daughters who aren’t baptized (and they don't know if they want to be baptized), but I have hope that we can work with them - so that’s pretty cool.

Thursday - We made brownies and then had lunch. Then we went and talked to the recent convert Guillermo and that was cool because he is always super happy to talk to the missionaries. ;)  Then we talked to the Hermana Jara and she was super sick.  Then we went to the house of the Dos Santos and that was cool because the daughter had prayed and then had a gnarly experience and then started crying cause she felt super good. ;). It was so cool.  Her mom hasn’t  had a similar experience yet but she hasn't really prayed for it but we are getting her to do it.  Then we had a ward night where we talked about prayer and I killed it of course, and the bishop and counselors were asking me questions and that made it pretty cool. ;). Then we went home and slept. Haha

Friday…. We had a lesson with the Family Martinez and they are super hard, and don’t want to have their kids get baptized.  I don’t like it because it’s just because the dad wants to drink and it is super hard. Haha.  Then we went and had a lesson with an other menos active and didn’t really do much more cause it was a little cold.

Saturday - We finally hit our goals for the first time - super stoked!  We talked to the Hermana Jara and then we talked to some random guy, Mathis, and he became a nuevo (accepted baptism) and that was pretty cool!  His brother came home and was super mad that he was talking to the missionaries, and was being mean to us - to say it nicely.   But I’m not mad because the true church of God will always have opposition like what Elder Holland said in his talk in the last General Conference.

Sunday -  So we had church and that was pretty good.  Then we ate rice and eggs which was super delicious. Haha ;).  Then we taught the Family Achucarro.  Then we taught the Family Martinez again and they don’t listen, but they know that baptism is important but don't know if they want to get their kids baptized.  I am trying to help her understand that she is denying her daughters their salvation - which isn't good, so we are kinda dropping Cain on her.

Monday - We prepped for a funeral then we ate Chinese food which was super delicious ;) Now I am here. ;)

This week some guy who lives about a street from my house got shot and he died.  He was a 74 year old man.  Apparently the men were neighbors and their dogs always fight, so one day one neighbor got mad about it and killed the other neighbor.  

——————

Hello Father, thanks for being such a great dad!   I love you so much!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  It’s crazy that I have been gone this long!  I will see you soon!  I pray for you every day that your mind will be opened up and that you will be able to not have stress. Haha ;).  I  love you pops, thanks for supporting me in everything - it means a ton to me!  You were the best coach and best friend that I could have ever asked for!  ;)

Love Elder Turley  

I cut myself shaving because I only had like one minute to shave

I got nailed by a piece of wood because I wasn’t watching where I was walking!

 

May 26, 2014

Hi family, this is my email about what I did this week.

Monday we played soccer and some football and then that was sick. Then we went home and taught a couple lessons and one was super sick because one of the kids, Ronald, said that he was interested and that he kinda wants to receive an answer to everything now, so that was pretty sick. It has gotten super cold lately and that is a struggle haha but its all good. :)

Tuesday we had one lesson in the morning with a lady, and halfway through the lesson her daughter came home and said they needed to go pick up her kids from collegio and they bailed on us. Then we went and had lunch and then we had to go and contact a little, but didn't have much time because we had a Zone meeting and that was pretty sick. The AP's were talking about how we can plan better for our investigators. Then they said that at my last Zone meeting it was Elder Gummersall and I who were the only one taking notes and paying the most attention, and that we were having the most success because we were paying attention and applying it in our lessons and we had mucho excito (much success) because of this. :). Then we had an interview with President McMullin, and it was about planning and working better with the list of members and less actives and he was asking us with what can we do to make it better, and I said that we should make lists of people who have incomplete families, and he was like "I didn't think of that, I like the way you think". :) Then we were in our personal interview and he asked how I am doing and stuff and then said that we have a bunch of really good missionaries in this mission, and I on my way to being one of those really good missionaries, so that was pretty sick ;) Then we went home and did some planning, but nothing too cool.

Wednesday was super cold and contacting was not fun, but we worked hard. We contacted a house and taught a guy named Jose and that was pretty cool because the way I explain the Apostacy is this ... "We have a bible which has scriptures in it, and I can read a scripture and say that this is what God wants because the scripture says so, but then another person can read the same scripture and say that I am lying because he thinks the scripture means something else, and so now there are two churches working from the same Bible saying different things. But this just didn't happen once, it happened multiple times and now we have millions of churches and every church has their way of doing things and every different church thinks they are the right church, the true church of God, because they are using the Bible.  But who knows what church is right, God knows, and that is why Joseph Smith went to Him.  It is really sick because as I told this to the investigator, he was like "I never really thought if it like that and it's true every church says that they are the only church of God, and that's super interesting that all the churches claim that". 

Then we talked to Guierlmo, who is the recent convert of my comp, and he is super chill but super poor and said he couldn't go to church because he didn't have a shirt and tie (and so of course I gave him one of my shirts and ties), but we got him to commit to going to church because it is super important to go to the church.

Then we shared a scripture about faith with Ronald later that night and it was chill, and we feel like he could progress he is just going to be a little difficult because he isn't too sure if he believes in God that much. Super difficult, but not impossible Thursday we had our district meeting and that was pretty cool, then we went to the other side of our area and had to take like 2 busses to get there, that's how big our area is.  We talked to Guierlmo again and that was pretty cool. Then we were walking and contacted a meno activo (less active) and that was super sick because she was like "I have been teaching everyone in my neighborhood about the church, but you guys stopped coming by so I can't get them baptized." Haha. So we had a couple lessons with her referencias and they were pretty sick. One was a daughter and her mom, and the daughter is 16 and the mom is 30, so crazy. The mom's husband is 40. Relationships down here are crazy, but they accepted the invitation to listen to us, so that was sick. Then we talked to a couple random people.

Friday  we only had a couple lessons. We talked to Ronald, and that was pretty chill. Then we had a reference lesson and that was pretty cool because she was a new contact. Because it is so cold down here, we aren't meeting many people on the streets because nobody wants to leave their warm houses.  Haha

Saturday we saw Guierlmo again and I gave him the shirt and tie, so that was pretty cool.  Then we contacted a ton and we ran into a guy who said that he is from the Tribe of Levi, and that was interesting. Then we had a lesson with Ronald and tried to get him to go to church. Then we had a lesson with the a Chukaro family and that was pretty sick because we played Jenga, and I always won because I am super good at Jenga (Gracias Austin for giving me Jenga), then we ate brownies. :) 

Sunday was church and it was raining so we only had 23 people, usually it is around 70.  Paraguayans are scared of the rain. LOL. (Laugh out loud).  I blessed the Sacrament in Spanish so that was pretty cool. After church we taught the kids of a menos activo (less active) and they both accepted so that was super sick.  Then we taught a quick lessons to another family, and that is pretty much it for the week.. 

Monday, today, we went and we went shopping and played ultimate frisby and ate empanadas and now i am here emailing you.

The time is going by really fast. I can't believe I have been gone for five months already. It's going quickly because we stay super busy.

Questions of the Week from Mom:

1. How many investigators do you currently have? What are their names? We don't  really have many progressing, Ronald and his mom, a guy named Christian, and another guy named Edgar.

2.  Who is your favorite person this week and why? The 1st counselor in my Branch, Jimmy, because he is super funny and does super random things.

3.  What is your favorite thing about your new area? It is giant and I have a lot more places where I can eat without leaving my Zone. Haha

4.  What was your favorite spiritual moment from this week? Monday when we taught Ronald. (I should have asked him why.) :)

5.  What was your biggest success this week? We were able to teach pretty good and more in unity ;) 

6.  What was your biggest challenge this week? The cold and not getting many lessons

7. What can we pray about for you? That we can get more people that actually want to talk to us. Haha

8.  What is your favorite time of the day and why?  Before my mission, like 2 or 3 in the morning -- I just like to be up later ;) 

9.  What chore do you absolutely hate doing and why?   I hate taking down and putting up Christmas stuff with a passion, we all know mom went crazy with Christmas and I was the one who was always in charge of the boxes. Haha

10.  What is your favorite sound?  Babies crying. ;) Just kidding, probably rain, I am not sure.

Well, I've got to go. I love you all. Stay safe and unstressed.  One thing my comp says is that if we are trying to accomplish something, if we think about what good it will do for the church, we are able to better accomplish it.  This is the reason that we, as missionaries, learn the language so well. It's because it is to help the church and not ourselves.  Dad, I know you have a lot going on and a lot to do, but I have faith in you.  






Love y'all -- Elder Turley

 Chillin in Paraguay

 Elder Turley and Elder Reynoso 

 Jon's new companion, Elder Reynoso, has a fun personality ... Look, he's riding a broom!

 Getting to the end of the month and the end of his missionary money, Jon's eating a lot of rice!  The good news, at least he has Cholula to put on it!

May 19, 2014

Monday ... We played football and that was pretty sick because you know how much I like football,  and you don't get much of it in Paraguay.  Haha.  Actually we do get football, but it is very different.  Haha.  After we played football, we went home and then we taught two lessons.  One was with a menos activo (less active), and the other lesson was with their cousin who is kinda difficult, but I am always up for a challenge.

Tuesday ... We had our District Meeting and that was pretty cool.  It was about opening our mouths, which is super appropriate because we got super stoked to talk to people, and that's all we did on Tuesday because nobody let us in and we walked around for 2 hours and that was not a lot of fun, but it is what it is and I am happy, we did our best and did what God wanted us to do, so it was good enough.   :)  It's interesting because at District Meeting I read the scripture Jacob 1:19 which is kind of scary ...  "And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the world of God with all diligence; wherefore by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day."   We didn't get our all our lessons on Tuesday, but we did magnify our calling, and so it was good enough.

Wednesday ...  was better cause we had five lessons and were ready to teach the word of God.  We got two nuevos, Ronald, the son of Jenny, and he is cool but I am not sure how much he is going to progress, and Thomas, the son of a guy we contacted, and that was pretty cool because I think that he can progress.  Then we contacted some menos activos  (less actives) and that was good.

Thursday ... we had a division, but really didn't do much because it was Mother's Day and everyone was busy with that.  On top of that it was raining, so it was a super sad day.  We were able to teach a  recent convert the Sacrament Prayers,  and that was sick cause he was super cool.  He said "I need the missionaries because the Word of God is way too important for me to just let this go."  It was super cool!

Friday ... We contacted a ton and taught The Book of Mormon to Thomas and his sister, Perla.  We felt good about our lesson with them because we kept going to their house and we were able to meet them.  It is super cool because they have a giant family, and I think they will progress. ;) 

Saturday ... we had four lessons and that was sick (awesome). We worked super hard.  It's interesting because after 6:00 p.m., people in Paraguay like to sit in their front yards and drink and listen to music and if you try to talk to them they say they are too busy, so all of our work was in the daytime. We did go to some members' homes and ask for references and we did get seven, and contacted them all on Sunday.

Domingo ... Church was really good, and after we had a pretty awesome lesson with Alba, who was a contact.  She seems to want to get baptized because she knows the importance of it and isn't baptized yet, so that's really cool. Then we contacted all of the references that we got the night before although we didn't find anyone who would let us in.  Finally we talked to the Branch President and his mother-in-law, who is the Relief Society President, and we taught them the first lesson, which helps us learn the lessons a little more. ;) 

Monday ... I got a hair cut and then played football and soccer and now I am here emailing you. :)

We had a neat experience last night when we found a lady who seems pretty awesome.  She lives with her boyfriend and they are thinking about getting married.  She was Evangelical, but left her church because tons of churches say they are the right church, and it confuses her.  She wasn't baptized into her church because she didn't feel right about it.  She likes to read the bible and knows baptism is right for her.  I have hope we will be able to work with her.


Questions of the Week:

1.  Who are you investigators:  Jenny, Alba, and Edgar.  We are working with more, but these are our most hopeful.

2.  Who is your favorite person this week?  Jesus

3.  What is your favorite thing about your companion? He is a a chill guy and keeps me working hard. Haha

4.  What was your favorite spiritual moment from this week?  I was about to go to bed, and then I thought I had to go to the bathroom, but I had just gone to the bathroom, so I was confused.  So I got up and went to the bathroom, and then I realized I had forgotten to put my water bottle in the fridge, and so I went to put my water bottle in the fridge and realized that I had left the stove on because I was boiling water, it had been running for an hour and probably would have burned down the house.  That was pretty cool because at first when I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom, I just thought "No, I am just going to go to bed," but I followed my feeling and most likely ended up saving myself.

5.  What was your biggest success this week? I was able to do 10 pushups. :) What up I'm giant ;) 

6.  What was your biggest challenge this week? We didn't have any lessons on Tuesday, and that was hard.

7. What can we pray about for you? I would really like to have hair when I grow up. :)  (Oh Jon, glad to see he still has his sense of humor). 

  

8. What food do you miss the most being in Paraguay? Taco Bell 

9.  Where do you want to live when you are raising your family and why? I don't know, Haiti? :)  I haven't decided that yet. Haha!

10.  What is the most exciting thing you ever got for your birthday and why? Probably the cake you sent me because it was super American and super delicious.

May 12, 2014

I got transferred this week to Coucure.

Monday … So it was p-day and we went to the office.  Then we went to McDonald’s and that was super delicious!  After that we went around and said “goodbye” to people, and that was pretty sad.  Finally we talked to the Lopez Family and that was pretty cool.  

Tuesday... We packed up all our things, and then we said “goodbye” to the rest of the people.  Adriana said that she liked me more then Elder Gummersall so that was pretty cool, haha!   Then we ordered pizza and then went to sleep.

Wednesday… We had changes and now I am in Coucure and am companions with Elder Reynoso, and he is super cool.  I had to go to migrations on Wednesday and that was pretty cool.  I realized that I know my passport number just based on the fact that I had to use it every time that I buy pizza.  Haha

Then we had to go to teach.  I taught some lessons with the Perez Family and we taught about prayer.  Then we talked to Jenny, and she is super cool!  It was our first lesson with her and it was cool because when I got done sharing my testimony, she said “you aren't the only one with a testimony and told us how she has a Book of Mormon and reads it every day.  She told us how it has brought peace into her home, and she accepted a date to be baptized!  That was super cool!  Then we talked to the Mendez Family and that was pretty cool!

Thursday...  We went running, then we talked to Ceaser, then we left and got two more nuevos with a guy named Jorge and a girl named Alejandra.  Then we talked to a girl in english and she is super Catholic, but she spoke in English and that was super weird!  She is super dope and told us her brother is super depressed, and asked us to help him.  It was super cool! 

Friday... Friday was hard because we only had two lessons in seven hours.  But it was what God wanted and that was what we got, so I am positive! ;)

Saturday…  We had an activity with the youth of our Stake, and we went to three menos activos outside of our area and that was pretty cool.  Then we went to San Lo to the cyber and talked to you guys via skype for Mother’s Day, and that was pretty cool. Then we hit the lessons and had a noche de hogar and a noche de missional, with is kind of like a farewell.

Sunday… We went to church and that was pretty cool.  We talked about our testimonies of the El Libro de Mormon and that we need to always be willing to testiy of this book!  Then we taught a menos activo who was super tough.  I kind of choked on my Spanish, but it is all good.  Then we taught Jenny and that was super cool.  Then we taught the Relief Society President about Preach my Gospel, and how important it is for everyone to have a copy in their home.  We also talked about how important it is for everyone to do their home teaching and be ward missionaries.  One cool thing that it says in Preach my Gospel is that we can only gain salvation if we do missionary work, pretty crazy right.

Monday… We played American football and i was quaterback and threw like 5 touchdowns and won of course!  Haha.  Then we went to McDonalds and Elder Gummersall was there and that was super dope and super good, and now I am writing y’all! 

1.  What is your favorite thing about your new area and why? We have a lot of like random shops on the side of the road with dope cheap stuff. Haha

2.  How many investigators do you have, what are their names, write a sentence about each of them.

Jenny.... She teaches Guarani and is going to get baptized the 7th of June, she is golden.  We also have Edgar and he is going to get baptized on the 24th. 

2b. What are the advantages and disadvantages about your new area and why? My new area has real roads.  Haha 

2c. How big is your new area and size wise what would you compare it to? It is double the size of my last zone 

2d. Is it a safe area? Yes mother, it is super safe.

3.  What is a day like in the life of Elder Jon Turley? Imma boss so I do boss things like fly to the moon, and have giant fish friends,  And I sell synergy.  Haha 

4.  How is church in your new area? Do you have many people in your branch? We had 65 people come.

5.  What is your favorite thing about your new companion? He is going to teach me good Spanish because he only speaks Spanish. 

6.  What has been your biggest challenge this week and why? We didn’t have many lessons on Saturday and that was tough. 

7.  Is there anything we can pray for you for?  Please pray for our people to show up to church 

8.  If you could live anywhere in the world when you are older, where would it be and why?  Pallet Town (ask Tom).

9.  If you could be anything in the world when you grow up, what would it be and why?  Batman