August 31, 2015

Hey family --

So this week's email is going to little shorter because not much happened.  Basically my companion and the other missionaries we live with got sick, so this week was a lot of kicking it at home and reading the scriptures.  Haha!  So as you all know, it is every missionary's favorite thing to be in the house all day. Haha!  There isn't much we can do and there are only so many church movies that are allowed, so we just had to kick it and pretty much do nothing.  Haha!  But we are super excited to go and be able to work and hopefully we will be able to affect the people in a good way;)..

So funny thing, last night the EPP (Paraguayan rebels) apparently attacked two electricity towers in San Pedro last night and knocked out all of our power, so we didn't have lights until just a short time ago.  It was super crazy because it gets super hot at night, and if you don't have lights  and you don't have air conditioning, you are just out of luck.  So last night we had to sleep in a super hot house, and because the lights went out early in the evening yesterday, we had nothing to do.  So we were kicking it and we decided that we wanted to watch one of the church movies so we put it in the DVD player and start watching and 15 minutes in, it decides to die on our.   Luckily we live right next door to another set of missionaries and so we decided to go get their DVD player and after about 30 minutes their DVD player dies.  So we were like "hmmmm we have nothing to do and it's still early and we have no lights" ... and so we decided to go crazy splicing some cords -- because I have a portable charger for my Ipod -- and we figured out that if we could make this work it would be so cool.  So with the candle we had and the flashlight we had on our phone we went to work.  We ended up using batteries that we fastened to the DVD charger and we were able to get it working and were able to finish our movie.  Overall it was a huge success, and something crazy that we were able to do this week.

Another interesting story from this week.  So as you all know, I had a baptism scheduled for this upcoming weekend in Tacuati.  I had it all planned out, and how we were going to get there and do the interview and the baptism and everything.  Then on Saturday, I received a call from Elder Simao and he said he had talked to President McMullin and they had set the baptism up for the next day ... which would have been yesterday, Sunday.  This was all surprising to me because I had absolutely no idea what was going on, and so I called President and he explained his reasoning, and we were able to get things figured out having the baptism the next day.  So we had District Conference yesterday and I arranged to have a bus bring the people from Tacuati to Concepcion for it, but at the last moment the Branch President found out that he didn't have enough money in his budget to pay for the bus, so all the plans I made for District Conference and for the baptism all fell through and none of it happened.  So now I have reset all the plans that I originally had for the baptism, and we are planning to do the baptism this coming Sunday in the river in Tacuati like we had originally planned.  We are still waiting for the President's approval on all of this (because Tacuati is an area now closed to the missionaries and so the President's approval is required to return to the area), but I'm not worried.  I have faith that it will all work out the way it's supposed to and if he doesn't get baptized this Sunday, it will just be a matter of time until we can actually get him in the water.

But yeah, that is pretty much all that happened this week, because of the sickness thing, I can't really think of anything else we did.  Haha.

I love y'all.

Elder Turley

August 24, 2015

Hey what's up family and friends --

So this week was pretty interesting, we went to work and we were able to do some good. So this week was super cool, we really focused on the non active members and our attendance went from 42 one week ago to 61 yesterday.  So our hard work this week paid off and we were really able to see a difference.  

At the moment, we are teaching a girl who is a sister of a recent convert (I can't think of her name right now) and it is so exciting because she was so excited to come to church.  My companion and I arrived at church right on time and she was there before us ... that is very impressive because in Paraguay it is super rare for people to be on time -- like nobody shows up early or on time.  But we think she is going to progress.  The only problem is that she has a one year old child who doesn't like to sit still and wants to walk around in the parking lot, so she didn't get to listen to all of Sacrament meeting. Haha. 

But yeah Concepcion is so cool, it's more like a real area instead of a small, outlying town and the people seem to like me so that is good. Haha.  One cool thing is that I am with Elder Crandall, it is really nice to have a companion who is a friend, haha, because that doesn't always happen.  I feel like even if we don't have more than one change together, it will be a really good change for us. :)  But yeah, life is going well.  I am working hard to learn the area.  Honestly, it does get kind of confusing being switched so often, but it's okay -- I am sure that it's all happening for a reason. 

I am planning on going to Tacuati on the 5th of September for the baptism that we had scheduled before I was emergency transferred, and I have talked to some of the members and they are super stoked for me to come back for the day.  It is also District Conference this week and so all of the members from Tacuati should be coming and so I will get to see them there as well.

One cool thing that happened this week is that we had our interviews and President McMullin said that he was glad that I am in his mission, that he really wants me to finish strong, and that he is proud of me. That was nice to hear.

But yeah, I love y'all so much.

Elder Turley 

Questions of the week:

How are things going in Concepcion? 

They are going fine.

Do you have a certain area in Concepcion?

Concepcion 2

Who are your investigators? 

The sister of Roque

Your most spiritual moment? 

My interview with President McMullin

Your most difficult moment? 

I didn't have any I can recall

Your funniest moment? 

There is a Brazilian here and he is learning English and we were making some food and he said "hmmm it smells like struggle."  It was super funny.

What was your favorite scripture this week? 

D&C 115:5

Verily I say unto you all: ^aArise and shine forth, that thy ^blight may be a ^cstandard for the ^dnations

What was your favorite food you ate this week? 

We ate some steak that we really good.

Do your members have you over to eat? 

Yes, we have a lot of lunch appointments

July 20, 2015

Hey parents whats up ...

So this week was interesting.  On Monday we were in Horqueta, and it was pretty cool because there is a missionary couple that really wanted my companion to cook for them (because my comp was a chef in the marines before he came on his mission), and so went to their house and he cooked us dinner.  It was so good.  In Brazil, where my companion is from, they make a meal where they pressure cook black beans and they use garlic and other spices, and it was super good.  Here in Paraguay, the people don't really use seasonings when they cook and so it was so nice to be able to eat something that had some flavor. 

Tuesday we had our district meeting where we talked about how we need to care more about our investigators, and how we need to use the Book of Mormon to be able to find out the needs of the people.  It was actually pretty cool because we were able to apply the things we learned and we found a lot of ways to be able to ask people to get baptized through The Book of Mormon -- so that was super cool. We were actually able to put "fetchas" (baptismal date) with a bunch of people and that is cool.  One of our fetchas is a guy named Carlos.   He is super cool.  He is the husband of a member and he went to church last Sunday (one week ago) and apparently he really wanted to go this Sunday (yesterday) but his child was so sick that neither of the parents came. He is super cool and we set his baptismal date for the 20th of August.  We are really hoping that he will progress and be able to be baptized.

So the weather out here in Tacuati has been kind of yucky, it has been warm and humid.  

The weather from Weather.com

Check out that humidity

 

We were already set back a bit on our goals going in to last week because we were traveling, but we worked hard and we were able to find five investigators in two days -- and that was super awesome.  I am super stoked for the progress that we are making, life is really good in Tacuati right now.  Even though I am in the middle of nowhere, it is a really good area.  The members are really cool, they really love their missionaries. 

Right now it's a sad moment as the member, the Hermana Sanguina (who is Facebook friends with mom), is going through a really hard time.  Her brother passed away yesterday and it has been super hard on her.  So my comp and I have been trying to help her because she does so much for us.  We are trying to do everything we can to give back to her, so we have been spending a lot of time with her. 

 

But ya other than those things, life is just normal.  We just keep doing the work and life is good.

So I read your message about college and I have been thinking a lot about it.  One thing I have been doing is finding a way to use my Patriarchal Blessing to figure out where I need to be going and what I need to be doing.  I feel like I am finding some answers, but I am not completely there yet, but I am working on it. 

But ya, I love y'all so much, y'all are the best.

Elder Turley 

-----------------------------

Questions of the Week:

So how are things going? 

Things are going good.  

What is your favorite thing about Tacuati? 

The people here are super nice 
 

What was your favorite lunch appointment this week?

One of the members killed a cow and BBQ's it, and that was super good. 
 

Are you staying warm? 

Yeah, it is super hot right now.
 

How are you feeling physically? 

I'm fine, but my stomach is messed up.

   

What was your happiest moment this week? 

Ummm there was a girl who was offered to me by her parents -- that was super funny! Haha
 

Was was your most spiritual moment this week? Tell me about it. 

We were able to use scriptures to help the Hermana Sanguina understand more about death and it's timing. 
 

What was your most difficult moment this week? 

Hermana Sanguina's brother dying was pretty hard. 

What was your funniest moment this week? 

I was walking home from a member's house and I fell with a piece of cake in my hands.  The cake didn't get ruined, so that was cool. 
 

What was your favorite scripture this week? 

John 11:25-26

²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Tell me about your favorite lesson this week? 

We were able to set a baptismal date with Carlos, and that lesson was cool.  
 
 

Do you know that I love you more than life itself? 

Yes, I know that mother.

 

Pictures from Tacuati

July 13, 2015

Hey Family, so life is pretty good ...

Umm where to start.

Monday -- P-day was pretty lame, we really didn't do much.  But it is okay because after being in the Chaco and getting use to not doing much, I am use to lame P-days.  Haha.   I think one of the hardest things about being lejos (far away from other missionaries) to die (finish his mission) is that I don't get to see any of my friends, but it's all good because most of my friends are lejos as well, so it really isn't that big of a deal. :)

But yeah, this week was super good.  We were able to find a bunch of new investigators that are super nice -- who are really thinking about the things that we are telling them, and so that is super cool.  

Life is good here in Paraguay.  One exciting thing from this week is that it appears all of the hard work that we did in Neuland is paying off.  I heard from Elder Eaquinto that 51 people came to church this past Sunday, and so that is super cool.  Also, one of the families that I was going to baptize actually came to church, and so they are definitely moving forward.  So, yeah, I am super stoked about how good things are going in Neuland now.  When I arrived in that area we had only six people coming to church, so 51 is amazing.  I honestly learned a lot from serving in Neuland and I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to get to know the people of Neuland and to be able to learn things from them.  

It's interesting because when I got in to my new area, my comp said that this area was doing so well -- the best it ever has -- until two weeks before I arrived.  You know how in the scriptures when people are doing the wrong things, they don't want to hear about it.  Well apparently one of the Counselors in the mission came to Tacuati and "dropped Cain" (spoke very frankly) on a lot of the members, and ever since the people have been in kind of a fallen state.  Apparently the fall is going to be big from what I have heard from my new companion and the new Group Leader, so we are going to work a fool (work hard)  and hope that the fall isn't a really big fall and that we can avoid it so it doesn't go down.  :)

But, yeah, what I have learned from my mission is that God puts me in areas that are about to fall, and then helps me to help the people come back.  It is going to be interesting to see how these experiences from my mission help me in my future.  Maybe some day I am going to live in a falling area, you never know.  :)  But, instead of worrying about the fall here in Tacuati, I am going to keep Neuland mind and where they are now -- 51 at church, that is super, super cool.  I am super happy with that.  :)

So we had a zone meeting on Saturday, and so I had to travel from Tacuati to Horquetta to Concepcion to get to that. The traveling was so miserable because on Friday I woke up feeling super sick with super hard sheeves (diarhea).  It was super hard because I couldn't go like ten minutes without using the bathroom and I was traveling, so that was hard.  But it's chill because I took some crazy pills that they have here in Paraguay -- which are similar to Pepto Bismal -- and that kind of helped.  It's funny because I didn't know if I should chew the pills or let them dissolve and so I chewed them and they turned my tongue black for a while. Haha.  But I am starting to feel better now, so that's all good. ;) 

But yeah, I didn't really sleep well Friday night because in order to catch the bus, we had to be at the bus stop of 5:00 a.m., and so I kept waking up.  Then I had to take a 90 minute bus ride, and I was sick and didn't feel good and I just wanted to be home.  Because I was sick, I couldn't sleep on the bus and so I was feeling a little grumpy, but I got over it.  

So we had our zone meeting and that was super good.  It was about how we need to help the people learn to resolve their own doubts ... we need to teach them to fish, not just give them fish ... and that was super good.   Also in the zone meeting they talked about how as missionaries we have such a great power, and how important it is to always have the Spirit with us, not only now, but after our missions.  They talked a lot out pornography and the things we need to do to be able to avoid temptations that are going to us come after our  missions.  It was really a super good zone conference, I liked it.  So yeah, I haven't been in my area since Saturday early morning. In the last couple of days I have been able to do divisions with Elder Munoz and Elder Bronson, who is my zone leader, and we were able to apply some of the things we learned from the zone meeting.
  

But yeah, other than that the week was super interesting.  A lot of people in my area speak Portugese and I can actually understand them pretty well, so that is good. Today has been really cool because I was able to play soccer with some of the missionaries from Concepcion -- having been in the Chaco for the last six months, I have really missed playing sports and doing activities with other missionaries. So that was actually a lot better then what I have had in a really long time. ;) 

Anyway, I sure love y'all and I hope that y'all are doing really well. ;) 

Elder Turley

-----------------------------------

Questions of the week

So how are things going? 

Things are going just fine ;)


Are you getting use to Tacuati? 

Yes I am. It is really green compared to the Chaco.


What was your favorite meal this week? 

I am not really sure, I had some good rice yesterday. 


Do the members feed you all the time? 

Yes, we have lunch citas (appointments) every day. 


What types of things do the members feed you?

A lot of like spaghetti stuff, that isn't spaghetti, just normal Paraguayan food.


Are you staying warm? 

Yes, I am mother.
 

How are you feeling physically? 

I have had some stomach issues, but nothing too bad.


What was your happiest moment this week? 

Hanging out with other missionaries for p-day.

What was your most difficult moment this week? 

Just that the people don't want to go to church because they don't have a calling.


What was your funniest moment this week? 

I don't really have one. 


Tell me about your favorite lesson this week? 

We had a lesson that was super good with Juanie.  She felt that the things we were saying were true, and that our church is the only church that says those things.

Do you know that I love you more than life itself? 

Yes I do ;) 

Welcome to Tacuati

 Black Tongue -- result of the "Paraguayan stomach pills"

July 6, 2015

Hey Parents --

So yeah, I am in Tacuati -- in the middle of nowhere which is kind of interesting because I am almost positive that I will die (finish my mission) here.  I was super sad because I didn't want to die lejos (finish my mission in an outlying area), but I think that is what is going to happen.  But, it's all good.  I have met some pretty cool people, and work wise and food wise, it's a lot better than Neuland.  


So as you know, for the past six months I have been cooking for myself.  And although I can cook, I can't really cook from scratch, so that has been super interesting the past six months.  Now that I am in Tacuati, I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner which is super cool because I am so over cooking. Haha :)  

So I have been able to get to know the Group Leader (similar to branch president, but over a "unit" not a branch) and some of the members and they are all pretty cool.  Tacuati is pretty different than Neuland.  Instead of being in a desert like I was in the Chaco, I am now like in the middle of the jungle.  There are a lot of trees and it's really green.  To be honest it is super pretty out here ... and the people are super nice, so that's pretty awesome.  So I was thinking about this change (transfer) and it most likely will be the last area I will serve in (although you never know), and it kind of blows my mind that most likely when I pack again, I will be packing to come home, so that's going to be cool.  Haha. :)

So not much happened this week.  I was with Elder Luke for about half of it -- or at least until Wednesday morning when I went out and waited for the bus to take me to my new area.  I really wasn't excited for a bus ride, and I really wasn't feeling very well, and so as soon as I got on I popped a couple of Nyquil and slept the whole time.  Apparently I was so out of it that the other missionaries who were traveling with me took pictures of me and threw stuff at me and I didn't even notice.  Apparently it was super funny.  So we arrived in Horqueta where we stayed for the night, and then the next day, Thursday at around noon, I left for my new area, Tacuati.  It took like three hours to get there and I arrived at around 3.

  

Tacuati is really such a different area than Neuland.  It's kind of cool because I have served in a lot of different areas.  So there is a river in my area, and that is where we perform baptisms, so I am kind of hoping I will be able to perform a baptism in the river -- that's pretty original. :) 

So yeah, I really don't have much more to say other than I am stoked (excited) to be here, it will for sure be a whole new experience for me.  I am kind of sad that I won't be ending my mission around my friends, but it's cool that I am getting to know a little bit more of Paraguay.  :) 

Life is good, and I am happy to be here.

  

I love y'all. 

Elder Turley



Questions of the Week -- There are a lot since Jon is in a new area.

How is Tacuati? 
It's good, I like it.


What is it like -- Desert, tropical? 
It's in the middle of a jungle.  


What is the town like? 
It seems to be a poorer town, but the people are so nice.


Are there restaurants?
There are a couple of places where you can get hamburgers and stuff.


Are there stores? (If you don't have stores, how far do you have to go to get your food)? 
There is a little store that we go to. 


Are there dirt or paved roads?
They are mostly dirt road. 


Do the people have cars? 
 A couple of them do. 


What are the peoples' houses like? 
Mostly little and made of wood or brick. 


What is your apartment like? 
I live in a super poor house, but it's a lot bigger than my place in Neuland so that is a positive. :)


Do you have indoor drinking water? 
If there is water in the city, then yes.  (Mom's note: I'm not really sure what he meant by this, I wonder if the city runs out of water).


Are you missing anything in your apartment - like a kitchen sink? (Jon didn't have a kitchen sink in Neuland because he didn't have drinkable running water).
I don't have air conditioning, but I do have a kitchen sink.

Do you have heat and air conditioning? 
No heat, and it's been freezing. 


What is your companion's name?
Elder Simao 


Where is he from? 
Brazil 


Do you two get along? 
Yeah, we get along good.


What is he like? 
He is strict, but not super, super strict.  We get along good.


What is your "unit" like? 
It's interesting, the church is bigger than in Neuland and I don't have to speak ever Sunday, so that's cool.  


How many members on the rolls? 
I am not sure yet. 


What was your happiest moment this week? 
Being on a 3 day division with Elder Luke.


Was was your most spiritual moment this week?
Hmmm we didn't really have any spiritual moments because we were traveling most of the week, but we did have a testimony meeting that was really spiritual. 


What was your most difficult moment this week? 
Dealing with the fact that I am lejos again (in an outlying area, away from other missionaries).  


What was your funniest moment this week?
Hmmm probably when I dressed up in woman's clothes as a joke with all the "dying" Elders.  It was super funny ... don't ask. :) 


What was your favorite scripture this week?
Hmmm probably the one that "drops Cain" (speaks strongly) on people for not baptizing their children at 8 years old. 


Tell me about your favorite lesson this week? 
We didn't really have too many lessons this week. 


Who is your favorite person of the week? 
Elder Luke, he is a homie (like a brother). 
 

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

Saying "Goodbye" to Neuland

(Jon's last few days in the Paraguayan Desert)

 Jon with Elder Luke ...

one of his best buds from the mission.

Elder Luke completed his mission this change and was headed home.

 Jon with Elder ....

Saying "Hello" to Tacuati

(Jon's new home and the Paraguay jungle. 

Jon keeps commenting on how green it is).

Jon's new home in Tacuati

June 29, 2015

Hey Family.. 

So this week was a good one. I had another "crazy Chaco" experience this week but I'll tell you about that later.  

So basically things are super good out in the Chaco ... well they "were" super good because as it turns out, this week I have changes (transfers).  I am no longer in the Chaco ... or at least at this moment no longer in Neuland.  Right now I have no idea where I am going to be serving, but I guess that is the fun of it all.  :) 

Elder Luke has completed his mission and is going home, and so he and I traveled to Asuncion together so that I could find out my changes and Elder Luke could have his final interview with the President. I am hoping that I am going somewhere that is pretty close to the city, but I honestly have no idea -- there are a lot of places that I could go.  So ... I will let you know as soon as I can.  

But ya so this week was super cool. I kinda felt that I was going to be changed and so I actually packed everything up at night during the week.  It ended up being good because after I received notice that I was to go to Asuncion, instead of packing I was able to go out and do a lot of work. We visited with Adriano and his family, and they are doing well they are super stoked to get baptized which is super cool.  We did have to cancel their baptism date because they weren't able to come to church this week because of a death in the family, so they are going to have to re-schedule their baptism.

So ... now for the weekly "Chaco" craziness ... So first a sad thing ... our investigator, Narcissa, who we were going to baptize (and is the sister of the Branch President) actually died this week.  I'm not really sure what she passed away from, but her death kind of threw off the whole community.  

Anyway, the craziness of this is that my companion and I were able to attend Narcissa's funeral and I have to say it was one of the craziest things I have ever seen.  You know how on TV you see people going to funerals who just sit there and scream?  Yep, than happened.  There was a little sermon type thing and then they let everyone from the community go up and touch her body.  And when people would touch her, they would cry out and scream and fall over the casket.  It was pretty intense to be honest it, and was so super, super sad, but it was also super,super weird and super, super different at the same time.  A couple of times, I thought I might laugh out loud because it was so crazy, but it's all good because I was able to control myself.  But yeah, that is my "crazy Chaco" story from this week. 

But yeah, nothing else too interesting happened this week, just a lot lessons and then saying "goodbye" to the people of Neuland. 

But yeah, so this letter isn't the best, but I will have a good one for you next week. Haha :)

Love --

Elder Turley 


Questions of the Week:
 

1.  Who are your investigators?
I don't know at this very moment because I haven't arrived in my new area yet.  


2.  What was your church attendance this week? 
15, a lot of people missed because of the death.


3.  Did you make it to Paraiso? 
No, we are at the members' mercy to get there and it didn't happen.


4.  What was your most spiritual experience this week? 
The funeral.  It was sad and spiritual and weird all at once. 



 5.  What was your funniest experience this week? 
We had a lesson where none of us could stop laughing.  It was super hard because we tried to sing and we butchered the song because we were laughing too much. 


6.  What was your hardest experience this week? 
Leaving my area and saying "goodbye" was really hard.



7.  Did you get the computer? 
Nope, it has never come.


8.  Who is your favorite person this week and why? 
Adriano, he is super cool and is so ready to get baptized. 


9.  Do you have any crazy Chaco stories this week? 
The funeral which I wrote about above. 


10.  What can we pray about for you? 
That I can get along well in my new area. 

June 22, 2015

Hey what's up Family --

So I would just like to say "thank you father for all that you have done for us."  It was your birthday recently and so I want you to just assume that your birthday letter applies to Father's Day because you know you are a super good dad and stuff and I kind of love you. :)

But yeah, this week was super dope.  It went really fast because we were traveling so much.  On Sunday we went to Filidelphia in order to email and do church stuff, and then we went back to Neuland to pack, and then went to Asuncion.  We went to Asuncion because we had a mission conference with Elder Gonzalez.  The conference was really cool.  Elder Gonzalez spoke about a lot of really cool things and I have been able to implement a lot of what he talked about, such as being more direct with questions such as asking people to go to church and to read The Book of Mormon.  He explained that we are going to be inviting the people to repentance through our questions to them.  He said that repentance is a "yes or no" answer -- either they want to repent or they don't.  It was really kind of a cool way to put things because I had never really thought about that before.  Since the conference, I have noticed that my questions have been more direct, and we have been able to have a lot of success through just changing one simple thing, and so it was super nice. I haven't received the mission picture they took at the conference, but as soon as I get it, I will send it to you. 

But other then that the week was super good.  We set up a couple of date for people to get married, like Adriano, and that was cool.  Adriano is super excited to get married and it is funny because we asked him "Hey, why is it important that you get married," to which he told us that it was important because he works and so he needs a woman to clean and cook and watch the kids.  It was super funny because the answer we were looking for was to complete and keep the commandments of God and so we can be blessed through our diligence in completely following God.  So he got it wrong, but it was super funny.   

This week we weren't able to connect with Adolfo.  We went by his house three or four times, but he was never there.  It actually was super weird that we weren't able to connect with him, but it will be okay because he is super prepared to be baptized and he did come to church, so it's all good.  So after we went by his house so many times, we were standing outside of his cousin's house and he walked out and said "Hey, I moved, sorry for not telling you."  Haha.  It would have saved us a lot of confusion. :)  But even though we weren't able to meet with him, he is doing well.   

But yeah, other than that nothing really crazy happened in the week ... just ordinary proselyting stuff  which is not really that fun ... at least for you all. :) 

I love y'all, and I am super happy to be a part of your family. 

With love -- 
 

Elder Turley 

Questions of the Week:

So how was your week? 
It was good. 


How are things going with Adolfo? 
Things are good but he cant get baptized for a while.


What about Adriano and his family? 
They are doing well. They are planning on getting married.


Have you been able to get back to talk to the guy where you were getting the USB ports from? 
Not with him, but with his brother.
  



Do you have any new investigators? 
No. 


How was your attendance yesterday? 
23


What was your happiest moment last week? 
Going to Asunscion.


Your funniest moment? 
Ummm I went to the batroom at like 4 in the morning at the Office Elders house and their toilet wouldn't flush.  Then the next morning I had to leave before they were awake, so I am sure they were surprised. Haha.


You toughest moment? 
One of my friends Elder Mcllelland went home with a concussion.


Your most spiritual moment?
The meeting with Elder Gonzalez 


How is your health? 
It's good, I'm not sick of anything. 
 

Were you able to get out to Paraiso this week?
No, the stake president went out without us


What was your favorite meal this week? 
I eat the same thing every day, but I was able to have Burger King. 


Who is your favorite person this week?
Mateo Vazquez.  He came to church for the first time in a while. 


What was your favorite scripture last week?
I really like Mosiah 4 about how to raise a family and to help other people. 


Any funny or random Chaco stories this week?
My companion roasted peppers and they hot-boxed my house and we couldn't breath without it burning our lungs.

 Pictures from Paraguay

Pictures from Neuland

Missionaries Having Fun

Mission Picture
(Jon is on the third row, third person on the left from the white wall.  Two people behind the Hermana in the red shirt.  He is standing two away from Elder Garner with Elder Luke in the middle of them).