FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!

Highlight of the Week: BAPTIZING ELIAS

YES. We pulled it off.

With a whole lot of help from the Lord, and a lot of calling all the members of Amambay

 who have cars. And miraculously our saldo (minutes?) didn`t run out until just before

church on Sunday :) 

 

But Elias is great.

He`s so ready to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints :) 

Elias and family (they`re members)

Us and Elias

 

Other than pulling off a baptism we just saw a whole ton of mangoes this week.

They make the streets dangerously slippery and yellow.

And I made mango jam the other week. A lot of it.

And today I`m going to try my hand at mango bread.

Like zucchini bread, but a bit more tropical :) 

Well, FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!! hay que recordar de Cristo siempre :)

 

Our Christmas tree (made out of the wrapping paper from my comp`s presents. . . she couldn`t wait. . . :)

 

the . . . Palacio? I dunno. A big important building in Downtown Asuncion. . . where the president of Paraguay works I think.

 

 

Christmas plans

Everybody keeps asking us what we`re going to do Christmas

and we tell them we`re going to sleep :) hehehe.

Paraguayans stay up till 12.

We`re going to be in bed, with the air conditioner blasting at that hour. 

He is the Gift

Highlight of the Week: Elias went to church! YES! Next step, the rest of the family. 

Elias is the son of a recent convert, Sonia, who just turned 9 and is so ready to be baptized.

 We`re going to help him with that :) 

Today its almost cold. But the only way to reach that kind of weather here is to suffer a good week or two of unbearably hot humidity. We`ve been honing our freezing-water-bottle skills :) 

And we are just SO EXCITED for this new He is the Gift video. It is so easy to invite the spirit into our lessons with it. December is going to be awesome. 

WE FOUND SNOW. . . but only in the freezer.

 

The first mango of the season :)


 



And this is our jackolantern. So cute :)

 

the package that finally came :)



This is called Inga. It`s kinda weird. But you can eat it :) 

Our district last cambio.




 



The Great Apostasy

Highlight of the Week: Being told we`re going to have an investigator baptized next week :) 

Yep. We got a reference this week from the Elders along the lines of, "hey, This guys come to church 2 times now and is way excited to be baptized next week. . . he lives in your area, good luck!"

So we`ve been working with Andres Smith (the Paraguayans say "Esmít" :) and he is just super ready. So we`ll be pulling off a baptism this Saturday (yaaaaaay) and working a lot with the dear sisters in the ward so that we can finish up the lessons he still needs. 

AAAAand we had cambios this week. I sent poor Sister Ross to the grave (metaphorically speaking, of course) and I am now with Hermana Palombo de Utah. We get along well.

 This is going to be a good 6 weeks :) 

I`ve really been impressed during my studies this week by the fact that the more one knows about world history, the easier it is to clearly see and understand the great Apostasy. 

Maybe I`ll take a history class when I get home. . . :) 

Jackolanterns and Pumpkin Pie

Highlight of the Week: Carving a Jackolantern (no me importa si era tarde :) No! Algo mejor - Hna Puma found a Gospel Principles manual in Guarani. Love that girl :) 

I made pumpkin pie this week. And discovered that Hna. Ross is a bit sensitive to large quantities of pumpkin. Like throwing up kind of sensitive. Can people be allergic to pumpkin?

We ended up staying en casa for the day so she could recover. 

But we made up for it by working crazy hard the rest of week. 

It tormented on Friday, but we stayed in studying because we had a zone meeting Thursday. 

I`m getting near the end of Jesus the Christ. I really want to read the last few chapters, because I know they`re going to be fantastic, but I`m not so excited to not have more of it to read.

Maybe I`ll try it in spanish this time :) 

tini baby frog plague

Highlight of the Week: RAIN. I love the rain. 

The rain is nice, mostly because it`s not the sun. And even though it makes the whole world deathly humid (think sauna) it`s still better than the sun. And luckily it`s been really only raining

 in the mornings when we`re studying. 

And it`s tiny baby frog season. There`s a family of members that lives by the arollo (stream) that runs through our area, and when we went to visit them we discovered that their whole yard is just full of the tiniest little frogs. SO AWESOME. You have to be careful not to step on them,

 It`s like a mini plague of Egypt. :) 

The elders in our ward had a baptism this week, and institute happened to be at the same place and at the same time. . . it was so weird to get a glimpse of the single adult life. . .

I am so glad I have a few more months before I have to worry about all that again :) 

Apple pie and pictures

Highlight of the Week: 2 less active families came to church!

The chapel in Amambay is being renovated, (ok, that`s impressive that I was able to pull that word out of the dusty English archives of my memory, just saying)

and so we have to travel a bit to go to church, and there are a few less actives because of it.

But two families with whom we work came this week! 

Also, Wednesday we taught Hna Cordone to make apple pie. . . but in the process

 I managed to drench the both of us in grasa de chancho.

I promised her that wasn`t normal procedure and that the pie would still taste good,

 but she was a little skeptical. . . luckily yesterday we confirmed that it turned out ok in the end :)

And I will never try to half a really packed bag of melted lard again. :) 

 



me covered in grasa de chancho. . . pig fat :)

making apple pie with Hna. Cordone.. . :)

 

Learning how to dance the Galopera. . . with cantaro. :)



 

Me in front of my new home (well, since three weeks now. . .)



I don`t know if you can see it well, but there`s a chicken with curly feathers in this picture. So cool. 

 

zoom in and crop of the curly feathered chicken



 

 

Hna. Zuñiga (mi hija), Hna Flores, me, Hna Lino (comp. in Villeta) right after General Conference in Ñemby

 



The Gonzales Family



Montse, my almost convert of Villeta

 



 

 

trunky papers

Ok, rapido.

 

I got my "trunky papers" today, which means they`ll be buying my plane ticket home soon. But don`t get too excited, because there's still a good 2 1/2 cambios to go :) 

Ben got to watch Meet the Mormons?! I´m jealous. 

My comp will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. . . it`s weird. 

It was really hot this week. REALLY HOT. I am going to be so tan. 

New area called Amambay

Highlight of the Week: Our investigators got to listen to the Primary Program!!!

It was perfect. The primary kids perfectly summarized all of lessons 1 and 3,

with a bit of 2 in there as well.

And I need to learn the primary songs in Español si o si :) 

I`m in a new area called Amambay. It`s known to be one of the nicest sister areas. It`s pure city, and almost in downtown Asuncion from what I`ve heard. We plan a lot of appointments, because not a lot of people are ok with just inviting us in on the spot. And the members have cars here. And like to feed the missionaries.

 Life will be quite different this cambio :) 

We live in a building named Tupasy. Tupa is god. Sy is mother. So after looking it up in the guarani dictionary we confirmed that we do indeed live in an apartment complex named after the Virgin.

But we`re chill with that. 

Funny story - I left behind Montse in Villeta. She still hasn`t been able to be baptized because she still doesn`t have her Aunt`s permission. But it just so happens that we`re teaching a 13 year old Monse here in Amambay too! She and her mom came to church this Sunday.

 I`m pretty excited about it :) 

And we ate a really strange fruit this week. I`ve been dying to ask someone what it's called for nearly my whole mission now, and at least now I know what it tastes like :) It was kind of gritty like a really ripe pear. . . but less sweet. And with an odd aftertaste. And lots of seeds. 

half of Women`s Conference

Highlight of the Week: Getting to see half of Women`s Conference :) 

We missed our colectivo Saturday in the morning. So we didn`t get to watch Korean children singing. But we did manage to get our 5 contactos done and get to Ñemby in time to see the last half :) 

I loved conference. (as every missionary does :) And I even watched the last session in Español, which I was pretty excited about. I only had to ask Hna. Zuñiga what an hacha was and what agua portable was :) 

We made friends with a young woman from the next town over who is just really really willing to help us with lessons, which I`m going to count as a small miracle.



learning to dance with cantaros

with the founder of Villeta

The Jara Family

with Hermana Lino

 

Balancing cànteros on our heads

Highlight of the Week: 

The hardest thing I`ve had to do on the mission is chug grapefruit soda. 

We`re learning how to balance cànteros on our heads. It involves a lot of leg strength. We felt like we had done a million lunges on Tuesday. And Wednesday. . . and Thursday tambien :) 

Montse didn`t get baptized. We`re working with her family now. She`s still strong though. 

More next week! 

Getting lost

Highlight of the Week: Zone Conference

We had Zone Conference this week, which means we got to go to Asuncion at 5 in the morning. And I was so convinced we were going to need a good 2 hours to get there, and we ended up getting there in 1. So yay for us we were stuck outside the gates of the mission office for a good hour and a half :) But it`s only because we got lost and ended up catching the 15-3 in front of the Real grocery story in la Floresta instead of in Ñemby. . . it`s a lot closer. And then we took the Lince back instead of 15-3, and it apparently takes the long way. . . but we got to see the campo side of Ñemby, even if the elders were kind of nervous we were going to get lost again :) 

We`re working with Montse a lot right now. She`s been to church 3 times now, and wants to get baptized. . . we just have to help her aunt feel the same :)

So if all goes well and we get the permission we`re going to have a baptism this week. . .

we`ll be praying really hard these next few days. :) 

Running uphill at the end

Highlight of the Week: Befriending menos activos. . . aka rugby match :) 

Montse came to church this week! Yes! She`s great, and she`s now friends with Milena, our favorite Young Woman. :) 

We almost walked under an Opossum. or is it Possum? don`t know. But we probably nearly died. 

The weather has been deciding to change drastically from one day to the next. So if you even it all out the weather is perfect. . . if only it worked that way :) 

We`ve been running in the mornings. Unfortunately we live at the high point in Villeta, and no matter what we do we end up running uphill at the end. Someday I´ll love it :) 

Montse came to church!!!

Highlight of the Week: Montse came to church!!! 

She still isn`t sure she wants to get baptized, but we`re all one step closer :) 

I learned how to fold an origami snail yesterday. Jatyta de papel :) 

I also ate ants with my granola. I`ve now filled my bug quota for the rest of the mission. I`m determined not to make it a habit.

We played Don`t Eat Pete with the Jara family. They`re little 4 year old, Ronny, is just so cute :) Gathering M&M`s has never been so fun to watch :) 

We managed to find someone who wanted to talk to us when the power went out on Friday. Usually the world just goes to sleep. But that`s what members are for :) 

I began packing my winter cloths. I may have cried a little bit. 

Staying in Villeta

Highlight of the Week: Staying in Villeta

I´ve got 6 more weeks to finish up all the Lord has for me to do here
in Villeta. And I`m determined to make the most of it!

We got to teach Liz and Diego again. They`re a great family. Diego
really wants his family to be together in the Gospel. He just needs to
make it happen. I think it`s a small miracle that Liz wants to listen
to us, because she told us the other day that she`s usually really
slow to open up to people. But the Lord knows what he`s doing, and His
plans are always more put together than ours :)

I dreamed a little bit in guarani last night (score! :) Next step:
sleeptalk in Guarani :)

We are going to learn how to dance with clay pots on our heads.
Totally worth some of our precious pday.

All-of-Paraguay-and-Uruguay Stake Conference

Highlight of the Week: Seeing mi hija (hna Zuñiga) at Stake Conference :) 

We had a all-of-Paraguay-and-Uruguay Stake Conference this weekend. It was fantastic. Any occasion that calls for traveling by colectivo with the whole branch is pretty great. But what made it the best was that I got to see my "daughter" (the new missionary I trained two cambios ago) and that just made my whole week. And Hna Puma got to see her trainer, so it was a grand ol` family reunion :) 

We found a young couple this week. Diego is a member, but Liz is not. They have 2 really cute little boys. They also own a gym, and are the spitting image of fitness. We were looking forward to having a lesson with them both. . . but Diego had a body building competition this weekend and wasn`t home. But Liz did make a point of proudly showing us pictures (Noooo!!!! We`re sister missionaries!!!!) We`ll see where it goes :) 

Santos de los Ultimos Dias, Santos de los Primeras Dias

Highlight of the Week: Teaching Lourdes (who UNDERSTANDS the gospel) and her mom, Nelli, who likes to talk about aliens. . . :) 

My comp and I have been trying to drink more water, to prepare us for Summer. We`re up to 2 liters a day . . . it`s HARD, because bathrooms aren`t just conveniently there all the time. . . but it`s going well :) One of our inactive members gave us a bunch of mulberry leaves from her mulberry tree. . . apparently it helps with water retention. She didn`t quite understand that needing a bathroom every 30 minutes was not our goal. . . but it`s the thought that counts :) 

We discovered cute little seed pods that look like baby watermelons and are very much like bouncy balls. I think it`s some cousin to the tomato. 

We were talking to a Catholic woman who had visited with the elders a long time ago, and her husband passed by and casually informed us that we were "Santos de los Ultimos Dias" and they were "Santos de los Primeras Dias". . . :) Well said, I`ll have to admit :) 

We discovered yesterday that Sopa Paraguaya uses a lot of eggs and a lot of milk. . . that's why it`s so dry and gross every time we try to make it. . . :) 

1 year mark this week

I discovered Paraguay Cricket this week. Still don`t understand it. 

We are going to go to the Museum of Villeta next week. I am stoked. 

I tried experimenting with gnochi again, but added way too much flour, so I`m just going to make peach kenedleky instead :) Sadly cottage cheese does not exist here. 

We taught a ton of people this week! And we`re prepared to do it again. :) 

Pictures!

Highlight of the Week: Finding the perfect scripture in DyC 

It was really hot this week. I am so scared for summer :) 

DyC 58:23 or something close to that. . .


one corner of our area. 

 

Mario`s baptism (he`s the dark haired one). His brother Roberto is more blonde, and he got baptized too :) 

The boonies aka Virgen de Lourdes

divisions with the Hermanas Lideres

 

divisions from the previous cambio (wearing my favorite dress in the whole world)

little kids flying pandorgas (kites) 

Really red mud. 

sunset on the river :) 

nuestra casa (I don`t remember if I`ve sent this or not. . . )

 

Studying :) 

Stars are God`s little trees

Highlight of the Week: Two lessons with members we didn`t know. . .

 "have you ever talked with the missionaries?"

"yeah! they baptized me and everything. . . "

"really?!"

 "yeah, but now I`m catholic. . . "  :) 

There`s always room to improve :) 

 

 

Quickly:

 

Our apartment smells like a catholic church because my companion is convinced incense kills mosquitos. I`m not quite convinced. . . 

There are chickens with curly feathers. They are my new favorite animal :) 

The little sister of our investigator told us that the stars are God`s little trees. We`re friends :) 

I was told the story of the Pompero. . . much like the Mexican Chupacabra (which I suddenly realized means something along the line of 'goat-sucker'. . . ) and will never whistle in the night again. 

I tried to crush an egg with one hand, by sheer force. It doesn`t work. I didn`t believe the elders, but they were right. . . 

And just to put it out there, the plan our Father has made for us is amazing. It`s perfectly just, logical, and merciful. It`s based on progress and agency, and it`s completely up to us. Our purpose here on Earth is so simple and beautiful, all we have to do is willing follow what we`ve been given! It can`t be that hard now, can it? :) current favorite scripture: Mormon 9:3-5

Mario and Roberto`s baptism

Highlight of the Week: Mario and Roberto`s baptism!!!

We got to pull off a baptism this week, those are always fun :) I`ll
send pictures next week - three boys 8, 9, and 10 years old. Pretty
sweet. We ended up running a lot though. We forgot the baptismal
clothes in our apartment. Luckily we only live 4 blocks from

 the church :)

I dreamed about cheddar cheese the other night.

Cheese here just isn`t the same. . . I don`t think I even

remember how cheddar tastes. . . and I`m not sure I`d trust any orange cheese

I find here anyway. . .   :)

Alóha means Lemonade in Guarani :)

I`ve managed to memorize half of Ether 12:4 . . . Upévare, umi Tupare
ojeroviáva ikatu añetehape oha'aro petei yvóra iporavéva, hee, jepe
petei tenda Tupa akatuápe. ha ko ñeha'aro ou jerovia rupive, ome'e
jokoha yvypora àngape, . . . and I don`t remember the rest. It`s slow
going, but I`m going to finish reading the BOM in Guarani before I get
on the plane to go home :)

Well, I`ll tell you more about this week`s miracles next week when the
internet isn`t so slow :)

P.S. DyC is fantastic :) I love modern revelation!

A new part of our area, and Chicheron

Highlight of the Week: Checking out a new part of our area we thought belonged to the Elders. . . :)

Antonella didn`t get baptized this week. We had a good long talk about what it would take to get the permission of her parents, and we`ll see what happens this week.

But we are going to baptize Mario on Saturday. He`s 10 and his mom is a member.

They`re in the process of moving to the Elder`s area, but they`re ours for now :)

This week`s been hot-ish. Mostly absolutely perfect. :) I keep waiting for winter,

but it just hasn`t hit yet. . .

I tried Chicheron yesterday. I`m pretty sure it`s pig fat fried in pig fat.

I also memorized my current favorite scripture: Los que creen en Dios pueden tener una firme esperanza en un mundo mejor, si, aun un lugar a la diestra de Dios, y esta esperanza viene de la fe, proporciona un ancla a las almas de los hombres, y los hace seguros y firmes, abundonados en buenas obras, siempre impulsados a glorificar a Dios. . . Ether 12:4 :)

Next week I`ll give it to you in Guarani :)

Antonella

Highlight of the Week: Antonella isn`t moving to Asuncion, and she`s getting baptized this week!!!

Antonella told us Saturday that she was going to move to Asuncion and enroll herself in the police academy for four years. And that she would be leaving Sunday. And then she came to church on Sunday and told us she was staying and was going to get baptized. Maybe she just likes to watch us react to the emotional rollercoaster that put us through :)

I ate cow udder this week. With Antonella. We decided next lunch appointment we would

bring the food :)

We also had exchanges with the sister leaders, upon which Hna. Whitmer and I got to travel in colectivo with a member and her three small children. Niños make colectivos a whole other experience :)

We also happened to pass a peluqueria (hair salon) with a big ol picture of Shaun Spencer from Psych as advertising. . . I had to enjoy the sweet irony alone because no body else knew who he was. . . I love Paraguay :)

And eating strange plants?

Highlight of the Week: We got the Conference issue of the Liahona!!! 

After a week of rain and wet feet, I am thoroughly happy for some sun. It`s actually not the rain that bothers me too much. But mud is tricky stuff. And sometimes stinky too. Luckily I`ve got a nifty pair of fashionable crocs that allow me to splash through all the puddles and street-rivers in Villeta :) 

I did end up battling it out with two broken umbrellas two days in a row. . . and when it came to drawing blood (ok. it poked my thumb. but there was a little blood :) I decided it was worth the 22 mil guaranies for a fully functioning one. So now we have two paraguas that work, and no more rain :) 

me eating strange plants :)

Well, we brought two investigators to church yesterday but lost them before Sacrament Meeting. . . we were kind of sad about it. But we found some new investigators who are ready to learn, so it all works out in the end. 

closeup of said strange plant

(this is my favorite plant in all of Paraguay)

Love you all! Faith is so important! And Mormon 9 is a fantastic chapter.

 

I love Paraguay winter

Highlight of the Week: Making headway in Guarani. . . and finding 10 Brazilian cents :) 

I love Paraguay in the winter. I think I`ll probably end up living the rest of my life in this season, winter in the states for one half of the year, and then for a change of pace I`ll spend the rest of the year enjoying winter in Paraguay :) 

Apparently when you cut your hair here you have to be careful not to leave it on the ground, because if a sapo (frog) ends up eating it you`ll go bald. At least that`s what Antonella, our investigator told us. 

The river is still rising, apparently due to rain in Brazil. I don`t know. I lack a good map to really understand it. 

I prepared an amazing talk for this Sunday . . . then totally messed it all up when I got to the pulpit. But that`s ok because I now have an awesome talk prepared for the next time :) 

The church is true!!! We are here to change and become better! Love you guys!

This is our house (well, in the middle)

This is the river Paraguay, and Hna. Isabel`s boys moving their stuff to higher ground

There`s this green algae that is just so cool. . . gonna figure out how to grow it some day, but not in my house.

 

Villeta, service, dirt and shovels

Highlight of the Week: Service! I love dirt and shovels and Paraguay.

Villeta is a port town (is that how you say it?) So the people here make a living off of fishing or working in the big old factories that have set up shop nearby. And right now the river is rising. So many people are moving and building lean-to type structures on higher ground. We were able to help one of our recent converts build their house this week (in skirts, cause hey, that`s what Hermanas do :), and tomorrow we`re going to help them move and finish it all up. They have a boat that they use to cross the river and buy mandioka in Argentina (apparently it`s better in Argentina)

It`s windy here, so all the boys run around with pandorgas (kites)  made out of plastic grocery bags. I might make one today :)

I MADE GNOCHI!!!! I think that's how you spell it. It's pasta made out of potatoes, it`s delicious, and I figured out how to make it :) I don`t think it`s strictly Paraguayan. Maybe more from Argentina or Brazil. . .

Hermana Puma does not like Avocado Pie. Pobrecita :)

Ah. Yesterday I ate morcilla (along with nearly half a cow too. . . gotta love asado). It's a type of sausage thats really really dark in color (scarily dark. . . nearly black) and I`ve seen it around plenty of times, but never had the courage to try it. Or to ask what made it so dark. But yesterday we had dinner with the Branch President, and I figured that if the President was serving it to us, it couldn`t be that bad. . . but I didn`t let them tell me what it was until I had finished it. Turns out it tastes pretty good, and it`s really good for you. . . especially if you`re anemic. Make sense, since they told me afterwards that it`s made out of blood. Not sure I'll be able to eat it again. Not sure I'll need to :)

My companion and I have begun to read the Book Of Mormon in Guarani. We don't understand any of it. But give us another 4 weeks.

I love being a missionary! and the Tupao Jesukristo Mangaratukuera Arapahapegua is true!

goodbye to the city

Highlight of the Week: Returning to el Campo! 

I`m in Villeta!!! Villeta is little, beautiful, and in a bend of the river Paraguay. So I`ve said goodbye to the city and busy streets of Monte Lindo and I`m back to walking with cows and listening to the Relief Society lessons in guarani :) I`m quite content. I`m apparently the first Nortamericana in the branch though, so all the members have preconceived notions of sister missionaries from the states. . . we`ll soon fix that :) 

The weird thing is that most of the streets in town are paved. . . the first few days I kept thinking every few minutes, "where are all the rocks?!" 

My companion is Hermana Puma from Lima, Peru. That makes three of five companions from Peru. . . guess that means I`ll probably get around to visiting Machu Pichu after all :) She uses the word "Rayos!" a lot. So when I come home doing the same, don`t be alarmed. 

What I hadn`t realized I`d missed so much was the smell in el campo ( grass and burning things :) and all the crazy random weeds. I`ll give more details next week :)

Love you all! Keep reading the scriptures and going to church! :) 

 

life is good

Highlight of the Week: One of our contacts came to church! On her own! Yes!

Short and sweet: It`s cold, but the sun came out this week, and life is good. 

Paraguayans like to give their trees `haircuts` and sometimes I have to just tell myself it`s ok, because with the way things grow here it`ll be back to normal in a year or so. 

Pomelo season is over, but I`ve heard there`s another mango season coming. . . 

We have cambios tomorrow! I`ll let you know more about that next week. 

This weekend was COLD

Highlight of the Week: Luz`s baptism!!!

We had a baptism this week! Two sisters from Kaaguazu moved into our area about a month ago and had been on the brink of baptism with the elders there. . . I feel so blessed to get the opportunity to finish what they started. 

The winter has finally started. This weekend was COLD. But the church is still true, and though the palm trees seem to be mocking us under our layers of coats and mountains of scarfs, we are still going to keep finding people (mostly the people who don`t mind the cold :) 

We had a lesson with our investigator Jorge this week. Half way through he pulled out and put on his Jedi robe (this was before it got cold. . . :) I`ll be working on Star Wars/gospel references this week :) 

I ended up slightly melting my shoe on the calientador - but it`s still my favorite household appliance.     

Today I will by boots, because now I understand why I need them. Repentance is a wonderful thing :) 

Che aro`y pero rohyhu!!!

(tengo frio, pero les quiero!!! :) 

(I`m cold, but love you guys! )

 

 

 

 



Bautismo!!​!

 

I can't figure out how to rotate this one.  :(

 



  



calientador

Laundry

Highlight of the Week: Intercambios with the Sister Leaders! (there`s life outside of Monte Lindo?! :)

I`ve decided to learn how to do my own laundry (ok, ok, I know how, I just don`t like spending my p-day time doing it. . . ) we`ll see how that goes :) And we had 4 investigators come to church this week!!! We`re working aful to get them all baptized before the end of the month. We`ll see what happens :) 

Sorry it`s short this week!  

Paraguay Asuncion Temple

 

 

 

(Rachel's May 5th letter)
 

Highlight of the Week: Going to the Temple. Totally worth the crazy bus ride and lack lunch time. 

 

Ah! The temple is so amazing! The Paraguay Asuncion temple is really small (I think it`s the same design as the Columbus Ohio temple) but absolutely beautiful, and exactly what I needed to re-focus my eternal perspective. 

 

Noteworthy items of the week include:

 

2 chicas (12 and 13 years old) from Caaguazu moved into our ward this week. They`re on the brink of being baptized, and I`m pretty sure the elders in Caaguazu are a little distressed. But we`re going to take good care of them, promise :) They definitely test my language skills though. . . they talk faster in Español than I can think in English (let alone Spanish :) 

 

Overheard the Backstreet Boys yesterday. Good stuff :) Also Stereo Hearts. . . I told my companion I know every single word. She thinks I was rebellious before the mission :) 

 

ok, humor the geekiness, just for a little bit :)

 

"Which chapter in Alma explains the purpose of life, the universe, and everything?" 42!!! :) 

Visitor's center

(Rachel's April 28th letter)
Highlight of the Week: Centro de Visitantes en la Capilla! (we made the church into a mini Visitor`s Center)
 



all of the missionari​es that helped out with the visitors center in the chapel

Before I got my call, when I first began thinking of going on a mission, I had this fear that I`d get called to be a Visitor´s Cener missionary. But I`m pretty convinced now that I would love it. It`s challenging, hard work, and I`ll admit I`d need a lot more practice if I were to do it full time. In a visitors center you only get a limited amount of time to help your visitors feel the spirit and learn something. And they come in groups, so it takes a lot of skill and tact to meet the needs of every individual. . . but it`s so great! We got to teach nearly all the lessons in about 10 minutes, and the members were bringing in the people! yes! Pretty much a fantastic activity.
 

Nosotros y el Cristus!

 

This week I discovered:

 how to make Pomelo slushies this week. (grapefruit. . . mas o menos)

a deep passion for shining my shoes. . . (who knew it could be so fun?)  

 that jump-roping (how do you spell that?) is great when your companion can`t run and you`re sick of ab-workouts. 

And we get to go to the Temple tomorrow! There are no words (not in English, Español, nor Guarani) that can express how happy we are to go :)

 

A lot of the women of Monte Lindo. . . this photo`s a few months old. . .

my companion Hna. Zuñiga in the middle of Calle Ultima :)

Eating chipa for Easter. . . it`s a little tough on the teeth, but hey, tradition :)

Easter - Semana Santa

Highlight of the Week: Boda y Baptismo! 

Ok, it wasn`t our baptism, but the elders in our ward had a wedding and baptism this Saturday, and it was great - we even managed to drain the font the day after too, so we won`t have to deep clean it before the next baptism. . . :) 

Easter (day) in Paraguay is. . . well, kind of normal. What they celebrate here is Semana Santa. Holy Week. I think it begins Monday, Lunes Santo. And lasts till Sunday (Pascua). Nobody has school, everyone`s on vacation in el Campo visiting family, and Viernes Santo is the holiest of the holy days, and NOBODY is in the streets. The colectivos don`t run, nothing is open. . . everything`s quiet.  And everyone eats chipa and sopa paraguayo. Homemade chipa`s a little tough, but it`s good. . . I much prefer the sopa paraguayo (kind of like cornbread, not at all like soup). 

We saw the biggest caterpillar EVER this week. It was as big around as my thumb. Kind of scary, but really cool. And it was outside, so todo tranquilo :)

We have cambios tomorrow, but I don`t think we`ll be changing. You never know, but I`m guessing we`re staying put. 

Favorite escritura ahora: Alma 7:10-13

cold toes

Highlight of the week: cold toes :)

I think we might be able to safely say that we're beginning winter here in Paraguay. Or maybe this is just what fall is like here. . . but it's been cold enough to wear a sweatshirt at night and want hot cereal for breakfast and I am so happy :) I feel like Christmas is around the corner. . . :)

I have made it a goal to baptize our neighbors: Antonio and Graciela: They collect and sell chatarra (scrap metal and . . . junk) and they are probably the most interesting people I have ever talked to. Antonio studied for a year with monks. He learned English from a short; redheaded Irish man. He's read the book of Mormon cover to cover. He mines for gems every now and then somewhere far away in the outskirts of Paraguay. And I really believe he actually did all of this. Graciela doesn't talk much. And their three year old son is just full of smiles and only speaks Guaraní. Yep, we're gonna baptize them; just you wait and see :)

Love you guys!

General Conference

Highlight of the Week: General Conference. Hands down. 

Nooooo!!!! I have to wait 6 MONTHS for the next Conferencia General?! It`s a good thing we`ll be getting the Liahona in a month or so :) Conference is so great. A little more stressful when the two hour break in between is spent speedwalking all over tarnation in who-knows-how-many-degrees Celsius trying to convince investigators and the less active that it really will be worth it to watch. But still amazing. 

I`m learning that pure Guarani is really complicated to learn from a dictionary. And that the word ´thunder´ is just full of hard to pronounce sounds for the general latino public, and that all of Paraguay is planted with Pomelos, but I don`t know why because they are so bitter! Grapefruit juice makes me sneeze. Like dark chocolate. 

We contacted a Paraguayan Messianic Jew the other week. We`re still working on the follow up. 

 

Alma 12 is fantastic! Currently my favorite chapter. You should all read it.

This is our district last cambio

this is the view from our house

This is me and Jon playing Ajedres :)

amanecer

this is the "culebra"