Last Letter Home

May 4, 2015

Ok, first things first, I had a wonderful week.  It went by really fast, but all the members were great.  They fed us a lot, because everyone just wants to feed me because I´m leaving Paraguay.

So mom, food I´ve missed would be vegetables, lots of vegetables like a big huge salad!  I did finally,have a weird food experience.  I guess every missionary needs one of those lunches where they want to feed the food to the dog when they aren´t looking.  I almost managed to go my whole mission without having one of those, but Friday this sweet, sweet recent convert lady, I just love her so much (She´s the one who taught be sing in Guarani), she made us Milanesa de Mondongo for lunch.  So Milanesa is fried meat basically, and it´s actually really good when it´s chicken or steak, but Mondongo is like the weird insides of the cow, like it´s intestines or something.  It´s yellow and stringy and smells just like you would think.  (Hermana Line says it looking octopus)  Ya, so we have all heard that when done right,  Milanesa de Mondongo is really good, but we do not share that opinion, but we ate it and we survived. 

Monday we had a district activity; we went and played Badminton which was fun and different.  We also passed by for that reference we got last week from Mario.  The coolest people ever!!  

I´m so sad that I have to leave them.  Graciela and Antony are the best.  They are a brother and a sister and they older.  Graciela is super sweet and Antony is like the coolest guy every.  He is a pilot and he´s super smart.  He always says that he´ll teach us science and we´ll teach him the gospel, but he is pretty golden.  The first time we explained the book of Mormon he said, "Jesus Christ came to the Americas? I had no idea" And he´s been reading every since and loves it.  When we taught the Word of Wisdom he was drinking Coffee and he said, "At least I only drank a little bit" And then dumped it out.  The only down side is that he lives in Bolivia, but he wants to move back to Paraguay.  They couldn´t come to church because it rained really, really hard (like nobody came to church), but I just know that they will progress in the gospel.  Antony is already asking for double of what we give him so he can teach his friends and coworkers.  

Other than that it was a pretty normal week.  I am sad about leaving.  It still doesn´t feel real, like it hasn´t hit me yet.  Basically tomorrow is my last day, because Wednesday is our day with President where we go to lunch and the Temple and my plane  leaves Thursday afternoon (not excited for 20 hours of plane flights).  I have learned so much on my mission and I wouldn´t have changed this experience for anything else in the world.  Maybe my Spanish isn’t so good or I wasn´t the perfect teacher, but I have a much clearer view of the atonement and how to use it in my life.  I know what kind of member I want to be for the rest of my life.  I learned to have more charity and love for others, to share the gospel with everyone, to help the missionaries at every opportunity   and to just strive to be more like my Savior.  This scripture that I read this week describes it best:

Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

And that is so true.  I may have a lot of weaknesses, but through the atonement of our Redeemer those things can become strong.  We can be a better missionary, daughter, sister, mother, father, brother, son, ward member, person, because that is part of His plan!  Don´t ever feel worthless or hopeless because Christ wouldn´t have done what he did for a hopeless case.  He sees what we can´t.  He knows our whole potential.  Trust him!! 

I love you all so much and I´m so grateful for your support on my mission! Love you and I´ll see you on Friday.  Have a wonderful week! 

Rohayhu!

Hermana Amy Pamela Lindsay

Time is Flying Fast

January 26, 2015

Oi, bom dia pais! Eu me chama Irma Lindsay. Eu sou dos estados unidos. eu estou na Paraguay

(translation:  Hi, good morning parents.  My name is Hermana Lindsay, I am from the United States and I am in Paraguay)  Ya, this my Portuguese for you.  Hermana Ramos is teaching the ward every Wednesday. It´s kind of fun, but it´s weird learning a different language from a language that I’ve learned, especially because it’s so similar to Spanish)

This week actually flew by for me.  I´m not exactly sure how I like how fast time is passing.  In just two more weeks we have changes and I´m definitely not ready to leave San Lorenzo or Hermana Jarman!  By far, this is one of my favorite areas.  I love the members here and the investigators, so I´m just going to enjoy all the time I have here. 

We have a few more baptisms lined up.  Hopefully we will have one this week, and two more the next week.  That´s the plan anyway.  Clearly things happen and get in the way, but we have a lot of faith!! The one girl we found recently is Nelly and she is 13.   She is really cool. She went to church a lot in the past and loved it and had a really good experience.  She didn´t get baptized before because her aunt and cousins are members and the one cousin wasn´t really living up to the standards, and she wasn´t sure if she should get baptized if she couldn´t live up to the standards as well, but she really has good desires to follow Jesus Christ and we helped her to understand, that the church isn´t for perfect people. As long as we strive to do our best and sincerely repent, the Church of Jesus Christ is the right place to do that.  

We have also been working a lot with Catolino and Matias.  They are the father and brother of a recent convert.  Matias is 12 and really loves the church.  Catolino loves it too, but the problem is he isn´t married to his wife.  30 years together with 4 grown children!! But they want to get married they just never got around to getting it done, I guess... ? So hopefully we will be having a wedding/baptism really soon!! 

Nadia is doing really good.  She has 5 younger siblings and every time we go over there it´s an adventure.  This week Angel (he´s 9) tied a hose to a tree and turned it into a jump rope by turning the other end.  So we played jump rope with the kids before we shared.  Never thought a hose would make a good jump rope, but I guess you use what you have right? 

Cristian and Antonela the other two kids that got baptized are doing really well as well.  They have been going to activities with the primary and they are just loving it.  So basically we are pretty happy and content with what is happening in the area and we have a lot of motivation to work even harder this week to find the miracles.  

I´m so blessed in my life to have the Gospel because I learn new things every day.  I´m really learning to understand the atonement on my mission and how you have to forgive everyone.  You can´t control everything that happens to you, but you CAN control how you respond.   I´ve been learning how it really is an act of humility to realize that you are wrong, but the more we use the atonement and recognize our sins the happier we are!! I know that to be true with all of my heart!! I Love this Gospel!! I Love this work!! I Hope you have a wonderful week!! 

Rohayhu!! 

Hermana Lindsay

Happy New Year

¡¡¡Happy New Year!!!! 

So this week just flew by! There were changes a week ago.  Hermana Jarman is still in her training so we are both still here in San Lorenzo, but the other Hermanas of San Lorenzo changed a bit.  I don´t know if I told you buy Hermana Kimball is here with me in the ward and when her companion left she received two more.  One is Hermana Ramos, she is from Brazil and she is just the cutest thing, always saying hi to everyone, and her other comp is Hermana Thacker!!! That was a really fun surprise.  So now my only three companions that are still in the mission are here with me in San Lorenzo, so we are just having a blast.  Hermana Kimball and Hermana Thacker go home in February though, but these next six weeks will be fun.  

We spent the week just busting our backs trying to get this one family to church.  The one family that was going to drive them, their car broke down and we found out on Saturday.  So we spent a good part of the day running around and making phone calls to all the members in the ward, but we found them a ride and they came to church!!! We had a lot of help.  Really, the spirit is a big part of everything I do.  I´ve never prayed so much before in my life!! Like every second I´m praying about something.  It was just a testimony to me that the adversary can´t win this battle because if we do everything with the Lord´s help, He comes out on top,  Always!!  I´m so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I have a huge testimony that God answers prayers.  

This week we have a zone conference and our zone will be singing as the choir, so that should be interesting.  Oh and one of the members here surprised us with a daughter that we didn´t know existed.  She had been living with her grandma, but she wasn´t running around in the best of circles. Her mom wanted her to come live with her for awhile.  I´m not sure how we missed the fact that she had another daughter, but Nadia is 13, and not a member and we are starting to teach her this week.

Oh and Mom!! The kids here just LOVED the glow sticks you sent.  This same family has five other little kids and I´m sure they played with them for a good two hours straight.  They are quite the novelty here actually.  They do play a lot with firecrackers and stuff, but a lot of kids have never seen these and the just love them.  

Other than that, all is well with me.  Just happy to start a new year!! Can´t believe it´s 2015 already. 

Rohayhu!! 

Hermana Amy Lindsay

Mosiah 18:30

¡¡Hola !!
 

We have been getting a really good response from the video, He isThe Gift.  We have cards we give out too and we carry around our portable DVD player to show it to everyone...because we don t have ipads.   I have seen even the hardest people soften as they watch that video.  One investigator who is catholic, always liked talking to us, but whenever we talked about baptism she hardened up and changed the subject, but when we watched the video with her she actually accepted the invitation to be baptized.  She still has a lot of doubts but she’s a lot more open to the discussions now.  It really does have a special spirit and we have had several people cry. 

 Actually we found a really cool lady.  She’s a single mom and lives with her mom and her son.  The first thing she said after we showed her the video was, "how can I share this with my family?"  And she and her son have accepted to be baptized.  Really, I have a strong testimony that Jesus Christ is our Gift and as members of His church we have the great opportunity to share how others can accept that gift in their lives as well.  So really truly.  I invite all of you to think and pray of a least one person to share this video with, along with your testimony and then invite them to learn more.  We have the gift in our lives!! And Christmas is all about giving!

Hermana Jarman is coming along really well in her training.  I can’t believe it’s already been a month.  Super crazy how fast time is flying, but she’s is just the sweetest thing and she has so many desires to learn and to do more.  I’m learning a whole lot from her, more than she probably knows, but we are having fun together.  One thing I am learning as a trainer is how to pray and to follow the spirit in everything we do.  You think I would have learned that after a year in the mission, but it’s probably something you just continue to learn and to get better at.  I think one of my favorite things as a missionary is seeing the spirit touch their hearts and seeing them soften,  and you can tell because you can see it in their eyes.  There is a scripture in Mosiah 18:30 that talks about how beautiful the eyes are of those who have come to the knowledge of their Redeemer. Itś so true!! You can literally see it!!

Anyways that’s basically all from me.  I’m not sure quite yet on the whole Christmas thing, but I’m sure I will know by next week.  I just have to coordinate with the members.  But all is well with me!

Rohayhu!

Link to “He is The Gift”

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

"He is the Gift"

December 1, 2014

¡¡¡Hola!!!

Can´t even believe it´s already December, it feels like just yesterday that it was January and I was wishing you all a happy new year.  So weird!! 

With this Christmas there is a new initiative for the church, and as a missionary it´s pretty exciting.  It´s called “He is the Gift” and if you haven´t heard of it or watched it I invite you to go find it.  December 7th it will be the main video on the homepage of youtube, but you can also find it at christmas.mormon.org  Missionaries are starting to share this video with people all over the world.  It will even be shown in places like Time Square.  How cool is that?? Anways, it´s super cool, and just has a really good message about what Christmas really is about.  As a missionary we have to share this video with at least 10 people a day and report how many new investigators we receive each week.  I invite all of you to get on, watch this video and then share it with someone, or everyone!!

As for the training, it is going really well.  Hermana Jarman really is a good missionary.  She speaks super well too, which I´m grateful for.  Lots and lots of studies though.  There were a couple of times this week we didn´t get to work as much because of the studies we have to do.  Friday we had a zone conference to introduce “He is the Gift” and then we helped the members clean the church because Saturday we had as open house.  It was super fun!  As hermanas we get to do the tours so we get to experience a little of what it´s like for the sisters on temple square. 

We had like a mini version of the Christus set up in the chapel and then a couple of other presentations and then near the end the elders were dressed in white and presented the baptismal font and then at the very end we shared “He is the Gift” and it was just a cool day.  You could just feel the spirit super strong and I know there were a lot of nonmembers that could feel it too.  One of our investigators came and I think it really is going to make a difference in her progression.  So we are pretty excited about that.

Today I´m writing a little later, because we had a district activity.  It was super fun.  We played soccer...of course (not really much else to do here) and then our district made us barbeque, but Argentina style.  He is from the states, but his dad is from Argentina.  It was so good!  Grilled pineapple, grilled meat, sausage, onions and green peppers with chimichura sauce (I think).  Super good! So I guess that made up for missing Thanksgiving.  

Anyways that´s about it from here.  Just living it up and really, truly loving the mission.  Love you all soo much!! 

Rohayhu!! 

Hermana Amy Lindsay

I'm Training

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day Thursday and eats lots of good food for me, and remember to be grateful, because we have so many wonderful things to be grateful for, especially having the gospel in our lives.  I don´t know how I´ll celebrate, maybe, I´ll go get lomitos with my companion. 

Speaking of my companion.... My new companion is Hermana Jarman from Cotton Wood Heights (Salt Lake), Utah and she is straight out of the MTC.  Yes, I´m training!!  She is basically the sweetest little thing.  She is just ready to hit the ground running, and she speaks really well.  Like... WAY better than I did when I first got to the mission.  But, that´s not totally fair because she studied for two years in High School and I only studied French.  With training comes 12 weeks of studying for 4 hours.  I´m actually learning a lot about my trainer, and thinking that Hermana Jarman is just so sweet, and patient and I do not think I was half as good as that with Hermana Casey, but these next 12 weeks are going to be fun and probably will fly by for me.  And I´m excited to learn lots.  

It was kind of a long week.  I found out Tuesday night that I would be training and Hermana Weeks had to pack and we had to clean, so we didn´t get much sleep that night.  Then we headed to the terminal to drop off Hermana Weeks and then headed to the offices to pick up my "hija".  We had a brief training with President and then they brought out our companions and then we left to our areas and we´ve been studying and working hard ever since.  

I just wanted to share something that I learned from Preach My Gospel this morning about how much our Heavenly Father loves us. "He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right.  He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer." (PMG pg. 31)  I know that´s true.  Heavenly Father´s goal is to see us succeed.  He didn´t send us to this earth to laugh at our struggles, but to help us learn and grow to become more like Him and He really truly feels every pain, struggle, joy, happiness, that we may have.  As we strive to live His commandments we will show our love for Him and we will be blessed more than we can imagine.  

Rohayhu!! 

Hermana Lindsay

I´ve been out for a year!

November 10, 2014

¡¡Hola Familia!! 

So it´s kind of a weird feeling knowing that I´ve been out for a year, it´s really crazy actually.  It´s weirder still, that six months ago when I was with Hermana Weeks the first time she was at exactly the same point I´m at and now she goes home in a week and a half.  The time just flies as a missionary. 

In most ways I still feel like I´m new in the mission, the only difference is that I can speak and understand Spanish a lot better.  In some ways I´m still the same person, for example we were at a member’s house this weekend and their house is only like two rooms, but I went in to use the bathroom and I confused the doors and the members were like, Hermana where are you going? And I´ll I could say was, "I´m lost".  Hermana Weeks and the members got quite a good laugh out of that.  In other ways I´ve changed a lot on the mission.  I´ve learned a lot and I´m continuing to learn every day and I just love Paraguay! 

This week was kind of different.  We normally do the same things every Tuesday and every Thursday, but we had zone conference this week, so it moved all our days around.  The conference was really good and then we helped the other Hermanas in San Lorenzo move apartments.  Our whole district came to help so we got it done really fast and the Hermanas are happy to be in a new chuchi apartment.  

Right now we are just trying to invite people to come to church.  We are working with one lady and she´s just the coolest person.  She´s really special.  We first found her husband and he´s really cool too.  The first lesson we had with them, he excepted the invitation to baptized right away, so we were really happy with him, but we weren´t sure how she felt because she didn´t really talk much. We left a pamphlet with her and when we came back she had read and understood all of it (that´s not super common here).  She just accepted the restoration right away and we leave her things to read in the Book of Mormon and when we come back she is always just eager to learn more.  The only thing is she works a lot and has to work on Sundays a lot. 

They don´t have a lot of money and they are supporting two little kids, but she talked with her boss and she arranged to at least work Sunday for the afternoon so she´s really excited to come to church and is really excited to get baptized as well.  Also, she´s got the cutest little boy, he´s a little terror though and is always trying to get attention during the lessons, but he can´t sit still and he´s either climbing all over his mom or running around.  You can´t be too mad though, because he´s got the cutest little voice and says the funniest things.  I imagine he´s kind of like the Paraguayan version of my brother Ryan when he was little. 

Other than that, it was a pretty good week.  We are excited to work super hard this week!! Love you all so much!! All is well with me! 

Rohayhu!!

Hermana Amy Lindsay