Layering is going to be my best friend!

May 26, 2014

¡Hola!

So good news, my companion is feeling much better, so we were able to work this week, bad news is, it´s cold.  Today is actually nicer, but the past few days I´ve had to unpack my coat and scarf and gloves to stay warm, and we had to pull out the heaters.  I never thought Paraguay would get to that point, but here we are.  I´ve never minded the cold, but that was when the houses had heating and insulation and I didn´t have to walk around in it all day.  Layering is going to be my best friend this winter.  It´s hard though, because no one really wants to talk to you because it´s so cold, but we are still finding miracles.  

I guess my miracle for the week was our investigator Luz.  There was awhile that we couldn´t find her.  She was never home and when she was, she was busy and didn´t want to share with us.  Turns out that she had heard something she didn´t like about the church, but I think she missed sharing with us, because when we finally were able to sit down with her again.  You could see the spirit touch her heart and she has actually been setting appointments with us.  This weekend she even went with us to a baptism.  This weekend the stake did something called a baptismo wasu, where all of the missionaries in the stakes and their converts got together to all be baptized in one area.  It was kind of fun.  Kind of like a normal stake baptism, but for them it was something different, although most of the missionaries didn´t really know what was going on and there was a lot of stress.  Everything worked out fine though, and I think it was a cool experience for all of those who participated and it was a good thing for Luz to see as well.  

Now we are just going to focus this week on finding new people to teach. I know the Lord is preparing people in this area, we just have to find them!  

This week we had some visitors from the states.  This student from BYU is doing his senior project here.  He´s into the whole film thing like Joey, but he came here with his Dad to shoot a video, to help missionaries understand the culture and what the people are like here before their missions. He wanted to go to Argentina because that´s where he served his mission, but it´s pretty dangerous with his equipment right now, but his Dad served here so I think that was fun for them.  I think it´s an awesome idea though! Watching him film the members this past Sunday was a blast.  They take great pride in their country and they know exactly what sets them apart. The idea is to work with the church to do this for missionaries all over, but he has to have the finished project first before the church will consider it, but seeing all of his equipment reminded me of Joey! 

Oh and I believe it´s Poppy´s birthday this week, so wish him a ¡Feliz cumpleaños! from his favorite granddaughter...who is in Paraguay and that I´m very glad that he´s "still alive" ;)

Anyways all is well with me for now.  Hope everyone has a great week! Work hard.  Follow the Spirit.  Remember the Lord in all that you do!

Rohayhu

Hermana Lindsay

Six Months Out

AHHHHHH!!! I can´t believe that I already have six months in the mission. How did that happen?? It just feels like yesterday that I was on the plane headed to Argentina and now I only have a year left.  It´s weird, because I´m still in my first area.  I´ll have been here for 5 months when I leave, but I don´t want to think about leaving Pinozá just yet.  I love the members here and there is lots of work to be done.  I´m actually in one of the nicer areas.  Our church is really big in comparison.  My companions last area didn´t even have a church, so the members here are very blessed.  They are few and far between, but they are a good bunch and they are all like family.  

We are working with a little girl, Helen.  She is the daughter of one of our other investigators, Alma.  Alma can´t get baptized just yet, but Helen is going to turn 8 very soon and she loves the church and always goes with her grandma and aunt (her aunt is like the same age as her so they are more like cousins) who are members.  She wants to get baptized, so we are going to start working with her. Little kids really can feel the spirit more strongly, they are more humble and they know the truth.  That´s why Christ teaches we should become as little children.  They are innocent and submissive.  If only it were that easy! But like I keep saying, that´s what the atonement is for! So we can become better every day. 

We got to go to the Temple last week.  The temple here is small but sooo pretty.  The minute I walked through the doors I felt at peace, like I had come home.  I enjoyed every second and I didn´t want to leave because I won´t be able to go again for another year.   I want everyone to be able to feel that peace in their lives and as a missionary I can help them obtain that goal.  It really is the Lord´s house.  I’m definitely going to make attending the temple a habit after my mission.  

A dog gave me a nasty bruise on my arm.... last week!  I´m not even sure how it happened.  We rang the doorbell and the dog was barking through the fence and then the lady came out and I turned to talk to her and all of sudden there was a pain in my arm, but then we ended up sharing with this lady and the dog wasn’t vicious when we passed through the gate so I don´t even know what happened.  But it looks and feels like someone punched me.  Haha, but at least it wasn´t a bite.  That´s still my biggest fear here. 

We spent a lot of this week going to the hospital for the problems my companion was having. They don´t really explain what´s wrong here, they just give you the medicine and send you on your way, so Hermana was a little frustrated, but she is feeling much better now so we are going to work super hard this week to pick things back up from that lost time.  Luckily the hospital is super close to our area so we didn´t lose too much proselyting time.  

Thursday was La día de la madre here, or Mother´s day.  The day before, the Branch had an activity to celebrate.  People sang, and danced, and read poems in Guarani.  It was super fun.  The elder´s quorum put it on and I´ve never seen them all so excited for an activity before.  There was lots of food.  The typical food of Paraguay.  There was empanadas, milaneisa, and of course sopa!  and cake, but we had to leave early so we didn´t get any of that.  

Then on the actual Mother´s day we had lunch with a less active member.  I just love the Paraguayans, their hearts are so big.  Two weeks ago she gave us lunch, but she wasn´t going to be home so we just took it with us.  Well we didn´t have any forks so we asked for some and so then she thought that we didn´t have any forks, like at all, so during lunch she brings out this sack and says, "Hermanas, I have a gift for you"  And she had gotten us 4 cups, two plates, and two forks.  They really do have the biggest hearts here! 

This week we are going to focus on finding a miracle.  We decided that we needed to work on our faith and so we are going to do just that.  This is the Lord´s work and so I know miracles are possible, you just have to pray with faith and following the promptings of the spirit and keep your heart open because a miracle could just be disguised as an everyday occurrence so you have to look a little harder to find them.  But God is a God of miracles.  I´m so grateful to be a part of this great work! I hope all of you are striving everyday to find the miracles in your life!

Rohayhu! 

Hermana Amy Lindsay