I'm Grateful for the Sun

June 30, 2014

¡¡¡¡HOLA!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Today, I´m grateful for the sun.  It rained straight for like 4 days here.  I´m not even sure how the sky held that much water, but it was coming from somewhere.  But the sun is out and shining today, so I´m grateful for that.  I feel a little like a plant or something, I just want to go sit and soak up the vitamin D.  Kind of like that boy in that movie Timothy Green or whatever. 

The work is hard in the rain though.  The people really don´t like it and they don´t come to their doors and if they do they just shoo you away and tell you to come back when the weather is nicer, but we work either way.  Other than that, sometimes I feel like Paraguay is pretty normal... but then again I just a saw a little family on a motorcycle and the little boy was holding a chicken.... so maybe it´s not so normal.  I think I at least am staying a little normal, although, I may be reverting back to my old ways of falling.  I fell twice this week.  Once when we were out running and once down the stairs from our apartment.  Hermana K_____ asked me if this was a normal thing for me.  But I´m good, I only got a scrapped up knee and hurt pride! 

The work is going really well though.  We actually met a really cool family.  They all accepted a baptismal date...but then they moved.  Luckily we happened to pass by or we would have missed them completely, but we have their new address and are going to make sure some other missionaries take care of them!  It was fun to get to teach them for a little though because they are just so ready to except the gospel.  I love seeing that.  I love seeing people who are prepared...usually they are people I meet that live in different areas, but either way it´s cool and I pray that they will accept the gospel where they live.  We are going to keep working hard finding people to teach. 

We work a lot with our ward missionary leader.  Hermano Miguel.  He´s a pretty crazy guy, but he loves the work, and he´s always willing to come with us to lessons.  His one dream is to visit the US and learn English, so he asks all of the North American missionaries if he can stay in their house for a week or two.  I guess he figures if he asks enough he´ll have lodging for a whole year!  I guess that´s actually kind of smart and for right now he´s fine with throwing little berries at the back of heads and pretending like nothing happened.  We put up with him because he helps us out a lot. He´s the one who baptized Tobias actually. 

Speaking of Tobias he is doing so well.  He´s picking up on things a lot faster now and he just loves it.  We taught him a way to remember the 10 commandments using our hands and he just ate it up.  He´s like a whole different kid.  His mom is pretty happy too.  It´s just a testimony to me that the gift of the Holy Ghost really does make a difference.  It really does help us to become better in every which way.  He´s such a good example to all the other kids that live in that house too and adults...because there are a lot. 

I´m well and happy and I love this work sooo much! It´s basically the hardest thing I´ve ever done and Heavenly Father is still testing my patience and my faith, but I´m willing to work on both of those things.  Sometimes I still wonder why I came specifically to Paraguay, I really don´t know yet, but I´m glad I´m here either way!

Love you all! And have a great week celebrating and stuff!!

Rohayhu!

Hermana Amy Lindsay

A Baptism This Week

June 23, 2014

¡¡Hola!! 

We are playing it safe since being robbed and trying to stay in more populated areas after dark.  The only problem is it gets dark at like 5:30 and then we still have about 3 and half hours of proselyting to do, so it limits who we can go see, so that´s a little frustrating.  I really didn´t have anything of value with me when we were robbed, just copies of stuff.  The mission has all the original copies, so that´s good.  I´m definitely more wary of motorcycles now though, but Hermana K____ is so fun and positive we haven´t let it stop the work.  We have a good time together. 

We actually had a baptism this last weekend.  It was of a little boy named Tobias.  He just turned nine.  He´s mom is a member, but a little less active.   She was starting to get active again, but she just had a baby so she can´t bring the baby really out yet, but she was able to come to her son´s baptism so that was good.  There are quite a few people in that house who aren´t members so we hoping that this baptism will be a good example.  But it was a lot of fun! And Tobias was pretty happy!  

We had divisions this week too with the Sister Leader Trainers.  Hermana W____ is in San Lorenzo now so I went there.  I had divisions with her when I was still new in the mission training center, so it was fun to go out with her again.  We taught this one lady who had been sharing with the missionaries for quite some time, but she just didn´t want to get baptized yet. We brought the elders anyways to have her interviewed just to see if she was ready.  Anyways, we had a lesson with her before and there were four missionary teaching this lady, resolving her doubts.  It was kind of fun.  It was a like a team, four missionary minds and the Spirit fighting against the adversary.   I think she got baptized this weekend so it worked. 

Really though, they call it missionary work for a reason.  It´s hard work, but we have the promise if we are worthy the Spirit will help us to know what to say and where to go.  I have a huge testimony now that all good things come from God and if it isn´t good it´s not from God.  It´s as simple as that, white and black, so if you have doubts or are afraid just know that those feelings do not come from our Heavenly Father.  He wants us to be happy and find peace in this life.                                               

We celebrated Hermana K____ birthday this week and that was kind of fun. She´s 20 now! The other hermanas next door planned a little surprise party one night. They put tons of balloons in the apartment and made brownies and bought pizza, so we celebrated.  Then Hermana K_____and I made cake and had our own little celebration too for lunch.  The cake was pretty good... well except for the bottom got a little burned.  Oh well it´s the thought that counts! 

I decided though, being on a mission, I want to learn how to cook, because I really don´t how.  The Paraguans just cook, they don´t really use recipes, but they make all this delicious stuff.  So that´s my goal, to learn how to cook... but it might have to wait until after my mission because I don´t have a whole lot of time.  But I am learning a little!                     

So that´s basically all with me!  I can´t believe there are so many people coming home soon, I feel like time is just flying on my mission, but maybe it´s different from this side.  I already have more than 7 months out!!  But we do the same stuff day in and day out so the days really kind of all blur together. 

I love you guys and hope everyone is doing well!! Have a wonderful week and ROHAYHU!!  

Hermana Amy Lindsay

We Might Have Gotten Robbed

June 16, 2014

¡¡Hola !!  

So first things first.  I guess I should tell you the most "exciting" thing that happened to me.  Saturday we might have gotten robbed.... Ok not might have I did, by two guys on a motorcycle.  But don´t worry, both me and Hermana K___ are fine!  And really there were a lot of things I was grateful for. 

Usually I carry my personal scriptures and my pictures of you guys with me when I´m proselyting, but for some reason that morning I didn´t feel like bringing all that stuff.  Spirit!! So they didn´t take that much stuff, just a tiny bit of money and a Book of Mormon, (because they actually just took my whole bag), and some other little stuff that was in my bag, like my umbrella, and my hymn book, and little stuff. Oh and our phone and keys, so we had to go track down where our owner lives to get in to our apartment and luckily we can borrow the phone of the hermanas that live next door to us.  

Today I´m going to at least buy a new bag so I can carry around my stuff.  Onto to my third mission bag whoo!!  But really I´m fine!  Kind of an interesting start to a new area.  Maybe they´ll realize that robbing missionaries really doesn´t have a purpose.  But ya, so that was Saturday.  

This week we also had a zone conference which was fun.  We got together with several of the zones and had some good meetings and had a really good lunch and now we are just prepared to hit the ground running in this area.  I really do love this area and I love Hermana K_____, she´s a pretty hard worker, so we are going to have lots of success here, I can just feel it!! 

We are actually going to have a baptism this weekend for a little boy who´s mom is less active.  She was getting active again, but she just had a baby so she´s been recovering from that and the baby was really tiny.  But Tobias is really excited to get baptized so we will be working with him a lot this week to help him get ready.  Little kids are awesome; they are just so receptive to the spirit, I love it!! They are just so willing to follow Jesus Christ.  It´s going to be a fun week. 

Also, tomorrow is Hermana K_____´s birthday so we will doing something fun to celebrate, probably go get pizza and make a cake today or something like that.  As for my apartment, it´s really actually pretty nice.  There are two rooms and a kitchen and a bathroom which is a step up because my last apartment was just one room and a bathroom, so I enjoy having a little more space.  The only thing that´s weird is our shower, it just comes out of a little tube, but it´s hot water! So I really can´t complain!!

The members here are awesome!  We don´t have as many lunch appointments as my last area, but the few we do have are always delicious!  This one Hermana, Juliana just cooks so good!! But she cooks a lot... and then gets offended if we don´t eat a lot so we walk away really full from her house, but it´s fun really.  Honestly, I wouldn´t want to be in any other place right now.  I know that it is the Lord´s work and that He is protecting us.  All of the great missionaries in the Book of Mormon went through great afflictions before they had success.  Alma and Amulek were in prison for three days but afterward they were able to change so many lives and bring people to the waters of baptism.  So, it was kind of annoying to have two guys just come take my stuff, but really it could have been worse and I know that everything happens for a reason.  Sometimes the Lord gives us trials to make us stronger. 

I want to work even harder this week!! I love the Lord, I love His Gospel, and I love this work!  I know that the message we are bringing to people is true and the Jesus Christ really restored his church on the earth again.  I know that this is that church!  Hope you have a great week!!

Everyone at home are always in my prayers!   All is well and Rohayhu!!

Hermana Amy Lindsay

I´m in Ñemby

June 9, 2014

¡¡¡Hola!!!

So, I´m in a new area!!! Right now I´m in Ñemby.  It´s actually not too far from Asunción. My area has a lot more campo (countryside) now, so that´s fun.  It´s kind of like a mixture of city and interior, but I love it already.  I´ve just been so happy from the minute I got here on Wednesday,  I don´t even know why, but I guess it´s because it´s just where I need to be.  It´s fun, I see a lot more chickens and cows just roaming around.  They actually have a ward here, so that´s different for me and they baptize quite frequently.  The elders in our ward just had a baptism this last Saturday. 

There are six missionaries in this little ward and all North Americans, it´s kind of crazy.  My companion is Hermana K___, and she has about 10 months in the mission.  We get along really well, she´s a really good teacher, and she is really excited about the work so we have lots of fun together.  We also live next door to other Hermanas that our in our ward too.  Hermana R___ and Hermana W___.  It´s fun, it´s kind of like college and we are in each other´s apartments quite a bit.  Then there is Elder A___, he actually goes home this next transfer and Elder C___  and he actually just leaned over from the other computer and told me to tell you "Hola 208" Haha... I don´t know I guess because he´s from Idaho too.   

Anyways I´m super happy here and I´m excited to be doing the Lord´s work.  Every day is precious because time just seems to fly by so fast, but I´m happy to be here in Paraguay.  There really isn´t anywhere else or anything else I´d rather be doing right now than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that this is his work and I know that we have a message that not only blesses lives, but makes them better and brings them happiness.  I hope all of you recognize that blessing.  This work is not easy but so worth it.  I just finished Elder Ballard´s book, "Our Search for Happiness" It´s a great book to read for members and nonmembers alike.  Especially if they want to understand more about the church and why we do what we do and why we believe what we believe, because really, this life is time to find that happiness and to live our lives more in harmony with that of the Savior´s.

That´s basically all from me for this week, I´m just kind of getting adjusted and learning the area.  This week we are going to work super hard and find lots of miracles. Oh ya, and we didn´t get any of the flooding here so that´s good. We are safe and dry, but today we are going to try and find some boots for me...just in case. 

All is well with me.  Enjoy your week and Rohayhu!

Hermana Amy Lindsay