Happy Halloween

 ¡¡¡¡Hola y feliz Lunes!! 

Ok, so this week was kind of all over the place and let me tell you why.  First off mom, I got the package with my shoes and I have kind of a funny story to go with that.  So I got it on Tuesday in our district meeting and then I carried it all the way home, excited to open it.  We get home and....Hermana Weeks doesn´t have our keys.  We are locked out!! The keys were nowhere to be found, but I was so excited to open my package, I sat down and opened it outside.  I knew that if we went anywhere to solve the key situation I would have to bring it with me and it would be hard to carry, but I didn´t care.  So I opened it up. 

Then our owner said that she would stop by with a spare key, but it would be awhile and so we decided to go find some lunch, but I didn´t want to bring this package with me.  We live on the second floor and we have a balcony and Hermana Weeks thought if she stood on this one ledge she could throw my package onto the balcony, so we decided that was a good idea, but then she realized that if she threw it, all of the stuff would go flying out, so I took off my belt and tied it around the package.  The ledge Hermana Weeks was standing on was kind of thin so she made me hold her feet down.  It took her a few times, but eventually we got it up onto the balcony.  The whole time, the people across the street were getting a kick out of our show.  I´m sure they were just thinking, "crazy Americans". 

About an hour later we got into our apartment and went to make a new copy of our key.  It was a bit of time, but we ended up going and visiting some people that we needed too that were not in our plans originally because of that, and it ended up being a really cool day.  Moral of the story, the Lord works in mysterious, sometimes comical ways. 

Another embarrassing story of the week happened on Saturday.  Saturday morning I woke up and put on my shoes.  I thought either Hermana Weeks will want to go running or I can do some other exercises.  So Hermana Weeks asks me if I want to go running, and for some reason I felt like we shouldn´t, but I thought that maybe I was just being lazy.  So we went anyways.  So we start running and everything is just going really well and we were almost to the end and I started to think of how much I´ve improved and stuff like that, when my foot found a hole and boom I was down on the ground and of course it was in front of a shop of guys that had just yelled out, ¨Fuerza"!   But....I did sprain my ankle a little.  It was pretty swollen all that day and so we had to cut our work day short so I could ice it.  But it´s a lot better now.  The swelling has gone down and I can walk without limping now! So all positive! Moral of this story, Always follow promptings of the Spirit even if seems like it´s just lazy. 

Anyways that´s basically all from me!!  We had interviews with President this last week.  Nothing too exciting. I got to learn a little about him though and that was fun.  Other than that it really was a good week and I´m excited to have an even better week this week.  Happy Halloween!! 

Rohayhu!!

Hermana Lindsay

This dog's going to eat us!

October 20, 2014

¡¡¡Hola!!!

This week we´ve been trying to get to know the members better.  It was funny actually, we asked one family to go with us to a lesson and there were some dogs following us and I was looking at them nervously.  Hermana Cabrera asked me if I liked dogs, and I said, "It´s not that I don´t like them, they just seem to not like me,” but the dogs ran away and all was fine.  But, as we were walking back a big Rottweiler came bolting out of it´s house right at us.  I didn´t notice at first, but Hermana Weeks acted surprised and so with that combined with this huge dog running right at us, I thought, this dog is going to eat us!  We were in a group of four, and of course the dog passed all of them and came right at me, but it turned out it didn´t want to eat me, it just wanted to play. Hermana Cabrera just about died, she was so scared for me, so now every time she sees me she asks about the dogs.  I think I´ll forever be that one missionary that dogs just don´t like. 

Friday we planned this huge talent show and all the members came and did something.  All of the organizations were in charge of a talent and anyone else could do one as well.  It was a lot of fun.  There was lots of traditional dancing.  Paraguayan dancing is very simple, but it was very pretty.  The elder’s quorum put together a pretty funny skit of the ugliest man in the world.  The MC was a recent convert and he is a radio man so he just hammed it all up and made it fun.  Hermana Weeks and I thought it was all pretty funny and we cheered loud for everyone, but every time we cheered all of the heads up front would turn around to look us.  Ha, ha, I guess maybe that´s not normal audience attitude here, but we had a lot of fun.

We found this one family a week ago and we are excited to start working with them.  We clapped at their door and the wife came out and we started talking about the baptism of Jesus Christ and how we need to follow his example and she stops us and says,  "My husband wants to be baptized like Jesus Christ, one moment" and she called her husband out and we shared with them both.  The husband, Jose is really interested.  She is a little more reluctant, but we are excited to work with them both. Jose came to church even this week.  They have a son Julio and he is really smart. He´s only 11, but he was quick to have an answer to all of our questions. 

And then we had a fun surprise visitor at church yesterday.  I think I talked about Jaime before. He was the baptism that we had because he records somehow got lost.  Anways, he showed up to our meetings here in San Lorenzo.  Apparently he was visiting someone close and didn´t want to miss church.  Hermana Weeks and I were both thrilled to see someone from Pinozá.  Anyways, he and  Hermana Weeks started talking about a lady name Teresa and Jaime informed her that she had been baptized and Hermana Weeks was very excited.  Then she turned to me and said, "Ah Hermana, I´ve been meaning to tell you.  She lives close to the church and you contacted her one time, and she remembered you and even your name specifically.  Her mom was yelling at her to do something so she lied and said she couldn´t share.  She told me to tell you and Hermana Casey that she was going to get baptized."  And she did!!  That meant so much to me.  I loved Pinozá, but my time there was really hard.  I always knew that it wasn´t in vain and just maybe I had planted some seeds and to hear that story I was so happy, because I know now that  I did plant a lot of seeds while I was there.  Maybe I won´t know all of the outcomes of those seeds, but I know the Lord does and that´s all that matters.  

Anyways, that´s basically my week.  Love the work.  Love the Lord.  Love His gospel!

Rohayhu!

Hermana Lindsay

Phrases from Conference I Love

¡¡HOLA !!

Hope everyone just loved general conference.  I sure did, although I always get sad when it´s all over, but I have a lot I have to work on these next few months.  I thought it was really cool how they allowed the speakers to speak in their native language.  With those speakers, you got a little taste of what everyone in the world listens to if they speak a different language.  Of course, the talks are still wonderful, but the ability to listen to their actual voice makes a huge difference.  Ñemby is the stake center so I didn´t have to go very far to watch general conference.  We have the option to watch in English so I was in a room with a bunch of missionaries and when Elder Gavarrat and Elder Martinez gave their talks in Spanish we all ran into the chapel to listen. 

Here are just some of the phrases from Conference that I loved:

Which way do you face? - Elder Robbins

The church is a home for all regardless of the strength of your testimony. - President Uchtdorf

Kindness is powerful -Elder Oaks

Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God - Elder Andersen

"Yes Lord, I will follow thee." - Elder Gavarrat

The only way to find lasting peace is to look towards Him and live - Elder Perry

The living Lord guides His living church through His prophets - Elder Nelson

Following the prophet is always right - Sister McConkie

Walking WHERE Jesus walked is less important than walking AS Jesus walked. - President Monson

Stay in the boat! - Elder Ballard

We´ve come to this earth to be tried, tested, and stretched! Our tools: Prayer, Scipture study, Family Home Evening, and the Temple - Elder Scott

And of course, I love Elder Bednar´s talk and I think it´s a good way to explain to any non-member who is curious as to why we like to share what we believe and describes exactly why I wanted to serve a mission, because I love my Savior and His gospel.  I love and try to use the healing power of the Atonement in all aspects of my life because I know it works.  I know we do dumb things and make silly mistakes, but we can be clean!! Completely and perfectly!! Every day I am grateful for that knowledge and that I can share that with the people of Paraguay.  I might be weak, but Christ is strong and He´s on my team.  And yours!!

Anyways, my whole week was basically preparing and teaching people about general conference, which strengthened my testimony.  Oh, and I guess the funny story of the week was with our ward mission leader.  He´s kind of a crazy man, but he found out Hermana Flores is terrified of frogs (they are huge here!) and every chance he gets he is throwing stuff at her, acting like it´s a frog to get her to squeal, and now every time we see him he brings this weird liquid saying it´s frog juice and trying to get us to drink it.  He says it cures cancer.  Ha,ha, if only it were that simple!  I don´t know if it´s actually frog juice or not though. 

Anyways, that´s basically all from me.  Changes are this week, so I might be writing you guys from a different area.  We´ll see.

Rohayhu!

Hermana Amy Lindsay