A Solid Week

Hello Everyone,

This week was a solid week!! I had a lot more fun this week than I have in the past little while. On Wednesday, we had changes (transfers) and Elder Davis left the area. My new companion is named Elder Brandon Graves from Saint George, UT. He is super and excited to work which is the opposite attitude of my last comp.  Mission life is a lot more enjoyable when the companionships have the same motives and goals.

This past month we have been working a lot with a less active family with the last name of Aguayo.  On Monday, a cousin named Alex, from Buenos Aires, arrived to visit them for several months.  Alex is not a member and had never attended a church before but was raise with a Bible background.  I find him super awesome because he is actually willing to think.  I love it because not too many people are even willing to think enough to come up with an answer to questions. On Sunday, the whole family came to church !!!! including one of the boys named Jorge that had worked from 8 pm Saturday night to 7 am in the morning.  I was very feliz (happy) that everyone came.

Derlis and Sandra:  We are still working with them. Since that big fall with the alcohol it has been a slow recovery. Derlis, also, had started smoking and now is having a hard time stopping. Sandra now does not want to get married but that will come and not be such a problem.  We are working with them trying to help them understand how to receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Church and why it is so important that they do that.

Also, it was kind of fun this past week. Elder Graves and I met and taught a witch, which was interesting.  Metaphysics, I do not understand what it is, but there are weird things that happen.
More than ever, I know that God exists, that He loves us and that there is an opposition in all things and the need to rely on Jesus Christ is more important than anything else in the world. It is the only way to win.

I love you all!

Never quit reading your scriptures and pray frequently.

Love,
Elder Call

Month of Miracles

Hey Everyone,

Wow, what a month of miracles.  I would like to start off by saying that this week.  In the middle of February, President put as a goal for baptisms of 204 during the month of March. The first two weeks were normal weeks, but the past two have been outstanding and last week we were informed that there were 53 baptisms and that we had broke a record this week when we topped it off with 61 baptisms making the total of 167 baptism so far in March and we have 44 in plans for this Saturday!!!! The work is accelerating and the members are stepping in and up to the call to help out.

With having said that, Elder Davis and I were all over the map with lots things to do.  We had not gone on divisions with the other elders yet, so we did that on Tuesday and Thursday.  Wednesday and Friday evenings were spent doing interviews in Painu and Tres Bocas and Saturday we had to be at two baptisms, one in Tres Bocas and the other here in Leopardi.  Although, it was not our baptism, it was great.

Diana and Nestor remain faithful and devoted to helping their children progress.  I just wish that divorce was not so hard to do in Paraguay so Nestor could to get a divorce so he could marry Diana.  But that is how it is.  Sunday, after already eating a big lunch at one member’s house, Nestor and Diana commanded us to sit down and eat with them as well. Miguel and Sharon are doing very well but Sharon was sick yesterday and did not come to Church, but everyone else did.

Derlis and Sandra, they are on the uphill battle to a better life. Derlis, however traveled to his parents house over the weekend and we will have to see what the conditions were there. Sandra this time did not go with him but rather stayed at home. On Saturday, all of the Primaria (Primary) went to the temple to see it and their kids also went with the kids of Nestor and everyone enjoyed it.

Exchanges (transfers) will be this Wednesday, so we will see what happens.

Love you all
Elder Call

P.S.
I don't have any information about the hernia, but at the end of this month I'm going to call and see what's going to happen.

Matias is going to travel about the 5th or 9th of April.  It doesn't seem like our investigators are going to progress very much.  We've dropped many of them now and we are looking for others who will progress faster.  My companion finishes his mission in 6 weeks, so not yet.

With love,
Elder Call

Best P-day Ever!!

Hello, everyone!

Pitfalls

Sharon and Miguel are doing great and so are Nestor and Diana.  It makes me happy seeing them progress and learn about their Savior and how to make their lives better than in the past.

On the other hand, Sandra and Derlis!!!!! WOW! I am glad that they live with Nestor or else they would be gone!! Derlis dropped hard to the bottom.  We met with him on Tuesday and talked about the whole thing.  He was not going to tell us that he drank but his little girl sure spoke up, saying that he got super drunk.  He felt super uncomfortable and would not meet with us throughout the week.  He would make up random excuses to leave and not share with us. =( This family is one of the only ones that I have really clicked with and become attached to, so it breaks my heart to see them like that.  Sunday, Sandra came to church but Derlis didn`t.  We were able to visit them in the afternoon yesterday and when we arrived Derlis was both drinking and smoking =( =( and then he decided that he needed to leave but we were able to convince him to share with us and we talked about the adulterous woman and repentance and good stuff like that I hope it is going to and has helped him a bit. Please join me in prayer for this family!!!

Other than that, all of the rest of the week’s lecciones (lessons) and work were with one timers and people that were not interested and did not want anything to do with us.  Not a whole lot of people are completing with their compromises (commitments).

On Saturday, a sister in the ward called us up to help her carry a bed that a friend was throwing out about 2 blocks from her house.  Haha, so the 2 blocks ended up being 8 blocks and the bed was nice and heavy. I am not sure what was in it but we tired quickly.  Anyways it was good.

TODAYYYY!!!!!! Yes, best P-day ever. The reason that we are writing so late is that it was our turn to go and clean the Temple.  For not being able to go visit the temple for 7 months now, I thought it was about time to be in the House of the Lord again. Temples are awesome!  I am stoked for the groundbreaking back home and hope it gets built fast!!!

God lives. He loves us! And we can go to His house and dwell in His Spirit. So if you find yourself in a place where you have not gone for a while, pack up the bags and Drink from the waters of Life.

I love you all and exhort you to go to the temples.

Love,
Elder Call

Hernia Update:

As for me and my hernia we had a Zone Conference with President and his wife and I talked to her about the hernia and she asked if the 3 to 4 months had already past which they have not and so she told me to wait and talk to her after 3 months have passed.  Transfers will be next Wednesday, right before my B-day. So we will see what happens.

Elder Call & Elder Davis @ the Asuncion Paraguay Temple

Happy and Sad

Miguel & Sharon

Hello to all the folks back home!!!

This week was happy and sad!!!=(

Happy, because Miguel and Sharon were baptized and confirmed members of the Church!!! Throughout the week we kept in good contact with all of them in that house. Thursday, they had their baptismal interview and we headed to Paínu, as an interview is necessary to be baptized, they passed the interview!!! Friday night we went and had dinner with Nestor and the gang to celebrate his B-day.  We brought a nice ol' chunk of meat and we had a good barbeque!!! Saturday, we went to their house to try on the white clothes and found ones to work.  This was my first baptism in which they showed up on time and everything was able to go smoothly, although not many members showed up to support them.  Two kids from the Primary gave talks and bore their testimonies of their baptisms which brought the Spirit in to the room super strongly.  I baptized Miguel and Elder Davis baptized Sharon!!!  They were confirmed the following day.

Elder Davis, Miguel, Sharon, Elder Call

 Derlis and Sandra, here comes the sad part.=(  So throughout the week they were super excited and ready for the wedding on the 21st of March, but Derlis had lost his cedula or his ID of his nationality or something like that. He went to go get it and they told him that they have to do some things and to check back in one month to take it out!! Not only that, but Saturday after the baptism of Miguel and Sharon, Nestor and Sandra went to visit his parents who are alcoholics and think it is stupid that he stopped drinking. We heard from Diana that Nestor had ended up drinking and we have not been in touch with them since Saturday but we will have to see where things go!!!! =(

Matias is all normal and is now planning to travel to France and live with his cousins that live there. He is working on arranging everything so that he can study there also.  His flight out of here is the 5th of April, so he is headed to learn a new language.  Ilse does not answer our phone calls any more, soooo I do not know?!?!

The Church of God has been restored to the earth today we have the grand privilege of participating. God loves you and wants you to invite people to come to church to learn about the great sacrifices that His Son did for each one of us. Friday I found a scripture that I had forgotten about for a long time.  It is Helaman 14:12-13, explaining what it means to believe in the name of Jesus Christ. You should look it up!

Love you all,

Love,
Elder Call

Helaman 14:12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.
 13 And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.

The gang at the barbeque.

Good as Ever

Hola todos (Hello Everyone!)

This week was good as ever!!!

Derlis and Sandra!!!!!! We were able to meet with them several times this week and it is super cool to watch them progress and make the changes necessary to live with our Father again.  Derlis has such an abundant love for Sandra and has not touched alcohol or tobacco since we have taught him the Law of Chastity. He wants to marry Sandra so bad and therefore quit drinking and smoking. Sandra however does not quite have the same desire to marry Derlis. She wants to marry Derlis but has been showing some doubts in doing so, saying that the 21st of March is not enough time to be ready.  On Sunday, after church, we found her outside by her gate alone and we were asking her why she wanted to wait and what her worry was with marring Derlis. However, she kind of skipped the question by saying stuff like, she is not prepared and that there are a lot of things to change or do.!! Yea Right!!  So I finally asked her if she would like to tell me the worry or if she would like me to tell her.  She opted out on the second.  Therefore, I told her what was told to me; that, at first she did not want to marry Derlis because he drank a lot, but now that he has not drank or smoked for ten days and continuing, that she is happy and pleased with the progress that he is making, but is afraid and thinks that he is going to fall when she is not there to help monitor him!! Sandra confessed that what was said was true, that she does not worry about him falling at home but when he visits his parent’s house he might fall. We have set up a plan where she would talk to Derlis and explain her worries with him and her agreement to marriage if he gets to the 21 without even a drop of alcohol.

Nestor, Diana, Sharon and Miguel!! This past Thursday night the mom of Nestor passed away and it was pretty hard on him but he is doing good and moving strong.  Yesterday it was announced that Sharon and Miguel will be baptized this Saturday at 5 o’clock. Nestor’s birthday is on Friday and we will see if we do something to help celebrate.

Ilse—Ahh, thanks to YSA (young single adults) she is not off the radar just yet. Leopardi has a strong group of YSA that is super friendly and invites her to all their activities which she attends often!! She also came to church again and as always was filled with great questions.

Matias.  Well, so his cousins that live in France came to visit them this past week and he has been with them the whole time, so we have not been able to visit him. Additionally, he did not come to church yesterday.

Scripture for the week:
Moroni 7:12 “Wherefore all things which are good cometh of God...”  Reading this chapter this past week took me into deep reflection in the way I look at things and I began to marvel at the goodness of God and how faithfully and hard He and His angels battle so that we do good things. God is Good and loves every one of his children with a love so great that we as humans cannot comprehend what it means.

I love you and hope you are reading the Scriptures.

Love,
Elder Call