4/23/18- Zone Conference! A hike and Dengue!

Wow this week was full of just a ton@! I hope I can write it all down. 

First Monday after we emailed we went and did our district activity. We hiked Cerro Hu.

It was a lot of more this time with our whole district. And this time we didn't get lost. We got to the top and it was so pretty! You could see all of Paraguari almost. Well one side of Paraguari. It was so pretty and it was a lot of fun.

We also had a lesson with Mercedes and Carlos. We talked about faith, repentance, baptism, El Espiritu Santo, and persevering to the end. It was such a spiritual lesson. This family is so great and so special but they are fighting very hard just like all of us. They are so great. They just want to do what's right and continue to follow Cristo. Tuesday we walked a ton and it was also very hot jaja.

On Wednesday we had conferencia de zona and I got to see Hermana Robinson and we took our generation pic. It was a lot of fun to see her again. We also learned a lot about how to more effectively use our time as missionaries because it isn't our time it is the time of the Lord and it is short and sacred.

But when the conference ended we took a colectivo to San Lorenzo con Hermana Robinson. When we got there our whole zona was still waiting at San Lorenzo even though they left forever before us. We said goodbye to Hermana Robinson y Condor. We got cambios today too and Hermana Robinson is leaving but nothing is happening to us. So I said goodbye maybe for the last time. 

So then we waited in San Lorenzo for another few hours waiting for colectivo. Not one colectivo passed to go back to Paraguari. We waited for hours and hours. We finally found a colectivo that goes to Ita which is closer to Paraguari so we took that. So we went to Ita and got there at like 1900. Then we waited there for a colectivo. We waited and waited and there was not one that passed. So we continued to wait. It got to about 2030 and we were still waiting. Our leaders finally told us to take a taxi but that was going to be really expensive. Luckily we found two really nice taxi drivers that helped us out and didn't charge us too much.

We finally got home close to 2200 horas. We were needless to say very tired. But we slept super good. Thursday we had a super great leccion with one of our investigators named Andrea. She is super great and wants to get baptized. We taught her about the Plan of Salvacion because her mom passed away about 5 years ago. She is so prepared for our lecciones. She reads everything and she takes it very seriously. It is so great to see someone who is fully putting there trust in God. Friday and Saturday we had full days of lots of work. It was so great. We walked a lot and found good people. We shared with Marly, the girl who just got baptized recently, and she is so amazing. She bore her testimony on why she wanted to get baptized and it was so great. She just said it made sense and then she told us about the blessings she has had in her life since her baptism which was a week ago. Sunday oh man, Sunday was crazy. So Sunday they had the elections for the new president here in Paraguay so there was literally no one at church o in our area. Everyone was out voting. It was super crazy because we weren't allowed to proselyte so if we didn't have a leccion fijada, like si o si then we had to be in our house. It was weird. Everyone was running around trying to vote and trying to persuade us to vote for their person. It was a big deal. Then in the night, I think a guy named Marito won, because everyone was driving around in this huge parade with flags and fireworks and honking and it was super crazy. 

But yeah that was this week. It was super crazy and full of just kinda weird stuff but it was another great week.

Oh and probably the craziest part is that it turns out I had dengue jaja and didn't even know but I might have bronchitis again like in the CCM so we are gonna pray that goes away jaja because I am not wearing a mask again. But it was a good week. I know the church is true and I know that God is there to help us with everything we need if we have the humility to ask and trust in His perfect plan.

Love you all

--

To Heaven and Back!

Hermana Davis

4/15/2018 - Apples and Anwers to Prayers!!!

Greetings!!!  

How is everyone doing? This week first, we had a baptism!!! It was so great. It was a girl named Marly and we planned her baptism for her birthday so she just turned 21 and got baptized. But she is tiny so none of the ropa (baptismal jumpsuits) we had fit her.

The poor Elders went to a ton of different areas to try and find ropa. First Ita then Acahay. Oh man it was crazy to try and find ropa. Then when we did get it, none of it fit jaja. All the kids ones were just to small and all the adult ones were too big. We finally found one that fit her the most but she didn't want to take any photos because she didn't like how it was super big on her. We had to take photos  so the Elders were trying to talk to her and reason with her jaja like it doesn't look bad, nobody likes the ropa baptismal, things like that. Hermana Fife and I, being Hermanas' had a different tactic. I told her jaja just to get over it we are taking photos but Hermana Fife had a hair tie so we tide it in the back and it did look better and she was willing to take photos. Then we had the baptism. It was really great. 

On Sunday I celebrated 8 months on my mission and so we made caramel apples. They were so good!!!

The rest of the week, wow what happened. Well we had some good lessons, met some good people, worked really hard. We met a girl named Andrea. She is really great. She is here studying and she wants to know how to have a happy life. So when we taught her, she keeps nodding and she told us that she feels good when we teach and she knew this is what she is looking for. The problem is that she goes home every weekend to visit her family so she wouldn't be able to come to church. But she wants to so she is going to work something out so she can stay so she can come to church.

We also had a lesson with Isabel. She is one of our investigators. We haven't been able to teach her in a while but as we were walking by her house, she was outside. We stopped and she let us in. So we started talking and we were praying really hard, Hermana Fife and I, to have the Spirit and to be able to know exactly what to say to teach her and help her.

We were talking about prayer and how if she prayed she would be able to have more peace in her life. As I was reading in my personal study I read a scripture that talks about how we should pray in the morning to tell God what we have planned and to pray at night to thank Him for His hand in our lives. But I couldn't remember what scripture it was.

So I said a quick prayer to help me find it and I kid you not I opened my Book of Mormon and there it was, right there on the page I opened to, Alma 37.37 right there ready to be read. It is so incredible how powerful prayer is and how God really does hear and answer our prayers.

Another example, same lesson. As one of the missionaries testifies your companion is listening to you, the spirit, and is praying for what you. As I was testifying Hermana Fife was praying for me (She told me this afterwards) and Isabel she is a little strict on our Spanish and accents. If we don't say it perfectly like a Latina then she doesn't understand us. So Hermana Fife was praying that I would be able to listen to the Spirit and be able to have good pronunciation in my Spanish and be able to roll my r's really good (that is something Isabel likes) and she told me that the moment she said that I rolled an r so perfectly. Even the little things like rolling r{s can be answered if we pray with all of our faith and if it is according to Gods will. That is also one thing I learned. God answers our prayers  but only if it is what He has in plans and we need to have the faith in His timing and His plan.

I know and testify that God has a plan that is perfect and even though there are bumps and set backs we shouldn't let that stop us. We need to know that what happens, the good and the bad, are to help us learn and grow. We cant stop others peoples acciones and their decisiones but we can change ours and do everything to do the good in the world.

I love you all. I know that this is the Lords work. I know that God loves each and everyone of us because we are His children. Dont let anyone else tell you anything different. I hope everything goes great this week for everyone of you. You are all so fantastic. 

Plus today we are going to hike Cerro HÜ with our district so pics to come. I will send them next week si o si. Cant wait it should be fun.

--

To Heaven and Back!

Hermana Davis

4/9/2018 - House Arrest, Sick Sister

Hola queridos amigos míos,

Alright so this week was a little bit different than usual. We were under house arrest. For 2 whole days we weren't allowed to leave and work because I was super sick. Okay now before anyone gets really concerned,

1. I'm okay jaja no se preocupe 2. I dont have dengue, we did a test 3. Staying in the house and not working to spread the gospel is one of the worst punishments Ive ever had. Literally. I remember trying to fake being sick so I didn't have to go to school, but ndirachori

I tried so hard to convince the mission presidents wife that I was fine to work and she was not buying into it. So what did we do?

Well Thursday we spent all day in the hospital because there was a ton of people. When we got home we had to do all of our studies and everything still. By the time we finished literally had to get ready for bed. Friday we had to stay home too. So we did our studies and I was pretty sad that we couldn't get out to work. We made some food and Hermana Fife told me to go take a nap. Anyone who knows me knows how much I dislike naps. I refused and she went mom mode and made me do it anyways. I thought I would get some reading done so I grabbed my Book of Mormon and went to lay in bed. But the moment I laid down my body gave up and I fell asleep right there. I guess it was a good idea to get some sleep because I slept for 4 hours. I woke up and it was pitch black. My amazing companion had updated our white board  and cleaned the house and was studying some more when I saw her. We talked and read the Liahona together. It was good to let my body rest a little bit.

But Saturday morning when I had to call Hermana Wilson to get permission  to leave she didn't want me to, but I told her I couldn't stay in the house for another day. She told me I was allowed to leave but if there was the slightest pain I had to go home and rest. It was so great because we had so much to catch up on. So much work to do. So we got out and got to work. Saturday was a great day. We found a huge family to teach and they all accepted a baptismal date and wanted to come to church. We talked to as many people as we could in our path and we walked a ton so we could hit all of our most important people. The best part too is that it was fast Sunday because of General Conference last week. It was so amazing to be able to get back out and give my all to the Lord. Sunday was also great. Sadly our family had another compromiso at their propio church so they couldn't come,.

But,... we got to announce a baptism! This Saturday Marly, one of the investigators de los Elders, is getting baptized!

She is super great and would have been baptized a few weeks ago but she had dengue. It was exciting. We also got to talk to Gladys again. It has been kind of disappointing because she is so great and wants to be baptized but she hasn't come to church. Every week she says si o si she is going to come and then doesn't. So we had a serious chat about what was holding her back. At first it didn't seem like anything. She didn't have any doubts with the Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, Tithing, nothing. She was ready to keep any commandment. But then we asked her straight up what was holding her back. She finally told us that her dad doesn't approve and he is very Catholic and doesn't give her permission to be baptized or go to church.

It is kind of sad because she tried to explain to him how the gospel of Jesus Cristo makes her really happy and how her life is different now and for the better but he doesn't care. He told her that because he was catholic, born catholic and will die catholic, she would be too. We are praying and fasting a lot to be able to talk to the dad and help him see the blessings his daughter is receiving through following Christ. But it was such an answer to prayer to be able to find what was holding her back. 

This week was a bit different than the other ones I have had on my mission. I definitely realized how weird life is being a missionary. We wake up every morning to follow a very strict schedule so we can walk mile after mile trying to share the joy and blessings we have had in our lives. We walk in sun, snow, rain, light, darkness just so we can help people have more peace and happiness. We don't get paid, in fact we pay for our own clothes, housing, food, everything. Who does that? Who willingly goes through rejecting and hard times so that one person can have salvation. I know, Hermana's y Hermana's, that this gospel is true. Because none of the things I just said makes sense. None of it. But here we are, 18, 19, 20 year old kids leaving our home for 18 o 24 months to deal with all of this.

I know that this gospel is true because I am living it. And the fact of it all is that growing up we always try to fake sick so we didn't have to go to school or even church maybe. But never in my life have I tried so hard to convince someone that I was NOT sick so that I could go out and get to work. I testify without a single doubt that this is the truth. I know it, I've felt it, I'm living it. I love this church, I love my mission, and I love all of you. Till next week. 

Funny story about the shirts.

So there is this restaurant here called Tropicana and all the missionaries always eat there. The guy who does delivery is named Javier and we always tease about how we are going to baptize Javier before the Elders and they are like no Javier is ours. So after lots of fighting we agreed to help each other baptize Javier. (None of us has actually had a real conversation with Javier about the gospel, just small talk) But it is super funny that we always see him in the streets and we are like... Javier! But then a little while ago the Elders called us and told us they did something really bad. I was concerned but then they told us they got delivery from a different place called Pronta and they think it is better. And the delivery guy was super nice.

THEY CHEATED ON JAVIER jaja. Sooo anyways now it is like this big thing Tropicana or Pronta and so Hermana Fife and I were talking and we hadn't tried Pronta but we couldn't give up on our main man Javier so we decided we were team Javier. We made bracelets for us and then made shirts for the Elders but they are super dope and I kinda wanted to keep them jaja but we put their names on them so its okay I guess they can have them jaja. But yeah its like Team Edward or team Jacob but way more important because its team Javier or team Pronta.  ,We don't know the delivery guys name yet. But its been pretty funny joke we have. So anyways that's the shirts jaja. 

But if y'all want to read more about the mission here or see different photos there is a blog and a facebook page

westoverparaguay.blogspot.com

facebook...presidente y hermana wilson

There should be some good stuff. Tell me if you see me :)

Rohayhu

Sorry we didn't have a lot of time to take pictures this week so I am gonna send some old stuff too that I don't remember if I have sent before.

if I have sent before.