WEEK 22
This came early in the morning... "i will
write later today, but i got some gnarly news for ya´ll... stay tuned ;) be
excited!" See paragraph 4 below for details
Some comments and replies to our emails to her:
Elder Bredsguard and Hna Goimarac are coming home
in like 3 weeks and said they would bring stuff home for you guys.
Anything you want specifically? I might just send letters and
caramels or alfajors :)
Nate - !! Jr
came to church ?! So awesome!! Get him taking the discussions!! If he
goes to church and has all the discussions he can get baptized!! That´s just so
fast to me, i never really knew that before the mish. keep it up i am so proud
of you :)
Kate it
sounds like you had a flippin’ blast at the dance. Oh I am so happy.
Wish I could have been there to listen and share the magic with ya.
Know that I was listening as you told it through the letter. I
could hear your voice telling me every word. I love you. Your dress was
darling! Tell fern i love her and congrats on the call! where is she going?
Way to go on the missionary work! Who is Belle?? Taking the
discussions with Isabel Huish? And Miranda came to church! Awesome!
Mom hope
your tennis match went well today! Sorry you didn´t win last week.
Real success is how you face adversity. :)
That´s
what I have come to learn. And the neighbor family is inactive?! I
know all about that! Get over there with the missionaries (IT IS SO
AWESOME WHEN MEMBERS GO WITH THE MISSIONARIES TO INACTIVES) and talk to
the about their covenant they made. Find out their reason for not coming.
We have a formula we are following as missionaries cuz we are really
focusing on the less actives because PResident Hinckley said, Ïf they are worth
baptizing, they are worth saving.¨
There are
7 steps in the formula:
1. Teach
a doctrine
2.
Help them remember their conversion
3. What changed
for them to be baptized or after their baptism
4. Evaluate
their spiritual state
5. Preach
repentance
6. Testify
7. Invite
(do something like read the BOM cada día (every day) or come to church :)
Feliz Navidad
¡Feliz
Navidad! Hermana Goimarac and I are celebrating Christmas, the 25th of
Septiembre! I am so excited. We are playing my Christmas music on my ipod
(obviously church Christmas music) and we are doing presents and everything.
The best part is, we are gonna make cinnamon rolls and take them to
people. Plus familia Flor invited us to dinner Christmas night!
It´s really like Christmas! I love it. Sometimes you gotta
make the most of things. Sister Goimarac said it´s a good idea to be
celebrating it, cuz Christmas here doesn´t feel like Christmas cuz it´s so hot
and you work. We got lucky and it´s been cold the past couple days
hopefully Christmas day will be too.
Any way
this week has been awesome. Thursday we were fasting with Hno Flor for
his wife in honor as well for the 40 day fast. Did I even tell you guys?
Our ward is doing a 40 day fast... everyday for 40 days one member is
fasting in honor of missionary work, with someone in mind or to have an
experience. So Thursday we went and taught Yeny and Hno Flor about the
Book of Mormon. We had her read 1 NE 10:19 and as she was reading she
slowed to a stop and you could tell the words were starting to take effect on
her. She didn´t look up at us but kept reading it. I looked up at
Hno Flor. Everything was silent and the spirit was so strong. Hna
Goimarac, Hno Flor, and I all exchanged smiles of excitement and anticipation.
She looked up expressing her feeling of the verse and she committed to
read it everyday. We gave her her own copy, which she was so excited
about and acted as though it were a treasure (shouldn´t we all). What an
answer to ayuno (fast).
Also,
Natalia Rivarola is doing wonderful! Just not going to church :( We
are fasting with her today and going to visit her today (I hope I can walk all
the way there). She was hoping to be baptized this Saturday, but she
needs one more asistencia a la Iglesia (visit
to church). BUT! She is reading the Book of Mormon intently everyday,
prays with her husband, her kids, and separately, like all day everyday.
She is such a strength and has the most incredible faith and desire to
change that I have ever seen. She is also keeping a journal that she is
going to let us read after her baptism so we can see the change this gospel has
had on her life. She cries with us every time and tells us how grateful she is
for us. She is doing really well giving up the smoking and drinking and
today we are all fasting. I love her so much and am SOO excited for her
baptism. I love her family as well. I feel like she is my second
mom. We had a family night last night in the house of her father in law´s
(who lives behind them) and we were laughing, talking, crying, and singing
together. I just felt the spirit so strong. Wish you all could have been at the
family night. I must say Hna Goimarac and I planned a pretty stellar one. :)
Anyway afterward, Sofia and Natalaiah and Hna Goimarac gave me the
biggest hug. I felt like I was surrounded by family and seriously my
heart was so full it was as though I really was with you guys. I told them I
wish I could live in Paraguay forever. They laughed and then begged me to.
Sofia is so cute. She is like another little sister. I also need to
get her coming to church.
So for
the exciting news Mom... yesterday Hna Goimarac and I were running to drop some
treats off for our family night cuz we had to get/find a new investigator in
one hour to meet our goal, but I´ve told you guys how the Paraguayan streets
are right? Ya not pretty. Took a hard spill and I swear I could have
caught myself but my flipping backpack is so heavy it just took me down.
I skidded a bit on my hands and then took a hard hit to the knee.
It all swelled a little bit. (I have been icing it and resting with it
above my heart. But all is swell.) I only have a tiny gimp when I
walk and I am taking IB profen to kill the pain. I made a mini cast for
my pinky finger cuz the top got slice like the scalp of Zarahemna (was that his
name). Anyway, some blood and tears never hurt anyone. I am just
glad I have gone a good 4 months without getting hurt. The funny thing is
when something like that happens EVERYONE knows. We were walking back up
that street after Sofia´s uncle cleaned up my hands and knee with hydrogen
poroxide and iodine, and like 15 men were whistling over this wall asking hey
¨Que Paso?¨ ¨Esta Bien?¨ ¨Se Cao!¨ haha yep Me Caí (I fell) big time, but seriously you
don´t need to worry everyone is so awesome here. Everyone like dropped
everything to make sure I was okay. Two young men ran as fast as they
could to help me up, Sofia´s uncle quickly got out his little doctor kit to
clean me up, Sweet Gloria (my recent convert) was telling me everything I need
to do to treat it and she was rubbing my knee to make it feel better. She is a sweet heart. The
Rivarola Familia (Natalia and Ricardo) drove us to our next lesson. Hno
Guillen went and bought me IBprofen! He reminds me of Grandpa Dougie. I
told him not to though cuz it was Sunday. Then familia Adorno came and
picked us up to take us home. I was in a lot more pain yesterday than I
am today. I love IBprofen. Oh and I am please to announce that my
fall did NOT keep us from finishing our work. We still got 3 lessons after that
completing this week with 78 contacts each and 7x7!!! Yippee!!
Wanted to
comment about our family nights. We talked about the light of Christ and
we demonstrated it by using candles. We also incorporated lesson one
about the restoration and how the light came back into the world through a
prophet. Blowing out the candles represented the apostasy and when we relit the
candles we held one next to the pìcture of Joseph Smith´s vision and recited
his own words. We talked about how we have personal apostasies in our
lives and how we have to turn back to Christ to come out of the darkness (our
personal apostasies). Seriously I have never felt the spirit so strong on
my mission. I could tell the members felt it too. The less actives
that were present in the lessons... it hit them. I could tell. Especially with
Griselda Rivarola (Sofia´s aunt). It was so powerful. And then with
the candles lit, we sang, ¨Abide with Me Tis´ Eventide.¨ Precious moments.
I fall in love with my mission more and more each day. Love you all
and wish you the best.
xoxo
Con
Cariño,
Hermana Owen
