Filled to the Brim

      I´m staring out the cyber window, laughing, and thinking of Hermana McMullin´s comment one day of, ¨Who thought you´d ever see a Mango tree, Palm Tree, and Pine tree growing right next to one another.¨   haha Only in Paraguay.

         I need to catch up and fill you all in on the last few weeks, instead of only just this one because they have been so eventful and jam pact with adventures.

I adore Maria

         First off to inform you all on the work... We have coming up this Saturday a baptism for Maria Diana.  She is 13 and she is so excited to be baptised.  She reads the Book of Mormon two times a day.  She gets a lot of criticizing from people she works with.  They ask her a million questions and discourage her a lot.  However, she is holding strong, loves coming to church, and has great friends there.   We are so excited.  

Then there´s Susi (Susana).  She is the granddaughter of a less active who we often have lunch with.  She is darling. We have been trying to activate while at the same time bring her grandmother with her.   The main thing with Susi is that she needed a change of heart more than anything.  She showed up the other day and tells, ¨Hermanas I´m now reading the book of mormon.  I want to be baptized as soon as possible.  I keep my Book of Mormon on my bed so whenever I have spare time, I pick it up and start reading!¨  She said it with such excitement in her eyes.  Now we just need her to rub some of that excitement off on her darling Grandma.  

         We had an amazing conference Saturday night with President McMullin and a member of the quorum of the seventy, Elder Krasnoselsky.  From Argentina and knows Flia Abad, dad! and Pte. Aguero (both leaders Steve worked with from his mission 30 years ago).   

He is so humble and inspirational. His name is REALLY hard to pronounce.   They really got our little branch excited, organized, and inspired to get going TOGETHER in this missionary work.   We are excited.  We have two awesome branch missionaries who are our "assistants" we like to call them.  Angelica and Sebastiana (recently baptized).  Yesterday we split and did divisions with them to showed them less actives and investigators we are teaching.  They are amazing little missionaries.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday we will not be in our area because of divisions and zone conferences with President (we get to present! hermana Amado is freaking out!) so they will be visiting the inv.s and less act.s the days we can´t.  This is going to help the progress of our area so much.  We even gave them two missionary agendas to use.  They are stoked and feel privileged :)  I love it!  Being in Horqueta is so much different than a ward in Mesa, or even Asuncion.   There are so little members that you gotta have everybody working. There is constant communication and constant interaction. I love it.  

      This is the Lord´s work and I know it´s true.  Don´t give up.  Don´t let down.  Remember your Savior and that he is always calling out to us.  This is my scripure I found and love for the week: D&C 88:63

love hermana owen

Glasses 

fun gang of the youth and victor

this is Victor he is THE cutest little munchkin in the world.  he is crazy, loves to run around, loves to pray, and knows our names!  He is Roberto´s (recent convert) nephew.   isn't he precious.

            walking thru yby yau.... i love this one because of the cow 

Elder Krasnoselsky

our tree of life. it is in the middle of the street here in little horqueta!

Hermana Owen y Hermana Amado

hermana Valenzuela- reminds me of tara porter and a mix of maquel simkins.  SHE´S A UTE FAN! haha we had a fun division the other day

Lights Out

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY NATE!!!

         I love winter here! The trees are blooming with the beautiful purple flowers from last year.  

          We are in Asuncion, back to the city.  Saturday about midday we were emptying the baptismal font to prepare our third baptism in Horqueta when BOOM, lights out.  Water... gone.  Word on the street is, it´s the EPP and they blew two or three electrical towers and all north of Paraguay lost water and light.  I wish I had my camera so bad.  You need to see what we showered with.  President Duarte (previous press)- who by the way is best friends with Pte. Sparks (good friends of our who was Pte in Paraguay in '99-02)- has a well and we drew three huge buckets of well water to supply us for two days.  We used it to shower and clean etc.  It was FREEZING.  We lived by candle light day and night and my handy dandy head lamp because a rainstorm rolled in and it was especially dark.  

          

          The chapel on Sunday was an adventure because it was so dim.  But it was a BEAUTIFUL meeting.  Hermana Amado and I sang a special arrangement of Teach Me to Walk in the Light with a mix of Guarani, English, and Spanish.  It was so fun.  Their faces light up when we start singing in Guarani.  Bearing of testimonies was great but my favorite part of Sunday was afterward.  We got the youth to practice an arrangement of I Am A Child of God in Guarani Spanish and English as well :)  President is coming Saturday with a Seventy to have a Concilio so that´s why we wanted to prepare a musical number.  I bribed ´em with Sour Patch Kids (gave em all a few at the end) Thanks James and Kristen! LOVED the package!  Everyone loves the chocolates and candies :)   Anyway, we went to practice in a small room in the chapel.  I kind of directed and we told them to sing really loud, with all their hearts.  You wouldn´t believe the spirit that instantly FILLED the room and my heart.  I closed my eyes and imagined them and I on the Mesa Arts Center Stage like EVMCO and I couldn´t contain my smile. It was a choir of angels. They sang beautifully and you could understand every word in English.  I almost started to cry.

         Oh we have so many bugs in our house!  It was an adventure this week.  We have found about two huge cocroaches everyday.  Thursday night we were hopping into bed when Hna Amado pulled her blanket up that was sitting by the wall and holy batwoman a TARANTULA(no idea how to spell that) or Brown Recluse.  We put him in a jar and I have an awesome pic but will have to send next week.  Also giant centipede type bugs keep crawling out of our tiles. Bleh!

         So the baptism will happen in two weeks from now.  Lights are back in Horqueta we here and oh I am so pumped from the conference we had with President today.  Elder Gunther composed a song for our mission (making mission history!) and we recorded it today. The song is so awesome.  OH I love this work so so much.  Love you all with all my heart. xoxox

Con Cariño,

Hermana Owen

YBY YAU

Starry Nights, Full of food

            Okay sorry about last week.  Left writing the weekly letter until the very end and now our cyber didn´t have internet so us 6 missionaries all get a little short time to write.  So to those who I didn´t get to respond I will next week if Concilio with President (council with the President) doesn´t run to long.   

        But oh you guys so much has happened in only a short two weeks!! Forgot to mention the most exciting part, We had a baptism LAST Saturday(21) and this past Saturday! (28)  It was awesome.  There are about 40-60 members that assist every Sunday.  However, about 70% are youth.  We are trying to work with the parents.  Please pray for them.  

        We lived off of 10 mil (like $3) this week for food because we had to do a lot of traveling and cooking and  one day we returned to the house to see what we could scrounge out to eat.  Well we opened our fridge... an old pomelo, juice, and burnt peanuts I tried roasting haha... on the shelf a bag of flour, salt, and half a bag of noodles.  I said a little prayer for some miracle.  We brought home some carrots and other vegetables and seriously five minutes upon returning Hermana Duarte and our President´s wife, came over and surprised us with a plate FULL of food.  Serious.  The Lord seriously watches over us.  

look this is the food heremana duarte brought us!

       Especially, in these areas out lejos (far) because he knows it´s hard.  The poor people really don´t have much but give you ALL.  I LOVE them SO much.  We have wonderful strong youth that are all so excited and involved in the missionary work and ward activities.  

         So here I am back to the rock paved streets, washing clothes by hand and in buckets, eating noodles, tortillas, and mandioca, but I love it.  A little like life in Loma but more rural.  It is getting cold again.  I was wrapped in tons of layers yesterday.  The nights here in Horqueta are incredible, the skies are FILLED with stars.  You can see galaxies.  I feel so stranded and on such an adventure.  I am learning plenty Guaraní.   Yesterday I learned how to say ¨door¨ ...oké.  Where the accent is, you pronounce it with a nasely sound.  It is such a fun language.    

I am loving Horqueta.  Love you all!

Rohayhu!

Hermana Owen

Oh and I think I mentioned, but my comp is AWESOME!  I am learning SOOO much from her and we have a blast EVERY day!!! Mom I am going to live in Guatemala upon return.  It sounds like a dream there and they eat amazing food!  haha also she is absolutely hilarious... 

an idea of where i went haha the ride to horqueta

this is maria!!! who will be getting baptized next week!!

first baptism :  Roberto Sanchez (17) and excited to serve a mission this past sunday recieved the priesthood!!! :) he reminds me of little nate

their mother :) I  LOVE HER she makes us mandiochururu which is like fried potatoes  
it´s amazing!

our little friend Miguelito on the street

I AM IN LOVE

          Horqueta is AMAZING!! Seriously, it is paradise!  First off,  you can look out in almost every direction and see on into infinity:  thick dark mangos trees spanning out to the horizon and tons of palm trees spotting the fields.  There are neighborhood parts but when you walk down past the church house or to the out skirts of the area you just want to take off flying.  The church house is pequeña (small).  It is darling, and actually just a house and what I imagined the chapels to be like before coming to paraguay.  

It sits on an acre of beautiful green grass, with tons of fruit trees alrededor (around).

         My first day I used these two bathrooms that were four brick walls... I entered the thin sheet door (bueno, one didn´t even have a door) and the toilet was made of four bricks put together.  The people are so humble here.  Wells, horses, dust, noodles, fruit, oh it´s paradise.  We are a branch of I would say 200 or more members but 30-60 asist every Sunday, and there are TONS of children and youth.  My heart is so full to be here.  I love it.  My companion is amazing as well!! She is "That so Raven's" twin(tv show from 90's).. hilarious!  She is from Guatemala  and loves to cook.

        Today we got up at six to travel to Concepcion (45 minutes from us) for a zone meeting and activity today.  The elders cooked an asado and Hermana Amado and I made salads and mandiaco (like potatoes). It was so fun!!! Alright love you all chao chao! 

    

string the punch for our asado
and lunch with the elders in Concepcion

                                                     

xoxox

love

hermana owen

Una semana llena! y con cambios!

           So I think I know why President and Hermana Mcmullin invited my companion and I over for lunch after church yesterday...  I´M LEAVING!!!   We had changes, TODAY, and little, I mean LITTLE, did I know or even expect I would be going out to Horqueta.  I am finally leaving the stake I have been in for over a year; heart torn, but overwhelmed with excitement as well!  Goodbye Asunción and hello Concepción.  It is 5 hours from here.  Blistering hot in the summer and CRAZY cold in the winter.  I am going out lejos as eveyone says in the mission.  Guaraní, washing clothes by hand, ningún super or maybe haven´t been there yet, so we´ll see.  I am so excited though.  Hermana Gutierrez is going to be companions with Hermana... TOMCO!! Ya small world right.  I will miss Hermana Gutierrez so much.  She is going to Campo Grande with Hermana Tomco, and President is putting Elderes into our area now.  This will be good for Mburucuya.

          Marcelo is progressing like crazy and if he is not baptized soon, si o si, will be baptized when he is 18.  He told us the other day that he is decided.  On what? Oh on serving a MISSION!!!! Nate thanks for that letter.  He was SO pumped to get it and I think it had a great impact on him, as well as a letter he received from an Elder Lopez in our mission who has like the same story.  He keeps reading them over and over, and is reading the Book of Mormon a ton! He LOVES third Nephi.  I am stoked for the Elders to work with him.  I will miss Mburucuya but excited at the same time for the adventures awaiting in Horqueta.  I will be comps with Hermana Amado de Guatemala. She is one of the hardest workers in our mission, has incredible numbers and works incredibly well with the members. I am going to learn so much from her.   We actually came together from the CCM.   Oh and yes I will continue being Sister Training Leader, as well as Hermana Tomco and Hermana Gutierrez, but now Hermana Amado will be joining the crew. 

         Also Jasmin!  She is a young woman (14) in the ward we are visiting.  Her mom is semi active and her father is not a member.  She is precious, and since I arrived we have been trying to get them to come to church and do personal progress.  GUESS WHAT!  She is almost DONE with her personal progress. The other day she came to do visits with us and bore the most wonderful testimony.

         Another hero... Hermana Vasquez.  She is incredible. Hermana Gutierrez and I were talking about who we admire in Mburucuya, that would definitely be Hermana Vasquez.  Yesterday we visited the Vasquez family.   They made us hot malta and we shared a message with them.  Hermana Vasquez has had such incredible afflictions in her life and it breaks my heart.  They just seem to keep coming in her family but she doesn´t stop running, loving, reading the book of mormon, praying, reading her patriarchal blessing, caring, cooking, offering her home, cleaning, and so much more.  As she was bearing her testimony to us yesterday I saw my own mom in her, imagining all that she has done and continues to do.   We all face different afflictions in this life and the Lord has a different plan for all of us.  -Hermana Vasquez is a great example of perseverar hasta el fin, the fifth step of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Keep reading, keep praying, keep taking the sacrament, keep loving, keep hoping, keep honoring your covenants.  ¨Pero el que persevere hasta el fin, éste será salvo.¨ (Matthew 24:13) 

         Had lots of adventures this week... walking in the cold with mud filled shoes- they reeked the next day, swarms of mosquitos, eating for 5 hours straight (for día de padre everyone was offering us food), lunch at president´s house, hymns with my comp, living with Hermana Fuller, CHANGES, and so much more.  Just for kicks this is what was offered to us yesterday:  First fajidas at president´s, apple dumplings and icecream, then a peach pie and pasta frojla at a members, sopa paraguaya as well, hot chocolate (malta), galletitas (cookies), and to top it off... ravioli filled with four cheeses.  Talk about being stuffed.  Oh I didn´t mention the brownies with buttermilk syrup Hermana Fuller had waiting for us when we got home.  LLENA!! (that means full.) I have never eaten so much in my life.

          Overall a GREAT week.  We had a less active in church who is progressing and won´t put down her book of mormon.  Her name is Sandra Cañiza.  She is darling.  But gotta run.  Next time we talk, I´ll be in the Chaco... puede decir the wild?   Love you all so much!

xoxox

con cariño,

Hermana Owen

 one of our investigators is famous here in Paraguay.  His name is on the walls on the streets! 

These pictures were sent/shared from their friend who we are now friends with.

Until He Comes

This week was seriously one of the most wildest weeks of the mish.  We prayed for a new house and found a new one!  We´re moving! Again. :) 

Angels are literally protecting us.  It was as if I felt their protection this week. Nights are cold, silent, and dark in our area and so we are switching to the new schedule of working in the morning instead of at night. 

I had an incredible contact this week in the colectivo (bus).  My comp and I hopped on and headed to Luque for divisiones. The bus was full but I spotted one seat open by the window.  I asked if I could take the seat. The older lady that sat on the outside gladly let me pass, although I was hoping she would just scoot over but whatever, couldn´t reject at this point.  The thought rolled through my mind, ¨This is gonna be a long contact.¨  I usually like to stand up and go sit by a new person...we contact a lot of people in the colectivo because they can´t go anywhere and it´s an easy way to get a lot of contacts and often really good ones. Anyway, I figured I wouldn´t be moving because I had my bags for divisions and was now cornered at the window.  So I started to talk.  Made a relation with the gospel about not sure what and gave her an invitation to come to church.  Something nudged me to say more. There is something more to her I´m sure. ¨What´s her story,¨ I wondered. So I brought up something again about the Plan of Salvation and suddenly she started to open up saying she had just come from chemo therapy. She has cancer.  Not only that, but a year or two ago her brother passed away, leaving behind only a daughter who now suffers emotionally because of her father´s death.  I sat there in awe at what had just happened, almost with tears in my eyes.  Then suddenly she asked, ¨What advice of comfort or council could I give my niece?¨  ...she had just asked ME, a young 20 year old missionary from the U.S. who´s second language is spanish, for advice!  

I was absolutely honored and grabbed an extra Book of Mormon from my backpack. Flipped open to Alma 40, and other verses I love, marked them, and gave her the copy to share with her niece.   She was overwhelmed with excitement, wonder, and gratitude.  It was one of those moments you sit and ask yourself, ¨what if I hadn´t opened my mouth?¨ ¨what if I hadn´t said something more?¨ ¨what if I hadn´t asked for the seat by the window?¨ The Lord has a plan for us.  On that bus ride, I wasn´t supposed to contact 5 people, just her.  His plan is perfect, perfectly planned.  He loves us and desires so much for all to have this gospel.  I read an incredible verse this week from Doctrine and Covenants 27:18... ¨Be faithful until I come and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also.¨  

Taught and heard an atheist pray.  He is an 18 year old young man who told hermana Gutierrez a few months back he didn´t believe if God, or at least doesn´t want to.  We arrived and instead of jumping into doctrine, we started the lesson on Geneology.  That actually sparked an interest and that´s when we introduced the Book of Mormon and taught of how it is a Geneology from the ancient Americas. He was impressed and surprisingly took interest. You could tell the young man has faith and part of him, si o si, believes in God.  To finish the lesson, we usually write the steps of prayer in the back of their books of Mormon and let the investigator pray.  We showed him the steps and he got all nervous, looking up at Hermana Gutierrez like, ¨You didn´t tell your companion that I DON´T believe in God !?!¨  She had a little smirk on her face but folded her arms and said, “ya like my companion said, now we´ll fold our arms and listen to you.”  She then folded her arms, shut her eyes, and bowed her head, haha, so I did the same.  There was a few seconds of awkward silence. You could tell he was still sitting their like, ¨I am not going to pray...¨  BUT... little do ya know he began saying, ¨Dear Heavenly Father...¨ and went on to give such a sincere and real prayer.  He knew he was talking to God. He asked as well for things, showing faith.  Afterward we thanked him and quietly left him and his family.  I am not kidding, hearts were changed that night.  I felt like we left someone different than who we began giving the lesson to.  Prayer is such a small but powerful tool in our lives that really brings us closer to our Father in Heaven.

Let us all be faithful, even with the little things, until He comes.  xoxo

Con Cariño, 

Hermana Owen

the photo is with the one and only Hermana Coronel... my hero! :)  I just adore her!  She had us over for caldo and mbeyu again! :)

Hermana Owen y Hermana Francois from Haiti -  She is amazing
Her story is incredible

El Templo

ALSO... ate cow stomach soup!  So good! With the same family who sent the pic of me eating chicken hearts. They eat THE weirdest yet most delicious things, haha.

In Argentina se llaman “Gizo” or "Sopa de Mondongo"  (soup)

        A perfect shot!! This is Hna Flor and her darling little boy they call ¨Gordo¨, haha It´s like calling your little boy ¨Chubbs¨or something. They were filled with the most incredible joy. It´s the greatest desire I have, to one day be sealed to someone I love and my own children. 

Shoes are thin and wonderful haha but got the insoles. Only thing is, they are stretched so much that the insole takes up the hole wear my foot lays and so they fly off.  I need to try them in the other shoes.  SAW ELDER and brother alder!! Just now, in the office. He left some money for me to get new shoes. haha i told him no, but he insisted, I told him you´d pay him back.  They are awesome. It was so exciting to see them!  So, I am planning on getting some shoes from Hermana Mcmullin, if not i´ll go to the crock shop one of these days.  Thank you for fasting for Marcelo. :)  The week was INCREDIBLE.  There are NO words to describe.  My comp is WONDERFUL.  Seriously we are always laughing and just having the greatest time together! WE HAD 50 PEOPLE IN CHURCH !!! Our reading of first Nephi has been a huge strength! An entire less active family came !!! Familia Vasquez!  And almost all bore their testimonies. It was especially touching to hear the father bear his testimony.  Not much time at all today because we had a concilio with pte. and zone leaders until 3 this afternoon.  But it is always fun because Hna Mcmullin takes us out to lunch afterward! :)  

Okay miracles!!! Got to go to the temple!!  One of Hermana Gutierrez´s recent converts from her old area went to get sealed this week. It was seriously a tender mercy of the Lord I think because I am missing two of my best friends´weddings: Brianne and Michelle.  It was amazing.  I will write home about it or next week.  We had 50 people in church so exciting! Today I saw Elder Shumway (old asistant), Elder Alder, and his dad and brother.

Amazing  week really but we have to go, work starts in an hour and 15!  Love you all and know that my heart is FILLED with joy!  I love this work so so much!   Thank you for your letters, love, and support.

xoxo LOVE YOU ALL!

xoxo

Con Cariño,

Hermana Owen