Sept. 6, 2010

Ok first off...wow TY is such a STUD MUFFIN! wow!!! those pics were great! I was so excited to see him! He looks so good! And yeah he has definetly got that light in his eyes! Chulina! Ha you got that picture of me and my mission parents..I don't really remember what I looked like..yikes! Ahhh I'm turning 22!! Oh man I'm going to be an old maid when I get back...ha jk I don't care. Ahh and I'm so excited you gave me permission to open my package but I think I might just wait til Sunday...ha we'll see how long that lasts. Ok so we had Luis' baptism and it was so beautiful! Ha I actually felt like I was in the states for a second.. members actually came and my wonderful companion played this beautiful piece on the piano and the lil talks were great and after the baptism Luis bore his testimony and it was just so cute and then he wanted me to get up and share mine which made me almost cry. Ahhh I was so excited for him! I just kept looking at him and realizing how much I loved him. He is just this big ole teddy bear, it is so great! And then the next day we went to his house to see how he was doing and he was just so happy. And after his baptism he just kept smiling and it was the cutest thing! And then while we were at his house and he offered the prayer and it was so sweet. He thanked God for being a Mormon. haha he is so excited to be a member of the church! And then he just told us how much he loved us and how greatful he was for the gospel and bringing it to him and helping him out. I'm telling you...times like that make everything else worth it! He told us something but I can't remember exactly how he phrased it...but he said I wish I would've met yall earlier so I could've had this gospel in my life. He has changed so much. He still has a long way to go, as do the rest of us, but that's where that perseverar hasta el fin (endure to the end) comes in. Ahh and I have to tell you about this family we found. Ha so Saturday we put time to find in before lunch. So we were just going around and we were in a really rich part of our area, like everyone has these huge gates in front of their houses so you can't see in and then they have a speaker in front. So you have to ring the speaker and then talk to the people...and let me just tell you what usually happens. You ring it, they say, que dice? you tell them your missionaries and you have a message about Jesus Christ you want to share and they tell you, no sorry we just work here and we aren't allowed to leave the property. LIke all these rich people have these lil servant people and they aren't allowed to open the doors or anything for security purposes. And if the person who actually owns the house answers they tell you they are catholic or are busy or w/e. ok so after being rejected for a good hour or so, I was like alright we have to make it a meta (a goal) to get in one of these big houses contacting through a speaker! So like 30 min of rejections later we got to this house and my comp contacted through the speaker and a man answered. Now that is just weird because they are always women. But she told him who we were and he said well I'm really religios, Catholic Ramonic...i don't even know, some really catholic religion that like every person in Asuncion is a part of...but he said, I have your church's bible and I'll come outside real fast and saludarle (like say hello). Sweet! ha so he comes outside and he's like 35ish and he just starts speaking to us in English. Ha it was great!! He speaks like fluent, I guess he studied in the states, but he was so cool. And he let us come in and we met 2 of his kids and his wife, who just all happen to speak english too! the kids look american and they are so cool and so cute! and their house is so HUGE!!! and so NICE! ha it was so fun! so he wanted us to talk to them in english so they could practice. ha it was so weird! talking no...but teaching was really hard! I kept going in and out of spanish and english...ha I think the lessons sound better in spanish..it just sounded weird in English. But they were a lot of fun and I guess their oldest son (who we didn't meet) went to the same school as the Wade's boys. Anyways we are going to start teaching them and I'm excited. They are pretty in to their religion (he pretty much believes the Bible is EVERYTHING and there isn't anything else) but he told us he is really open to listen and he said if God touches him, then he'll follow that answer. So he is open and he is going to read the Book of Mormon, and this will be their first time meeting with the missionaries. woot woot! and they just so happen to live on the same street as the temple and the church. It's perfect. The gospel is perfect. I'm stoked. Then yesterday we ate lunch with the familia Zafra. They are in our ward and are from the states. Bueno the dad is from Peru and the mom from Mexico but they have lived in the states like all their lives and he works for the embassy. But this weekend was just weird because it felt like I was in the states or something. They cooked us an amazing meal and we had american brownies!!! SOOO GOOD! It was a great week! The time is just flying. Every week we are just finding and finding...searching through the weeds. But it is fun. And this Sunday is my birthday! woot woot! And then next week we have CAMBIOS!!!! That is crazy! Man time flies. I'm pretty sure I'll stay with my hija. She's a guapa and her spanish is AMAZING...lol it is better than mine, so she has made it really easy to train. Another great week! I love the mission! Ha the familia Zafra..well the parents told us to tell their daughter why she should go on a mission. ANd I was like, the mission is the best thing in the world! Ah it really is! Bueno, I needed the mission. It has changed my life. I just keep learning and growing. It is incredible. THings that you wouldn't ever learn in any other way. I am so so so thankful to be a missionary and to have this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. Yeah for sure there are hard times, but it is so worth it! Love it! Love yall! Have a great week!