Goodbyes and Hellos

The Zanabria Family. The Bishop's family.

 Saying Good-bye to Cuidad del Este

Julio Cesar and Armando, investigator

Francisco, investigator

The Gomez Family. Yenni is going on a mission to Brazil

The Ojeda Family

Clotilde, investigator

The Sosa Family

The Kara Family

Clotilde and Paloma

 

The Mujica Family

Regina and Decio Baso. Harvard Medical Doctor.

The Mendieto Family and Clotilde

The view no mas

Sooo, First week in Encarnacion completed! 

I have to admit something this week. God showed me up this week. I came to Encarnacion very reluctantly. I love Ciudad del Este. We had so many amazing investigators and the members were AWESOME. And I didn’t want to leave and I had heard a lot of things about Rama 1 in Encarnacion. So I was very skeptical.

I got here and Hermana Martinez is AMAZING, so that was a huge relief for me. But I still felt sad as we went out to work. I was comparing a lot to CDE. (I know, I’m awful.) We met some cool investigators, and so that was cool, but this whole time I was feeling sad about leaving. So two investigators said that they would come to church and Hermana Martinez was pumped! They haven’t had an investigator in church for like three months.

But Sunday rolled around and we waited for one investigator. She didn’t come... I felt worse... so we waited for the other one to come... she didn’t show up... by now I was really getting down on myself. (I know, I’ve been spoiled in my last area and this is a mission.) So we entered the sacrament meeting... and there where 10 people in the church…. I had come from a ward of 120 to 130 every week and I walk in and there are 10!

Okay, so you can imagine how I’m feeling by now... but by the end of Sacrament Meeting there were about 30 people. As the sacrament was being passed, I was praying really hard for God to help me love this area, to help me be able to change my attitude and to help me be a good companion here. So, like God is amazing and makes miracles happen. As soon as the passing of the sacrament was done, they opened the doors and there stood one of our investigators and her son. We ran out and brought them in and sat with them throughout the meeting. The son went to Primary and that day we went by to visit them and they said that they had loved the church! 

I felt like God really is real and he wanted to show me that this wasn’t quite so bad, that he was in charge and that he knew why I came here. God is amazing! Gabriela, that investigator, has a baptismal date for the 28th of May, both her and her friend. But Jani, her friend, had a C section this past week and couldn’t come to church. They are both amazing! 

I know that for algo estoy aqui [I am here for a reason], God has his plans! I know I’ll come to love this area. It is warming on me.

There is a beach here.  We are on the other side of the river from Posadas.

Hermana Martinez is Amazing! She is from Uruguay. She has the accent like Sho se (Yo se) and la shuyla (la Lluvia). She is the sweetest! The apartment isn’t bad... it’s not good either, though, haha. And we don’t have any lunches with members. So I am cooking again!! My mom had sent me a bunch of spices and things and so I am now getting to use them!! I’m going to lose some weight, too! Haha, just kidding. I don’t think I’m TOO fat...haha. 

Hermana Goni, me, Hermana Martinez, Hermana Hartley (Utah)

We ate cake.  It was yummy!

Hermana Martinez

But all is well. Today we played volleyball in the rain for P-day! And hey, guess what?? It is finally cooling off!!!! We have had rain and it’s been cooler. We are all so excited. It’s been so hot for so long!  

Answers to questions: The music here is AWFUL!  It’s super bad, like worse than in México!  It has NO rhythm or music to it and a lot of it is in Guarani. They listen to a lot of regaton and then also they have like the normal Latin music; that is actually good, but a lot of it is awful. And yeah, there has been a lot of cases of Zika as well, but not as much as the dengue, and there is another one type as well, there are three different types... yikes. 

Tonight Hermana Martinez goes to Asuncion for tramites so I have to stay here with Hermana Gonzalez de Mexico and lead out the area... creepy. haha. But all is well, God is real and he likes to see how willing we are to do his will! I love you all! 

Hermana Newell 

Leaving Cuidad del Este

Traslados!!! [Transfers]

So these past 6 weeks have gone by so fast!!! This morning the Zone Leaders called us and said that I will be transferred to Rama 1 [First Branch] in Encarnacion [Paraguay]! It is right in the center of the city again, so I will have now served in the very center of the three largest cities in my mission! President must think I’m a super city girl, haha.

I am so sad to go. We have so much going on here in CdeE 1. I love it and I’m going to miss our investigators so much! Victor is going to get baptized and I’m not going to be here... and Armando and Francisco as well... so that is sad, but I know that I taught them what they need to know to get baptized and that I’ve helped them gain that testimony, and that is the greatest that I could have done!

I head to Encarnacion tomorrow night. So tonight I am going to say good bye to our investigators and tomorrow to some members. And then pack all night! Fun.  But I am excited for the change. I know God knows what he is doing. I’m going to miss Hermana Pitts so much... she is the greatest and it was so much fun together!

This past week we had splits with Hermana Rigtrup, Utah, and Hermana Watts, Nevada. It went really well! They have bikes in their area so I rode a bike for the first time on the mission! That was pretty sweet!

But guess what!!? As we were on splits, Hermana Pitts and I did service for one of their investigators. They live on a farm, so we went to their cow barn, and first we cleaned up... which means that we shoveled cow poop; heck, that stuff is HEAVY! If you can imagine, these two North American girls in their skirts shoveling cow poop in the middle of Paraguay... hahaha, yup, that was us! We then helped them milk the cows! I haven’t milked a cow since I was like 4! It was harder than it looks! And then they gave us 2 liters of the milk. So we went home and boiled it and it was pretty great, haha. But afterwards I smelled awful! Like a huge stench of cow poop.

After that we went to the house of these two ladies that the sisters had met the night before. The lesson was AMAZING, like one of the most spiritual of my mission. We basically just talked about Jesus Christ and testified of him. The Hermanas loved the way that we pray in the church and both wanted to try it out that night with us. They were so excited! It was very special! 

Then Armando! Heck, he is awesome. He is one of our investigators, and is amazing. He has so many questions, but they are good questions. He wants to know if the church is true. He always reads everything and prays and has come to church for the second time in a row yesterday! On Thursday, we had a lesson with him and some members. The brother got into some deep doctrine stuff. He explained really well and it was super spiritual. Yesterday Armando had even MORE questions about what the brother said. So it is really trying, and it is testing how much I actually know. But it surprises me that I can answer almost all of his questions!

Armando

 

 

Hermana Pitts and Armando

Me with Hermana Pitts and Armando

Victor is going to be baptized the 30th!! That is the plan, anyways. He is awesome and is so humble, and honestly he is amazing! 

Lots of work this past week, lots of fun and lots of success. It was great and it makes me even sadder to leave but I know I’m needed there in Rama 1! It is where Hermana Pitts was before she came here, so she has told me a lot about it!

Hermana Bernal from Hawaii gave me some plum powder and we ate it with pineapple. I felt back in Hawaii again.

 

I know this church is true. I feel it every time I teach. I know that God loves each of us! I’m so thankful for my trials in life because I have learned SO much from them and have really come to know my Savior! Chao from Ciudad del Este, next week it’ll be from Encarnacion!! And I’ll be with Hermana Martinez, a different one, she is from Uruguay!

Hermana Newell