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