Lili's Wedding and Griselda and Norma

Hola a todos!!! Como les han pasado esta semana pasada?

This past week has crazy. Honestly, sometimes being a leader isn’t very fun because we had meetings like almost every day and I felt super useless in the mission field but God knows that it is necessary. But it was also a super amazing week!

The biggest things that happened were:

We had Consejo de lideres. So Hermana Pitts and Hermana Martinez were here in Encarnacion! It is great to see both of them and also all of the other elders and hermanas. President and Hermana Svec were there as well and it was good to get to know them better!

Then there was a wedding!!! When Hermana Lopez was in Rama 2 here in Encarnacion about 7 months ago she reactivated Lili. This past Friday Lili got married to a returned missionary and Saturday they were sealed in the temple. It was incredible! It made me think so much about the wedding that I will attend in December... of my twin sister and I almost cried.... but we won’t talk about that right now. On to happier thoughts! haha

We met with Norma and Griselda. They are sisters that are referrals of some members and they came to church last Sunday, They are both super excited to be able to get baptized! They are both praying to know if the church is true and if they should be baptized. Norma is 20 and Grise is 19. Grise wants to serve a mission!!! Last night we had a family home evening with the Zanabria Family and Grise. Heck, it was so spiritual we talked about faith and Brother Zanabria shared about baptism and Grise was so excited to be baptized. In the week we had taught about the Book of Mormon. When we gave her one she said, “Wow, this book has gone through so much and you guys just gave it to ME,” and she was so excited to read it! When in the world does an investigator say that about the Book of Mormon? Then when we talked about the baptism last night and I invited her to be baptized she was like, “Wow, thank you for the invitation!” She felt so special and was super excited to pray to see if she should be baptized! She is amazing! So she and Norma are amazing!

Graciela, the recent convert, is doing amazing. She wants to start her family tree and go to the temple to do the baptism for her mom! She is so excited to learn more and in progressing a ton!

Today we went to the beach and built sand temples, haha. We built the Paraguay, Salt Lake and Honduras temples. It was pretty great!

Something that I learned this week:

WE have really been focusing on extending baptismal invitations.I have learned that fear weakens faith and that as we have faith, and we act and we ask and invite it becomes so much easier and more spiritual, and that only by that can the people change their lives.

Also, read Romans 8, it is an amazing chapter that explains so much about who we are and our relationship with God, our heavenly father!

I love you all!

Hermana Newell

Being Positive and Faith

This week!!! 

Heck, it was a great week! I’m with Hermana Lopez again! God loves me because these have been the best last 14 months. They have been so fun and happy and just saving souls. 

First things first, I never thought I looked so young. Everyone we ask how old they think I am, they say 15 or 16... WHAT? Everyone thinks I look like a baby. haha, Oh well, when I’m 30 it will be awesome! 

So what did I learn this week with Hermana Lopez? FAITH. So it was Thursday like last hour and all our plans had fallen apart. We were walking and decided to contact all the yellow houses that we saw (because that is my favorite color) and so we contact this house and a lady opens up. We talk with her a bit and she invites us in. We walk in and there is her husband and her two children. She is Mirta, her husband is Luis and the sons are Jeremias( 4) and Santiago ( 2). We sit down, and we talk and give them lesson 1. They were super interested. As we left I was a little negative and said, “They are amazing, but they are probably not married...” (like the majority of the Paraguayans) and Hermana Lopez turned to me and gave me a lesson, she said, “Hermana, where is the faith??”  We laughed about it afterwards, but it made me really think.

Then we met Norma and Griselda, two references from a member. On Saturday we invited them to come to church and they said that they would come! I being myself was a little like, “they probably won’t actually come”. But that night I told God that I was going to have faith that they would come. When we went by Sunday morning to bring them to church they were all ready to go!!! They walked to church with us and really enjoyed the meetings! 

Also Saturday we went back to visit with Mirta and Luis.  Mirta’s sister and brother-in-law were there. We taught the restoration with them all. It was so good! 

Honestly though, I have learned, and am putting it more into practice, that when we have faith we are positive at all times. That it is always a “YES, they are going to come”, and not a “Well we will see”... where is the faith in that?? 

Anyways I am being more positive and always saying that the people WILL and not that, WE WILL SEE.

We have seen miracles this past week and it has been incredible. I am so excited to be with Hermana Lopez again. I miss Hermana Martinez. She is amazing. But with Hermana Lopez it is going amazing as well. She still has her Honduran accent! And she told me that I picked up some of Hermana Martinez’s Uruguayan accent... like the Argentines. haha.  The Paraguayan Spanish is awful, honestly, it is like the worst but it is super fun. haha

We have so many ideas to implement in this area. We are going to start working with the youth, members and not members, to animate, activate and baptized youth. They are the future of the church and they bring the energy to the wards and the branches! We are starting English classes every Saturday. We are going to be putting notices up in the university. We have people who are already signed up and want to come! Investigators too! So we are doing a lot to try and get this branch moving, and it IS going to work, we have the faith and God has the power! 

I love this gospel. I love God. He is amazing, honestly, he is wonderful! Keep going, never lose hope and keep on trekking! I love you all! 

Hermana Newell! 

More photos from our trip to the ruins:

Zona Parana

Hermana Lopez AGAIN!

Hello!!! 

So guess what??? Transfers were today and guess what happened??

Hermana Martinez leaves and is going to Posadas, in La Valle! (sad)

But who do you think is coming to Rama 1? Hermana Lopez!!! Do you remember her? From Honduras! My companion from like 8 months ago. Yup, we are going to be together again!!! It was super hard to believe when we found out but, heck, I’m excited! On Wednesday Hermana Lopez gets here! I’m super sad that Hermana Martinez is leaving... honestly these have been 3 incredible months and Hermana Martinez is the greatest person that I know (besides my family of course!) and I wish her luck in Posadas! 

Here are photos from our visit to the ruins last week.

This photo reminds me of the talk by Jeffery R Holland of Tomorrow, haha

This past week went super well. We have an investigator with a fecha (date) for the 30th of July. He is a son of a less active member. The son and the wife are taking the lessons and both want to be baptized! His name is Tobias and the mom is Jazmin. They are super great. Jazmin was the investigator that we had the super spiritual lesson with like 3 weeks ago! They are great! 

This past week flew by, like a blink of the eye, but it was super good! Life is good, all is well, and I’m super happy that I’m going to be with Hermana Lopez because I’m always so nervous about who I’m going to be with, but this is going to be great! 

President and Hermana Svec are amazing. Not a lot has changed, but we can now play Futbol (Soccer), drink mate, terrere, and mate cocido. And children only need 3 times at church to be baptized (and not 6 like with President LaPierre). But other than that everything is the same. Next week we have Consejo de lideres and we will see what changes then! 

Yesterday we were talking with Graciela, our recent convert, and she is so happy. She was telling us her testimony and, honestly, it makes me so happy. She is already planning her trip to come to Salt Lake and visit me next summer! 

All is well, pray for me and for this area, for the members and the investigators! 

I know that this church is true, and that the family can be eternal. I know that we can all feel God´s love and the truth by praying. I invite you all to pray, and to ask, even if you have already done it, because it is something that can change your life! God is our father and he loves us! 

Hermana Newell