Extra Fotos 7 Nov 2016

1- After the Mission Presidents trip to the Chaco (the deserted northland), here is what we dug out of one tire on the pickup.

2-  Trying to extract the spare tire from the pickup.

3- Sometimes it is better if I just watch…….

4-  Taismara, a member of our branch, with her niece Gabriela.  I was fortunate enough to bless Gabriela when we first arrive here in Horqueta.

Love you all.

Horqueta Paraguay 7 Nov 2016

Fotos:

1- Daisy at church on Sunday - her last week.

2- Daisy at the terminal ….going to be a great missionary.

3-  The Duarte family at the bus terminal

4- A motocarrito - check out the name (Baby Jesus Warehouse)

5-  Cheryl, Rocio, and a new puppy (not ours!!!!!!!!!)

more fotos to follow later. 

 

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Greetings to all,

Interesting that the US Presidential election has made news even here in the north of Paraguay.  Everyone knows the two major candidates by name - and they are not impressed!!  Neither are we, quite frankly.  We will be anxiously watching to see what happens.  Not much chance that Evan McMullin will win it, but we will see what happens.

We are in a rush to try and close things down for our departure.  We are making many visits, taking lots of fotos with families and friends, cleaning out the house, moving some furniture to the house of other couples, etc. 

Yesterday we had an amazing trip to Tacuati to say goodbye to the members there.  They had prepared a very large feast and we were anxious to visit.  We gathered up the Elders, our Branch President, and we headed up the road.  About 25km up the rocky road, near where we had a flat tire earlier in the mission, we had another flat tire!  This time we had some people to help, but we found that most latins (all 3 of our companions are latin) had never changed a tire.  But they had a lot of energy and desire and our spare still had air.  We prayed for a safe arrival and we got there about 1/2 hour late.  They had all of the members at the house of Manuela, kind of the matriarch of the whole group.  5 of her children and their families are members in Tacuati.  Other folks came also.  They had prepared pork, beef, chicken, rice salad, mandioca, sopa paraguaya (kind of a cornbread), and three kinds of juice - carrot, beet, and parsley juices.  Adelaida made two cakes, a chocolate and a vanilla.  It was a feast.  We then had a chance to visit and they gave us some gifts to help us remember them and Tacuati.  One was a sweet thought printed and framed, a painting of a sunset, and a wooden glass of palo santo (holy wood).  All invited us to return to visit.  We will never forget these wonderful and faithful saints. 

We arrived back in Horqueta without further tire problems and today we got the tire repaired. 

Our good friend, Daisy Duarte, texted last night and asked if we could help haul her luggage to the bus terminal this morning…she is on her way to the MTC in Sao Paulo Brasil and then will be serving in the Belo Horizonte mission.  We took her, her mom, and her sister in the truck, and her dad, sister, and brother rode scooters.  We felt so honored to be asked to participate with the family and Daisy as she left on her mission.

We had a light supper this week also with Ramona, Kelly, Dario, Sofia, and Dario jr - our non-member friends that own the bookstore.  We had a wonderful evening and we had a chance to share more about our family, the church and our mission.  It was a wonderful evening and Kelly and Sofia want to travel to the States again and might come to visit us!

This week we also had the opportunity to watch the broadcast about “Teaching in the Lord’s Way”.  It was great and we enjoyed it a lot.  It will be rebroadcast later in Guarani and many of our leaders will enjoy it more in their own language.  We have been teaching these principles here for more than a year and we are seeing some teachers to are learning to teach rather than just read the lesson to the class.  In our Horqueta Branch we have already had 3 Teacher Counsels.  We are so proud of them for taking what they are being taught and applying it in their lives and in the branch.

Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting.  I love this meeting here in Horqueta.  Rarely is there any dead time - everyone wants to bear their testimony and they are strong testimonies - focused on what the Gospel has done for them and how they have changed the way they think, act, and worship.  It is also very reverent during our meetings here (unless the 3 grandsons of Hna Eugenia come to church but they need to be here and learn as well).  We had excellent attendance last sunday with 45 in Horqueta and 25 in Tacuati - 72 total!!

As we reflect on the mission we hope that our efforts have helped these good members grow and prepare for future callings and opportunities.  They struggle with gossip, being offended, not showing up for meetings, always late for meetings, not doing their home and visiting teaching, etc.  But we have seen them grow in the testimonies of the restored Gospel and they are desirous to grow and serve.  More families are attending, and the youth have grown tremendously.

We love and appreciate each of you - your support, prayers, and love have been felt and are appreciated.

Next week - the final letter.

Love you all,

Jerry and Cheryl

Horqueta: 31 Octubre 2016

Fotos:

1- Elder Mark A Bragg of the Seventy and 2nd Counselor in the South America South Area doing a member visit with us.  Hermana Benitez has had cancer for some time and is receiving chemo treatment.  It was a most memorable visit.

2- Cheryl and I at the Galeria Mall in Asuncion.  It is a really cool mall and we had a nice evening (some might even call it a date night!)

3-  Dinner with Mark and Yvonne Bragg, President and Sister Escobar  - President of the Concepcion District,  President and Sister Evans - our mission President, and us.

4- A foto taken when the Braggs asked to see our house - it was cluttered but clean!

 

 

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Greetings:

This has been a wonderful and very interesting week.

The highlight for certain was our zone missionary conference on Thursday with President and Sister Evans and Elder and Sister Bragg of the Seventy.  Elder Bragg is the 2nd counselor for the South America South area in Buenos Aires.  Our area includes Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.  The missionaries gathered from far and near in the “lejos” or far away zones - from Pedro Juan, Santani, Santa Rosa, San Pedro, Horqueta, and Concepcion.  The good news for us is that the meeting was in Concepcion which is only 40 km away and where we spend a lot of time anyway.   The conference was amazing - it was 3 hours and then we all just visited for a bit.  After the conference the Mission President and his group went east into the Chaco to visit the members who live way, way out in the middle of nowhere.  We were assigned, in advance, by our mission president to drive Elder and Sister Bragg back to Asuncion.   So we had the opportunity to spend nearly a whole day with the Braggs.  They are such wonderful and nice people.  We stopped at our house - as they wanted to see what a mission couple home looks like, and we made a few other stops along the way.  We learned a lot from them and it was so cool to be able to ask him questions about his call, his training, and his assignments to serve in South America.  What a blessing for us.

The best experience of the week, the month, and maybe even the year occurred after the conference in Concepcion.  We were visiting and the branch president from Rama 3 was there and had the chance to meet Elder Bragg (who speaks excellent Spanish).  A short time later received a call from the branch president asking if his mother, who is in chemo treatment, could possibly meet Elder Bragg.  We arranged it and waited at the chapel - but when Pres Benitez came he said that his mom was too sick to come to the chapel, and would it be possible to go to her house to see her there.  Elder Bragg did not hesitate a minute.  We loaded up the pickup and went to see Sis Benitez.  We were shocked at how thin and frail she looked, but what am amazing strong spirit.  Elder Bragg gave her a kiss on the forehead and then spent the next 40 minutes visiting with her.  When we got ready to leave, he offered a prayer and the spirit touched all of our hearts.  We are so grateful for this good servant of God who ministers to the one.  Sis Benitez needed a visit - and he was glad to do it.  It was amazing.

We are starting to distribute things that we don’t need anymore and that we cannot take home with us.  Two weeks from tomorrow will likely be our last day in Horqueta.  We are grateful to be going home…but so very sad to leave these good friends, neighbors and members of the various branches of the church.  I am certain that we will shed many tears when we finally say goodby.

We sure love you all and appreciate all that you do for us.  We have learned so much during the last 18 months - but we are just starting to understand. 
We love you all.

Jerry and Cheryl.

Horqueta, Paraguay: 24 Oct 2016

Fotos:

1- Hermana Avalos in our yard for the barbecue.  She put the potholders on the chair and they look like angel wings!

2- The homemade barbecue with the Avalos.  You can see how big the steaks are.

3- Setting up the grill

4- An older foto of Adelaida at her baptism in Horqueta.  She is from Tacuati and her husband is not a member yet.   Her two children have both joined the church.

5- At the ice cream shop with some of the missionaries.  As you can see, some buy the great big cone and others a small cup.  

 😊

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Greetings to all.  We hope and pray that you are all doing well - healthy and happy.

We have had a busy week, especially as we are trying to downsize, coordinate who will move into our house, helping supply the house for a new missionary couple in Asuncion, and working with our wonderful members.  It seems we are stretched really thin, with visits and assignments to various branches of the church throughout the region.  We miss spending each Sunday in our little branch here in Horqueta, but that is not our assignment at this time. 

Yesterday we spent all day Sunday with the members in Tacuati.  It is a beautiful drive to Tacuati, with large open spaces - cattle, coco trees, lapacho trees, lots of animals and not many people.  There is a certain peace that comes when we go out into the country.  We had a wonderful Sacrament meeting where two of the young men gave talks.  One has been a member of the church only a few months - they both did a great job.  We then ate with Mauricio, Fatima, and their family.  We had a good meal of chicken, chorizo, rice salad, and mandioca.  Cheryl made a carrot cake (without frosting) and even though the members were a bit hesitant to try it, they all LOVED it and ate the whole thing.  We then visited a few other families and scheduled our last visit to Tacuati, to give out photos and to say goodbye.  This is going to be really hard!

We also had our first branch council meeting with the new branch president, and it went well.  Nearly all of the leadership of the branch was there.  The new presidency is making a real difference. 

The young lady that helps us clean our house was hospitalized again this week with kidney stones.  She may need surgery to remove them.  So Cheryl has assumed all of the housecleaning duties.  We will hire some of the youth from the branch to help clean the house and yard before we leave to help them earn money for the temple trip in November.

We drove to Pedro Juan Caballero Friday to service our truck.  We don’t mind the drive because PJC is in the “mountains” and the scenery is spectacular.  We also enjoy shopping at Shopping China, a large inport store where you can find most anything you would find in the USA.  I was tempted by crocodile cowboy boots, but didn’t think they would look good with my missionary clothes. 

Our garden is doing pretty well.  Our tomatoes have started to give fruit, and we harvest a bowl full every other day.  What a shame that Cheryl doesn’t like tomatoes.  So we give a lot away to neighbors and members.  We also have green peppers, strawberries, and small squash.  I might bring a squash home for Dad!

Saturday the Avalos family from Concepcion called and asked if they could come to our house and cook a dinner for us.  We agreed - of course- and had a great time.  They brought chicken and steaks to cook and a freshly picked watermelon from the ranch.  The steaks were clearly the best beef I have eaten in 18 months.  Pres. Avalos has connections with a meat packing plant and the steaks were excellent.  They were very creating in building a small grill from bricks, roofing tiles, etc and it worked out great.   They are a wonderful family.

We are looking forward to our Zone meeting on Thursday with Elder Bragg of the Seventy.  All of the missionaries from the NE of Paraguay will be attending in Concepcion so we won’t have too far to drive.  We are very excited to attend this conference with a member of the Area Presidency from Buenos Aires.

Well, we love and miss  you all.  Thanks for all that you do for us.  We know that your prayers in our behalf are helping us be save and do the work we were called to do.

Love,

Jerry and Cheryl

Horqueta Paraguay - 17 October 2016

Fotos: 

1- The high school in Asuncion where we took Travis to play basketball.  The top of the court is open to the sky.  It is a traditional catholic high school in Paraguay.

2-  The moon over the steeple of the catholic church across the street from the school.

3- The new mall a few minutes from the Evan’s house.  It is called Paseo de la Galeria.  It has some of the most amazing stores and food court.  We loved it. 

 

 

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First of all - Happy Birthday to Grandma Annie Mercer.  Today she is 127 years old.  I have many fond memories of my times with her and in Oakley at her house.  We are blessed with a great heritage.

It has been a busy week, with most of our time spent in Asuncion trying to care for Travis Evans the 15 year old son of Pte and Sister Evans.  He is a fine young man….but he is 15 years old at a new school in a foreign land.  We drove him to school and picked him up each day, we helped him purchase his basketball uniform, we drove him to a b-ball game on Friday night, etc.   Probably the most interesting part of the week is when we had a big storm in Asuncion on Thursday night when we lost power at the mission home about 10:30.   We thought we would be fine when the power came back on during the night, but when we woke on Friday we had no power and no water.  So no showers for any of us, and we used buckets of water from the swimming pool to flush the toilets.  The power finally returned about mid-day on Friday.  The President and Sis Evans were due in on Friday morning from their mission president seminar in Tierra del Fuego Argentina.  About 500 miles farther south and you are in Antarctica.  They said it was very cold.  But their flights were delayed and they finally arrived at 4:00 pm.   We left a bit later for our District Conference sessions in Santani, arriving at about 7:30.  We had a short planning meeting and then we drove another 90 minutes to Santa Rosa to stay in a nicer hotel there.  We had to leave at 6:00 am Sunday for the morning sessions, but it was worth the drive.  the Hotel Cristal is clean, comfortable, with a good restaurant and good service.  One of the Mission Presidency counselors stayed in Santani at a hotel that cost more but was not very good at all.

The conference was very good - with many good speakers and some training and youth meetings.  President Evans teaches in a very natural and simple manner, and the members and investigators can clearly understand and feel his message.  We are so blessed to have the Evans here.

We are grateful that Ann and her driver were not hurt in the accident.  It is a testimony to us that the Lord watches over and cares for us - even when we don’t know we need it.  Hope all returns to normal soon.

We found out this week that Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve will be here in the Mission on November 19….the day after we leave.  But we are fine with our decision to return home prior to Thanksgiving as our President recommended.  It will be a great day in Paraguay when we comes to visit. The missionaries and members will all be strengthened and uplifted.  Also, they will know that the brethren know they are here and they are not forgotten.

We have been asked to help transport the 2nd counselor in the Area Presidency - Elder Bragg - after a missionary conference in Cocepcion.  The President has other apointments already in the Chaco - very far north, and we may be able to drive Elder Bragg back to Asuncion.  It is about a 6 hour trip so this could be interesting.

We are 1 month away from our departure date.   Hard to believe but I think we are ready.  We would not trade this experience for anything.  It has not always been easy or fun, but we have learned so much about ourselves, about the people of Paraguay, and about the Lord and his mercy for each of us.  The struggles we face help us grow.  Rarely do we ask for them, but if we bear them with faith and patience…we will be blessed. 

We love and appreciate you all.  Thanks for all that are doing for us.

Love,

Jerry and Cheryl

Late Weekly Letter - 14 Oct 2016

We are in Asuncion this week, watching over the house and son of President and Sister Evans.  We had a good trip down on Monday, stopping at Rio Verde to buy more peanut butter in the German colonies.  We love the peanut butter and it is much cheaper than the imported stuff.  We arrived in time to visit with many of the missionaries at the office, and then we took the President and Sister Evans to the airport to fly to Argentina for a mission president seminar.  We have worked in the office, done some home inspections, and are preparing for a District Conference in Santani this weekend.  Quite a week!

We had an interesting experience last night.  About 9:00 pm it started to rain and the wind started to blow.  The assistants to the President were at the house to use my phone to call the President in Argentina - then the power went out.  It got very dark, but we found some candles.  But no matches.  Finally I located a small box of matches and we had some light to work with.  As in most places in Paraguay, when the lights go out, there is no water either.  About 11:00 we all went to bed, hoping that we would soon have lights and water.  All night long I could hear water running, but it was only water running off the roof of the house.  We awoke to no electricity, no water, no shower, etc.  The good news is that we could draw water from the swimming pool to flush the toilets!!  We hope that the lights are back on when we go back to the house this afternoon so that we can shower, do laundry, etc.

We have been doing some home inspections, and we are so proud of some of the missionaries who have turned some of the worst houses in the mission into very livable houses.  They have worked hard, and the houses are much more healthy and pleasant to live.  We were accompanied by Elder Parada from Toronto Canada who helped us navigate and determine what is needed in the houses.  He is the person who manages the houses and decides if new things are needed in the house, such as stoves, mattresses, microwaves, etc.

We have been working a lot with our new branch president, Isidro Morales.  He is a 31 year old bachelor who was recently called.  He is so well organized, has a very strong testimony, and has already helped clean up records, has regular interviews with members, and connects very well with the youth in the branch.  It is such a blessing to see such progress.

I work with the District Audit Committee, and we have encountered a few problems with the finances in some of the branches.  So I am working with the finance people here in Asuncion and they are coordinating with the Area folks in Buenos Aires.  We have a lot of work to do to help support and correct many of the weaker areas of the branches.

We hope that everyone can come to visit on the 19th and stay a few days for an early Thanksgiving. 

We have much to do and only about 4 weeks to finish all that we want to accomplish. 

We love and appreciate you all. Thanks for all that you do for us.

Jerry and Cheryl

Midweek Fotos: 6 Oct 2016

1- Treats made by our friend Camila.  They are churros (donuts) and ojo de suegra, or mother-in-law eye. 

2- Us with Elder Behrens from Boise, ID

3- At the end of each change / transfer meeting, all the missionaries set up their cameras for group pictures.

4- A picture of the Zone here.  A good group of missionaries.

5- The beautiful lapacho tree.

6- Rocio and her baptism cake that Cheryl made for her.

7- I didn’t take this picture.  It shows some of the Nivacle women from the Chaco / north wilderness carrying firewood for their stoves.

Love you all!!!!! !!