Fotos:
1- Leticia Gonzales Soria - the young convert of 11 years of age.
2&3- Ready for her baptism.
Happy Memorial Day and thanks to all those who serve / have served
in our armed forces. Grateful for Dad’s service in two conflicts and
that we enjoy the benefits of his service and the service of millions of
other Americans.
We have had a very good week. Cheryl has been spending more time
with two Spanish speakers to try and improve her Spanish language
skills. Elder Piriz takes time with her when we are at the church and
they typically read El Libro de Mormon. Daisy Duarte is improving her
English so she and Hna Cranney work once a week on Spanish / English together. Hna Cranney is steadily improving.
We also worked this week installing smoke/carbon monoxide detectors
in missionary homes in this area of the mission. We covered
Concepcion, Horqueta, Yby Yau, and Pedro Juan. The mission purchased a
DeWalt cordless drill and it makes the installation a piece of cake. We
also get to see and visit with missionaries with whom we served before.
Our trip to Pedro Juan was interesting- as usual. The missionaries
met us in Yby Yau to install the first detectors. They had a big house
but it had some problems: 1) roof leaks in nearly every room, 2)
kitchen has no running water so they do their dishes outside in the
open, 3) plumbing in outside dishwashing area broken so it makes a real
mess. We will recommend repairs or moving to a new house. A funny
story is that the two elders in Yby Yau sleep in two different rooms
which is usually not allowed. But one of the Elders snores so loudly
that his comp can’t sleep in the same area of the house.
We completed our installations and then went to have our car
serviced. We are so grateful for a mission provided car that will go
anywhere (4x4) and we only pay for diesel and maintenance. After they
were done at Nissan we went to Shopping China and bought a new compute
for Cheryl (we found an HP), a new battery for my camera, a 1TB storage
device to backup all of our data and fotos, and a few treats such as
candy bars and marshmallows. We didn’t get home until pretty late that
night.
Saturday we spent time a the chapel preparing for a baptism.
Leticia is a cute 11 year old indigenous girl that was adopted by a
family in our branch. She lived way, way out in the campo and her mom
asked Hna Sanchez to take her home with her to help her have a chance
with school, a non-abusive father, learning Spanish, etc. So the Sister
Missionaries have been teaching Leti for some time now - using the
family to translate from Spanish to Guarani so Leti can learn and
understand. They were in no rush, but spent all of the time necessary
to help Leti understand the covenants that she would be making. So
Saturday we went to clean the font and I was the only one who wore my
rain boots that day (rainy day) so I got to clean the font. The first
time they missionaries filled it the water was dirty and sandy so we had
to pump out the water, clean, and refill. The water the second time
was better but still not too clear - and COLD! It is winter here and
the water heater doesn’t work. But we did our best to prepare so it
would be a wonderful experience for Leti.
We arrived at the baptism early enough for me to get changed and
Leti was already there. In Paraguay no one, and I mean no one, ever
arrives early for anything but Leti was already there and dressed in
white. I changed into white clothes and we had a wonderful baptismal
service - all in Guarani (except for the baptismal prayer). At the end
of the program, Leti literally ran to the font and took off her shoes so
she could be baptized. As I entered the font I was stunned by how cold
the water was, but Leti was a real trooper and the baptism was a huge
success. On Sunday she was confirmed a member of the church and given
the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She was confirmed by our Branch Mission
Leader in the Guarani language so that she could understand the
blessing. It was very special. One other neat thing - Sunday morning
everyone was excited for the Sanchez family to come to church for Leti’s
confirmation - but they were all sick so Leti came by herself. A
young, 11 year old indigenous girl, came to church by herself so that
she could be confirmed. What a wonderful example for us all!
For many weeks we have been teaching Priesthood Preparation classes
here in Horqueta. Many of the young men / men here do not understand
at all about the Priesthood and how it can bless the lives of many.
Cesar Cohene has been attending the classes and so eager to learn and
become an Elder. Cesar has been a member about a year, speaks mainly
guarani, about 30 years old and single. Yesterday he was interviewed
via Skype by a member of the mission presidency and last evening
sustained at District Priesthood meeting and ordained an Elder. He was
able to participate with ordaining other Elders also. What a great
example of faithful devotion to the Lord.
After the meeting Cheryl and I offered to take Cesar back to the
farm where he works. He has a good job at a farm and he is allowed to
have Sundays off so he can come to church. We started the drive
thinking that a 4-5 kilometer drive would be easy. We asked him how
long it takes him to walk to church on Sundays. He said about an hour
if he runs most of the way! We drove over some of the roughest roads we
have seen in a long time. It took us nearly 30 minutes to get him
close to his work and then 30 minutes home. We are so blessed.
We are so grateful to be here, to be serving the Lord, learning so
many new lessons about life, so grateful for our many blessings - our
family, the gospel, our health, even just our opportunities in life.
We love you all.
We love you all.
Jerry and Cheryl
Note: More fotos to follow.
