30 May 2016

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.

Jerry and Cheryl

Note:  More fotos to follow.