November 30, 2015

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and time with the missionaries.  Our menu included chicken, mashed potatoes (from the Hermanas), cooked carrots, jello salad, rolls (made by the Elders), gravy, and for dessert apple pie and chocolate layer cake.  Everyone ate a ton and we realized more than ever how very blessed we are.  After dinner Hna Ross had an activity for us in which every person had a paper with their name at the top.  You pass it one to the right and that person writes something about you for which they are grateful.  You then pass it again to the left, and when it arrives back to you - you have to write something about yourself for which you are grateful.   We had a good day but missed our family bunches and bunches.

Yesterday was kind of a downer at church.  It has been cold and rainy, and yesterday was no exception.  When we counted attendance during Sacrament Meeting we had 14 people in attendance including 6 missionaries.  We are so grateful for the 8 faithful members who attended, but we were a out 30 short from where we really should be right now.  We did kick off the new church Christmas program “Ha Nacido un Salvador”.  We were all so touched by the wonderful video with the children speaking.  We are anxious to share with all of our friends and neighbors.  We also had a meeting with a counselor in the mission presidency about the Book of Mormon and how we should be reading it regularly - and try to complete it prior to Conference in April. 

Our projector arrived yesterday and we used in for the Book of Mormon discussion.  It worked amazingly well in a fairly light room.  Our branch president is very excited to see the First Presidency devotional at 10:00 next Sunday night.  He has never seen a devotional before.  We have already had to set some ground rules for the use of the projector - our District President wanted us to send it with Pres Colman for the Book of Mormon activity in Concepcion yesterday.  We told him that it only went where we went - and should be used only by us.   Too much money and grief for us to sent it out all alone in the backwoods of Paraguay.

We had a great Family Home evening with the Arce family the other night.  We are trying to help them out both temporally and spiritually.  There is no Dad in the home, just a Mom, a married daughter, a teenage son, a daughter,  and two granddaughters.   They live in the most humble of circumstances and struggle with many challenges in life.  They have a very small and humble 2 room house with a large yard of dirt.  Their garden of tomatoes was destroyed by the rain and flooding, and they don’t have electricity in their house yet.  We had two of them work here at our house so they could purchase wire to add power to their house.  They also have struggles with the teenage son, and the mother speaks very little Spanish.  But there is a very special feeling or spirit in this home.  We always feel loved and welcome when we visit.  We had a family home evening about how the Lord will bless us both temporally and spiritually when we are obedient (Mosiah 2:41).   We challenged them to read the book of Mormon every day as a family and trust that the Lord will bless them - as we have experienced in our home.  We trust that they will receive enough blessings to stay afloat and stay faithful in the church.

The son-in-law works way out in the country and the other day he came home with a baby cat that he found after he had burned some fields.  The cat got singed a bit in its whiskers and feet but should be fine.   This is NOT a housecat.  It appears to be a baby jaguar or tiger of some sort.  It only will eat meat, it doesn’t mew - it growls, but is very cute.  The chickens in the yard are already afraid of it and it is still a baby.

We are truly grateful for the opportunity to serve. We appreciate the support we receive from all and pray that health, happiness, and success come to all.

Love you.

Jerry and Cheryl

November 23, 2015

Hello to Everyone.  It is preparation day, so here comes the weekly email.

We have had an interesting week here in the mission. 

Our Garden is doing well, other than the rain and wind.  We hope our tomatoes survive and some day begin to bear fruit.  We have two green pepper plants and both are doing well.  We have 5 small mandioca trees and all are growing well.  We also planted some seeds and now have 17 watermelon and two melon plants.  We will need to thin them out.

Our projector was finally rescued from the customs office in Asuncion.  It cost nearly as much in taxes, processing costs, paperwork, etc.  We should have it here in a week or two and then we can start to use it for training, youth activities, etc.  We believe it will be a great tool for missionary work, youth activation, etc. 

We are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the missionaries in Horqueta and the zone leaders from Concepcion.  This day is not a holiday here in Paraguay, so we only have a short time for dinner.  We are planning to have roast chicken, mashed potatoes, jello salad, bread / rolls, cooked carrots, apple pie, and lemonade.  Should be good.

This last weekend we had a branch conference in Santani - about 3.5 hours south of here.  It included the branch in Santani, groups from Santa Rosa and San Pedro, and one other small group.  In Sacrament meeting on Sunday we had 142 people in attendance.  We rode down with the District Presidency, so there were 6 of us who went.  It was a decent trip and we had two meetings Saturday evening.  We then went and checked into a somewhat questionable hotel, but we did get some rest.  We had very good Sunday meetings, had a very good dinner at a member’s house, and then rode home with 8 others.  It was crowded but we arrived safely home.  A couple of interesting experiences:

• We had dinner late Saturday evening - we had hamburgers, fries, and ice cream. 
• We saw some sort of auto show at the town square with probably 30-40 volkswagons.  Photo attached.
• During the sustaining of church leaders on Sunday morning, the list of people to be sustained had not been updated with the passing of some of the Apostles, so the President started to sustain Boyd K Packer as President of the Quorum of the Twelve.  Later we decided that we believe in doing work as proxies for those who have passed on. This was something new - sustaining someone who had already passed on.
• I drove about half way home in the Presidents van.  I grew to appreciate more the car we have assigned to us.

We are experiencing some challenges with the youth of the branch.  Their attendance and their commitment is waning - and we are trying to figure out why and what we can do to help.  We have found that many of these youth were taught and baptized by very energetic and friendly missionaries.  They have been visited 2-4 times per week, weekly Family Home Evenings, and other events.  What is lacking in a strong commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and knowing that Jesus is our Savior.  When new missionaries have arrived and focused more on teaching and baptizing, many of these youth have become upset and even at times offended.  As a result their attendance and commitment drops off.  We will be working to help, support, and direct the youth - to help strengthen them so that they can obtain their own testimonies and be converted.   I was thinking this morning how the situation with the youth correlates to our  experiences with our garden:

Our weather has been unusually wet and cold.  The heavy rains have pounded our garden and after each storm we have to go out and try and save our tomatoes. We have to help them stand up, we attach them to stakes and poles, we wash the dirt and sand off their leaves, and we pile up dirt around their roots so that they can better stand on their own.  We also spray the leaves regularly with a mild soap solution to help keep  away the virus / mold.  We check on them daily and provide whatever support or help they need.

If we give the same sort of support for each of the youth of our branch, we have a very good chance of helping them stay active in the church, receive the Priesthood, and receive the blessings of the gospel in their lives. 

We love you all and thank you for your support.

Jerry and Cheryl

November 16, 2015

Hello to all.  We so much appreciate the ongoing support we receive from our family and friends.  We are grateful for the technology that makes it possible to stay in touch - via email, Skype, WhatsApp, etc.  It helps us know that all is well at home.

We are doing well.  We sort of hit a lull in the work the last couple of weeks.  We have new missionaries that don’t invite us to participate with them in lessons, Family Home Evening, or other visits as often as previous missionaries.  We try to invite ourselves, but they are not used to working with couples - so they usually just forget.  As a result, we will be relying more on the Branch Council to help identify families that we need to visit each 2 weeks and then go out and do it.  We have had some success recently with just visiting less actives, letting them know we miss them, inviting them to come to church again, and telling them that we and their Heavenly Father love them.  They seem to appreciate the fact that we don’t apply as much pressure as the young missionaries and as a result we nearly always receive an invitation to return and visit again.  In some cases, these members won’t allow the young missionaries to visit them. We keep reminding ourselves that the young missionaries are here to do their work and they have great motivation to do so - so some times the press hard as they have been taught and counseled to do.

Yesterday was Voting Day for the new mayor and council for the city of Horqueta.  The campaign has been going on for months and finally yesterday the elections were held.  It was Sunday, so we were sure that not many people would come to church, but we had 35 in attendance.  Some had voted prior to church and there was plenty of time for the rest to vote after church. The campaigns always provide free food in exchange for a promise to vote for them, so tons of people come in from the outlying areas for the food and beverages.  The polls closed at 500pm, and the winner was announced by 7:00 or so.  For the rest of the evening supporters of the winning party (the Colorados) drove around town in caravans with horns blaring, screaming, etc.   Quite a sight.  Fortunately they only have these elections every 4 years or so.

We are staying busy with our other church assignments.  We are very busy with our calling in the District Presidency - meetings 1 or 2 times per week in Concepcion, branch visits on Sundays, talks to prepare, visits to make, etc.  The people here are so kind and loving, yet struggle to serve in their callings.  As Pres. Eyring has said, many struggle to serve because they have already served for so long, and others struggle because they know how much more there is to do and they get discouraged.   So we continue to work, teaching, encouraging, etc. 

We asked Justin to send us a package with a small PC Projector to use for training in the branches and District.  We also could use it to watch General Conference, devotionals, and other church broadcasts.  They don’t have much to use here and we were so excited to have it arrive.   Well, it did arrive at the airport in Asuncion, but it will cost 300,000Gs (about $60) just to retrieve the paperwork and we then have to pay taxes which could be more than the value of the projector.  We are frustrated, concerned, and praying to do the right thing.   We really need this equipment here but feel we have been pinched by the system here.  So we  are searching for the correct thing for us to do.

Cheryl has started to cough again.  The hot, dry weather continues to generate tons of dust and she is coughing more than before.  I nearly wilt in the heat, but we drink lots of water, use the cooling towels that Lori sent, and try and plan our trips and visits during the parts of the day when it is not so hot.

I attached some photos:

1- Daisy Duarte voted before church yesterday.  When you vote, they dip your finger into ink so that you can only vote once.

2- The Hermanas had a baptism on Saturday.   Sara is a cousin to other members in the branch and is so excited to be a member.

3- This morning for Preparation Day, we invited the Elders and Hermanas to our house for French Toast.  It turned out well.

4- The other night at the church we had a small visitor.  It is some kind of beetle that is about as big as our nametags.  Weird.

We have invited the missionaries to join us for Thanksgiving dinner.  They have to work since it is  not a Paraguayan holiday so we will only have an hour or so for dinner.  We plan to have baked chicken, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, rolls, and hopefully an apple pie.   More to come on this topic.

Thanks again for all that you do for us.  Love you all.

Jerry and Cheryl.

November 9, 2015

Greetings to all.

It has been a relatively calm week here in Horqueta.  The weather has been unusually cool, but very humid with a lot of rain and clouds (reminds me of University Place

On Monday we invited the Sisters and Elders to our house to use our Internet as the internet at the church is still out of order.  They like to use 2 hours each Monday to write to family and friends - the good news is that we have 2 laptops so it goes faster.

Tuesday was “Cambios”, or changes / transfers.  We go to Concepcion for the change meeting and all of the missionaries anxiously wait to see if they will be transferred.  This time the President changed the way in which transfers are handled.  Each of the missionaries stood up, and one by one were told to either sit down because they were staying in their current location, or to come forward as they would be leaving.  In the past each missionary who was leaving would be told where they were going and who would be their new companion.  There was always a huge amount of noise, phone calls, comments, rumors, etc that came from this approach.  This time all of the missionaries being changed were instructed to travel to the Mission Office in Asuncion and there they would be told where they were going and would meet in person their new companion.  It was truly a test of their faith but it did create a much better environment and helped everyone focus on their current companion, the members, and really cut down on the noise and the phone calls. 

In Ward Activity night we taught a lesson on Sustaining the leaders of the church.  We used the example of Moses, Aaron, and Hur.  During one of the wars, as long as Moses held the staff of the Lord above his head, the Israelites prevailed in their battle.  If his arms dropped, the enemy prevailed.  So Aaron and Hur held up / sustained the arms of Moses and the Israelites were victorious.  We had one of the youth come up and hold up hymn books while we read this story from the scriptures.   He got tired pretty fast.  We then had two other youth come up and help him hold up the books.  It was fun, I think they understood the point, and we enjoyed teaching them.

We visited several members this week, to deliver items we purchased for them in Asuncion, to see how they are doing, and to invite them to come to church.  It is always a challenge when they commit to come on Sunday, but don’t show up.  The excuses are many and quite common:  it is too hot, too cold, too early, too late, it is raining, it is election day, I was tired, I forgot, etc.  But we keep inviting and hope they come and feel the spirit and desire to come on their own.  Yesterday was a cold and very rainy day.  As we drove to church the roads were running rivers of red mud, it was windy and cool, and it was still raining.  We had visitors from the District and I was not sure how many members would come to church. The final count for attendance for Sacrament Meeting was 26 people, with 12 or so from the District leadership.  In Tacuati, our group we support, we had 9 people in attendance.  Kind of discouraging.

Yesterday we also did visits with the District leadership, had a District Council Meeting, showed the youth the church program “Face 2 Face with the Piano Guys”, and had a short Missionary Prep class.  We are tired today.

Oh, I almost forgot. The District President asked that Cheryl make a meal for the District leaders who had traveled to Horqueta.  She warned him that it would not be the standard beef and mandioca meal - so she made 'bowtie pasta chicken salad".  Most of the leaders, particularly the women didn't enjoy it much, but the President wolfed down 4 plates of the salad.  Cheryl did a good job with the food, the tablecloths, etc.  It was a good meal and we are still enjoying the leftovers. 

We taught an English class again this week to 5 young girls from the neighborhood - our 3 regulars and 2 new ones.  We probably wont be able to keep working with all 5 - just too many at one time

Well, we are doing fine.  We sure appreciate all of the support we receive from our family and friends.   We are far away and it is hard for Cheryl who still is struggling with the language.  We pray for all of you, for your safety, your health and your success.

Love you all,

Jerry and Cheryl

 

Pictures

- The winning team in the “build a strong foundation contest” at the Branch Activity Night

 At the bus terminal saying goodbye to Hna Aguilar who is transferring out of Horqueta

 Elder Bickley - transferring out.  Has been in Concepcion (close by) the whole time we have been here.

Add caption

Pictures

Los Cranney with the TV host for the local TV station.

- Dinner at the church for visiting District Leaders.   Cheryl made bowtie pasta salad - not a big hit with most of the folks.  but the District President (front left) ate 4 helpings.  Not sure if he liked it or was just hungry.

November 2, 2015

Hello to all:

We sure love you all and appreciate your love, support, and prayers.  We know that we are being blessed everyday with safety, success, and inspiration to know how to serve and whom to serve. 

We continue to be challenged with our car.  It is a good car, but the roads here are so bad, and when we travel outside of the city we are many times “offroading” and it isn’t good for the car.  We need new rear shocks, we have a airbag indicator lit on the dash, the air conditioning stopped working, and everything is starting to rattle and squeak.  Come to think of it, it sounds a lot like me!

We have been doing more visiting with the members this week - with Daisy Duarte the YW President and Mirna Duarte- the Primary President and Branch President’s wife.  We are visiting many people who haven’t been to church in many years.  Yet one common theme we hear regularly is that even though they don’t attend church, they still have a testimony that the church is true and most have a desire to return.  More often than not they are embarrassed by what they are doing now, that they have not come to church, or that their children have strayed.  Our counsel to them is that the Lord loves them and their children, He has not forgotten them, and that it is never too later to return.  We had one very interesting experience this week.  There is an inactive member family who we visited with Hna Duarte.  This brother sells hammocks door to door during the morning and sells hot dogs and burgers on the corner of the plaza in the evening until late at night.  We had a great visit with him, and he said that he rarely greets the missionaries because they try and commit him to come to church.  We said, “Hermano, we are here to invite you to return to church and to bring your family with you”.  He received it well but said he would not commit or promise to come.  His wife however said that she could and would commit to come to church this next Sunday.  We told her that the Hermana Cranney would be out front waiting for her.  This good family has 4 children and 2 of them have returned to activity in Brasil where they currently live.  One of the daughters and her Brazilian husband came to church yesterday and it was wonderful to see the light in her eyes and face as she and her faithful husband sat next to each other.  A great testimony that like with the Prodigal Son, our loving Father is always ready and willing to accept us back into the family. 

This week one of the Elders, Elder Mendoza, taught Cheryl how to cook a traditional Bolivian meal.  It included a ground beef patty loaded with spices and bread crumbs, tons of white rice, cooked beets, and salads.  It was a pretty dry and bland meal, but we enjoyed the experience.  We fed the Elders yesterday prior to our trip to Tacuati (more to follow) and each of them ate 2.5 hamburgers, loads of cole slaw, chips, etc.  They can really eat!

This week I finally broke down and Cheryl and I purchased a really cool new blender that has a juicing attachment.  We have already made juice of Maracuya and it is really good.  With this attachment the blender keeps all of the pulp inside of the attachment and the juice flows out into the jar.  It is pretty cool.   We also purchased a 42 litre electric oven.  It is a Brazilian brand but Cheryl baked a cake the other day and it seems to work really well.  Our counter space is shrinking but we enjoy having a few more household items to make it more pleasant.

The weekly attendance here has been dropping and we are concerned.  So as a District and Branch Council we are doing more visits and inviting people to return, testifying to them of the blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  Yesterday when we started Priesthood Meeting, it was only the Branch President and me.  We sang a lovely duet for the opening hymn and talked about some of the challenges in the Branch.  Our final attendance at Sacrament Meeting was 40 in Horqueta and 26 in Tacuati - a reasonably good attendance number.  Everyone was just very late!

We had a good grip to Tacuati yesterday with the two Elders from Horqueta.  They received permission to go with us to visit some of the investigators that are being taught by the members there.  I also talked to the Group Leader (kind of like a branch President) and then taught a little to the members about how it is important to serve with all of our ability regardless of where we are called to serve.  It was a good day and we enjoyed traveling with the Elders.

We love hearing from all of you.  Please feel free to email regularly.  We really are grateful that we can call you by phone or Skype and stay in touch.  How very different from when Dad and Karen were in the Phillipines. 

With the time change you recently had, we are now 4 hours ahead of Mountain time and 5 hours ahead of Pacific time zone. 

Thanks again for all that you do. 
We love you all.

Jerry and Cheryl