The Cranney Mission

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Fotos 2

1- President Evans and the assistants with Elder Cranney. Notice anything about the suits?

2- Hermana Trujillo and Hermana Slade with the jar of peanut butter we got them from Colonia Rio Verde - from the Germans.

3- At the birthday party for Daisy Duarte - Hermana Robles, Hermana Fontes, Daisy, Cheryl, me, Elder Gomes, and Elder McNulty. Quite a bunch.

19 Sept 2016: Horqueta, Paraguay

Fotos: We went on a walk last Monday and here are a few of the fotos we took. More to follow.

1- The Lions Club welcome to Horqueta

2- A traffic sign near our home - we travel to Concepcion many times each week. About 40 km each way.

3- The herbs that they use to make terrere - a herb-infused water. They can cure whatever ails you with these herbs.

4- The new wanted sign at the entrance to Horqueta. The reward (a thousand million Guarani) is about $200,000 USD. We try to be discreet when taking fotos of the EPP wanted posters.

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It seems that the weeks are flying by. We are very busy with branch and district work, and we love our visits and activities with our members. This weekend we had a wonderful District/Stake Conference in Concepcion. President Evans, our new mission president, came as did the Assistants to the President and the Sister Leaders. We know them all very well and they are wonderful missionaries (Elder Bickley, Elder Crofts, Hermana Trujillo, and Hermana Jara). On Saturday evening we had a leadership training meeting with Pres Evans. He spoke of the importance of members working with and supporting the full-time missionaries- and how to improve. Sunday morning we had a youth session of conference with three youth speaking and Pres Evans. The 10:00 am general session of conference was wonderful. We had over 250 members in attendance. Our District President and I spoke, and then Cheryl gave her first official talk here in Paraguay about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon. She did a very good job, and during her talk you could have heard a pin drop. During the conference we released two of the branch presidents in the District. It went well and the two new presidents are men that we know well. Our new branch president is a 31 year old, unmarried man. He is so strong and well prepared to lead, even though he has only been a member for 5 years or so. We will work with him over the next few weeks to help train him and answer his questions. Note: He is actively looking for a wife. ☺

We also had two young men from our branch, Hugo Barreto and Roberto Sanchez, receive the Melquisedec priesthood. They have been working so hard to prepare.

We celebrated Daisy Duarte’s birthday with her on Monday. She just turned 25 years old and will be entering the MTC in Sao Paolo in just about 60 days. We leave shortly after she does. She will be a wonderful missionary.

We had an interesting experience this week with a brand new fruit, called Yva Povo. It grows on the trunk and branches of the tree, not with stems but directly on the tree. It looks like a grape, but you cannot eat the seed or the skin. The first one you eat is a little bitter, but the rest are sweet and juicy. The legend here is that if a pregnant woman eats a lot of this fruit, the eyes of her child will be dark or black. Not too sure about that.

We continue to work hard, even though the time is passing quickly. We have much to do here in the branch, but we also have much to do with the house before we leave. It looks like another couple is coming to the mission, but they will be housed in Asuncion and conduct audits for the mission. This is sorely needed as financial management is one area where our leaders are struggling. Another couple works in the temple and will start helping with Chapel Open Houses. We are hoping and praying that another couple will be called to serve here in the north of Paraguay to help these good members continue to progress. They are wonderful, they just need some help.

Thanks to all for your love and support.

Love,

Jerry and Cheryl

Horqueta, Paraguay 12 Sept 2016

I was somewhat surprised by how many people here in northern Paraguay were aware of the "9-11" incident that occurred 15 years ago. I know that I will never forget that morning when prior to leaving for work I watched on the TV as the twin towers and other targets were hit by the terrorists. I also remember worrying about family who were planning to travel that day, co-workers traveling in many states and countries, and about my own family. I doubt any of us will ever forget that experience.
We have had a good week. We stay busy most of the week, but Sundays are always very busy for us. We love it!
Yesterday we had our Horqueta Branch Conference. The District President got stuck in Asuncion on business and so we forged ahead without him. We had good Priesthood and Relief Society meetings to start off. Pres. Matinez of the Elder's Quorum said, "it looks like only three us here today don't speak Guarani so i will teach the lesson in Guarani. Majority rules. We taught a Sunday School lesson about financial independence - paying tithes and offererings, avoiding debt, saving for emergiencies, and using a budget. We had to adapt it a bit since most of the folks here live day to day. We then had a very good and amazingly reverent Sacrament Meeting. It was so quiet you could hear yourself breathe. President Duarte gave a talk on the Aaronic Priesthood, we had two talks on the family, and I spoke to the Young Women. After we had a lunch (see foto) and then divided up and went visiting to members. We visited 15 families and enjoyed our time. We then drove 3 of the District leaders to Concepcion, visited a family and came home for Home Evening with the members. A full day- and a good day.
We are trying to help the members here become more self-sufficient here with their callings and responsibilities in the church. When we have 6 missionaries in the branch, there is always someone there at meetings to lead the music, teach a lesson, etc. We want them to fulfill their callings and do it because they want to, not because the missionaries say they have to. We love them and hope that they will have learned something during our time here.
This morning we went for a 7:00 am walk. As we left the house we noticed a block away at the hiway was an armored personnel carrier and many soldiers. It appears that there was an important meeting of the anti-terrorism Joint Task Force. Interesting.
We love and appreciate you all. We pray for you daily, and miss you.
Thank you for your love and support.
Jerry and Cheryl

The Fotos:
1- Lunch with the District leaders on Sunday. We had roasted chicken, rice salad, mandioca, and juice. For dessert we had a big cake.
2- Cheryl with a chicken egg and a duck egg. The duck egg is larger.

Horqueta: 5 Sept 2016

Fotos:

1- Lometeria y Hamburgeria San Lucas - where we eat burgers and Fries

2- Papaya for breakfast

3- Cheryl and two of the girls from our branch - Vanesa and Karina

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Winter is still here in northern Paraguay. It has been a cold and rainy week, and when that happens here in Horqueta most activity slows or stops. Church attendance yesterday was way down and the missionaries don’t have as much success contacting. Most people go into their homes in the late afternoon / early evening, close up the doors and windows, and don’t show their faces until the next day. We know of some members who actually retire for the evening between 7:30 and 8:00 pm. At our house, we turn on the little electric heater we have and stay dressed with sweaters, sweatshirts, slippers, socks, etc. I even sleep with wool socks at night to stay warmer!

We received here in the branch the booklet published by the church called “Teaching in Manner of the Savior”. As missionaries we are trying to work with the branch leadership to help them and all of the teachers in the branch to see how we should be teaching the gospel and why. It is a different approach than the traditional manner to teach - focusing more on the class members and their needs, and less on giving a beautiful presentation each week. By helping the class members learn for themselves, they learn better, remember better, and strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel. It isn’t easy, especially here, but we are going to give it our best shot. We plan to include our youth, who are about 50% of our branch right now. They all are taking turns teaching the youth Sunday School class each week. This is a huge step for many of them as they have only been members for 1-2 years and have never taught a lesson / class in their lives. But they are willing to learn!

This week Carlos Colman, an employee of the church who does building maintenance in the north, was at the Horqueta chapel delivering cleaning supplies, fixing lights, etc. He brought from the Nivacle Indians several crafts that they make and sell to help support their families. We purchased several things that we are very excited about….you will see them when we get home. 🙆 The Nivacle group was first contacted by the church in the 1980s by missionaries. When they were introduced to the Book of Mormon and the stories it contains, they said “Hey, this is the book of our people, where did you get it?” Many of the Nivacle joined the church, they have a couple of branches up in the Chaco, and they have sent several missionaries on full-time missions.

This week we helped deliver new bedframes and mattresses to some of the missionaries. Unfortunately not all were delivered as ordered, so we are trying to find a local supplier. Many of the missionaries, elders and sisters, sleep on weak, creaky, and old bedframes. The mattresses are not good at all. One of the missionaries said his mattress sagged so much that he didn’t know if he was sleeping on a bed or in a hammock. The mission is working hard to replace as many of the beds as they can.

I am working on a training packet for the branch financial audits. We are finding that historically the auditors were afraid of a confrontation with the branch presidents so many of the questions on the audit weren’t asked or glossed over. Now we are trying to teach them why the financial guidelines are so important and how they help protect the leaders as well as the funds of the church. Also, the materials should be important when we have changes in leadership in a branch,

Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting at church. Even though the Horqueta branch is very small, they have the best testimony meetings. Many of the testimonies are in Yopara, or a combination of Spanish and guarani, so we can understand at least part of it. Many of the youth bear their testimonies each month, and it is wonderful to see and hear their progress as they read their scriptures, pray, and attend their meetings. We love these people.

We are doing well….relatively healthy and safe.

Thanks to each of you for your love and support.

Love,

Jerry and Cheryl

Horqueta: 29 Agosto 2016

Fotos:

1 - We now have tomatoes on our tomato plants. We can’t wait for them to ripen.

2- A bus in front of the chapel in Tacuati. Notice what is on the back window of the bus.

3- The daughter of Pedro and Mirian Garcia in Tacuati. She danced traditional dances for about 45 minutes. Soooooo cute.

4- Elder Gomes eating sugar cane on our front porch.

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Hello to everyone. First off this week, I would like to share a story with you and would ask that you share it with your kids that are old enough to understand it. Our District President has used this story several times to teach honesty, and I felt impressed to share it with all of you.

The story goes like this: There once was a king who decided it was time to pass the crown on to someone younger. He invited all of the young men of his kingdom to the palace to decide who should be the next king. One of these young men was named TimTim. TimTim and his dad went to the palace with the rest of the young men and they received the following instructions. Every young man received a seed. They were to plant the seed and care for it, and when the king called them back to the palace they were to bring whatever they had grown. TimTim planted the seed, provided fertilizer and water, caring for his seed every day. But nothing grew. He became worried and sure enough, one day the king called all of the young men to return to the palace and bring whatever they had grown. TimTim did not want to go as he had nothing to show for his efforts but his father insisted. When TimTim got there he saw all of the other young men with beautiful flowers, plants, and vegetables. The king admired all of the plants and when he arrived to TimTim he asked why TimTim had not brought his plant. TimTim confessed that he had planted his seen, fertilized and watered, but nothing had grown. The king then explained to the group that he had burned each and every seed, making it impossible for the seed to grow. That explained why TimTim did not have anything to show him. He then selected TimTim as the next king as he was the only truly honest young man in the kingdom.

I really like this simple yet powerful story about being honest, responsible, and trusting in your parents. Hope you enjoyed it.

We had changes last Tuesday. Elder Amaro, from Mexico, was transferred to the Chaco in the north. Hermana Francani from Argentina was transferred to the Asuncion area. Incoming missionaries include Hermana Fontes from Argentina, and Elder Gomes from Brasil. Elder Gomes speaks very good English, learning it from online gaming and internet usage. We miss the missionaries that transferred out, but we will grow to love these new missionaries. In fact, Elder Gomes worked in Concepcion earlier and he and his companion joined us last Thanksgiving for dinner at our house!

We conducted a financial audit of the Rama 2 this week and it went very well. It is such a pleasure when the branch leadership understands the importance of safeguarding the Lord’s funds and does everything they can to follow the procedures for managing donations and expenses. We enjoyed the audit and then participated in their branch presidency meeting, teaching them about the roles and responsibilities of each member of the branch presidency. We are trying to help the branch presidents realize that their best resources are their counselors, but many are hesitant to use them. They feel that if they are responsible, they need to do everything themselves. They then get discouraged due to the volume of work that is required of them. Little by little.

We taught a lesson on marriage to a member of the branch and his fiancé on Friday. He seems very excited and interested in getting married and having his girlfriend join the church. We got the impression that she is not so sure about marrying him at this time, and still is taking the missionary lessons. We hope that each of them ends up being happy with the decisions that they make. We talked about “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. It went well.

Friday night we attended the monthly youth dance in the Rama 2. We arrived late due to a missionary correlation meeting, but we still arrived before most of the youth in the branches. They had loud music that hurt my ears, but each dance has the same volume level. Most of the music is traditional Paraguayan or Brasilian music.

Saturday we had our hair done. 😄 Cheryl got a fancy color job and I got a simple clipper cut. Cheryl’s turned our really nice and Magdalena was very proud of her work. What is amazing to me is that my haircut and a 2 1/2 hour hair color for Cheryl cost us about $16.00 US. Quite a contrast to what the same service would cost in the USA> We have really grown to love and appreciate Magdalena, Brisa, and Dylan. She is a single mom who really takes good care of her family.

Sunday we attended church and taught classes in Tacuati. We really enjoyed our meetings, dinner with members, and Temple Prep class. The leaders in Tacuati are concerned about how they will get the support they need after the Cranneys leave the mission. Right now, the missionaries can only visit Tacuati if they go with us. Also, there is no bus service between Tacuati and Horqueta on Sunday. So we will have to come up with a good plan before we go.

We also had a rather interesting experience on Sunday while in Tacuati. On Friday last week, the EPP ambushed a military vehicle and killed 8 soldiers about 25 km from here. On Saturday there were military helicopters and checkpoints everywhere. On Sunday when we were driving to Tacuati called us and asked if we were still going to attend church with them. We said yes, and the then asked if we were already past the bridge. We said yes and he told us he would see us at church. After church and dinner, the Group Leader asked us if there were soldiers at the bridge when we passed. I said no and asked why. He said that there are always soldiers at the bridge after an EPP attack. He then told us that he wanted to change clothes and that he would then accompany us on his motorcycle to the bridge when we left. I asked why, and he said that he just had a funny feeling about what was going on. So he led the way out of town and we made it safely across the bridge. We are still not sure what was going on, but we were very nervous about leaving town and crossing the bridge….we know that the Lord watches over his missionaries and that he is aware of us and of the good members in Tacuati. Probably the most nervous I have been since we arrived here in Paraguay.

We went to Pedro Juan today to have the pickup serviced at Nissan. They do a very good job and treat us very well. It is about a 2 1/ 2 hour drive, and much of it was in the fog this morning. Pedro Juan is a much higher altitude than Horqueta and so the fog really settled in. At times we could probably only see about 100 yards.

We sure love and miss you all. Thanks for all that you do for us. We are so blessed to be here, and you all make it possible for us to serve. Thank you.

Jerry and Cheryl

Horqueta 22 Agosto 2016

Fotos:

1- How we keep our water jug from falling over and spilling in the back seat.

2- Cheryl and Jerry at Iguazu Falls.

3- A typical Paraguayan meal of rice, Chipa Guazu (cornbread), and barbecued beef.

4- Where we had our picnic today. You can see our friend on his horse in the background.

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Hello to everyone. We are excited to provide our update this week. It has been a very wonderful week, filled with new adventures.

On Monday we drove to Asuncion to spend time with Travis Evans, the 15 year old son of the mission president. The President and Sister Evans had to travel to Buenos Aires for a New Mission President seminar. We spent some time in the office on Monday and got moved in to the mission home. We had two other house guests at the mission home - one missionary who has an active case of tuberculosis and the other is his companion. It appears that his treatments are working and he should be able to move out soon and return to work. His treatments last 6 months!

On Tuesday morning we took Travis to school at the American School of Asuncion, probably the best school in town. The Evans went with us and after dropping Travis off we drove the Evans to the airport. We then picked up the mission nurse, Sister Trujillo and her companion for the day. We went to the Paraguayan Health Dept - Division of Tuberculosis. We needed pills, information, and a referral to a local clinic. We then went looking for someplace that had the TB test that you take under your skin. They only had 3 tests in Asuncion available for the missionaries who had worked with this elder. It was quite a day! We enjoyed our time there and picked up the President and Sister Evans Wednesday night at about midnight.

Thursday morning early we headed off to Brasil to visit Iguazu Falls. It was about a 6 hour trip and we arrived in the early afternoon. The hotel shuttle picked us up at the gate of the National Park and we fell in love with the hotel. It was so nice and the service was excellent. The biggest benefit of the hotel being inside the park is that we did not need to follow the park schedule (9:00 - 5:00) but we could walk the trails and see the falls anytime of the day or night we wanted. We walked all of the trail on Thursday afternoon, had a guided night visit, and then a Friday morning trip to the falls with the hotel guide. We loved the sights, the food, and the rest.

We drove all the way home Friday afternoon and arrived home about 10:30 pm.

Saturday morning we went to the police station here in Horqueta to obtain a police report on the hit and run accident we had so that our car insurance will pay for the repairs. Kind of a scary place to visit but we did get what we needed.

Sunday was a good and a busy day. We went to Concepcion and visited the Rama 3 - I taught the Sunday School lesson on Home and Visiting teaching, I spoke in Sacrament meeting on Reverence, Hna Cranney played the piano, and I conducted a financial audit after church. We drove home just in time for our Priesthood Preparation class here in Horqueta and then we had an hour for dinner. Cheryl slow cooked chicken and it was sooooo good. We participated in a Home Evening on Sunday night at the home of Roberto, Mariela, and Federico - all youth who have joined the church in the last two years or so. We really enjoyed the evening with about 12 other members who participated as well.

Today we took the 2 Elders and 2 Sisters on a field trip out to Paso Ita to a stream that the members call the waters of Mormon. It was in Paso Ita where about 120 indigenous people joined the church a few years ago. There was a rented building for a chapel, and nearly an entire tribe joined the church. But something happened there and now there are few members and services are no longer conducted. We relaxed a bit, played Frisbee, and had lunch on the big rocks in the middle of the stream. To quote one of the Elders, “this was the best P-day ever!” We all had a good time.

We are so grateful to be here. Tomorrow is change/transfer day. Two of the missionaries here in Horqueta (Elder McNulty and Hna Francani) only have 6 weeks to go to complete their missions. We only have12 weeks and cannot believe that it is passing so quickly.

We appreciate your prayers, your support, and your love.

Love,

Jerry and Cheryl