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.  

 😊

============================================================================

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. 

 

 

=======================================================

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!!!!! !!

Horqueta, Paraguay: 3 October 2016

Fotos:

1- Preparing food for the members from Tacuati who came to General Conference.

2- Rocio after her baptism.  She is soooooo sweet.

3- A tree called lapacho or tajy in full blossom.  They are so pretty.  Other colors, in other seasons, include lilac and white.

4-  The members at our branch for General Conference.  We had 68 in attendance for the Sunday morning session. 

 

 

=================================================================

We are doing well here in Horqueta.  Another week passes, and we realize that we only have 6 weeks more to accomplish the things we have set out to do.  We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve, to know and love these good people, and to work with such faithful missionaries here in the Mision Paraguay Asuncion Norte.

We thoroughly enjoyed General Conference.  We were able to view all 6 sessions using the internet at the church, and last week we received a new TV and TV stand that made it possible for all to see and hear the conference.  Many have commented what a blessing it has been to bring General Conference to Horqueta - as in years past they had to charter a bus to travel to Concepcion and only were able to view 1 session.  We are grateful for the blessings of the internet and good partners that helped set everything up. 

It was wonderful to see and hear President Monson, as well as all of the other General Authorities who spoke at Conference.  So many of the messages seem to be spoken directly to me….I guess I had better start listening and acting. Cheryl listened to some of the sessions on the internet via my cell phone so she could listen in English.  It worked very well and with an earphone she did not need to worry about anyone else around her.

Saturday between session we had a baptism - an 8 year old convert named Rocio.  She is such a sweet little girl, and her cousin was able to baptize her.  It was great.  She was confirmed on Sunday by our new branch president.  We hope that she, and her aunt’s family, will stay active in the church. 

Also on Sunday, the group from Tacuati came down.  One of the families, Carlos and Rosalba Perez, have a 2 month old boy and they asked if they could have him blessed.  We offered a list of qualified brothers from Tacuati but she asked me to perform the ordinance.  It was so sweet - he slept through the entire thing.  His name is Pablo Isaias Perez Ysasi.  We didn’t get photos but I hope to take some next week when we are in Tacuati. 

The other day we went to the hospital to give a blessing to the Mom of Hermana de los Santa Vega.  Her mom is a member but I had never met her.  She had “stones” and the surgeon removed them.  During the surgery they nicked her stomach and so had to perform another surgery to repair that damage.  She is doing better now.  Hna de los Santa showed us a glass jar with the stones in water.  They looked like rocks you would pick up on the street, and there were about 6-9 of them 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in size.  Yuk!   The blessing was sweet and she is doing much better.

We have a popular hymn here that is not in the English hymnbook.  It is called “Oid el toque del Clarin” which interpreted is “Hear the call of the Trumpet or bugle”.  One of our American missionaries, when asked what it means said that a clarin is a clarinet.  I laughed all the way through the hymn thinking, Hear the call of the clarinet.  I envisioned someone like captain Moroni with his standard of liberty and his clarinet.  (At least I thought it was funny).

Earlier in the week we visited Elsa Sanchez and her family.  They wanted us to see their garden that they had planted using the seeds we distributed.   We expected a small garden.  Behind their house they have a large spot with at least 75 tomato plants, all of them about 4-5 feet tall.  They are going to have quite a harvest.  Hermana Elsa and her two daughters are the only members in the family.  The father and the sons have not accepted the Gospel thus far, but we have grown to love and appreciate them.  The father only speaks guarani so Noemi the daughter translates for us. 

We have found that here in Paraguay there are many types of needle work that are very popular.  We are trying to bring home some samples of Nanduti, Aopoi, and Encajeju.  All are very colorful and beautiful. 

Thanks to everyone for your love and support.

Love,
Jerry and Cheryl

ps:  The grandkids told us last night that we have 48 days to go.   Hard to imagine.

Cheryl's PK (pique)

The picque is a small bug that burrows into your skin and lays eggs.  It is important to get it out prior to the hatching of the eggs or they spread and create real problems.

Here are some fotos, with explanation of Cheryl’s experience today.  Gracias to Hermana Rosalia Martinez for her help in removing the eggs from Cheryl's foot.  She was wonderful.

1-  Cheryl’s foot  - the small black dot and white area is the picque

2- The Hermana used gauze and iodine to clean the area.

3-3,4,5 - Hermana Martinez is digging the eggs out of Cheryls foot.   Pretty cool.

6,7 - The egg clusters on the end of the needle.  The gauze is red from the iodine….

8 - The finished product.  She now has a small hole in the bottom of her foot that will heal in a couple of weeks.

Another adventure for Cheryl here in Paraguay.

Horqueta 26 Sept 2016

Fotos:

1- Cheryl with the first watermelon of the season.  Not quite totally ripe, but still sweet and good.   Grown by our branch president.

2- Cheryl with a gift from Pedro and Miryam Garcia en Tacuati.  They made bread hearts for all of the missionaries.

3- Dinner in Tacuati with members.  They are so wonderful and share all that they have. 

 

 

========================================================================

Hello to All.

We sure do appreciate all that you do for us - for your love, support, and prayers.  We have been so blessed thus far in the mission, and we know that we have been watched over and protected.

We found out this morning that Cheryl has PK (pique) in the sole of her foot.  It is a bug that burrows into your foot and has to be dug out.  So we will be visiting the Hna Martinez who appears to be the resident expert in PK removal.  We will keep you posted and perhaps even send fotos or video. 

We have been working this week with our new branch president, President Isidro Morales.  We called a new branch secretary and a new young men president.  Both of these young men who were called were ordained Elders last week.  They are both excited to work!

We worked with Luz Marina Barreto, a young woman in the branch, to set up her LDS account and start loading her family history into Family Search.  She is excited but it is hard to do your family history here because there are so few public records available.  For example, Luz doesn’t know any dates or places before her grandparents.  She will be visiting with family to try and find out the other parts of the puzzle.  The good news is that she is loading things onto the system and they will be saved for future generations.

We received a package this week from Ann which contained aprons/hot pads which Cheryl is planning to use as gifts for several of her best friends here in Paraguay.  They are very nice and will be sweet gifts.  She also sent some hot chocolate mix for me….yummy!

We tried to set up our internet router for the General Women’s conference Saturday night, but our internet was not very good.  So all 11 sisters crowded into the branch president’s office to watch the conference on the branch computer.  It has internet but we don’t have wifi in the building.  We hope to have everything working prior to Saturday for Conference.  Also, the members from Tacuati plan to come to Horqueta for at least one session on Sunday.

The other day we had a great visit with a young member couple and their two little girls in Concepcion.  During our visit they told us about their conversion story.  They said that their first exposure to the church was an invitation from his uncle to attend a satellite broadcast by Elder Jeffrey Holland about marriage.  They decided to go and rode their moto across town to the church.  When they arrived they were too afraid to enter so they drove home.  When they got there they felt like they should attend, so they drove across town again to the chapel.  Once again they chickened out and drove home.  When they got home they felt very strongly they should attend so they drove across town to the chapel.  This time, the third time, they entered.  They liked what they heard and started visiting with the missionaries.  They wanted to know if the church was true and if they should join.  Hna Coronel said she knew that it was true, but her husband was still searching.  She asked him, “how to you feel when the missionaries are here?”.  He responded ‘really peaceful and happy”.   She then asked, “How do you feel when you attend church?”,  He responded ‘really peaceful and happy”.   She asked, “how do you feel when we have family prayer?”  He responded ‘really peaceful and happy”.   She then asked, “what more are you looking for, then?”   They were baptized 3 weeks after their first exposure to the church.  She is the YW president and he is the Ward Mission Leader.  A really neat family with sweet little girls.

We went to Tacuati yesterday after church for a farewell lunch for Elder McNulty who goes home in 1 week.  We had a good meal with the members, and the missionaries taught a lesson to a new investigator.  We had a good visit with the group leader and then went to his house for a quick visit.  They had prepared gifts for us….huge hearts made of sweet bread.  What a shame that we have to eat them!

Pique update…….Hermana Martinez successfully removed the Pique from Cheryl’s foot.  It was relatively painless and should heal quickly.  I will send fotos in a separate email. 

Well, time to go to work.  Seems like preparation day passes very quickly. 

We love and appreciate you all.

Jerry and Cheryl