A Kid in Candyland

Let´s get down to business!  Had an extra long something to do on the side this week - as usual - so I´ll jump right into it.  This week will be short - sorry!  Just know that I´m doing very well, happy as a kid in candyland, getting along excellently with my comp, and the work is moving along like a well-oiled machine.  Just a few squeaky wheels is all :).

Article of Faith...I think it´s 7?  I don´t remember the number haha, but here it is.
"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.  We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."
We believe in the Holy Bible.  It is unequivocally the word of God.  It contains doctrines of salvation and of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  However, because of the history of the Bible, the compilation of works we have today known as the Bible are not the same as they were originally written by the hands of the Lord´s prophets and apostles.  Things have been changed or taken out.  This is because of 1.) people intentionally changed/removed them, or 2.) the true meaning was lost in translation.
 

Teaching Temple Prep Classes - Way Excited!!

Sorry for the day delay, we had Zone Conference yesterday and P-day was changed to today.  But here I am again, you lucky people!  Next week I´ll send pictures.

Things are getting much better in Guarambaré.  After 2 months of hard labor, things are looking up.  I speak in terms of the branch here, not necessarily investigators.  The branch is finally getting it´s act together.  Our branch president is working with us finally and getting things in gear, getting his branch organized and shaped up.  We have worked extra hard with the members here these past few weeks to build them up and get them some enthusiasm, and we´re seeing the benefits.  It feels good to know you´ve had some effect on somebody, and you´re not doing things meaninglessly.

President Lopez (branch president) actually gave us a mini calling in the branch.  We can´t have callings because our callings are being full-time missionaries, but it´s an assignment.  He called us into his office on Sunday and said that he and his counselors have been praying and they think that we are the right people for the job.  We get to teach temple preparation classes.  I´m way excited!  It´s every Tuesday for anybody who is preparing to enter the temple for the first time.  He called and asked President Callan for permission, and got the green light.  We start today at 5, so I´m excited for that :).
 

Let's See What These People Can Do!

11 months down today!  1 more month and I´m on the downhill slope!

We are starting to see some enthusiasm and excitement from the members here in Guarambaré.  It´s about time!  We´ve been working so hard to get these people going, and finally they´re getting their tails into gear.  Things should be picking up here soon.  The church here is a rented out house, but across the street the church has land where they want to build a big chapel, but there´s some requirements we have to meet first.  We have a weekly attendance at church of about 35 people.  By November, we need to have 70.  If we can accomplish that, they won´t sell the land and will start building the big chapel.  Let´s see what these people (and us) can do!
 

Missionary Work is Very Difficult

Hey, President Callan said that I can email with my grandparents as well.  So I need Gaga and Papa´s email addresses.  I think only Gaga would have one, but whatever it is I need it haha.  They can just write me an email for next week and I can save their address into my contacts so I have it.  Neat :)

This week was excellent.  We had a training meeting in Asunción last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Oh my goodness...it was phenomenal.  It was all the District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and trainers there.  President Callan trained us on 8 lessons that the Bretheren have implimented in all the missions over the world.  In 1 year from now - July 2011 - the 8 lessons we learned in the training will be taught in the MTC as well, so the missionaries coming in will already know them.  We have 1 year to get this working in the mission so the new missionaries will come to a mission who already applies what they learned in the MTC.  I´ll explain more about them next week.  I´ll let you all know how it goes teaching this stuff to the other Elders in my district.

So Guarambaré needs a little help.  They´re really unmotivated to do anything.  They´re in a huge slump, and the branch president isn´t a very motivating person lol.  We´ve started them reading the Book of Mormon as a branch, and that is having very little effect.  Now we´re trying to impliment branch activity night again like they used to have, see if we can´t get some motivation out of that.  We´ll keep seeing what we can do.  Missionary work is very difficult haha.  We have to take a branch from rock bottom enthusiasm and build it up with little to no help.  But if there´s anybody to do the job, it´s Elder Moore and Elder Martinez.  Who is doing well, by the way :)

My Faith and Dedication to the Lord

We don´t teach lessons, we teach people.

Hello there America!  Another week gone by.  Did you waste it?  We didn´t.  We worked hard and went out in the pouring rain for 10 hours in the rain.  We had very little success, but our spirits are high.  How lucky we are to be able to get rained on and rejected all day in the name of the Lord!  It´s not every day you have that kind of opportunity you know.  What a blessing to have the chance to show my faith and dedication to the Lord.  For the last 3 days, it rained non-stop all day.  My shoes - yes, the ones I just bought 6 weeks ago - have officially been destroyed.  They split right down the middle, just like the other ones did.  There was about an inch of space in the sole of my shoe where if I stepped in the water, it just flowed right in.  Needless to say, I couldn´t feel my feet for about 10 hours.  Kinda hurt haha.  But that´s the mission!  I bought new shoes today.  Boots actually.  They should work better, or hopefully at least last me until I get my Rockports in the mail that my wonderful mother sent me lol.

Elder Martinez is doing much better.  He´s getting accustomed to things fast.  The nights are still hard when we´re in the house and he´s got time to sit and think about it because we´re not out teaching, but he´s much better.  He is really smart.  For being new, he actually teaches really well.  And he´s got some good ideas that

The Spirit told Me

Happy birthday to all you Julyeans!  And the Juneans that I missed =P

Well, another change come and gone.  Elder Alexander left to his second area.  He is in Hernandarias 3 - which is about 30 minutes away from my first area haha so that´s kinda cool.  I´m still district leader.  And this change I´m training a new missionary!!!  Ahhh I´m so excited!!  His name is Elder Carlos Martinez - he´s from Colombia!  Neat huh?  There were 5 new missionaries that came this change, so 5 of us called to train them.  Elder Martinez is the only one that´s not American lol, score!  Elder Sellers, one of the Elders from my MTC district, is training as well!  Our MTC group is rockin, I tell ya.  I´m district leader and training, Elder Sellers is training, Elder Steren is the finance guy in the office, and this change Elder Smith moved up to be the Fichero in the office!  We rock.

Elder Martinez is great.  Kind of quiet, but that´s just because he´s new.  He´s already opened up more today than he did yesterday.  Unfortunately, he´s having some homesick issues already.  We´re actually in Asuncion right now because he had an interview with President Callan.  But he´ll be alright.  Never been away from home before, a new country and new customs, adjusting to missionary life, it´s just overwhelming is all.  If there´s anybody who knows that, it´s me.  It´s cool the way God works.  We didn´t officially find out changes until Tuesday, but 3 and a half weeks ago I already knew I was going to train.  I don´t know how, I just knew.  The Spirit told me, so I was ready for it.  I couldn´t figure out why the Spirit would tell me so early - I would find out at the end of changes anyway.  But I prepared myself for it.  And now I know why.  I am his trainer because he is going to go through some of the same things I went through when I had a rough time, so I know how to help him get through it.  The Lord always - always - takes care of His children.

"Original Sin" of Adam

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!  Well...yesterday :)

So, this week isn´t going to be long.  Because I had to figure out how to shrink the PICTURES I´m sending to be able to get them all to you!  Let the shouting for joy commence.

Yesterday night we were going to have a barbecue in our house (we bought ribs and made french fries!!), but district leader duties took the whole night until 10 minutes before bed, so we didn´t get to eat it :(.  But today we shall enjoy the USA festivities!!  I can´t believe I have 10 months in my mission now.  How time flies, and how it´s only going to get faster.  When you´re on the uphill, you have to push.  When you get to the top and start the downhill, you start chasing after it trying to make sure it doesn´t get away.

We´ve been having some pretty good success lately.  We´ve found some good people to teach through some really cool experiences..  We´ve also had a lot of people who aren´t ready for baptism yet be dropped for future missionaries when the Lord has fully prepared them.  Mari and Evelin are doing well - they were both confirmed and seem to love church.  I´m really happy that my first real converts seem to be doing well.  Not much time, I only have a few minutes until my hour is up so I´ll get to Article of Faith number 2!