Dearest Familia,
How are you all doing? I hear that winter is finally setting in back in the States. How weird that it hasn´t been snowing much this winter when last year it was crazy snowy. Which do you prefer? :) Everyone keeps asking me if summer is almost over here in Paraguay. If so...that would be so weird to have spent a whole season in one area. I can´t tell if Fall is coming or not. I don´t remember it being terribly hot when I arrived in Paraguay in March (almost a whole year ago!!). I guess maybe summer is winding down. We don´t feel too overwhelmed by the heat lately, but we´re scared to let our guard down and then be fried by a heat wave later. All the Paraguayans keep telling us that the worst is yet to come. "It´s so hot today." "Oh, just wait until FEBRUARY! You´re going to DIE!" Except...they said that about December. And then when December came around they said that about January. Now we´re not sure what to believe. :) They were the same last winter, too. "Oh, this is nothing! Wait until August!" We´ll see...
Time is passing by so quickly. We have Changes again this week. Last Change went by like a blur. I have no idea what´s going to happen with us. There are three new Hermanas coming in (2 from the States and one from Peru), so there´s a possibility that I might train again. I wouldn´t mind training, but that would mean that I´d spend like seven months here in Villa Hayes. That´s a long time. There´s also the possibility that Hna. deVries and I might just stay here together another Change. That would be fun. We´ve got a great groove going, and I really love her.
We did a division with the Hermanas in Mariano this week. It was so weird for me to go back and work in my old area, and Hna. deVries was terrified to work with a different Hermana, especially a latina Hermana. It went pretty well. It was short, but refreshing for both of us. And we now have a greater appreciation for working together. Working with Hna. Estigarribia in Mariano, I was so aware of how young I was back in those days and how inexperienced I was at missionary work. She seemed so uncertain about what to teach and how to contact and all that. It was bizarre being back there with the Senior missionary perspective. Hna. deVries and I have really refined our way of teaching, and I´m so grateful for that. The work is going along so much better because of it. And she´s still a new missionary! I can only imagine how stellar she´s going to be this next year. SHE could train next Change. :)
Contacting was always my greatest weakness as a missionary. I would always walk past a house and think, "Should I contact it? I should contact it. Oh man but there´s a dog. They´re busy with their family. I should contact it. They won´t listen. I should just--dang, now we´ve passed it." And then I´d be upset with myself for not just going for it. Those days are now behind me! Thanks to Hna. deVries´ fearlessness, I don´t find contacting that scary at all anymore. It´s still not very fun walking around all day and facing the possibility of getting rudely rejected, but it´s just part of life. It´s necessary. Just like how you can´t find a hidden treasure unless you spend a few hours searching. You can´t find a ripe mango unless you go through the lot and feel if they´re ready to eat or not.
Speaking of mangos, mango season is over already. Shortest. Fruit season. Ever. Now it´s guayava season. I think those are called guava in the States? I could be wrong. They´re okay to eat right off the tree, but I´m honestly not too fond of them. They have kind of a grainy skin. They make for good juice, though, once you strain out the teeth-breaking seeds. :)
Oh yeah! Two of our old investigators, young girls named Jasmín and Soledad, came back from taking care of their grandma in another city, and they´re super excited to start progressing towards baptism again! It´s a miracle! They have friends in the branch and everything, and I know they´ll be great members. This weekend they´re going with the youth to the botanical gardens/zoo in Asunción. The primary is going, too. They´re all so excited. It´s sad how this is probably the only time most of these kids will ever get to go to the zoo. Their parents either can´t afford to take them or don´t have time. I hope they all have a blast. I wish we could go. :)
Sorry that I don´t have any photos again this week. I lent my camera to a member who´s leaving the country soon to go back to Chile (where he served his mission). How sad that whenever we get an RM or a really well-off, intelligent member in our branch, they move away to make their living or study somewhere else. But anyways, thank you Grandma, Laurel, Dad, Mom, Sarah, Ashley, Amanda, and the Blair Family for writing to me this week. I loved your letters and I´m glad to hear that you´re doing well. (P.S. Laurel and Teresa, I still haven´t gotten your packages, but they should be getting to me soon).
And because I don´t have much else to talk about today, I´m going to finish by giving you A Day in the Life of Hna. Springer (my sisters have asked me about that a few times). Here is my typical daily schedule:
6:30am--wake up, roll out of bed, land on knees to pray (without falling back asleep) get up and jog or else do yoga and struggle not to fall asleep again.
7:00am--shower, get ready for day, eat breakfast, try to catch up in journal
8:00am--personal study--Preach My Gospel, a few chapters in the Book of Mormon, a chapter in the Pearl of Great Price, etc.
9:00am--companionship study--recite Mission Purpose, read a few pages in the Mission Handbook, share what we learned in personal study, discuss plans for the day, etc.
10:00am--language study
10:30am--leave the house and get to work
10:30am to 12:30pm--try to score a few visits before lunch without rushing to the lunch cita too early
12:30pm--either return home for lunch, buy lunch off the street, or go to a lunch cita with members (happily chow down on milanesa or miserably force down noodles with beef, then struggle not to fall asleep as the members tell you all the latest gossip)
1:30pm--go back out to work
1:30pm to 8:30pm--fight to stay under the shade of the umbrella without getting it snapped back in the wind that comes from the opposite direction as the sun, dodge cow droppings in the street, beg people for water whenever they let you in, clap lots of houses, try to catch investigators at home, ignore whistling from men on the streets, have a few AWESOME lessons, have a few bummer lessons, meet some great nice people, meet some anti-Mormon people and note where they live so you can avoid them later, try not to look at the watch too much, stop to buy water, swat mosquitos, bear testimony, share scriptures, strengthen families, sing hymns, pray for the people, enjoy the sunset (and thank God that the sun is finally going down)
8:30pm--return home, eat dinner, plan for the next day
9:30pm--wash garments, journal, or write letters (choose one only)
10:15pm--get ready for bed, kneel and pray to thank Heavenly Father for another perfectly wonderful, amazing day as His servant in Villa Hayes, Paraguay.
10:30pm--drag yourself into bed and fall asleep immediately. :)
I love you all. Have a wonderful week.
---Hna. Springer
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