Week 78 - Paraguay - Concepcion

Mis Queridos,

El Dia de San Juan proved to be pretty anticlimactic. I didn't see any sign of it yesterday, actually. But we did still have a lot of the old-timers tell us about all the fun traditions they USED to do. Lots of them had to do with San Juan predicting who was going to get married first. For example, one of the traditions was to take a rooster on the 23rd at noon and lock it up without food or water until noon on the 24th (El Dia de San Juan). Then, in an enclosure where the rooster can't escape, all the girls in the neighborhood stand in a circle and each puts a kernal of corn at their feet. Then someone puts the rooster in the middle of the circle, spins it around and lets it go. Whosever kernal it eats first is going to get married first. They all swear by it! Anyone up to try that next year? :)

Lately the Relief Society sisters have been expressing sadness about the fact that girls nowadays only care about makeup and parties, when before their traditions were so much more fun. But I have a lot of hope for the girls in this branch at least. Yesterday when we went to the Gomez' house and found their 14-year-old daughter, Araceli (who has already finished Personal Progress), helping a less-active girl do her Personal Progress. It was adorable. Araceli also leads the branch's Young Women in doing visits to all the less-actives and the sick. The next generation of Relief Society is in good hands. 

This week was so crazy. I have a headache just thinking of how to write about it. I'll just give it my best shot.

So...on Monday we were so sure that the Meza family was all set to get baptized, and then out of the blue, our branch president's father-in-law was also set to be baptized! He's always gone to church and has been listening to missionaries for 10 years, but his hang-up was always his chewing tobacco. He couldn't quit to save his life (or his soul in this case...) until this month when his loving little six-year-old granddaughter Arami became his shadow and scolded him whenever he tried to chew tobacco. His heart was so touched that he gave it up completely and told us, "Hey, I want to get baptized this Saturday." 

Another miracle baptism!

But then on Thursday we had the Elders come do interviews, and turns out we had to postpone the Meza family's baptism again until this next Saturday. We were sad, but it's actually proving to be a lot better this way. They had something they still needed to clear up as a family, and now they're stronger for it. But Crecencio was still good to go after his interview, and we were so grateful for the Lord's tender mercy in giving us a baptism this weekend after all.

Then on Friday night, Pte. called and was like, "Hermanas, Crecencio can't get baptized tomorrow. He has to work. We'll do it after church on Sunday." Again, we were disappointed (this would mean four baptisms in June, but no confirmations until July!), but we called everyone on Saturday morning to tell them about the change of plans.

Then on Saturday afternoon, at like 2:00, Pte called AGAIN and said, "Actually, if we hurry we can do the baptism at 4:00!"

Oh. We hurried. 

We called everyone all over again (and they were EXTREMELY confused) and everyone pulled through for us. We had a nice, simple service Saturday afternoon, not really able to believe the blessing that it was. We didn't even know he had INTEREST in being baptized until six days ago, and there he was a new member of the church!

Funnily enough, everyone in the branch seems so impressed with us, now. Especially our ward mission leader. Before they could be a little critical about our efforts, but now they're all like, "Wow, you got Crecencio baptized and the Meza family is going to be baptized...you missionaries are amazing. You're going to be so successful." 

If they're this impressed with a last-minute baptism we hardly had anything to do with, how will they be when our actual investigators are baptized? :)

At this, the end of the mission, the Lord is showing me so many blessings for my labors, I feel like. We had a zone training meeting on Tuesday, and I had the amazing opportunity to meet the trainee of my trainee, a sister from Peru whose name is really difficult and I can't remember. What an awful "grandma" I am! My two trainees were there with me, and I just had to snap a picture. It was a beautiful moment. 

It's amazing how much everything seems to be fitting together for me. My days are so happy, and even the rare bad day I'm able to support without too much trouble. I've come to learn that each day of our lives is like receiving one piece of a puzzle every day. Some days the pieces are obviously beautiful, with a cherry blossom or a butterfly or something on it. Other days, the piece is hazy and ugly and seemingly unnecessary. But if we respond with gratitude and fit all the pieces together, at the end we'll see that even the apparently ugly pieces are necessary and wonderful in creating a beautiful picture. 

I hope you're all enjoying your summer. We're dealing with lots of drizzly rain and mud, but thankfully we're allowed to wear boots (back in the day they weren't allowed because they didn't look professional, but I guess they decided that boots look better than the trash bags Hermanas would wrap around their shoes to save them from the mud). Still no colds or flus, thankfully. I hope you're all healthy and happy, too.

Thank you Hna. Tua'one, Grandma Springer, Nana, Dad, Mom, Amanda, Ashley, Blairs, McConkies, and Teresa for writing to me this week! I love you!

---Hna. Springer

My "posterity"--my two daughters in the mission and my granddaughter from Peru. :) The rest are of the baptism we had on Saturday.  
Oh, that other one is of the letter I got from the office containing all the information for my "deathday," hence the picture some office Elder attached to it in the mailing process. :)

Week 77 - Paraguay - Concepcion

Dear Family and other Loved Ones,

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! I was thinking about all of my wonderful father figures yesterday and feeling so grateful. I looked up a bunch of scriptures about fathers during personal study to celebrate the occasion, and the favorite verse I found was Proverbs 6:20-23. To sum up, it says that if we take our parents' (but just apply this to fathers for now...) commandments and put them in our hearts, they will guide us in every aspect of our lives. Because their commands are the way of life. I love that! It's so true. I'm so grateful for the guidance of Dad and my Grandpas and uncles and everybody. Mothers change the world so much, but a righteous father really does work miracles. Hence our mission's focus on baptizing Priesthood-age men. Men make or break the success of the Church. I also realized that one of the titles for Jesus Christ is the Everlasting Father. I found lots of verses about how God is father of the fatherless, and how He will never leave us orphans. It's nice to know that all the orphans and missionaries very far away from their fathers can always have an Eternal Father right by their side through it all. Without my Heavenly Father to guide me, the mission would literally be impossible.

Anyways, last week wasn't actually as interesting as I promised that it would be. We're still working with the Meza family. Stay tuned. :) But their little daughter Mercedes adores the Children's Illustrated Book of Mormon. We took it for FHE last week and she was so absorbed in it that we couldn't bear to ask for it back. We just gave it to her as an early baptism gift, and she's been reading it hungrily. Better, she's actually understanding, pondering, and asking about it. The other day she asked us why the Holy Ghost would tell Nephi to kill Laban. That's such a deep question coming from a seven-year-old. I'm sad she's too young to baptize, but I'm sure she, too, will be a great strength in the church someday. She's already loving Primary and being a good example to the kids there.

Hna. Goimarac and I have made it our companionship goal to be sure and get at least one with-member lesson a day--to have a member come with us to teach an investigator at least once a day. It's such a challenge around here, as we can only ask people with motorcycles to come meet up with us, and we have very few people who match the demographic of our investigators and have free time to help us. We thought that on Saturday it would be impossible to get a with-member lesson, but we were determined. I felt inspired to ask a recent convert named Carolina Urbieta to come with us. We weren't sure how it would go, and we were a little stressed when she showed up with her husband and youngest child instead of alone like we'd planned. We were only going to visit young single mothers that afternoon, so we thought it would be awkward. But the Lord knows better. Carolina's husband, Federico, has such a strong testimony, especially about the Book of Mormon. Carolina on her own is a little shy, but with Federico there they were a great tag-team. They were so natural about sharing their testimonies and offering to help the women come to church and everything. They showed them that members are normal (one of our investigators was all shocked that Carolina was a baptized member because she was wearing jeans--she thought that once you were baptized you had to wear skirts every day like us missionaries! Members are so essential!), and we had a great turn-out at church yesterday thanks to their help.

The weather was a lot warmer last week after the rain, and now it's all rainy again but not cold. We're not sure if it's winter yet or not. :) When the weather had just barely turned warmer after lots or rain, the mosquitos were insane. I wore repellent, but towards the end of the night we were in a house by a little stream, and I thought I was doing a good job of swatting the skeeters away, but the next morning I found that I'd failed. I won't traumatize you with the pictures, but my legs looked like they belonged to a dalmation with chicken pox. Hna. Goimarac wasn't any better off. We used lots of benadryl that next day, and took our bottles of repellent with us for multiple re-applications. By a MIRACLE we don't have dengue. We feel like we dodged a bullet. :) 

This weekend Paraguay is celebrating a national holiday called El Dia de San Juan. All I know about it is that they eat lots of traditional Paraguayan food like chipa and sopa and mbeju, and that they play traditional games. One of the games they described to me is where they put some valuable prize at the top of a tall metal pole covered in grease. Whoever can climb the pole and retrieve the prize gets the keep it. They say many people break arms or worse in the attempt, yet they keep doing it every year. I think it'd be hilarious to watch, but I'd never let my kids play. Not without some kind of harness like you'd use rock climbing. :)

Man I'm out of time already. The days are feeling so much shorter what with the sun setting so early and the weeks passing by in a blur. I don't know how any missionary can claim to be able to slack off towards the end of the mission. If anything, I feel more pressure than ever. I have so much to do to prepare to leave--send out letters to all my gente, go through my stuff to decide what to take home and what to give away, prepare Hna. Goimarac to go on without me... I both feel like yeah I have tons of time to do all that, but at the same time I only have P-Days to dedicate time to that, and I only have four P-Days left! Psycho! It's stressful. But I know that this last month is going to be awesome, especially with the Meza family's baptism to look forward to. 

Thank you Sarah, Ashley, Dad, Mom, McConkies, Grandma and Grandpa Springer, Goompa and Nana, and Hna. Tua'one for writing to me! I know it seems less important, since we'll get to talk face-to-face soon, but I still need those letters and I love them! :)

 I LOVE YOU ALL!!

---Hna. Springer

I actually don't have as many as I promised, but here are a few of last P-Day by the river

---Carly

Week 76 - Paraguay - Concepcion

Dearest Familia,

Big news! (Well...big for us Paraguay-serving missionaries, anyways...) Concepcion is no longer the farthest-away area for the Hermanas! This last Change they opened up Pedro Juan Caballero, right by Brazil, for the Hermanas to work in! And guess who's going to open up the area, with a trainee? HERMANA DEVRIES!! Soy abuela! I hear she's very nervous to be training (especially since I hear it's a latina she's training), and to be opening up an area so far away from Asuncion, where they're known to speak a lot of Portuguese, but I know she'll do great. And we're in the same zone now, so we might be able to do divisions! I'm so excited. She's amazing.

Hna. Goimarac is amazing, too. It's so fun to see her beam when everyone says, "What? There's no way you've only been here a month--you speak Spanish too well!" She would tell you that she speaks atrocious Spanish, but she really is very good. And really any mistakes she makes are overshadowed by the fact that she's so bold and loving in talking to the gente. They all think you're brand new when you don't say anything, because it means you don't understand and/or are afraid to make a mistake when you talk. But she has no such fear. "Perfect love casteth out fear." And she understands very well. She's a great companion partly because she already fits right into sharing the load with talking and teaching. 

We had a few very cold days this week. Last Sunday it was blazing hot, and then on Monday it poured rain and the temperature dropped significantly. It gave us no time to learn to adjust to the cold weather, so that first day we were a little unprepared. On Tuesday, though, we were armed with literally every sweater we owned. I must have been wearing six layers. I'm so glad I thought to bring tights and thermals to wear under my winter skirts.

It threw off our contacting skills, though. In the warmer days, it was easy to just say, "okay, we're gonna talk to everyone we see sitting outside doing nothing." We got 75 contacts each fairly easily. But this week, NOBODY was sitting outside. We hardly contacted at all those first few cold days, and then this weekend when it warmed up we scrambled to catch up on our goal. It required a lot more door-clapping than we've gotten used to.  It's also thrown off our church attendance and lessons, because at least one person in every family has a cold. No joke. I'm amazed Hna. Goimarac and I haven't caught any kind of bug yet. 

The cold sure is helping me a lot with my exercise goals, though. I love getting up and going jogging so I can get my blood pumping and warm up for study time. If I didn't have that to do, it would be very hard to make myself leave the comfort and warmth of my bed every morning. :) 

We've been seeing great progress with our investigators lately. The Mezas are almost 100% set to be baptized this weekend! We're going to have a Noche de Hogar with them tonight to plan all the details, but so far I see nothing that could stop them from making the covenant. They were kind of afraid to make a promise with God, not wanting to mess up and be found imperfect, but we explained to them that getting baptized is a lot like making the decision to get married. When you get married, you KNOW it won't be easy, and you KNOW that you're going to mess up, but that doesn't stop you from making a promise with the one you love to try your absolute hardest. Baptism is the same thing--a promise with the One we love to try our very best to make Him happy, even though you know it will be hard and you'll probably mess up. After we explained it in that sense (thankfully the Mezas are a couple that actually ARE married), they agreed that it was a leap they could make, and they accepted a baptismal date. I'm so excited for them!

This week Hna. Goimarac and I have been studying a lot about using the Book of Mormon to help people progress in the gospel. We've been seeing so much more happiness and success by applying that. Leida especially made us happy when we asked her about her reading of the Book of Mormon and she said she loved it. She'd read the part we left her about Alma's people bearing their burdens with the help of the Lord, and then she'd kept reading to find out more! When we asked her if she believed it to be the word of God, she got really quiet and said, "Nobody could have just come up with something so beautiful if it wasn't given by God." I agree. :)

I wish everyone would just take the time to read the Book of Mormon more. Yesterday I gave a talk in church, and I used the first four chapters of 1 Nephi to discuss personal revelation and trusting in God's direction. Nephi is so admirable in how he responded to his father's directions by praying about them first and then following them without question once God gave him a testimony. He also studied the scriptures a lot and relied on the story of Moses to give him courage to face Laban. He let the Spirit guide him when he had no idea what to do to get the plates. We all need to do the same, and do as Lehi did by giving up everything that would stop us from obeying the Lord, even if it means wordly discomfort. I'm sure it wasn't a very cheerful prospect to give up a luxurious home and wealth in Jerusalem to go live in the desert for who-knows-how-long, but Lehi did it anyways, and he ended up getting a promised land better than anything he gave up.

Our branch president is a good example of giving up worldly luxury to do as the Lord asks. He and his family are going through a financial crisis lately, but you would never think so the way he puts on a smile for everyone in the branch and goes about helping individuals as the Spirit directs. He's a little underappreciated around here, but he's determined to never quit until the Lord tells him "enough." Yesterday when we went to visit him and his family (it had been almost three weeks--we've been busy), he and his wife were more than a little saddened by a mean text that a member had sent them. They'd helped this member a lot, yet he was accusing them of doing nothing on his behalf and judging him for his past mistakes. President was feeling really upset until he got another text almost immediately afterwards. This one was from a menos activo we've been working with ever since I got here, who recently has been 100% active thanks to the President and his family. She sent them a beautiful, happy text thanking them for being true followers of Christ and helping her put her life back in order. It was so great to see how happy that one message made them. They're dealing with so many problems on every side, but when one person changes for the better, all the struggling is worth it. :)

Well, that's all for this week. Thank you Goompa, Grandma Springer, Laurel, Amanda, Dad, Mom, Lucie, and the Blairs for writing to me this week! It's great to hear about your summer adventures. Hopefully you're dealing well with the heat and praying for me to be able to survive the cold. :)

I LOVE YOU!!

---Hna. Springer

This is the only photo I have for this week, of our district before it got Changed. Don't we all look so happy? It's a bummer the other cameras caught the glare of the flash, but hopefully you can crop that out for me. :) I'll have more interesting pictures next week. We're going to go check out some museums today right after this.

I LOVE YOU!!

--Carly

Week 75 - Paraguay - Concepcion

Querida Familia,

Can you believe that it's Monday again already? I feel like the days are slipping through my fingers like sand. Today we're having a very laid-back P-Day. After a week of humidity and blazing sunlight, we're being pounded with rain finally. It's amazing how yesterday we were sweating bullets, and now we're wearing coats again. 

We just got done making a TON of empanadas with the Elders. They were all excited to make the crust themselves, so we spent two and a half hours putting it all together. Empanadas are like the hamburgers of Paraguay--they're sold for cheap on any given street corner. It probably would have cost ten minutes and 16 mil for all of us to buy how many empanadas we made for 50 mil of ingredients and two and a half hours of time. But at least we got to handle the ingredients ourselves, and the crust WAS much better quality. Plus it was just fun for all of us to be together. Changes are happening tonight, so who knows how our district will look next week. It's always good to do a last, parting get-together.

Of course, I know exactly where I'm gonna be next Change. Right here in Concepcion with Hna. Goimarac. And it will be my VERY. LAST. CHANGE. 

What.

Six weeks feels like nothing. Today's quote in the quote book Laurel made me says "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on!" I feel like that's what I'm doing. I'm reaching the end of my mission rope and tying knots as fast as I can to keep myself from slipping further. By the time the end comes, it will take quite the effort to get me untangled, and I pity the fool who tries to take that rope out of my hands. :) 

I want to see the Meza family's baptism SO BADLY. We're doing all we can to make it happen in June. They are such an amazing family. They read the scriptures and pray as a family every night. Even before we suggested such a habit, they were doing it. Who DOES that? They're so unified and loving, which is amazing considering that Juan Angel had a dark past as an alcoholic father. His family is amazing for having forgiven him and moved on with happiness and hope. 

They all prayed together to ask the Lord if they should be baptized in June. We haven't been able to talk to Juan Angel about that, yet, but the mom, Gladys, says that she feels that it's right, and she's doing all she can to convince her husband that he's ready. Juan Angel wants to be baptized. He wants to be a member, but he's afraid that he's not good enough, basically. He wants to be worthy to be called a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and he's afraid that he'll slip up. We're going to be talking to him a lot about that this week, and I highly doubt that he'll put off baptism for too long. Hna. Goimarac has a good saying for people who think they're not ready for baptism: "The Church isn't a museum full of perfect people, it's a hospital for those who are working to become perfect." 

Alex Franco, Juan Angel's member friend who's been 100% the reason why the Meza family is doing so well, gave a beautiful testimony on Sunday. He's not a very sensitive person, but he was crying so hard as he shared with the congregation the joy that he's felt in helping his best friend get over his addictions and put his family together. It was very sweet, and I'm glad that the Meza family was in church to hear it.

Rolando was confirmed in church yesterday, which means that we already met our part of the mission goal for June for every companionship to get at least one baptism! We're not gonna slack off now, by any means, but it still feels nice to know that we did our part. He's doing great. He had a fun week with his dad in town and is obviously sad that his dad has to leave to work again, but he's happy that he's baptized and that his dad got to see it.

This week was a big deal for Concepcion. On the 31st of May was the "Birthday of Concepcion." Actually, the 26th is when the city was actually founded, but back in the day they could only get to Asuncion by horseback, so it took them five days to take their constitution to the capital to become a city. So they celebrate on the 31st.

Anyways, there was a HUGE parade. As you know, they've been practicing outside of our apartment for weeks (and we're very thankful that that's all over and done and we can study in peace again), and on Thursday it all came together. Every school in the city AND in the surrounding cities, AND some cities closer to Asuncion and Brazil, AND many major Paraguayan organizations participated in the parade. We didn't recognize the city center at all when we went to see it (our lunch appointment was cancelled for the occasion, so our lunch hour was spent at the parade instead). The main street was packed full of people, the whole center full of chairs and the catholic church sporting a pavillion for the country officials to wave to the parade participants. The Virgin Mary statue was decked with cameras and announcer people so everyone could watch the event on TV. Street vendors from other countries were there, taking advantage of the crowds. It felt a lot like a major football game or 4th of July carnival or something--lots of cotton candy and noise and families having fun together. Now if I ever decide to come back and visit Concepcion as a tourist, I know when to do so. There were lots of things to buy. 

It made contacting a cinch, not only because everyones' families were in town but also because we had a great conversation starter. "Hey, how was the parade? Were your kids in it?" It was a good week. We met our goal of 75 contacts again, easily.

...I don't really know what else to write about today. This week was so fast and fairly uneventful. 

Oh! But I finished the Book of Mormon again, for the third time as a missionary. I could have read it faster, but I try to just read a chapter a day so I can really get the most out of it, and so that I can have time to study Doctrine and Covenants and Preach My Gospel AND the Conference Liahona. I love the Book of Mormon. I love Moroni's final plea for us to come unto Christ, lay aside all ungodliness, and let Christ's grace let us become sanctified. Also, his challenge for us to ponder over the Book and ask God if it be true. I honestly feel bad for anybody who doesn't appreciate the Book of Mormon, or who thinks that it's a fake or whatever. I can feel its reality whenever I read it, especially in the end. Mormon's and Moroni's sadness is so touching, and I wouldn't dare tread their sacrifice and hard work under my feet. I want to be able to see them after this life and thank them for what they did, not be embarrassed or apologetic for not having followed the guidance that they gave their lives to give me. I am so thankful for that guidance. My life would be so different without it. I know that that Book is true. I KNOW it, and I love it, and I wouldn't replace it for anything. I'm excited to begin to read it all over again tomorrow. 

Well, that's about it for today. Thank you Grandma Springer, Hna. Tua'one, Amanda, Ashley, Sarah, Mom, Dad, Goompa, and Holly for writing to me this week. And thank you McConkies for the awesome pictures. I love you all and hope you're doing well and reading the Book of Mormon lots. :)

---Hna. Springer


1-One of the only photos I got from a member of little kids in the parade
2-Us making empanadas
3-Our empanada feast

Love you!!

---Carly