Hola mi familia!
I can´t believe that it´s been 12 weeks since I´ve been in the mission field! Crazy right!! Also.. I´m in this ghetto computer place I can´t figure out how to change the keyboard to an english one.. and so I can´t type question marks.. shoot. Anyways! I´m officially done my own training! YAY! It has been so great.
So first of all.. changes! We found out this morning at our Zone Meeting that my trainer and mama is being transfered! She is going back to Argentina and I´m staying here in La Paloma! My new companion has a year in the mission.. and she´s from Utah I think. Hermana Olvera loves her! I haven´t met her yet, but I´m really excited! I am shocked actually.. I didn´t know what was going to happen this transfer, but I´m shocked that I´m getting another North American. I thought if I was going to get a new companion.. she would have been Latina. But apparently not! haha.. anyways. I´m really excited.. and sad.. at the same time to be losing Hermana Olvera. She seriously is the best and I love her so much. I´m going to miss her. I´m also scared out of my mind. Now I´m in charge of showing someone new our area.. and getting her up to date on all of the people here and everything. I´m nervous.. but I know it´will be great. Just scary.. changes are scary for me.. but a part of life!
So wednesday night we will head to Posadas, and I will pick up my new companion and then we will head back here! Lots of travelling in the coming week!
Okay... update on this week!
Basically we have been struggling to find people to teach. We have seriously spent the majority of this week contacting and following up on old contacts. It´s exhausting work to be honest. Contacting and talking and trying to get people to listen to us. But it´s good. I have had lots of time to think also this week. I´ve been thinking about how badly this transfer I wanted to find and baptize someone. It was my goal. And this week it hit me that it didn´t happen. I have to admit.. I was discouraged. Literally I just want to help someone find this gospel. I expressed my frustration to Hermana Olvera one day after we got home.. and she gave me an analogy. She said.. ¨Imagine if you were at home.. sitting on your couch with a delicious box of donuts.. and watching your favorite tv show in super comfy sweats... and just eating all of your favorite yummy junk food. You are just so happy to sit there and do nothing and eat sugar and just YUM. And then all of the sudden someone comes to your door in workout clothes and drinking a green smoothie and invites you to go running or hiking or something. First of all.. you wouldn´t want to.. because it´s hard to get your butt off up the couch and change your clothes and get out the door and then actually start working out. and second it would be hard because that person is making you feel bad. You know that sitting on the couch and eating junk food isn´t good.. like who is this person to come and tell you that you need to change your lifestyle and that you´re not being healthy..
I hope that analogy makes sense.. it´s hard to type it out how she said it.. but I hope you get the point and can draw the connection. She was right. We are trying to get people to change their lifes completely. and of course that´s not going to be easy.. but yeah. My comp rocks. haha just a funny analogy. ¨Insert smiley face here
So yeah.. lot´s of time to think. I started studying conversion this week. And really what being converted means. In the Book of Mormon.. we read lots of examples of people whose desires were completely changed. Their will, was truly to do and live for the will of God. That´s how much faith they had. They truly wanted to serve him and only him. As I was thinking about that this week.. I tried and started praying to be more converted to the will of God.. and to just have faith in his timing and his plan for me and for the people here. I simply am just a tool in his hands. I am here to serve Him, and basically I just started praying and trying to not let MY weaknesses get in the way of his work.. and finding his children. It changed my attitude, and renewed my dedication and determination.
AH! I do have to you tell you though. we may not have one single investigator that is progressing right now.. but we DO have a few less actives that are really changing and applying the atonement in their lives. One of them is Dani and Tanya! They are seriously are the BEST! We have started a routine with them almost. They have changed so much. Up till this point.. I haven´t seen a change in anyone like I have seen in them. Everytime... the spirit of the lord is working in their lives.. and it´s humbling to see the process. This week we are going to try and commit them to come to church.. because up until this point we have just been focusing on praying together and reading the scriptures and letting the spirit come back into their lives. So hopefully this week we will be able to help them commit to come to church! I´m excited to see what happens. Seriously.. it´s the coolest change you guys. I WISH you could see it. Everytime I leave their house.. ah.. I just never want to stop feeling like that. Like smiling from ear to ear. It´s the feeling every missionary knows.. and just keeps us going forward. It´s awesome.
One more thing from this week. Saturday we planned an branch activity for our branch and then two other branches that are close to us! We planned it and made treats and bought ice cream and it was going to be SO fun... and then not one single person showed up. It was sad... It was us.. and then 4 other missionaries from the other branches.. and not one person showed up. Yeah.. it was pretty sad. But after waiting and then realizing that no one was going to come.. we decided to just stand outside the church and contact and stop everyone we could and talk to them and try and get them to do a church tour. We talked to quite a few people and some people toured and it actually turned out to be a fun afternoon. Hermana Olvera and I had made popcorn and brownies for the activity and we gave them away to people and it turned out to be a really fun day!
Umm.. what else. oh yes! Some fun paraguayan things for you! Fireflies have started coming out at night.. and seriously it´s the coolest thing ever! I wish you could see it! At night when we are walking through fields or past fields they are just everywhere! A speck of light for a second and then you see it again and few feet from where it was before. I could tell you a great analogy I thought of.. .but I´ll spare you all hahaha. Ummm.. the stars a beautiful here too. Seriously so bright and SO many. I´m so lucky to be in this area. I love it. Um what else! Saturday there was a soccer game between Paraguay and Brazil.. Paraguay won.. and literally there was riots on the streets. It was crazy.. and so loud. Music and drinking and fireworks. Ah.. it was good we had fixed plans. So that was definitely an adventure.
Man.. I hope your week has been great! I love you all so much!! Thank you for your prayers!!! I´m praying for you too! I´m so excited for the beginning of a new transfer and for the opportunity to be on a mission. I love it so much. I wouldn´t want to be anywhere else.. even through the hard times and the happy times. Wow.. am I the most cliche missionary of all time_! maybe. but it´s fine.. it´s true. Anyways. I love you all! talk to you next week!
xoxo
Hermana Ehlert
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