April 25, 2016

So heeyy fam :)

I hope that you all had the greatest week! 

This week was crazy. I said bye to Hermana Martinez and now she is home! And now I am with Hermana Cannon.. and what a JOY it is. We are both so similar and are just so ready to work and have fun and basically conquer the world. I got back to my area late Wednesday night.. so we were able to start working on Thursday. We have high expectations for this transfer. 

Not too many exciting things happened this week.. but I just feel peace and feel happy. 

A really cool experience that happened this week though. Thursday night we at a branch activity and as we left and were walking to the bus stop (it's actually not a bus stop.. it's a place on the side of the road that you have to wave down the bus and hope that it will stop for you) and we saw the bus that we needed to take passed! They are supposed to pass every 15 minutes but after 6 it's sketchy at best.. and is super unreliable. We were more than 10 km away from our house.. and we needed to be back before 9. We just decided to wait and hope another would pass.. and if it didn't pass in 15 more minutes.. we would just have to take a taxi.. which is way more expensive.. but we wouldn't have a choice. As we got closer to the hour.. I was getting more and more nervous.. and literally as we were about to walk over to a taxi... two ladies came up to us.. and introduced themselves as members.. and they were just from a different ward. It was a daughter and a mom.. and they offerred to drive us home! So we happily accepted and got in their VERY nice car and we zipped off towards our house. They ended up just being the nicest people ever and actually gave us a referral!! It was so awesome.. and just another small miracle that shows me how aware our heavenly father is of us. Hermana Cannon and I entered our apartment literally not a minute too late.. and offerred a prayer of gratitude. 

I am so grateful of how aware my heavenly father is of two of his missionaries in the middle of paraguay. Little things like this just happen over and over again. 

Lucy is just fabulous and happy and amazing as ever. We had a charla with her before church.. and she basically just taught US. I love her. She is amazing and is now inviting all the rest of her siblings to church. 

Well... sorry. kind of boring this week.

I love you alllll. 

xoxoxoxo

Hermana Ehlert

A bridge is Posadas that I just adore

TRANSFERS

HI SWEET FAMILYYY :)

I can´t believe that another transfer has come and gone. It´s unreal for me. 

So my sweet hermana Martinez is off to Mexico!!! WOW. She is great.. and I am excited for her. 

Next.. for transfers.. I am staying in the same area MINGA. Which I was expecting and am totally happy about. Another shock.. my comp!! Her name is Hermana Cannon and she came with ME!! We were in the MTC together.. but in different districts. SHE IS AMAZING. So it´s actually so funny.. last transfer.. she wasn´t in my area.. but we shared the same branch. Our pensions are like one block from eachother.. so she is going to be just moving over to my pension.. and switching areas.. but she is still going to be in the same branch. Does that make sense?! I´m actually like super excited abou it. She is darling. In the pictures that I sent last week.. she was in one of them!! She is the asain looking one.. from Park City Utah.. and actually was on the BYU gymnastics team. Love her. It should be a great transfer!! YAY. I am so happy to be staying in my area as well.

SO THIS WEEK. Wow.. kind of a blur. It went by SO fast. BUT.. Saturday was just the greatest day. Lucy got baptized!! And everything went amazing. She got confirmed the next day.. and it was just beautiful! And so spiritual. She got out of the water and just gave me and hermana martinez the BIGGEST hug.. and she was soaking wet.. and then we were all soaking wet.. but it didn´t matter. she just couldn´t stop smiling. I love that her brother also got to baptize her... it just made me so happy to see their family and testimonies growing in the gospel. Then after she got confirmed.. I asked her how she felt.. and she said.. like no other sensation she had ever had.. like she was flying. I just loved this weekend. 

ALSO.. a member here that I just absolutely LOVE. Her name is Teresa. And she was baptized when she was 21.. waited a year and then went on a mission. When she got back she went inactive.. and has been inactive for more than 30 years. Her husband died 9 months ago.. and in december.. she saw the sister missionaries walk by her house.. and she called to them and she told them that she was a missionary too a long time ago!! Well.. anyways... she is amazing.. and is now active. It has been a little bit of a process with her.. but this week was the first week that she was able to take the sacrament.. and I was sitting next to her in sacrament.. and as she took the sacrament she had tears in her eyes. Me and her just sat there enveloped in the spirit.. and just so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ.. and his sacrifice. I love him. I am so grateful for him and his love enough for me.. to sacrifice himself. 

We also had another awesome experience this week.. we went to an area that we had never been to.. to track down a less active member that just moved. Well we were walking along the street.. and we just decided to ask this girl that was walking with a little girl. It looked like she was on the phone.. so I almost didn´t ask her.. but I just decided to anyways. Well we ended up talking.. and she invited us to sit down with her at the park while her neice played. We ended up having a great talk.. and she is AWESOME. She is actually an ex-nun.. I think you could call it? haha.. she was in like nun-training.. for 8 and half months. But she decided that it wasn´t for her. She told us that she didn´t feel it was right.. and ever since then she hasn´t gone back to the catholic church because she didn´t feel it was right. We had a great talk with her.. and invited her to church.. but she couldn´t come because she lives like really far. But I am totally excited to visit her again and to see what happens!! Her name is Rosana.

Anyways.. it was just a great week.. and just happy as can be. :)

I hope you all have the greattteessttt week!!! 

xoxoxoxo 

Hermana Ehlert

PS. 
Just want to say to Cassidy Ferrell.. that your wedding was STUNNING.. and you looked beautiful.. and I am seriously SO sad that I wasn´t there.

The zone when president is there.... :)

The zone when president isn´t there.... ;)

Lucy!!!! Isn´t she darling?!?! And her daughter.

Lucy and her brother who baptized her.. and her mom. They are converts of a few months. Aren´t they adorable?!

April 11, 2016

mi querida familia :)

I hope you all just had a FANTASTIC week. Things are going great here in Minga Guazu!! This branch is just SO fun. I loved my little branches that I have been apart of in my mission.. but it is just SO fun to have like 90 people in church.. and so many members. 

Not too many exciting things happened this week to be honest.. but it was a happy one. :)

This week we are trying SO hard to work better with members. We are trying to help them and excite them to do missionary work. It truly is so much more effective when we work together with members.

We have been able to find a few solid investigators from referrals from members.. and we had 4 investigators come to church this week!!! One of my favorite family's here are the familia delvalle... and he invited his cousin and his wife a few weeks ago to listen to our message.. they accepted.. and then they came to conference.. and this week came to church. They are darling.. Ignacio and Leticia. Stay tuned :) Lucy also came.. and she had her baptismal interview!!! She got over dengue.. and is doing much better.. and really was just GLOWING. She is so excited for this Saturday.. and SO AM I. It should be a great last week of the transfer. 

I wasn't feeling super well this week.. and at night i was just praying to feel a little better... and the spirit just hit me so strong. I just felt Him so near and close.. and it really made me think... how crazy is it that we claim and believe that we can directly talk to God. That is amazing. It amazes me. He truly is God almighty.. and all powerful.. who created all the stars and all things in the universe.. but first and firmost.. is my father.. and your father. And the reality of that just really hit me while I was kneeling by my bed this week. I love how my prayers have changed in my mission. I am so grateful for a loving heavenly father. Who wants more than anything for us to return to him. 

I love you all!! I hope you have an amazing week. :)

sorry it's a short one! 

xoxo

Hermana Ehlert

AMAZING waterfalls that we went to today for P-day!!

Classic jumping pic of course :)

comp and me :)

Cute comps at church yesterday :)

April 4, 2016

HEY FAM JAM :)

Wow! Fastest week EVER for me. But it was a good one.. filled with the spirit. 

We were able to do divisions this week.. with two companionships of hermanas. The first one.. I was with a newer hermana named Hermana Alvarez.. she is from Peru... and I just LOVE her. She is so great. She is a convert.. and one of the only members in her family. Her spirit is strong.. and when she bares her testimony.. it is just so simple and powerful. I loved it.  We were working in my area that day.. and we had a lesson with Lucy scheduled.. but not in the chapel like normal after church.. but in her boyfriends house.. which is like REALLY far. So we got directions from her over the phone.. and then ventured out. One hour, two city buses later and a lot of asking.. we got to her house!!! It was awesome. We had a great lesson with her about the temple and eternal families. She already knew much about it from what she has already learned and what her brother who is recently baptized has told her.. but the spirit was sweet and strong. She is just so amazing. After the lesson.. we got on a bus that she told us to get on.. and were headed back to our area..... or so we thought. We actually got on the wrong bus.. and it ended up taking us through a part of town that I do not know.. and then to centro.. like the middle of the big city. It was fine.. because once we were in centro I knew what bus to take and where to go.. but it was getting late and dark.. and after 7 the buses don't pass quite as often. We were waiting on the sidewalk for almost 40 minutes.. and by this point it was dark.. and there weren't many people out. If the bus didn't pass within 5 more minutes.. we would actually be late getting back to our pension. I was getting more and more nervous and poor Hermana Alvarez was as well... and we both jsut really wanted to be on a bus heading back to our own area. I decided we should say a prayer.. because bus after bus passed.. but not the one that we needed. We quickly stood close together on the sidewalk and I offered a quick prayer.. and the moment I opened my eyes to look down the road.. it was our bus that we needed. The relief and spirit overwhelmed me... and we hugged eachother and quickly jumped on the bus... arriving back in our pension.. exactly.. like to the minute.. on time. hahahaha.. it seems kind of dumb now.. but in that moment of a little bit of fear and anxiousness.. I knew our Heavenly Father was watching out for us. He cared about us two there that night... and it was a strong testimony to me of His love for us. 

His love was also shown personally to me this weekend during conference.. as the spirit whipered to me and helped me resolve and find answers to questions and the peace I was seeking. I hope you all had the chance to watch it. It's kind of funny.. but it's like the superbowl for us missionaries. I was able to watch it in English.. and felt so humble and lucky to be able to hear the direct words of our prophet and apostles.

SO.. lucy.. she actually got DENGUE! LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! She sent us a text Sunday morning and told us she coudln't get out of bed.. so we wasn't able to have her baptismal interview. As we prayed as companions.. and me individually.. I just felt that everything would work out exactly how God wanted it.. even though I didn't quite understand.. and it would turn out for the best of everyone. 

I love Him. I loved the talk on Saturday about recognizing who we really are.. and what our first reactions are to challenges or trials. 

I love you ALL.. SO SO much. 

xoxoxoxo from Paraguay 

Hermana Ehlert

is the place i serve even real?! 

I bought a succulent this week for 3 dollars. and named it Hai pei... in gaurani. :)