1. How are your investigators doing? Are they still on schedule to be baptized this week end?
They´re doing well.. We have 3 that are getting baptized this Saturday! Felipe, who is dating the sister that teaches Seminary, is a stud! Dad wrote me an email and it made me think of Felipe. He kinda found us.. I remember he went with us to the General Conference, but we haven´t heard anything from him since because he lives out in the jungle.. A couple Saturdays ago, we were waiting in the bus terminal getting ready to go to Artigas (another little city in our area) and our Branch President called us. He said, "Hey! Go to the church! You have an investigator waiting there for you.." We were both kind of confused.. But we went! Our first lesson with him was awesome, and every one since. The lessons are really spiritual and he understands everything! Like it makes sense to him.. That´s hard to find here! So he´s getting baptized on Saturday. There are also a couple kids (Maria, 12; and Carlos, 10) who live in Artigas that are getting baptized on Saturday. The missionaries were teaching them a couple years ago, but were pulled out of the area for some reason, so we´re going to baptize the people out there that are ready! It´s been fun getting to know them and help them progress.
2. How about Jorge? Has his mom come from Argentina yet?
Not yet.. I don´t know what´s going on with him, it´s like he´s been flaking out on us lately. We were going to start our fast with him a couple days ago on Saturday, and he was excited to do it, but his grandma didn´t let him. It´s hard for him to go to church and other activities because his family is super hard headed. We have to explain things to them like they´re five years old, and they still don´t understand! Jorge gets everything though.. There´s times where he teaches us! I don´t know what else to do with him.. We´ve tought the family before, but they can´t wrap their heads around what we´re saying. Ugh.. But he´s still a stud!
3. So, what kind of cemetery's do they have there. Are they above ground types that look like little cities? Or do they have regular burial cemeteries. I know that is kind of a morbid question but you know your dad's line of work and all. I just thought it would be a good question to ask.
They have both kinds here.. I think the most common though is below ground. But they just dig a hole thats a couple feet deep, or just enough to cover the box, and brick it all in. Then when that´s done, they smooth everything over with cement. It´s kinda weird, but I guess it works.
4. So when the weather says 59 degrees is that pretty cold there? That is what my little weather app. is showing for Asuncion for Thursday this week.
It feels like it´s freezing here.. Its a humid cold, so even though its like 60 degrees (flip flop weather in Idaho) you have to put on a coat and gloves. But I´ve been staying warm.. Actually, today is pretty chilly, but it´s been kinda warm for the past couple months still. So hopefully it starts cooling off!
5. What was you best experience this week?
We found a way cool family. They´re from Ukraine! Well, their ancestors.. But it´s cool because they´re tall and have blonde hair! They´re educated too so that´s a plus. The Sabluk family.. Javier (the dad) has an old 60´s Chevy, I haven´t seen it though. His brother was over and at first they were kind of distant because of false things they´ve heard about the church. It was a cool experience because of the way they changed in such a short visit because we set things strait with them. We told them what we believe and what our purpose is as missionaries, and after that they opened up a lot to us. We showed them the pictures of our families and lives back home to show them that we´re not robots, that we´re normal people. I don´t know what it is, but almost every guy that sees my pictures always has something nice to say about my car and my mom and sisters.. And how they like my brothers´ beards..
6 Did you have anything funny happen?
Kind of.. We went to a birthday party at a member´s house. The grandmothers were there, and when we got there, they started saying how "pretty" we were in Guaraní.. Hey! I know what you´re saying! :P "ha´e kuera ha´eha iporaaaaaa" Paraguayan´s aren´t shy to do ANYTHING.. Unless you ask them to pray.
So yeah! That´s pretty much what´s going on here.. We did divisions with the district leader and his comp this last week. He´s been on our backs to get Jorge baptized, which drives me nuts! If he´s not ready yet, you don´t force it! I feel like so many Elders here are robotic like that. They can´t listen with their hearts and solve doubts with the Gospel.. They try to force everything. You´re a failure if you can´t teach 20 lessons with a member present. They don´t see that not every area has hundreds of members.. that there are areas that have a church attendence of 20 people on a good day. They say just do it because its in the book and not because you want to. Sorry for the rant, that´s what´s been on my mind lately. I feel like I´ve been pretty patient so far..
I love being on a mission. I can´t describe what I´ve felt here or the changes I´ve had within myself. I feel like I have a clearer outlook on life.. I´m not scared for my future, more than anything, I´m excited! I don´t feel like I´m a teenage kid anymore. I´ve realized what´s important and I know what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. I understand that God gives us commandments so that He can bless us.. The Temple is SO important. GO. Serve others. And do your home teaching dang it! No one does that here and it drives me nuts.. You don´t realize how much you´re helping your home teaching families with just a quick visit. If it´s an inactive member, you could reactivate them. A short, simple visit can change a life. Don´t be shy. I don´t know how long it would have taken me to learn these things if I didn´t come on a mission.
I love you all! I hope you have a great week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner
