Week 68

Hey!! I feel like I just blinked last pday, and it´s pday again.. The time goes by so fast! I complete 16 months on the mission in 2 weeks! I really can´t believe it.

QUESTIONS:

1. How is Fernando and his wife? Are you guys teaching them?
They´re studs! We invited them to be baptized this last week! And they said yes! We haven´t been back since though because Fernando´s grandpa is in the hospital.. But we have an appointment with them tomorrow! We´re really excited! :D

2. Did you get your shower head fixed? Electricity and water that is a scary combination!
Yeah! We ended up just having to buy a new one.. That´s the second one I´ve bought so far. It works like a champ! Nothin like a new shower.. It really puts a homey touch to our little bathroom with a cement floor. It´s better than showering out of the hose like we did in our last place..

3. Is Elder Whaley as tall as you? When you were both squatting down in that picture he looked like he was tall. Just curious. How is his family? Did they survive the fires in Colorado Springs? I hope so.
He´s about 6´0.. He was telling me his whole family is tall. He said the fires didn´t get too close to where he lives, so everyone´s fine!

5. How many guys/gals are in your district and zone? What are their names and who are your zone leaders? I might know some of their mom's through our missionary mom's of Paraguay Asuncion on FB.
There´s 8 in my district, and I think about 22ish in my zone. My zone leaders are Elder Hatch (again!) from Idaho Falls, and Elder White from Provo. They´re studs! The others in my district are Elder Olson and Elder Guevara, Elder Calvert and Elder Speedy, and Elder Whaley and I. Elder Lund and Elder Nielson are in the other district with Elder Faas and Elder Castillo and Sister Willnaur and her companion.. I dont remember her name.. Elder Segovia and Elder Richards are in the district in Caaguazú (in the area and branch I started in) with Elder Valle, Elder Bullock.. I don´t remember the other 4 Elders. So yeah!

6. What was your most memorable experience this week?
Probably yesterday in church.. It rained so not many people showed up. Well, 4 people showed up to be exact! That´s the record! It was Elder Whaley and I and our branch president and his wife. It was cool though, we did the meetings as normal, but they were a lot less stressful. We´re going to have lunch with them today after internet :D They love us a ton! President looked at us yesterday and said, "Elders, she´s your mom now (pointing to his wife); anything you need, she´ll do it for you... Your suits look dirty- bring them over tomorrow and she´ll wash them for you. People are always watching us, we have to look presentable." I love the Sanabria´s! They´re always asking us how we´re doing and if they can help us in any way. And they don´t even live in our area!

7. Have you seen any more monkeys? How about big bugs, spiders or frogs?
One of the sticky frogs lives in our bathroom.. Its skin sticks to everything, its kinda cool. And we saw this weird looking, racoon thing yesterday when we were clapping houses. I don´t really know what it was, but its probably the weirdest thing I´ve seen so far. We´ll try to go back and get a picture with it!

8. Have you done anything fun on Pday in your new area.
No, our area is pretty boring for pday stuff.. That and we don´t have time to do much after we buy groceries. Its about a 40 minute walk, missionary speed, to get back home from the store.

Not a whole lot happened this week.. I´m not going to lie. This week was a week of tests! We just kept going though. I know the blessings are on their way, they always are after we do all we can. My companion is a stallion! Even if its raining like crazy, he doesn´t slow down. I´ve learned a ton from him! I´ve come to really love working by seeing his example. Missionary work is only hard if you make it hard. I feel like if you want it to be easy, it will be! We just have to open our mouths and share what we know to be true. There will probably be more disappointment than success, but the success outweighs the disappointment.

There´s my week! I´m happy! I´m lovin it! I´ve only got a few pictures to send this week.. Elder Whaley and I after a rain storm and a bowl of Betty Crocker´s mashed potatoes and gravy! Thanks Mom :D

I love you all!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

P.s. Do we have a relative who served in the Buenos Aires North mission from 1988 to 1990? An Elder Heiner.. He was comps with President Agazzani..

Week 67~~Another Week Down In The Hood Of Paraguay!!

Its another week down in the hood of Paraguay.. I can´t believe it! We had a crazy busy week and a lot learned! It was pretty good, hard, but good.


QUESTIONS:

1. How did your interview go with your mission president? Did it go as planned? Are you still have Zone Conference this next week.
Ahh he´s a stud!! It was such a good interview.. First, he asked how much time I have in the mission, and it didn´t really hit me until I said it.. 15 months. Wow.
Then he gave me a challenge, he read Jacob 1:19, said some other stuff that I have written down, and told me to do it! He gave me a sweet promise if I did :D

2. How is the girl that cut her tooth out with a knife? Do you still want to be a dentist?
She´s fine! We saw her the other day on her scooter and said she was doing well.. And yes, I still want to be a dentist!

3. Are you still teaching Brother Torrez'?
Yeah, we´ve decided we´re just going to take our branch president with us to go teach from now on.. They understand everything better in Guaraní.

4. Where will Zone Conference be and how are will you have to travel?
I don´t know when it is.. Hopefully soon! We can walk to the stake center in like 20 minutes from our house, so its not too bad.

5. Do keep in touch or have you seen any of the Elders from the MTC Group that came out with you?
I´ve seen all of them since we´ve been here, its hard to keep in touch though if you´re not in the same zone. I´ve only seen Elder Salinas once, for like 5 minutes :,( I miss Elder Salinas! Elder Guevara is in my district, so thats fun :)

6. Sister Delores Hoagland asked me a few weeks ago if you are getting the stuff she sends. I keep forgetting to ask you. So are you? Make sure you write to them. Maybe you already have.
Yeah! Sorry, I haven´t mentioned it!! She´s sent me lots of goodies! All the Elders love the caramel :D THANK YOU SISTER HOAGLAND! Thanks for the letters too! I love the testimonies you write, they strengthen mine.

7. What was your most memorable experience this week?
Our shower head blew up on Saturday.. I think only people who have served in South and Central American countries know what I´m talking about.. The shower heads that shock you if you touch them. So that`s the second time that´s happened. We´re gonna fix it today, then I´m going to shower! Its gonna be great.

Here´s the best memorable experience though... Oh wow! I´m excited to tell this story! Last pday, we went out to work.. We went back to a house we contacted a few days before, and Elder Whaley and I were kind of joking back and forth, "Oh, they´re gonna say that they almost got baptized, but didn´t because they just moved and didn´t know where the church was at..." Hahaha..ha..haha. Well, we sat down with them and started talking.. Fernando (the guy) said that he met the missionaries about 10 years ago. They would always go by his house when he was younger, trying to teach his family, but the dad didn´t want to because they were Catholic. Finally, the dad lets the missionaries in to teach them and promised Fernando that if he read a part in the Book of Mormon and prayed to see if it was true, that God would answer him. Pretty typical promise, and its true! He´ll answer!! Anyways, so Fernando waited til all his family was asleep that night, got back up and read the part that the missionaries had marked. Then he prayed and went to sleep. He had a dream that he was in front of the stake center pacing back and forth, running his hand along the gate as he walked by it, and looking up at the building. He said he knows that was his answer. How cool right! Well, his ENTIRE family ended up getting baptized exept for him. He´s 24 and just got married 4 months ago to a girl who he´s known forever. They´re way cool! They´ve been reading and praying since we met them. Everything is perfect with them.. They even made us home made passion fruit juice :D Mburucuya.. mmmmm. Really though, that was probably the coolest experience I´ve had so far on my mission. Everything just feels perfect with them and the Spirit is super strong when we go to their house. We´re really excited!
I feel like that was our blessing from all of our blood, sweat, and tears from the week before. I´m starting to wonder if there´s another blessing like that just waiting around the corner...

Thanks for the pictures from the trip! That looks like it was a lot of fun!

We had a great week.. Our branch president is a stud- he looks like a Paraguayan Johnny Depp. He helped us a lot this week and is always excited to help us. Reinaldo beat me at the stick pull at ward night.. He´s the one in the picture with super long hair on the far right giving a thumbs up.. Don´t laugh at me. :P

Big gulps huh.. Welp, see ya later!
Love y´all! I hope everyone has a great week!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

 

 

 

 

 

Week 66~~Priesthood Power

The week is over!! I can´t believe it... We got WORKED but we´re seeing some results :D Helping people get closer to baptism. I learned a ton this week and it feels really really good. Not to mention it makes me SO happy to hear how well everyone is doing! I didn´t know Dad got up 320!! Nice work ya old fart! Thats awesome! I hope you got it on video.. I wish I could have seen it. Haley sent some awesome pictures of the boys! I can not believe how big they are getting! I don´t even recognize them hardly. They are so stinkin cute though, and it sounds like they´re good boys. I´m so excited to meet them when I get back! Alright, heres the questions n stuff..

1. What was your most amazing experience this week?
Using the Priesthood! I love it!! Every time I use it, I see a miracle. I don´t know if I´m allowed to share this or not, but I guess I´ll find out.. In my Patriarchal Blessing it says that as I exercise the Priesthood in righteousness, I´ll come to realize and understand that it is the same power Christ used to heal the sick and afflicted when He was in the earth. I have no doubt about that. I know the Priesthood has been restored and have seen the power of it manifest in times when I have used it.

2. Have you officially met your new mission president? If not, when do you think you will?
Yes! He´s aweseome! He´s a good, humble guy and he has a great family. I really miss President and Hermana Callan though. But President Agazzani is great! I think we have interviews this week and zone conference following that. It´s gonna be great! President Agazzani has hit the ground running. We´re all excited!

3. Did you make any good contacts this past week?
Yeah, we found some old investigators from the Elders from about 6 months ago.. They´re awesome! Its a family of 6 and they understand what we´re trying to get at! It makes sense to them.. It´s always nice talking to educated people. But 2 of them have a baptismal date for the 11th of August :D Natalia and Ramón, they´re brother and sister. They´re studs. We´re working with the rest of their famliy too.

4. Are you still freezing at night and in the morning? Can you get an extra blanket?
Yeah its cold here! Its a humid cold, so its bone-chilling.. I stay warm when I sleep, but other than that I just gotta suck it up. Its not terrible, but its not comfortable. Just another part of the mission! I love it!

We gave a girl a blessing this week.. I asked her why she wanted one, she said because her face and head really hurts.. I asked her what happened, and she said, "My tooth was bothering me, so I cut it out with a knife.." WHAT?! I think she´ll be ok though, she went to the doctor and got medicine.. Just don´t take your teeth out with a knife and you´ll be fine!

We´re teaching the husband of one of the sisters in the branch. We took President Sanabria over there with his wife to teach us and it was a sweet lesson! Hermano Torrez´ family all went to the grandma´s house, so it was just him, no distractions.. The only downer was that they only spoke in Guaraní, so I have no idea what was said, all I know is I felt the Spirit and President said a lot of his doubts were solved. We´re just going to take President Sanabria with us wherever we go! Lessons just go better when he´s there. He´s a convert of 3 years.. He was studying to be a Priest in the Catholic church, but then met the missionaries, read the Book of Mormon, asked God if it was true, and got an answer. A little while later he was put as the ward mission leader in the 2nd Branch here in C. Oviedo, then put as Branch President of the 4th Branch (ours)! He´s a stallion.

So yeah, it was a great week! A lot more happened but I can´t write everything here because of time, but its in my journal! Don´t worry Mom :D I gotta go write President Agazzani now! I´ll write again next week!
Love y´all!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 65 It's Freezing....All that is missing is snow!

Well that week has come and gone.. We worked our tails off this week! And we´re seeing tons of blessings! I love this new area! HEY!! Guess who wrote me an email... BEKO!!!! My address is the same, everything goes to the mission office, then they send it to us wherever we are. I was so excited to hear from him!
Beko- I miss you too man! I think about the times we had running track and hanging out! You´re awesome! You need to go to Idaho and visit when I get back.. You´re the man! Hey, write me a letter!

QUESTIONS:

1. Did you get your debit card okay? I just wanted to make sure an specifically ask that question to make sure we are both clear.
Yeah, I got it safe and sound!

2. How is your new place where you live?
It´s SWEET! It has a big fence and everything.. Its super secure. It´s probably the nicest house on our street..

3. How is your Military investigator? Has the Paraguayian uprising in their Presidency caused any rules to be changed for the missionaries? Do you have to be in earlier in the evening? Do you feel safe? Can you feel military presence in the streets?
We haven´t been able to get back over there.. He did tell us that if we keep coming back, the only book we´ll be using is the Bible.. Yeah right! I love mondern-day revelation :P
It´s really chill here, there hasnt been any uprises or anything. I feel safe, nothings gonna happen to us! We´re protected by angels.

4. Question about your church building....is your church building a converted garage? If it is that is the same area that Elder Cleverly served in and he loved it! Just curious and so is Sister Cleverly?
No thats the 3rd Branch´s building.. I´m in the old local, it was like an old office building or something.

5. How many are in your branch? Did you have to speak in church?
2 weeks ago we had 32, yesterday we had 12.. Usually its around 30 I guess.

6. Do you have someone do your laundry in this area?
Yeah, our next door neighbor/landlord! Its awesome!

7. What has been your most favorite experience this past week?
Probably taking a hot shower.. That was a nice change!

8. What has been your most trying experience this past week?
The cold weather. I don´t know if thats the reason people don´t let us in, or if its because they think we´re spies and they´re scared of us.. Seriously, we talk to so many people who think we´re spies! WHAT IS THERE TO SPY ON IN THIS COUNTRY?! People here watch too many movies.. They think all Americans are rich and live in mansions. They don´t believe it when we tell them that there´s poverty in our country too.. But yeah, I think just being turned away. We´re going to change that though. We´re going to get into every house this week!

9. What is something you learned and grew from this past week?
I love getting to know people.. Before, I was just kind of a people-watcher, I loved watching people and how they hold themselves.. But I love getting to know people because you learn things about them that you never would have guessed. Then you teach them the Gospel! Seriously, the Gospel is for everyone.. It doesn´t matter who you are, where you´re from, or what you do.. You can benefit from living the Gospel.

10. Are you keeping warm in your area?
Yeah.. Its FREEZING in the morning though! And in the night. I think the only thing missing is snow.. So yeah, I think the cold finally hit. Burr!

So yeah there´s the week! I´m proud of my shoes (Hush Puppies).. They´re holding up like champs! So I always make it known that these shoes are awesome. So the other night, Elder Whaley and I were walking, and I had the walking farts.. You know, they just keep coming out, there´s no stopping it.. And Elder Whaley says to me, "Those Hush Puppies aren´t very quiet..." Hahahaha.. It was a funny joke, Good one Elder :)

We have our new mission president, President Agazzani! He seems like a really awesome guy! I haven´t met him yet, but we just got his first weekly letter and he just sounds like a stud! He and his family are way excited to be here, I know all the Elders and Hermanas are excited too!

I love being a missionary, I´ve learned a TON! I don´t have any regrets.
I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 64~~ 4th of July Week!

Whats up!! I loved reading everyone´s emails! Thank you! I know you´re all going to have a great time together.. I´m not going to lie, last year it made me really trunky knowing everyone was together without me, but I´m so excited to hear from you all! Thank you for all your love and support. Those quick little emails help a lot! More than you know. Walking down the street after someone rejects you pretty harshly, then to think of a small sentence a aunt or uncle or cousin or sibling wrote.. So thank you! I´m glad to hear everyone is doing well.

Questions!

1. How has week two gone in your new area. Fill us all in on the details. You have tons of Aunts and Uncles and cousins that absolutely love your detailed letters!
Its been great! I love this area soo much! The members here are strong, its like a big family. Our branch president is excited to help us whenever we can! The District Presidency snagged him from one of the other branches, he´s a convert of 3 years, he was studying to be a high priest in the Catholic church, then heard the message of the Restoration.. The guys a stud.

2. How are you getting along with Elder Whaley? Tell us more about him. Siblings, parents...Where in CO is he from? There are terrible fires burning by Colorado Springs. Over 30,000 people had to be evacuated last week. I read a blurb on Yahoo saying the CO fire was half contained!
He told me he´s from Colorado Springs, he´s got 2 brothers and 2 sisters, he´s the second oldest. He´s a great guy! I´m learning a ton from here, I love being his comp because all he wants to do is work! I feel like I don´t know much about him because all we do is talk about our investigators and what our plans are for the day. He´s awesome!

3. What was your most favorite experience this past week?
I got to do something I´ve never done before.. I was a really cool experience! Yesterday in church.. I gave a baby a name. How is that in English? Name the baby.. The baby blessing in front of everyone.. Yeah, that. So that was a way cool experience! Now I´ll know what to do when I have my own kids!
Also, we found a new house.. We´re moving today! We´re really excited!
Oh yeah, we found a guy and his family that lived in Texas for 3 years.. He´s the top guy of the Paraguay military. Like, top of the top. He´s a really smart guy, which might be a problem.. Meaning, he´ll probably try to figure out an answer logically, rather than through prayer and feeling the Spirit. But that was cool! He has the biggest Pitbull I´ve ever seen in my life! He brought it back from the States.

4. What was your most humorous experience?
We went to a members house the other night to eat dinner (empanadas:) and he told us how he wants to get his patriarchal blessing so he can find out his lineage.. He said, "I want to be from the tribe of Solomon, or David!", "haha... Why?", "So I can have hundreds of beautiful women to be my wives!" He was joking, obviously.. But it was hilarious!

5. How does this area compare to your last area? What is the town like size wise? Is it more rural or jungley then Col. Bogado?
Its for sure more jungley.. Its a lot dirtier and hotter, but the people are 100x nicer, so I love it!

6. Any investigators? How many are in your ward/branch? Do you go to church in the converted garage?
We have a few really cool investigators.. We´re still trying to figure out how we can get them to church. We´re teaching a couple young families, so I´ll have to write more when they start rolling!

7. Did you get your package yet?
I got it!! Thank you soo much! It was perfect! It got here safe and sound. I think someone stole the money out of it......
Just kidding :D Everything sent was there. Thanks for the peanut butter!

So yeah, we had a pretty awesome week! We worked our tails off! When I get home at night, after we plan and everything, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. I havent had that happen since I was training in Santa Rita! I love it. It was a good week this week. The questions you gave today were great! That´s pretty much my week all summed up!

Me encantan las escrituras! Yo siento mejor cuando las leo, me dan mucha fortaleza espiritual. Me encanta estar acá en Paraguay, siento que ya es mi hogar, quizás me mude aquí después de la misión por un tiempito.. Pero de verdad he visto y sentido mucho crecimiento durante mi tiempo acá en la misión. Ésta es la mejor cosa que he hecho en toda mi vida, tal vez será la mejor cosa en mi vida entera... Sé que Jesucristo vive- Él es nuestro Salvador y Redentor. Por favor, den oidos a las palabras de nuestro profeta y hagan lo que él nos pide. No son sus palabras propias, sino son las de nuestro Padre Celestial.
Estoy animado verles a ustedes en nueve meses! Tal vez mi hermana mayor tendrá otro bebe por ahí.. ;D Les amo tanto y oro por ustedes varias veces durante el día. Ojalá que todo esté bien con ustedes. Vou estudiar Português também despos de meu tempo acá e no Paraguay. Cómo tá meu Português Lance? Você tem que ayudarme aprender... Até logo!

Chau!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner