Week 72 Zone Conference & Pictures!!

Whats up family!! I can´t believe this week is already over and its pday again.. Welp, lets get it goin!

QUESTIONS:

1. What was your most memorable experience this week?
Zone Conference!!!

2. Did anything funny happen?
Yeah! I taught a Guaraní guy English! Hahaha.. He was at one of our investigators houses, drunk, and only speaks Guaraní. He´s hilarious! He found out we don´t speak Guaraní so he just did hand signals to us and they don´t make any sense.. Whenever he sees us, he gives us a little smirk and tips his hat to us.. But I taught him to say, "Hey... Whats up... What are you doing.." He did really well, suprisingly. But it was hilarious. :D

3. Any creatures or creepy crawly things that you would like to tell us about in this area?
Our house has tons of little lizards and cocroatches in it.. There´s lots of mangy dogs here.. Other than that, I havent seen anything too crazy. In Encarnación there were a lot of tirantulas..

4. Do you have air conditioning in this apartment?
Not yet.. We´re talking to our landlord so he can put a hole in the wall so we can put it in. We have a unit, but nowhere to put it yet.

5. Any new investigators?
Not really.. We´ve really been struggling lately trying to find new investigators. We taught a huge family this last week, but they told us not to come back when we went back by.

6. Do you have any favorite foods lately? Any food from home you are craving?
Not really. I´m just used to eating Paraguay food now. I know I´m going to short circuit when I have my first American meal. But yeah, lots of pasta.. Lots of bread.. Oatmeal.. Thats about it. I miss American candy and junkfood, but I´ll have it again someday. I´m not really dying for anything though. I´ve been craving some good home made syrup though.

7. How was zone conference? Did you see Elder Salinas?

It was awesome! Elder Zeballos and his wife came to speak to us! It was awesome!!! AND ELDER SALINAS WAS THERE!!!! YEAH!! Thats the first time in like a year that I´ve seen him.. Finally! He´s such a stud. We talked a little bit about college.. We both wanna go go BYU-I. Its gonna be great.

So yeah, we had zone conference on Friday and it was awesome! We learned a ton about finding new people to teach. Hermana Zeballos talked about being human.. Those werent her exact words but thats what she was getting at. Have fun with the work, enjoy the people and teaching the Gospel. I feel like we´ve just been robots lately, walking around and talking to people.. Not really teaching to their needs. I feel like we´ve just been getting numbers and I hate that. It was kinda like the email Mom sent me last week, she said to not forget to be human.. Then Hermana Zeballos said it too. She gave a great talk. They all did! But I think I liked hers the best. So I´m gonna come back down to earth and enjoy by time sharing the Gospel with the people here in Paraguay.

I´m excited for this week! We´re gonna see miracles and its gonna be awesome.

Last week, the son of the sister that washes our clothes got hit by a car.. He was on his motorcycle on the side of the road and he got hit by a drunk driver. The kid that was in the car just took off and left Cristino there on the side of the road. Don´t worry though, he´s alive! We went over last night with President Sanabria and taught them and gave Cristino a blessing. I love having the Priesthood and being able to serve others with it. That´s really why we have the Priesthood.. To serve others. There is nothing we can do for ourselves with the Priesthood, everything we do with it is to help others. It´s incredible!

We pranked Elder Speedy (my district leader) on Saturday!! Elder Whaley´s parents sent him a package with poppyseed muffin mix, and Elder Speedy has a muffin pan.. So we made muffins to eat on the bus ride to Ciudad del Este for zone conference.. Well, on Saturday, Elder Speedy and his companion needed some baptismal clothes so they came over to grab it. We left in on our front porch because we had people to teach.. So what we did is put flour and anise (its like a seasoning that they put in bread here..) to make it look like poppyseed muffin mix, and put it back in the muffin package and taped a huge note on it to cover the spot where we had ripped it open.. Elder Speedy called and said, "I love you guys so much! I didnt expect to even get the muffin pan back.. Let alone the bag of poppyseed muffin mix!!" Hahahaha.. We called him to ask how they turned out and he said, "I think I messed it up.. They didnt come out right.." The directions call for a half cup of milk and thats it! Haha..Then he said, "They just tasted like flour.." We thought he was gonna call us back and say, "Good one guys.. Real funny" before he even put them in the oven... Ohh it was hilarious! He said hes gonna get us back, but he wont be able to..

Well, there you have it! There´s my week! If there´s anything I forgot to say here, its in the journal! Dont worry Mom :D
Love you all! Have a great week!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 71

Ahh I want to scream!! This computer does not want to cooperate! I´m
ready to pull out what little hair I have left! Just kidding, I still
have my hair.. But this computer is frustrating me!

1. Did you get to teach Juan and his family last week?
We couldnt find his house! But we found him again.. For the 3rd time,
he said they´re moving! Which is good because we´re going to be
neighbors! He told us last night that he has 4 brothers and 5
sisters... WOW! We´re gonna go teach them this week :D The kid´s a
stud. We´re excited to teach him and his family.

2. What types of service have you been doing for your brother's and
sister's in Coronel Oviedo?
Not a whole lot.. I think they think we´re a couple of wimps or
something. All we do is ask if we can serve them, and they say, "No
Elder, its ok! We don´t want you to get your clothes dirty..." So what
we decided to do is just show up with a machete to their houses and
start cutting limbs and grass(if they have any) and just start doing
work.. They do everything with machete´s here! So yeah, that´s the
plan for now. I´m sick of being turned down!

3. How many people came to church Sunday?
We had like 28 people yesterday! It was almost a full house. Ramón
came!! The shoe repairman! Our investigator! We were so excited to see
him there!!! He´s the first of our investigators to come to church in
like 2 months. Well, since I´ve been here.. He´s a stud though, he
said he wants to go to church again next week. I think he´ll get
baptized :D He realized that he needs to find the church with the
authourity.. He´s just found it!

4. Is it warming up? I heard one of the boys say it is Fall there
now. Is that true even in your area or are you still feeling very
cold?
Yeah its hot.. We had like 3 weeks of cold here, and they were split
up. Its the worst right before it rains because its like 110 degrees
outside with 100% humidity and its miserable. I´m always hot and
sweaty, and if I´m not paying attention, I walk through a cloud of
gnats.. That´s the icing on the cake right there.

5. What was your most memorable experience this past week. (Funny,
Happy, Sad, Spiritual)
I feel like we´re in a slump right now.. I don´t know what it is, but
we have not been able to find people to teach. It´s been really
stressful. I don´t know if we´re not planning well enough or if the
Lord´s just trying to teach us some humility and longsuffering.. I
don´t know still. But we´ll work through it, something will turn out.

We have Zone Conference on Friday!! Elder Jorge F. Zaballos of the
Seventy is coming to speak to us! I´ll be going back out to Ciudad del
Este to hear him speak!! I hope Elder Salinas is there too! I heard
he´s out that way.. I hope he is!

I´ve been doing this thing this last week before I start my studies..
something I´ve never done before.. But its cool! Elder Whaley and I
were in the MTC at the same time, but I had 1 more change (transfer)
than him. The last devotional I had there in the MTC was when Elder
Yoshihiko Kichuchi came and spoke to us. He talked about creating our
own sacred grove so we can receive the revelation we need and know
what the Lord´s will is for that day, week, future, etc. I´ve felt a
big difference and seen good changes from doing it. President Callan
always talked about how obedience leads to sacrifice, then sacrifice
leads to consecration. This past week I feel like I´ve been focusing
on the consecration part, I´m trying to consecrate myself more to the
mission and to do what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. I was
prompted to read a few scriptures from the Book of Mormon and from the
Doctrine and Covenants, and what I was guided to has helped me to
receive answers and strength. I love the scriptures and revelation! I
feel like the work is really going to start to roll here soon.

Thanks for the pictures! They were awesome! I´ve been trying to send
some but this computer isnt letting me! It´s the same computer I used
last week..

Also, something I remembered from last week that I didnt answer.. You
asked about Christmas. I think that would be good to just send money,
I was thinking about it and there´s not a whole lot of bang for your
buck when you send packages down here. That, and I can buy souveniers
to bring home with me.. :D

Thanks for all the love and support! I love you all. I hope everyone
has a great week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 70~~ Still in Coronel Oviedo with Elder Whaley

Holy smokes this week flew by! It was a week of tests this week! But
we had some cool stuff happen..

QUESTIONS:

1. Are you still in Coronel Oviedo?
I´m here still!

2. Is Elder Whaley still with you? If not, who is your new companion?
With Elder Whaley still! :D We´re gonna tear this place up this
change! I guess the missionaries there say transfers.. I think.. We´re
doin work!

3. What was your most memorable experience this week?
Last week, we passed this guy sitting on a bench (I dont remember if I
already told this story or not..) and the further we got away from
him, the stronger the impressions came to turn around and go talk to
him.. So we did and he said for us to go to his house. Well, we
couldnt find his house, so we tried to call him.. But his phone was
shut off. We tried several times throughout the week to call him, but
it never worked.
Last night, well all day yesterday, our appointments fell! Woohoo! So
we get to 8:30 at night with nowhere to go. So we decide to go visit
the Torrez family (members who live right up the street from us..) And
we´re walking down past the soccer field where we met this guy Juan
the week before.. And we saw a guy there talking on the phone, but
couldnt see who it was. So we went to the Torrez family, and as we got
there, they were pulling their motorcycles in the house for the
night.. Well, we turned around and went back to the soccer field to
talk to the guy that was on the phone.. And it was Juan!! He asked
what happened, that they were waiting for us.. But we explained how we
couldn´t find his house and tried to call and everything.. Turns out
we just put in the wrong number! But we talked to him for a little bit
and he´s a stud! I thought he was like 20 or something, but he´s only
16! Way laid back.. Just a good kid. So we´re gonna go teach his
family this week! It was a sweet blessing from the Lord to end a hard
week. It made all the pain and suffering worth it.

4. Do you have some pictures for us this week? We still need one of
you and Elder Whaley!
I´m trying to upload them right now! Im using a dinosaur of a
computer! It doesn´t look like its working.. I´ll keep trying though!

I´m greatful for grace.. It´s something I´ve started studying more,
and I love it! I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for
his grace. He is merciful and full of love. I have experienced His
grace many times here on my mission. I have received strength,
patience, love, charity, humility, and so many other things. I have
grown as a person, I have become better and stronger spiritually. All
the changes I have seen so far have been through the grace of my
Savior. He lives and loves us. I know He loves me, even when I have
taken His love for granted. I will continue to change my life through
His eternal grace. I am SO happy for the Atonement. I´m still trying
to figure out how I can apply it more in my life, but I know it´s real
and it works. I can honestly say I´ve had a true change of heart. I
don´t worry about wordly things anymore (not even my car). I know that
there are bigger, greater things ahead. Things we can´t even begin to
comprehend. This life is nothing more than a time to prepare. It´s the
short time we have to prepare ourselves to live with our Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ again. All we have to do is what they´ve
asked, and it´s really not that much. I am greatful for the prophet
Thomas S. Monson, I know he is a prophet of the Lord. I´m glad I went
on a mission. I would be lost if I wouldn´t have done so.

Love y´all. Have a great week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 69~Transfers coming ~Love's Sanabria's

I think last week went by faster than the last.. Its crazy how fast the time goes! I´m soakin it all up though, we had a good week!

QUESTIONS:

1. Did you take your suits to The Branch President's wife to have her wash them for you since her husband said that last week about her being your mom now? I'm glad there are people that are being good to you and loving you!
Heck yeah we did! I´ll never turn down someone cleaning my suit for free! And she did a great job.. She always brings us bollo to eat after church- its soo good! Bollo is like a ball of dough, fried like a scone, roll it in sugar, and put jelly or dulce de leche in the middle. mmm! Its probably my favorite thing here.

2. Have you had many dinner or lunch appts. in your new area? 
We had our first one last Monday! We had Milanesa and potatoes at our Branch President´s house.. Milanesa is like a Paraguay version of the Chicken Fried Steak from Milan.. Or something like that. Thats probably my favorite meal-type food here. And it was all-you-can-eat! Hermana Sanabria made a ton!

3. Are Transfers this next week?
Yeah we find out tomorrow! I don´t know what will happen, I think Elder Whaley and I will both be here next change because we both have little time in the area.. So we´ll see!

4. Has Fernando and his wife scheduled their baptism date yet?
Not yet! :( Fernando´s grandpa had a stroke, so we haven´t been able to teach them all week.. It´s ok though! It will all turn out the way it´s supposed to!

5. President Agazzani asked you if you were related to an Elder Heiner, did he happen to tell you a first name or where he was from. There are lots of Heiner's but a different branch of Heiner's so we were trying to narrow it down a bit.
Yeah.. Haha thats what I was thinking. He just said Elder Heiner from Idaho, he served in the Buenos Aires North mission from 1988 to 1990.. He really likes toothpicks I guess. That must be a Heiner thing! First President asked, "Elder Heiner.. Does your dad like toothpicks?" And I was thinking.. What the heck... President.. Why? But I said, "Yeah...?" President responds, "Did he serve his mission in the Bs. As. North mission as companions with Elder Agazzani?" I could just hear the AP´s laughing in the background, so I thought they were trying to do something funny, but I was still really confused.. Then he said, "I had a companion named Elder Heiner from Idaho, and I just wanted to know if it was your dad.." I told him that his companion Elder Heiner was for sure a relative of mine, and that I´d ask. So anyways... hehe

6. What was your most memorable of experience of the week this past week? (Uplifting, motivating, funny, frustrating....share with us!!
I´ll tell an uplifting story then a funny one.. Then frustrating.
Every Tuesday we have our Branch Council with Pres. Sanabria to talk about our investigators and everything.. President´s a stud! Anyways, out of no where he put his head down and started to cry a little. After about a minute, he looks at us and said, "I´m sorry.. These past couple of days have been really hard for me, and I just had a doubt answered by a really strong impression of the Spirit.. I know that the Lord is content with us right now, everything we´re doing and our way of doing it, is how the Lord wants it done." I know what he said was true.. Little by little we´re seeing progress here in our little branch, and one day its going to be a ward.

Yesterday, we kind of got frustrated because almost everyone we talked to was drunk.. I´ve found that people can be really nasty when they´re drunk. Not just mean, but they just say bad things.. Seriously though, probably 8 out of 10 people we talked to yesterday were drunk. I want to help them, but I can´t do it without the Spirit, and the Spirit cannot be there in that environment; it´s impossible.

Another story from yesterday, I re-contacted a guy! I remember him from a few weeks ago.. He ased how much money he can get from the Church just for being a member.. None, obviously. So we talked to him again yesterday! I didn´t realize it was him until I shook his hand.. He asked, "Hey are you guys still looking for people to join your church?" And I said, "Yeah that´s why we´re here! We´re looking for people to help." Then he said, "I know TONS of people, I have lots of friends and I´ll get them to join your church.. all I need is 100 mil a person and I´ll do it (100 mil is like 25 dollars). I´ll bring as many people as you want.. So we´ll meet up in front of your church on Tuesday, noon.." I told him that the Church doesnt work like that.. I tried to tell him that nobody makes money, not the bishops, councelors, teachers, or even the prophet. But he insisted that I talk to the "jefe" (boss) and rode off on his scooter.. It was really funny actually! He was dead serious.

Paraguay´s just an interesting place.. OH!! Another thing that happened.. hahahaha! We tried to teach this guy that´s a pastor of one of the Evangelist churches here, and his cousin. We were having a good start, getting ready to sing "I know that my Redeemer lives" for him, but they stopped us and started asking what our beliefs were about the purpose of this life and about Heaven and Hell and all that.. Then they went off about how we´re false prophets and that the Book of Mormon isn´t the word of God and how we need to "convert" to the true gospel. So they started to "pray" for us and as they got further into their "prayer" they started yelling and begging God to "help these two young men to know the truth and to feel the power and authority of God!" Then he put his hand on my head and cast out all the evil spirits in me.. Because I appearantly had a lot.. After they finished their little show, we got up, looked at them with a smile and left.

I can´t wait for the Second Coming. It´s something I used to be scared of because I didnt fully understand. Now I know how great it will really be. So many people in the world are lost and don´t know where to go. When Christ comes, He will be the ruler of the earth. I know a lot of people say, "He already is!" It´s true, but only for the people who truly follow him. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know He restored His teachings, ordenances, and church through the prophet Joseph Smith. I dont have a single doubt. I asked God. He is a God of miracles and He lives and speaks to us today. He lovs us.

Until next week!
Love,
Elder Colby Dane Heiner