Week 76

Hey! Whats up.. Another fast week down! I can´t believe how fast it went by!

QUESTIONS:

1. Did you get transfered? Did you get a new companion? If so, where is he from? Tell us about him. Also, if you got transfered, tell us about your new area.
Elder Whaley is gonzo! He´s down opening up an area in Encarnación! Crazy right! So now my companion is Elder Gull from Spanish Fork, Utah.. He lived in a pension with Elder Guevara and Elder Shaw when he was being trained.. Did I ever tell you that? Elder Shaw was companions with Elder Guevara right before I was companions with Elder Guevara.. Elder Gull and His trainer Elder Falepapalangi lived with Elder Shaw and Elder Guevara.. Small world! Elder Gull and I also came down here on the same flight.. So we´ll be getting our trunky papers together this next month! Fun stuff..

2. Were you witness to the big storm in Paraguay last week?
No it hit us in the night.. Paraguayans really hype stuff up and make it worse than what it really is haha. The storm wasn´t that bad. I think 4 people in Asunción died because the bricks from the roof of their houses fell on their heads or something..

3. Were you in the storm last week?
I slept like a baby all through the night. It was great.

4. Did you have any hardships because of the storm? Did it affect the people in your community and branch/ward?
No. I don´t think we got hit as bad because we´re like right in the middle of the country. I think the southern part got hit worse.

5. How do you feel about all of the investigators you found two weeks ago? If you are still in Coronel Oviedo, do you still feel good about them?
They´re great! We just haven´t been able to really teach them as much as I´ve wanted to. Its alright though, we´ll find them this week!

6. What was your most memorable experience this past week?
Well.. Probably realizing that none of the members here know my name! Elder Whaley thought it was a waste of time to go to the members houses, so we didn´t go very often. So none of the members really know us, or any of our investigators. So when I spoke yesterday, I started off by telling everyone my name, where I´m from, and all that good stuff. So we´re gonna work like crazy with the members! All the people I´ve baptized were because the members helped. That´s the BEST source of finding people who are ready to be baptized. So that´s what´s gonna happen this change! We´re gonna DO WORK with the members!

Hows Dallin doing?! He wrote me a letter like 6 months ago.. I still haven´t written him back- sorry bro.. I lied, I DID write him back and I have the letter ready with pictures and stuff, I just haven´t sent it. Does he have a new address? Also, hows Jake doing? I haven´t heard anything about him in a while. I heard Italy is full of crazy stuff.
I´ve been thinking a lot about Jeff too lately. I miss my cousin Jeff! I can´t believe he´s done in December already! Isn´t he a zone leader or something?

I think you asked me who my leaders are.. Elder White from Provo, and Elder Gleason.. Probably from Provo too. I don´t remember. And Elder Speedy is my district leader! He´s got some good recepies! Honey BBQ Chorizo sandwich.. Pancakes with chocolate syrup..

But yeah, just the same ol´ same ol´ in the mission.. Tract, find, teach.. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes we eat, we shower and sleep too. The days feel like weeks, and the weeks like days sometimes. But I love it! There´s nothing like it! I´ve learned a ton here! It´s been SO good! I feel like I know the Book of Mormon pretty well, so I´m gonna start working with the Bible more. I know a lot from the Bible too, but not as well as I know the BOM. I used to think the scriptures were so boring, but now I´m in love with them. I never thought they could have made me so happy!

We´re eating with President Sanabria and his family today! I´ll take pictures! :D I have pictures I want to send today, but I can´t because the dumb computer I´m using has a broken USB port.. Sorry. I´ll send a bunch next week! I´m gonna start taking more pictures, I have a ton from my last area. I think I´m just gonna carry my camera in my front pocket so I can have it ready at all times! I don´t wanna forget my mission.

I think I´m gonna buy a hammock today.. They cost 60 Mil.. That´s like 15 bucks or something. I don´t have very many souveniers yet.. Just a few cups and a monkey tail. I bought a flag a couple months ago.. So yeah.

The missions going well, I´m more than happy. I feel like I´m ready to take on the world. I learn something new every day and I feel like it´s just gearing me up. It´s flippin awesome! I´m just gonna kill it my last 6 months! I´m gonna hit the jump, not the slump.. (Thanks Elder Richards- love you man)

Welp, thats about it! Until next week..
I love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 75 19 New People!!

You betta play yo cards right... Ya betta play ya ca-ards right...

Hey! We had a good week this week!! We found lots of new peopel to teach.. 19 to be exact! :D We found a lot of families so we´re way excited! We find out if theres changes tomorrow, so we´ll see what happens with that! I have no idea what´s going to happen, obiously, but I´d be fine if there were changes or not. It´s been a good run so far with Elder Whaley! We´ve both learned a ton these last 2 changes!

QUESTIONS:

1. Are you BAKING HOT? I saw today it was supposed to be 100 degrees in Asuncion!
Yeah.. You have no idea! Its pretty killer right now, and to answer your question below........

2. Has the Landlord been by yet to install your AC?
No :( Its like trying to pull teeth to get what we want around here! We´re just gonna keep bugging them until it happens. Who knows, maybe they´ll just toss us a hammer and chisel and say, "Go for it Elders!" When we were doing our studies yesterday, Elder Whaleys clock said it was like 93 degrees. Plus its humid here. Its like how Miami was, times 10. Good old South American heat!

3. What was your greatest memory from the past week?
I´d say teaching the families we found.. We found some STUD families this week! So now we´re gonna get some members over there to teach them with us so they can start progressing! It always feels good coming out of a lesson with a big family! The ones we found this week fell in love with us, I feel like. They were all really excited for us to come back and learn more! So the work is gonna start taking off here pretty soon!

I´m happy to be on a mission! I think about some of the experiences I´ve had and I feel like I´ve grown a ton! I´m figuring out how I can receive answers and help from the Lord. Like, I feel like I can recognize it more easily now. I can recognize His guidance a lot easier now. I love it! Also, I´m greatful for the Atonement. Elder Bednar wrote a talk in the Liahona a few months ago talking about the enabling power that comes from the Atonement. Its a really good talk! Its true though, we can receive strength through the Atonement. I didn´t really understand how it worked before, but now I have a lot better of an understanding of it! Christ could have chosen to receive the revelation He needed in order to help us, being the Son of God and all.. But He chose to go through it all so He could really be able to succor us. I feel like I received a lot of strength this week.. It´s been good!

Thanks for the pictures!! Ahh those waffles look so good! Damon is getting so big! I cant believe it!! He couldnt even walk when I left.. Now he´s a little man-child! Haley sent me a picture of him and Rafe and everyone I show here falls in love with those two little boys. They´re cute little farts! And yeah, I got the hard drive! I bought it this morning, the guy ended up giving us a killer deal on two 500 GB hard drives! So that´s what I´m rollin now.. Yeuh! My companion bought one too.

I´ve got a few pictures to send this week! I hope you like them! We found a ghetto horse track in our area!
I love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

 

 

Week 74 Mba' erejapota che socio kuera!!

What´s up peeps! HEY!! I didn´t know Jeri Lynn got her call!! Where is she going?! Tell her I said congrats!! That´s way exciting :D Welp, I´m still down here in Paraguay.. For almost a year and a half.. Wow. I´ve been thinking about my mission a lot lately and everything I´ve done here. I´m so happy I came! I´ve changed a lot and I feel like I have a good direction of what I want to do with my life. I don´t have any regrets or complaints of how the mission has been for me. I´m sure I havn´t baptized or helped as many people as other Elders have, but I´m very content with the change that I´ve seen within myself. I´ve found the secret of happiness.. Are you ready? Live the Gospel. Not just on Sundays, but every day of the week. There it is. I didn´t understand why the church has so many "rules" before I came on the mission, but now I know and understand. Thanks to modern-day revelation, we have the commandments so that God can bless us! Members of the Church don´t have vices, we don´t do stupid things that put our life in danger, we live the commandments... And God blesses us for it! Like Mosiah 2:41 says, we´re "blessed in all things, spiritual and temporal.." I´m glad we have the commandments! :D

QUESTIONS:

1. How are Venancio, Ramon, and Fransisco and his girlfriend progressing this past week? Have you had some good teaching moments with them?
They´re doing great! Well, we can´t find Ramón.. I think people that served in Latin countries understand how it is a little better. For example, you go and clap their house for the 2nd or 3rd appointment, the lights are on, the door is open, you hear people talking... You clap again and they realize that someone is there! They look out the window and see the missionaries, and tuck their head back behind the curtain or hide in the corner thinking that we didn´t see them.. Then they send one of the women out to say, "Mi papá no está..." , "Bueno.. ¿Puedes preguntarle cuando va a estar?" And they go back to ask!! Then come back to say they just got in the shower.. So yeah, we havn´t found Ramón for over a week..

2. Is Venancio still getting baptized on the 22nd?
Heck yes he is!! He´s a stud! I´ll keep you posted on him.

3. Did you get your air conditioner installed yet?
No not yet.. Our landlord said he´s gonna do it, but I´m tempted to get a chisel and a sledge hammer to do it myself!

4. What was your most memorable experience this week?
Umm... Haha. We went to a members house for lunch and we were enjoying a nice bowl of Paraguay soup with a bone it it.. And all of a sudden, the sister who gave us the food started beating her younger brother.. I dont know what the poor kid did to deserve it, he´s probably the most chill kid in the branch.. But she ripped his shirt off of him and was slapping his back. Not to mention she probably had him by 3 inches and a good 80 pounds.. The weird part though, is that they didn´t make any noise.. It was like they were fighting at a museum or an art gallery or something. Or it was like watching the TV without sound.. Haha. So she went back in the house and I sang the words "when there´s love at home.." to my companion. We couldnt hold it in haha we were laughing pretty hard. Then the sister came back out, all out of breath, and said, "Hows the food Elders?" There was no apology or anything haha. Crazy stuff.

5. How is the branch doing?
It´s good.. It´s growing! A lot of the inactive and less active members are starting to come back :D Everyone is getting fired up to do missionary work! We´ve been giving more service for the members and they´re warming up to us a little bit more.. Everyone thinks we´re so serious! So we´re gonna spend more time with the members this week to show them you can have fun while you share the Gospel! I´m gonna show the Spanish speaking Elders in Idaho whats up when I get back.. Splits!

6. How are things with you and Elder Whaley? Are you guys still getting along?
He´s a stud.. I´ve learned a ton from him! He´s a way good example and I feel like I´ve progressed a lot spiritually with him.

7. Is your branch president still supportive and excited with what you are doing?
Yeah he´s always asking us when we need his help again! We haven´t really needed him lately because we haven´t really found any new investigators.. But yeah, he´s a stud branch president!

8. Are you walking around with your machete's looking for service? Ha!
No.. We went one day and just started sweeping out front of the house of one of the member families and they ended up giving us lunch.. It was pretty cool! They lightened up a lot with us!

We found a family of 5 people this last week! Well, they found us! We just had an appointment fall and were walking up the street, all of a sudden a drunk guy starts calling us over to his house. Normally we wouldn´t have gone, but we decided to! So we got there and found out that they almost got baptized a year ago but the missionaries were moved out! They don´t know what happened to them. They had been drinking some wine because it was the wife´s birthday.. But they´re way cool! They love us! They have 3 younger daughters, I think the oldest one is like 11 or something, and they were way excited to see us! So we´re going over tonight to celebrate the youngest daughter´s birthday! She´s like 5 I think.. They´re awesome!

I´ve been studying more in the Bible lately, looking for evidences of the church that Christ formed.. For example, Christ´s church should declare divine authority, it should have prophets and apostles.. There should be no paid positions, and other things like that.. I´ve got a list of about 24 things like that that I got from the returned missionary of our branch.. It´s legit! So I´m gonna finish that today.. I think the most important thing though, is asking God through prayer. You can have all the evidences in the world, and it still won´t be valid without the confimation by the Holy Ghost.. Like it will never be good enough without an answer from God. Pray. Ask.. and be willing to follow the impressions of the Holy Ghost!

That´s my two bits! This week was bomb! And this next week is going to be better! :D
Love y´all!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 73

Hey everyone! How´s it goin? I´m just sweatin down here in Paraguay! Its going to get HOT..

That kills me to hear about Elder Lamb´s dad.. I´m speachless. He always talked about how great his dad was; it sounds like he was a great guy. I´m greatful for the Plan of Salvation.

1. Most memorable experience?
We had just finished eating lunch on Wednesday and Roberto (our branch´s only returned missionary) called us and asked where our new house is.. Then he said, "Alright, I´m coming over with a friend!" So we met them out front of our house and he asked, "Where are you going right now?" We answered, "We´re gonna go find someone to teach right now..", "Do you have an appointment right now?", "No...", "Well you do now! Go get some chairs." Roberto brought his friend, Venancio, over to start taking the missionary lessons. He´s 19.. Stud. He already said he wants to go on a mission! So he´s gonna get baptized on the 22nd! The lessons we have with him our really spiritual and he recognizes the difference. He also came to church yesterday and said he really liked it. How´s that for a miracle! We´ve been working our tails off!

2. Is there an example of when you felt the spirit the best or felt the most inspired this week?
Yesterday when we were teaching the Gospel Principles class, I understood more about fasting. I know that understanding is one of the ways the Spirit works, and everything just made sense.. I learned a lot more about fasting yesterday, and I realized a lot of things I didn´t know before. The church meetings were really good yesterday.

3. What was the best meal you ate this week?
Probably the burgers that Elder Whaley made! They were way good!! I think today they might get topped though.. We´re eating with President Sanabria and his family again. I´m excited!

4. What was your most humbling experience this week?
I don´t really have a single experience that stands out.. I would say though, that during my morning studies when I feel the Spirit is what humbles me. I can´t really explain it. I get myself ready in the morning, ready to receive personal revelation, and I take my time in what I study.. Like really creating a spiritual environment where the Holy Ghost can work within me. There have been times when I feel rushed in my personal study in the morning because there are so many things I want to learn, but I´m finding that if I just take a breather and let the Spirit be there and guide me, I´m edified more and my day turns out better. I´ve felt a big change in my life just by doing little things like that.

So yeah, we had a pretty good week this week! We have some people getting ready for baptism! Ramón, the shoe repair guy is progressing! He said everything makes sense.. Now he just needs to pray to feel the truth of what we´ve been teaching him! He´s a stud. We´re also teaching one of the sons in a part-member family.. His name is Fransisco, he and his girlfriend have 2 kids and they almost got baptized a little over a year ago! But there were some problems between the members of the branch.. But now is the time!

I don´t really know what else to say about my week this last week.. So I´ll just tell you all how greatful I am for the Gospel! I know that God answers prayers, He lives and wants us to be happy because we´re his children. I have come to know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and only through Him and His grace, am I saved. I´m grateful that He came and laid the path for me so that I can return to live with my family forever in Their eternal presence. I know that we can be forgiven of our sins. It doesn´t matter who we are or what we´ve done, He is always, always willing to forgive us. I now that it is God´s will that we return to live with him. We cannot live with Him if we have sins, that´s why He is so willing to forgive us. All he requires is a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" 3 Nephi 9:20. I know that our Heavenly Father lives and speaks to us today trough the mouths of his servants, the prophets and apostles. I know revelation exists today and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a living church, because God lives. I know that if we live the commandments, we will be happy, we will be blessed in this life and in the life to come. I know that each one of us has the equal oportunity to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. It´s hard at times, but Christ made it possible, and it will be worth it.

Realmente sé que estas cosas son verdaderas. Mi Padre Celestial me las hizo saber mediante el poder del Espíritu Santo. Yo sé que Dios vive y que Él nos ama y quiere que le obedezcamos. Yo sé que hay un Señor, una fe, y un bautismo únicamente.. No hay muchos caminos, hay dos. El del Señor, y el del mundo (Satanás..) Podemos ser felices, podemos ser bendecidos. Estoy muy agradecido por la oportunidad que tengo de estar aquí en Paraguay, aunque estoy super lejos de mi familia y todo. Dios me ha consolado y me ha fortalecido muchísimo. Este es mi pequeño testimonio y es un gusto compartirlo con ustedes y lo comparto en el nombre sagrado de Jesucristo, Amén.

I hope everyone has a great week! I know I will! Thanks for your prayers!
I love you!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner