Final Week of Mission!!! THIS IS IT!!

Hey!! Well, it´s over. I can´t believe how fast it went by! I feel like I´m at the top of a huge water slide, just getting ready to let go and slide down a steep slope. Its that antsy feeling right before you drop down.. Ahh!

Conference was pretty sweet! The second part of the second session was all jacked up, so someone streamed it from the computer in the chapel and put it up on the projector. Needless to say, it lasted about 45 minutes longer. We went to Ñemby to the Stake Center to watch the conference. There was a lot of people there. I saw a guy there that I met last year in Coronel Bogado! He painted the little house/chapel there. That was way cool to see him. I think my favorite talks were the one on the Atonement by Craig A. Cardon and the one by Dieter F. Uchtdorf about the significance of the painting he has in his office. They were really good! I can´t wait to read them in the Liahona! I think about the General Conference that we have in the church, and there´s no other church or organization in the world that does that.. Get all its members together every 6 months to listen to uplifting and inspiring talks. The members of the church from all over the world get together to watch it! Its like King Benjamin gathering all the people together around his tower, but better! There were also some sweet talks about the family that gave me a little more confidence in getting married.. After all, that is the next big step in life. But, I´m not going to do it right away.. Gotta get somewhat stable first. All the expences double! And I´m broke, yikes!

Anyways.. I have my final interview with President Agazzani today, then a huge family home evening in the chapel with all the members to say our goodbyes. District meeting and packing tomorrow, and Mexican food at Yeimi´s house! We´re stoked.. Then Wednesday at like 5 in the morning we´re heading back to Asunción to the office! Lunch with President, Temple, shopping, testimony meeting, etc.. Then I´ll see all you guys!! How sick is that?! I really dont know what else to say right now.. I´m really hungry and I´m broke. I have 5 Paraguay dollars, 3 to pay for my internet and 2 for the bus ride.. I still gotta get something for Derrek too, I´ve got a pretty good idea :D hahaha.. You´ll see when I get home! So I´m hoping you read this before noon time.. I´ll need about 100 bucks just to be safe. I took out last week what I had in there, but bought some sweet souveniers. Plus I wanna bring home some Paraguay money so you guys can see what its like!

Well, I guess thats about it! I´ll see you in a few days!!

I love you all!! Thanks for supporting me in the best adventure of my life. I have the best family and friends, better than what I could ask for. See you soon!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 103 Excited To Come Home

 

Hey!! We had a pretty good week this week.. Even though Aida turned out to be a total snake! Yikes! Well, we went to go visit her and her husband the other day because we havent been able to meet with them for about a week and a half. We got to their house and she was there with just her kids. Long story short, she just tried to make her husband jealous by using us.. Appearantly they´re having some marriage problems, and she was trying to lure us into her house. Bad combination. Needless to say we wont be going by there anymore!

We did divisions yesterday for a couple hours with Elder Althoff and Elder Ramirez because they had more appointments than they could handle, so we helped them out. Elder Ramirez and I went to the family home evening with the Ferreira family at 7, then at 8 we had another appointment with Hector and Leticia, the ones who just moved here and that are waiting on the divorce.. When we were on our way to Hector and Leticia, the other elders called us and said that someone got assaulted close to where they were at. The guys that did the assaulting were dressed like students, white button up shirts with dark slacks... Naturally the police picked up the 2 missionaries that were dressed in white button up shirts and dark slacks. Elder Althoff told me that they were in the neighboring city at the police station filling out paper work and that none of our leaders were answering his calls. But he said that the police were going to let them go. So I called Hector and Leticia to tell them that we were a little behind schedule, but as I got to that part of telling them, we ran out of minutes on our phone and it cut the call! About 15 minutes later, Elder Althoff called me back and told me that they were getting their documents and bags back and that they´d be home a little later, then asked if we had anymore plans for the night. I told him that we were going to Hector and Leticia´s to set up another appointment because there wouldn´t have been time last night. So as we were getting to their house, right as we were getting to their gate, they came walking up too. They said they had gone to buy some minutes on their phone so they could have called us back, so they invited us in. We were having some small talk then Hector said, "Remember that time when my neighbor said that she prefers that her kids be drug addicts before they became mormons?" ,"Yeah..?", "Well she just told me that she saw 2 missionaries in the back of the cop car.." And I thought, Oh no!! haha so we started telling them what happened, and Leticia started laughing.. And I was like, "what the heck.. the other elders got arrested and you´re laughing?!" Then from the back of the house came Elder Althoff and Elder Puma.... Fetchers!! They got us pretty good.

Well, I´m in the last full week of my mission. Elder Althoff and Elder Ramirez have some baptisms this Saturday, and one of the guys getting baptized wants me to do it.. haha. Alright! I´m fine with that! But I figure that with the little time I have left, I´ll just be planting seeds, which I´m fine with. I didn´t come on the mission to baptize 1,000 people or just teach a lot of lessons, because its not about that. I´m here to help people.  I feel like I was really able to help people out here,  members, invesitgators and strangers. I´ve become converted myself, and I feel like it´s a mission accomplished. My heart has changed and I know what´s most important. I´m glad I came, I have zero regrets. The errors I´ve made in the past and my imperfections will only help me in the future because I´ve learned from them. That´s what this life´s about- progress. This life is like a big test. Throughout it we have a lot of smaller tests- you pass some and you fail some. But its all for our learning. I´m not gonna lie, I´m stoked to get home! I loved my mission and I´m gonna take the things I´ve learned here and use it in my regular life. I knew these 2 years were going to come to an end, but it´s not the end of the world. I´ll miss everything here in Paraguay, but I´ll remember it all. It´s been a great experience that I´ll cherish forever. I feel more confident than before, I´m not scared of people, I know how to work, I´m more outgoing.. I feel like I´ll have success in my life. These things that would have taken me 10 years to learn in a normal life, but I was able to learn them in 2. I know that the Lord has blessed me with these things, its not because I´m some great person and I have lots of strength.. I feel like I´ve been a tool in His hands to bless his children here in Paraguay. I gave it me all. I lost myself, then I found myself.. And it all passed with the blink of an eye. Crazy.

Well, what more can I say.. I´m happy! I´ll tell you how conference was for me, then I´ll see you next week!!

Love you all!!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

I guess my memory card still has a virus.. I can´t open any folders on it! Fetch! I´ll fix it later..

Week 102~~Two more Mondays or 17 Days Left!!

I think I`m out of ideas on what to say in the subject box.. Sorry! Well, another week down! It went by super fast, as usual. Right now I`m sitting next to a Brazilian kid that`s talking on skype, so I think I`m gonna try to talk to him when he ends his call! See how rusty my Portuguese is..

I haven´t heard about emailing friends! Well, even if we`re allowed to email friends I`m sure my mission still wont be able to. And I guess it doesn´t really matter for me because I`ll only email 2 more times after today! :P

QUESTIONS:

1. How is the young couple that you and Elder Puma met with last Monday?

They`re pretty awesome.. Still waiting on the divorce, but Leticia came to church yesterday.

2. How is Aida and her husband doing?

I think they`re doing well! We weren`t able to meet with them last week so we`re kinda bummed about that. We´re gonna make it out this week though.

3. How are your other investigators?

They`re good. I think we`re gonna drop Raul because he hasn`t kept any commitments. He´s always super sincere in the lessons but he never follows through. We`re in the looking process too.

4. What can you tell me about Yeimi?

She`s a stud.. She`s got a lot of problems in her family but she handles it really well. She`s a great example of a faithful member. Her husband isnt a member and they live separate lives.. He pretty much just sleeps at their house and doesn´t really do anything else. So she takes care of the 6 kids and tries to keep them on the right track. She`s incredible.

5. What do you think you will miss the most about Paraguay?

The friends I`ve made here. I`m excited to use everything I`ve learned here in the mission in my regular life, I`m excited to be home, work, study, play.. But I wish I could take everything here with me. Well, except the heat and side affects of drinking the water.. But I`ll really just miss the friends I`ve made here. Some of them I`ll see at school, and all the rest will be in heaven. That would be a positive side of serving in your own country, is being able to go back and visit where you served.

6. Is there anything you are looking forward to before heading home besides the baptisms on the 30th?

Not really.. We have a few other people that could possibly get baptized before I head out, but I`m not sure. If they`re ready, I`ll be more than happy to do it. Elder Althoff and I want to have a huge ward night in the chapel on our last Monday here. So that will be fun. I`d say this has been my funnest area. The members here are awesome, even though there`s a lot of gossip.

7. Anything that you have been wanting to do but haven't been able to do yet?

I dont know.. I`ve already been to the "sites" here in Ypane.  The ZL's promised me a zone activity going golfing before I left. I could care less about the golfing, I just think it would be cool to have at least 1 zone activity before I end the mission. But for some reason we can`t have zone activities.. Only 1 district activity a transfer, and we`re having ours today. Guess what we`re doing! The same thing I`ve done for the last 15 changes!! SOCCER!!! Woohoo bring on some more of that rice! I haven`t had enough.

8. Are you worried about being able to get all your stuff home? Have you taken inventory of what you are going to leave behind?

Not really. Appearently the members take all the stuff you`re not taking home. Just about all my pants are trashed, and my shirts.. I think the only thing I`ll be taking home are my garments, the clothes on my back, and the few souveniers I`ve got. I haven`t been able to buy that many souveniers. I`ve always been in areas that are outside of shopping places and markets and stuff, so I haven`t been allowed to go in to buy stuff, because it`s been out of my area. And with the looks of it, I don`t think we`re gonna have any time to buy souveniers our last day.

9. Do you have a picture of you and Elder Puma?

Not yet.. Sorry! The humidity kills the battery on my camera super fast, like in 2 days after charging it, without taking any pictures. But I`ll get some! I`ll take one like you want, the one like Elder Cleverly has.

10. This question is for Ashlyn Cowger...What kind of mosquito net should she get square or round for the frame part? Does it matter?

Just something to cover her bed. All her companions will be jealous because they`ll have mosquito bites all over their ankles and she won`t. Elder Wilding had one and it was pretty sweet.

11. Is there some place you would love to go eat at after we pick you up from the airport?

Just take me ANYWHERE that doesn`t serve oily noodles, greasy fried tortillas, mandioca, mondongo, or other cow intestines.

I`m glad I came here on a mission, it`s something I`ll never regret. It`s given me not only a great start in life, but it`s given me a great direction. I don`t have everything all figured out, I don`t know everything I want to do, but I know I can figure it out and get it done. I`ve had a great time here. I`ve given, literally, blood, sweat and tears to Paraguay and to the Lord. It`s been the best, worst 2 years of my life full of pains and struggles, but it`s brought me so much happiness. I know that this is the Lord`s work. No other organization on the face of this planet can ever come close to doing the things that we do. You can`t understand it unless you do it. This is not a church of any man, it is THE church of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He directs it through His prophet. Revelation and prophesy exist, they are very real. Only when there is unbelief it is non existent.

Welp, until next week!

Love you all

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

P.s. I`m in the infected cyber, so no pictures this week.. Sorry! I don`t want any more viruses.

Week 101

What´s up?! Well, once again, I just had the fastest week of my life.. They keep going by faster and faster. I remember at my year and a half mark, I had to fill out a sheet and put the airport closest to my house.. This week I have to get another form ready for my final interview! Jeez! They also sent me the travel plans! How do they expect us to stay focused?! haha

We had a pretty good week this last week. It definitly ended better than it started!

QUESTIONS:

1. How is Aida doing? Were you able to go teach her?

She´s great! She brought her husband to church yesterday and they loved it! It looks like they´re gonna get baptized on the 30th! That´s the plan! Yeimi said that she can come help us with them whenever we need! She´s so awesome.. So they´re doing well, we visited them yesterday and watched a couple clips from "Together Forever" and talked about the importance of families.

2. How are your 4 investigators that you and Elder Puma had to church last week? Did they come back this week?

Yeah they came back! I love when people progress :D That means that what we teach them sticks and they feel the Spirit.

3. Have you had anymore power outages?

No, luckily. Its like pulling teeth trying to get the power company out to fix our problems.

4. What has happened with the guy that stopped Elder Althoff in the street that is a member and his girlfriend that wants to get baptized?

They´re doing well, we´re going to visit them tonight. There´s a small bump though.. He needs a divorce, then they need to get married. A divorce here is super expensive and it takes a huge process to get it all worked out. But we´re gonna help them still :D

5. What has been your most memorable experience from this past week?

Probably getting my iguana skin shoes ;D Just kidding.. Well, I was super excited to get them. A guy next to the church hand made them, and they turned out pretty good so I´m happy! Yesterday was pretty good.. We called a meeting for all the leaders in the ward and showed them how to have a Ward Council. The church is a LOT different down here.. No one does training meetings, interviews, visits, councils, or even prepare for their class during the week.. They kinda just shoot it from the hip. Well, we found out why its like that.. NO ONE READS THEIR MANUALS! Bahh.. Not gonna lie, I didnt even know there were manuals until I got to Coronel Oviedo.. All I know is if I have a calling in the church, I´m gonna know the manual front to back. So now the leaders are excited to work, exept the bishop (his term ends next month..) or his councelors.. But everyone else is excited! Its gonna be sweet..

Also, haha.. You know those RVCA shirts I love?! But its pronounced "ruca".. Well, I guess down here that means prostitute.. So thats nice, every time I´ve worn that shirt its just like I´ve got prostitute written across my chest! Needless to say I´ve been wearing other shirts for service.

Well, I dont really know what else to say.. I´m happy! I love the mission! I love sharing the Gospel. Tell the missionaries gringos that I´ll be more than happy to go do visits with them. There´s Spanish speaking Elders in Boise right? Just because my mission is coming to an end doesn´t mean that sharing the Gospel with others comes to and end too.. It´s been a great experience here, I´m glad I came, I´m thankful for all the friends I´ve made here.. Missionaries, members, and others! The mission saved my life I honestly don´t know where I would be if I didnt come. No one really knows this, but I wasn´t exactly happy before the mission. But it doesn´t matter now, I´m a different person and I´ve come to know and understand the reality of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He´s real and that He can really help us in our trials. Our Heavenly Father loves us, just as our own parents do, but more. I havent seen it, but I´ve felt it. I know they love us, I know that the Holy Ghost can guide us to better places and teach us the TRUTH. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, so is the Bible and they work hand in hand to teach us the path back to our Heavenly Father. I know God calls prophets today, end of story. Revelation still exists.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 100~~PICTURES

Well.. Time keeps flying. It´s kinda scary! I feel like I`ll be sitting in the Spirit World before I know it. We had a sweet week this week! I´ll tell you more about it after the questions :D

QUESTIONS:

1. How is Elder Puma? Can you tell us about him?
He´s great! He´s a really good teacher and we get along really well. He calls me freaking gringo and I call him freaking Perucho and it`s funny. I like that we can poke fun at each other and no one gets mad. The 4 of us are really good friends! It`s been good these last couple months :D

2. How many are in his family?
Just him and his mom! They live with his grandparents in Lima, Peru with a few of his aunts and uncles too. I think they`re all converts too. He got baptized like 7 years ago.

3. How long has he been serving?
He came in the same group with Elder Nielsen, the Elder I trained. So he´s been out for about a year and a half.

4. How was your Zone meeting last week?
It was pretty good. I still miss President Callan, but President Agazzani is really good too. There`s 12 zones in the mission now instead of 11. Caaguazú is its own zone now and so is Coronel Oviedo. And after June of July, I dont remember, Encarnación is gonna be part of the Argentina Posadas mission. So there´s lots of changes in the mission!
We did a couple activities of how we have an end goal, and we´re given lots of tools to make our goals, but sometimes we don´t need all the tools that are given.

5. What has been your most memorable experience this past week with Elder Puma?
We had 4 investigators show up to church! Out of no where.. It was pretty sweet. Between the 4 of us missionaries, we had 11 investigators! And there were 102 people in total! Pretty flippin sweet.

Elder Althoff called me the other day when Elder Puma and I were cutting down a tree and said that a guy stopped them in the street.. The guy said, "Hey I`m a member.. This is my girlfriend, she´s an investigator. We just moved here and she wants to get baptized." And they went to church and everything, and they live in our area! Sweet! The only problem is that he needs to get divorced from his first wife.. He got married when he was 18, now he´s 22. Crazy! But he´s a stud member. They used to live in the north mission and from what it sounds like, the members there are all studs. Everyone fulfills their callings! He came from a branch with 300 members.. Ypané has on average 70! And it´s claimed to be a ward!

Questions from Dad:

1. So how has your week been?
It was good! It rained a couple days so it cooled things down quite a bit, which is always nice for the work. Our power lines keep blowing up, so we went 3 days without power, AGAIN! We slept out in the living room of the house because its bigger, so it stays cool at night. But we called the power place and they came out and fixed it.
I feel like whenever we have a good week here as missionaries, Dad does well and so do all his agents.. Kinda weird how that works out.

2. Have you been able to get anyone to make the committment to live a better life? Last letter you mentioned that your guys had been hard to find, are they avoiding you or are they just busy? I hope they aren't blowing you off!! But I guess it wouldn't be the first time a missionary had his investigators get scared and disappear, huh??
Som people are blowing us off, but I don´t think they do it intentionally.. I think its just their culture. I remember teaching a lady a few weeks back, I don´t remember if it was with Elder Ashton or Elder Ortellado, but it was a hard lesson to teach! The neighbors were blasting their music, her brother that was their with us was drunk, then started smoking, and her kids were all yelling and crying and stuff.. But we still invited her to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and if she were to come to know it was true, to get baptized.. She didn´t really give us a strait answer, but I don´t blame her because of the situation, so we didn´t really make it a priority to get back to visit her. She was one of the people that came to church yesterday! She came up to me and said, "Do you remember me?" And I answered, "Of course! Your name is Aida! Its good to see you here!" Then she said, "I remember you asking me if I wanted to get baptized.. And its something I want to do. What do I need to do to be baptized?" And right there was the teacher of Gospel Principles/Ward Mission Leader, so I introduced them and told her to go into the class. Sweet! So we´re gonna go by her house tomorrow with Gustavo to teach her. It takes a lot of guts for a lady in her situation to go to church alone.. She lives in one of the rougher parts of our area, its far from the chapel, and she brought her 3 kids with her. She didnt know any of the members either, but she went anyway! I feel bad that we didn´t go back sooner. So we´ll make up for it tomorrow and make sure we can have a good environment for the Holy Ghost to be there.

3. Are you getting along well with your new companion? How is it speaking spanish all day everyday? It's probably second nature to you now, but for me to imagine that is difficult!
Yeah, he´s a stud! I like speaking Spanish all day. Being with him makes me realize how much work my Spanish needs. Its been good for the practice, with pronunciation, grammar, and flow. I know I´ll never be able to speak as well as Latins do, and I´ll probably always sound like a gringo, but I´m going to keep practicing! At least I can get my point across though, and that´s good enough for now.

Well, that´s pretty much what´s going down in Ypané. Not to mention I´m on a compter that just gave my pen drive a virus.. But I´ll send some pictures anyways.. There´s another cyber that cleans viruses close by. I still havent sent pictures from our trip to the river! But if it doesn´t work, I`ve only got 4 pdays left after this one ;P

Love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 99

Dang.. Times flying!! Today is "Hero Day" here in Paraguay, so all the good cybers are shut down.. I just checked my computer and someone ripped the USB ports out! From the location of this place, I wouldnt be suprised if it a pirañita came in and stole them..

 

QUESTIONS:

1.  What did you do on your Birthday?  I can't believe you are 21 years old.  It just doesn't seem possible!

I ate.. A lot. So much food! I didn´t feel like eating for like 3 days afterwards. The members here are great and love us so much. One of the sisters in the ward, Yeimi, bought me an original Cerro Porteño jersey! Holy moly! She knows I like Olimpia, and did it just to hincharme but its ok.. Its a really nice jersey! Just in case I havent mentioned before, Paraguay has a lot of soccer teams, and the biggest rivalry is between Cerro and Olimpia. Anywheys..

 

2.  Did you get a new companion?  What is his name?  Where is he from?   Are you still in Ypane?

Yeah! Haha I`ve had 12 companions on the mission! This time, he doesn`t speak English :D haha its awesome! His name is Elder PUMA! From Lima Peru. He`s freaking awesome. So now, there´s 2 Peruvians and 2 Gringos in the house so it`s pretty fun! I`m still in Ypané luckily, I love this place.

 

3.  If you are still in Ypane, How is Maximo?  Oscar?  Raul?  Silvio and Family?

Máximo kind of disappeared but we´re gonna keep passing by. He committed to living the Word of Wisdom a couple weeks ago, but hasnt followed through with it because he wasnt able to buy something to replace his coffee.. Alright Jynx (Preach My Gospel training DVD reference..)

We haven´t been able to find Raúl for a while either :( or Oscar.. But we keep passing by hoping we find them! And Silvio and his family are great! They`ve been coming back to church, even on Wednesdays. Its like mutual for the whole ward.. Almost everyone goes. It`s pretty fun.

 

4.  Are you having Zone Conference anytime soon?

No, I had my last one last change. That`s the 2nd zone conference I`ve had with Pres. Agazzani. But every month we have a zone meeting where just the zone leaders get up and talk to us. We have those once a month. I think I have my last one tomorrow.

 

5.  What was your most memorable experience this past week?

I think changes.. It was awesome with Elder Ashton, he`s a stud, so I`m kinda sad he`s gone, but Elder Puma is awesome too! So Gustavo took us to the bus terminal in Asunción to get my new comp and that was cool! We rolled up in his Subaru and all the missionaries thought we were the coolest guys ever. Then Gustavo gets out and starts talking to everyone in English! It was funny. And it was like a reunion there! Elder Gull came up and gave me a big hug, he was pretty excited to get out of Oviedo after 4 changes.. Then I saw, of course, Elder Salinas and Elder Bartlome!! And a bunch of my other mission buddies. I feel like everyone is trunky haha. All anyone ever talks about is how much time is left. I`m not saying its a bad thing, because I do it too, but its just funny when there´s like 40 missionaries talking about when everyone is going home and making jokes at them haha. But it was pretty sweet to see all my mission buddies there.

 

6.  Did you have any experiences that helped to strengthen your testimony?

Nothing crazy really happened this week. But I`ve been thinking a lot, looking back at the mission I`ve served, and I feel a lot of peace. I know I`m not the best missionary, I`m not perfect, and I can still improve a lot.. But I still feel lots of peace. I look at where I was before the mission and where I am now, and I`m a lot different. I feel different. It´s hit me that I am my own man. All the decisions I make all fall back to me, whether they´re good or bad. I am my own agent, not an object. I`ve realized I can be what I want and really live my dreams. I don`t know if I`ll be a millionaire, probably not, but that`s not what`s important. Doing what my Heavenly Father wants is what matters and it brings the true happiness. I remember one of Brother Zeyer`s classes when he was my teacher.. Probably when I was like 15, and I`ll never forget it. He taught us that day, up on the stage of the church, that the Gospel brings true happiness. It`s so simple. I don`t have a car, I don´t have a motorcycle, a bicycle, longboard, or even roller blades. The only luxuries I have are a matress, A/C, a hot shower, and a fridge. No carpet, no couch, no bean bags, no TV.. Nothing. I walk around all day in 120 degree weather with humidity, yet, I`m happy. I know as a missionary I`m kind of forced to live the Gospel, but it`s helped me realize where the REAL happiness is. What`s really important. I strongly believe that the mission has been preparing me for the eternities. I havent just taught people how God called another prophet, that revelation and prophesy exist today, or that He has brought forth more scripture.. But I`ve interacted with every kind of person you can imagine, I`ve learned to adapt teaching skills in any situation. In my last area I feel like the Lord had put me in lots of "heat" and "pressure", like a lump of coal.. And now I feel like He`s pulling me out and refining me, into a diamond. Again, not saying I`m perfect, but I realize that He`s made me a tool in His hands to bring my brothers and sisters here back to Him. I`ll be able to take the things I`ve learned here and apply them in my life. Study habits, languages, people and teaching skills, leadership.. I can use these things in my family, studies, and work, and have success. Like when Nephi broke his bow, what did he do? He went and got the things he needed to get food for his family. And he went to the Lord to show him the way. I`ve learned that life doesn´t have to be hard, yeah it will have its trials, but if we rely on the Lord like Nephi did, we´ll be alright. We´ll make it back. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that He loves us. He wants us to be HAPPY. I know that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that I represent Him and His Church. Pray about it and ask.

 

So yeah, its been good! Uncle Clayton told me to "soak it up!" before I left.. Call me Elder Sponge ;D

Love you all!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

 

P.s. I`ve got some SWEET pictures to send next week! When I´m on a computer with a USB port.. Até logo!

Week 98 Trunky Yet?!

Hey! Well, I think it hit me this morning about how much time I don`t have left.. Elder Ramirez came into our study room today with the new agendas for this next transfer. He put it in my hand and I looked at it and realized it would be my last one! It`s a really bitter sweet feeling. I love the mission so much, I love Paraguay, I love my area, the members, my companions, and everyone else here! I`ve only got 6 weeks left. Wow. Welp, I`m just gonna keep working!

QUESTIONS!

1. Did Maximo get baptized Saturday? I hope that went through for you guys!

No.. Its ok though, I didnt feel like he was quite ready. I didn`t wanna rush him into it either by trying to cram all the lessons in on him the last week. There`s no rush! I understand how he feels. Not to mention the pastor from his church went to his house and confused the heck out of him. Punk. So we`re gonna keep helping him out. He`s such a stud! I love Máximo.

2. How is Raul? Did he come to church? (Yes, there are lots of people who are afraid of going where there are large crowds. It makes them super nervous and they end up having a panic attack which to them feels like a heart attack. Not fun for them! It could be a fear of not knowing what to say to people, a fear of being able to exit the building, claustrophobia, what people think of them. It all plays a part)

He didn`t go.. I really do feel for him. We weren´t able to find him this week, but we`re gonna keep passing by. Whenever we teach him, the lessons are super spiritual and he understands everything. I think what we`re going to do is bring a few different members by to help us, just so he feels like his not around a bunch of strangers in the church. But we`re not gonna give up on him!

3. How is the less active fellow you were working with last week? How are he and his family doing? You said you guys were going over that evening and going to share the story of Nephi and his broken bow.

They all came to church yesterday!!! Everyone was so happy to see them! He`s got a wife and 3 sons, they`re such an awesome family. We had a scare with him this last week though. We were on our way to his house the other morning to do some service, and his neighbor came out and said, "You need to go to Silvio´s house and pray for him.. He`s not ok.." I knew he had been having some health problems, but I didn`t think it was anything serious. So we got to his house and he was having a really bad anxiety/panic attack. He kept grabbing his chest and he was all pale and was shaking a lot. Another neighbor was coming over with his truck, so while he was on his way we gave him a blessing. When we got to the health center, he started shaking even worse, so the doctors gave him some medicine that helped him calm down. He`s fine now! But it was really scary! I thought he was having a heart attack.. We`re gonna go eat lunch with them today :D

4. What was your most memorable experience this past week?

We had a couple people yell at us and call us false prophets the other day when we were teaching a guy! Haha.. Good thing I´m not a prophet ;P We were teaching a guy the Restoration and right when we got to the part where the Book of Mormon comes into play, this guy and his mujer came to the door and started mocking us and yelled at us saying that we were false prophets.. Oscar, the guy we were teaching, stood up and yelled at the guy and his wife, "This is my house! If you`re not going to respect that, then leave! I`ll talk to whoever I want!" And we were like, yeah Oscar!! You tell ´em! We kept it cool though. But right before they came, we had explained to him how the only way he`s gonna know its true is if he prays.. That we might be lying, that`s why he needs to ask God! So he accepted it and said he wants to get baptized on March 16th! Yeuh.

So yeah, it was a pretty sweet week. I got my shoes fixed finally. 50 Paraguayan dollars.. So like 12 dollars US. The guy did a really good job. I guess he works in a factory and makes really fancy shoes. Turns out he`s a member of the church too! So he`s gonna make me some nice dress shoes. Iguana skin! $40 US! That will be a cool souvenir from Paraguay!

I`m fine doing my homecoming the 14th.. I think I would actually prefer that over some other time in May.

BYU is worrying about enrollment? Wow! I think what I wanna do is go to BYUI for a couple semesters then transfer down.. But I´ll coss that bridge when I get there. We`ll see what the Lord wants me to do! :D

Tell Nick I say hi!! I miss him! I read one of his letters the other day.. I got it just before Christmas last year. Dang.. But yeah, tell him I say hi and that he better be at my homecoming! What`s Sam up to? Did he and Lindsay get married?

The Church is true, the Book is blue! Read, ponder, and pray.. Don`t harden your heart either, because you wont get and answer if you do!

Love you all!!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

P.s. Sorry for the lack of pictures, we didn`t have power for 4 DAYS! I couldn´t charge my camera.. So I`ll have a lot more for next week!

P.s.s Tell cousin Jake congratulations on is mission call to Indonesia!! That`s so sick! I got his dearelder this morning.. Also tell Sister Delores Hoagland thanks for the letters she sends! I got another one this morning :D

 

 

Week 97~2,000 Stripling Ant Warriors! PICTURES FINALLY!!

Good news!! I´m on a computer that has USB!! But guess what.. I found out the other day at the picture printing place that my memory card has a virus. But luckily I fixed it! So we´re all good to go :D

QUESTIONS:

1. Is it changes this week?

No, next week! I can´t believe this change is already over.. Only 1 left after this one!

2. Did you get a new companion?

Todavía..

3. How is the work going?

It´s going really well, we´re finding lots of really good people that are understanding and keeping their commitments! We found another guy named Raúl and he´s been pretty awesome. I remember my teachers in the MTC talking about how we might find some people that are scared to go to church because they have a fear of being around lots of people! I didn´t think it was actually true, then we met this guy Raúl! I told us that was his fear.. At first, he was kind of beating around the bush, then he was just like, "Alright look, I´m scared of being around lots of people.. I´m not ready yet.." So we invited him to pray for the strength he needs to go to church! He said he´ll go next week. He´s a really good guy- super sincere.

4. How is Maximo? Loved the story from last week.

AHH Máximo!! He´s so awesome! He´s getting baptized on Saturday! That´s the plan anyway.. But he´s awesome! He always has the best stories. He´s been to church twice now and he loves it. The members always give him books to read, so now he´s got a mini church library in his house. So yeah, he´s progressing really well! :D

5. What was your most memorable experience this week?

Probably teaching Máximo.. He´s a hoot! He´s 71, and used to be in the police. He made us shine our shoes yesterday! Haha.. We tried to skip it, but he just got up and said, "Yo era cuartelero! Yo sé lustrar zapatos!" "I was in the cuartel! I know how to shine shoes!" So he brought out this giant shoe shining kit and had us shine our shoes.. Then he kept saying, "Cero kilómetros!" I don´t know what he was getting at with that.. So we started teaching him, then he stopped us and said, "Hey, remember how Jesus brought all his apostles around and he started washing their feet...? He did that to show his humility... I just shined your shoes!" hahaha! Crazy old guy.. Then he told us about when he lived in his 3 story house in Asunción, how every weekend there would be fights outside.. He said his kids couldn´t sleep, so his wife told him to get his sling shot out and shoot at them with a metal bearing.. So he did! He said he shot a guy in the back with it and said that the guy kept yelling, "I´m dead! They shot me!! I´m dying!" and his girlfriend lifted up his shirt to look and said, "No you´re fine! You´re not bleeding!", "No! I´m a dead man! They shot me!" He´s just a crazy old guy with a lot of funny stories.. He´s awesome though. He already tells people he´s part of the LDS church. He said his pastor came to visit him, but he said he´s wasting his time, he´s Mormon now.. What a stud! Then he always refers to the church as "our church" and says "our brothers at the church" and stuff like that. It´s really funny because he´s not even a member yet!

6. Have you had any faith promoting experiences this past week?

Yeah! We´re working with an inactive member a lot.. He´s also a stud! But it was cool teaching him because we´re solving a lot of his doubts. He likes using the scriptures, so he always prepares a little message for when we go over. He´s got a really good family too, his wife and 3 kids. We´re going over tonight to share with them, so we´re gonna talk about how Nephi´s bow broke and what he did to fix the situation. It´s going to be really good!

7. How is your Spanish? Do you feel confident in speaking it? Haven't you only had 2 native companions?

I feel confident. It´s not a struggle for me.. I feel like I´ve been really blessed in that, it´s like my brain just records everything the people say. I feel like I can express myself just fine. I don´t know! Soy gringo! Tendré que hablar con Cindy porque es su primer idioma, pues.. Me puede dar sugerencias para mejorar. Entiendo todo pero sé que mis gramáticas no son perfectas. Lleva tiempo!

8. What are your P Day plans today?

We have our district activity. Soccer.. again.. for the past 15 activities.. 1 activity per change.. 16 changes in the mission. It´s like eating plain rice every day. But if we have time, we´re gonna climb the little hill in our area. It´s not even that big.. It´s really just a big rock. I don´t know. I´ll send pictures next week.

So yeah, the mission´s going pretty well! I cant complain. We get 100 more Paraguay dollars each month so we can eat more healthily, finally! I´ve been eating garbage for the past 2 years because I cant afford anything else! So I´m gonna start making healthy breakfasts in the morning instead of just eating cookies and yogurt. Freak. Felicidades to the missionaries that just started. :P Other than that its good.. I can´t believe I only have 7 weeks left! Crazy! It still doesn't seem real how fast it's gone by.. But I look back on all the experiences I´ve had and I´ve seen a huge change within myself. All the people I´ve talked to, taught, and baptized has changed who I am.. It´s hard to explain, because saying it like that doesn´t make sense, but it´s something I think only missionaries understand. So basically, I´m a different person! That´s as easy as I can put it.. Everything just makes sense to me now, I understand things. I know where I´m from, why I´m here, and where I´m going. And I know what I´ve gotta do. It's like Jake said in his last email, and I totally agree, I can´t enjoy the fulness of the Gospel yet.. I need the temple! I gotta go there a lot! It will be nice to have the time after the mission to be able to consecrate my life.

Anywheys! If I forgot something, It´s written in the journal.. Oh yeah, I got swarmed by the 2,000 stripling ant warriors. My legs got to´ up.. I´m out of time, so I´ll have to write about it next week if I remember..

Love yous!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

In the pictures, we´ve got district meeting/changes, lunch with Gustavo and Sara, jumping on the trampoline, and saying by to Elder Guevara.. Enjoi!

 

 

 

 

Week 96

 

It`s pday again! It still blows my mind how fast the weeks go.. I`m in Rocky mode, I`m in the Final Countdown. I cant believe Jake`s already home!! Ah he`s such a stud! I`ve been so impressed with him, with the few letters that I`ve been able to read, with all his changes and experiences. There have been so many times where I`ve wished that I could have been there in Italy going through that with him. He`s been one of my best friends since we first met and I`m glad he had an awesome mission.

Then cousin Jake gets his call to Indonisia!! YEAHHHHH!! Give me the deets! When does he leave? That`s so awesome! I`m so excited for him! Way to go man!!

Haley gave me a pretty good update on the boys! I`m excited to meet them! I know I`ve already seen Damon, but He`s just a little man child now and I haven`t been there for any of it.

QUESITONS-

1. How is Elder Ashton? Where is he from? Why will he only be with you for two weeks? Is that when changes are again and you will get a new companion?

He`s awesome! We`ve been working well together. He`s from Gunnison, Utah! But yeah, only 2 weeks :( President emailed him today and said that he`ll be gone at changes.. Well, that means I will have had 12 companions on the mission:P But I like Elder Ashton, he`s cool. We get along really well and we kind of have the same sense of humor, so that`s nice with companionship unity, even if it is for only 2 weeks. I think he`s gonna go be a zone leader... hahaha

2. How is the work going in Ypane? Are you seeing progress there?

Yeah, little by little! We`re getting the stone rolling here with the members. Everyone was excited because 7 investigators came to church yesterday! So its the perfect time to ask the members for help.

3. Have you had any fun ward functions or parties or any that are coming up?

I guess the Primary`s gonna have an activity on Saturday.. But we wanna do an activity with all the adults and investigators, but the bishop`s not too excited about it so we just have to keep pushing.

4. Do they celebrate Valentine's day? Is it like it is here flowers, chocolates, dinner, dancing?

No.. The way they celebrate here is just like any other day, just more. They drink and play their music loud and play soccer every day, and when a holiday rolls around, it`s just an excuse to do even more! There`s not a whole lot of romance here, or sentimental gifts or anything like that.. Everyone just says, "igual no mas!" Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow, we die... And it will be well with us..

5. What was your most memorable experience this past week?

We had a great week! Well, from Friday till now we`ve just been super blessed. Elder Ortellado was pretty excited to go home, so when Elder Ashton got here, we got to work! We found some really good families this last week. So it was good!

6. How has your testimony been strengthened this past week?

Every time I fast, my testimony grows! I love it.. We did a special fast this last week as a zone for all the investigators that already have been to church, and at first I wasn`t too excited.  Then we got to church and we had investigators waiting for us! It was pretty sweet. Their baptisms are still a couple weeks out, but yesterday helped a lot! We had some good meetings and some good messages about the Plan of Salvation.

On Saturday we were walking down this little dirt road and heard the snake call, but we new it was coming from an old guy so we looked back. He waved for us to go talk to him so we did.. Then he said, "Why did you guys just keep walking by? Why didn`t you stop and talk to me?" I told him it was because we thought he looked busy and we didn`t want to bother him, which is really how I felt.. Then he said, "I`m never too busy for God! Where`s your church and when can I go?" So we told him, and he said he was going! And I thought, "Yeah right, he`ll never go.. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that......" So as we got to church yesterday morning, we saw the blue Mercedes-Benz that that was at the guy`s house the day before.. What the?! He came!! We walked in and he was sitting in the priesthood class and he was wearing a nice shirt and tie! And he stayed all 3 hours of church! He loved it! He told me companion (because he knew it was his first week here in Ypané), "I`m the first soul you`ve saved here!" and invited us over to teach him more about the church, so we took our ward mission leader with us.. He told us about his life, how he was in the military and worked for the police after that.. He has 6 kids and they all have really good jobs. 20 years ago when he was still a cop, he had a 3 story house in downtown Asunción and lots of money and cars, but he still wasn´t happy, neither was his family. From there, he had some family problems and decided to leave, so he left his family with the house, the cars, and the money and moved back out here to Ypané where he was raised. He said he didn`t even have money for a bus ticket for him to get out here. Then he said that the Lord gave him back everything he needed; a house, a job, a car, and other things like that.. He was living in front of a baptist church a few years ago and the pastor convinced him to go and get baptized, so he did. He said he did it because he felt like he was indebted to God.. But from there he had problems in that church and left, and that he still feels that emptiness. So he started praying, asking God for help, for somewhere to go.. some kind of direction. A few months passed by and he was sitting out in his front yard talking to his son-in-law, and he saw Elder Ashton and I walking down the dirt road, and took that as a sign, so he called us over... And here we are now! His name`s Maximo.. We`re going to help him find the truth!

Welp, I`m out of time! Love you all!

Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Ok, you`re not going to believe this.. There`s not enough room for me to plug in my card reader! Ahh!! What the heck! There`s a ledge right next to the USB port, so it doesnt let me plug it in! And on the back, the chord for the monitor is in the way.. Freak. I have pictures, I promise! Next week, I`ll make sure I get a good computer! I`m so sorry!!

 

**The Blog Site is finally allowing me to upload pictures.  Since Colby didn't get to send any today I will go back in the files and see if I can find some that I have been wanting to upload.**

 

 

Week 95

I feel the same as Dad does about last week.. It seemed to go by slow, but looking back I can´t believe it´s already over!
Thats sad to hear about Johnny, you´ll have to give Derrek a hug for me.. I remember him from the shop- he used me as his tool boy sometimes haha.

QUESTIONS:

1. How is your local companion Elder Ortellado doing? Did you get your new companion yet?
He´s doing well. I think he´s ready to get back to his house though. But it´s been fun with him, I´ve learned a lot! But some sad news, I´m not training anymore.. Elder Ruíz was his name, he´s still waiting on his visas, so by the time he gets here he would only be with me for a change. President wants all the new missionaries to be with their trainers for at least 2 changes. So my new companion will be Elder Ashton! He´s gonna be here on Friday. He´s coming from the office and he´ll be my companion for about 2 weeks. I´m pretty excited! I heard he´s an awesome missionary and that he´s fun to work with.

2. Are you still in a foursome for living?
Yeah! It´s fun! I tried some Peruvian food last night, just a small snack and it was actuall really good! You get a can of tuna, strain most of the oil out, squeeze a whole lime over the meat, put a little bit of salt and diced onions and tomatoes. Cómo dice Elder Ramirez, "Riquichisisisisimo!" haha crazy Peruvians...

3. Do you have any funny experiences to share from this past week?
We made waffles with Gustavo (RM who served in New Jersey) and his family.. He has a 3 year old kid who´s off the wall! Well, I picked him up and flipped him around a couple times like us Heiner´s do, and I guess about 10 minutes after we left the kid started puking everywhere! Haha he ate waffles, juice, and tereré! We found out about it the next day when Gustavo was driving down the road, he saw us walking and told us about it. He was on his way to his mom´s house to wash all the sheets and clothes and stuff that Ian puked on.. Haha my bad..

4. How is Diego doing? Were you able to meet with him?
Yeah, we stopped by on Tuesday night and he was drunk. He told us he was having a bad day so he started drinking.. Wouldnt that make someone´s day worse? But since then, we haven´t been able to find him. :(

5. Any new investigator's this past week?
Yeah, the people that live right in front of us used to rent one of their houses out to the missionaries like 15 years ago.. We stopped by because Elder Althoff told us that he contacted them and they wanted to learn English.. So we´ve gone by twice. We taught them a little about the Restoration yesterday and it went pretty well. We´re going back tomorrow!

6. What was your most favorite experience this past week? ( I know I always ask you that but it is good for history purposes when your grandchildren read these letters.)
I dont know.. I´d probably say talking with Elder Althoff at night after we do planning. We talk like every night and it´s good to have someone to talk to, someone you can relate to! He´s a stud, I´m glad he´s here. We came in the same group from the MTC and I never really knew him until we came here to Ypané!

7. How is the other companionship doing? Do you guys ever go on splits?
They´re doing well, they´re both cool guys. Elder Ramirez is in his 3rd week in the field! What a greenie!! Haha just kidding, but seriously. He´s cool. He´s from Lima, Peru, he used to be a rapper and he´s a convert of 4 years. He´s been practicing a little bit of English, so he always says, "Hello my friend, how are you?!" in a Latin/Borat sounding accent, and he talks really loud, so it´s hilarious!

So yeah, I´m pretty bummed that I´m not training anymore.. I actually almost started crying. It was like waiting for Damon when he was being born.. Not yet, just a little longer.. A little longer.. Except for this time, ohh he´s not coming. Sorry Elder Heiner! Ahh I´m so bummed. But I´m glad Elder Ashton is coming, I´ve only heard good things about him.

A la pinta!! Nada funciona en este país!
I dont know whats going on here.. The people are messing up on our water and light bills, there´s no customer service or return policies, the USB ports never work.. OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF! Ahh I´m trying to be more patient.. We´ve had a bumpy morning, now the computer isnt reading my memory card. Sorry Mom, no pictures this week either :( I´ll have a lot to send home.

We´re going to eat at Gustavo´s house today.. Peruvian food. And I think in 2 weeks, we´re going fishing. Sweet! I also heard that FINALLY they´re planning a zone activity. Golfing. Sick.

I´m grateful for the Book of Mormon! That book is awesome! If you read it with the right intentions, you´ll understand everything a lot better! Everything about life, how the Atonement works, following the Spirit, how to raise a family, ordenanzas.. Everything is there! It´s not as clear in the Bible.. I love the Bible, but you need the Book of Mormon too. I know some people that read my letters aren´t members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and don´t understand a lot about the church.. If you know the Book of Mormon is true, everything else makes sense. Read it, I dare you. Then pray to know if it´s true. If you want true happiness, real hope, if you really want to grow in your faith, read the Book of Mormon. Its that easy. God has a plan for all of us, we´re not just in this life, and we certainly didn´t start living when we were born, and death isn´t the end. I profess the truth, put your trust in God and HE will guide you. Not me, not your family or friends. God, our Heavenly Father. Do it.

Thanks for everything, your love, support, prayers, and friendship. I love you all.
Elder Colby Dane Heiner