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

Week 68

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

QUESTIONS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I love you all!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

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

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

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


QUESTIONS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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