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