It's been a busy week and I don't have much time! Here is the week in a short email!
Elder McEwan had his birthday Wednesday! I made him some puffed oven (German) pancakes to celebrate. After, Pte Carlos Colman and a native member went with us to meet a few members in a little town called Yacac'vash that is 50 km from Neuland. It was a good visit. There are a good number of members that live there, and they haven't had missionaries there in the 17 years they've lived there since they colonized it. Needless to say visiting a new area is pretty dope.
Friday we went out to Paraiso with the bikes. It was really a rainy week. We did a few visits in the afternoon.
Saturday early we got up and biked the 20 km to Yacac'vash. We had the people all get together and taught about the Restoration of the Gospel, using a LOT of pictures. They also love singing so we sang a lot of hymns. We had everyone go home for lunch, then we got them all to come back to teach the Plan of Salvation. As in 90% of our lessons, there was a language barrier, but with the help of a LOT of photos and the Spirit we were able to teach them all and they were so very grateful. These saints were baptized with their whole tribe in Mistolar in the 80's but haven't had much contact with the church for years. One of them, Guillermo, helped to translate for those that didn't understand. We then went back the 20 km to Paraiso on bike. Thankfully it was overcast, as the sandy trail was very humid. I have a few pictures of the salt stains on my clothes from sweating, but idk if I'll have time to send the pictures. A miracle happened on the way home though: Elder Hermansen called us early with our changes (he was supposed to call on Sunday evening, but called Friday afternoon) and said we had to come back to the city. At that point we were 5 km from Paraiso with LITERALLY NO SIGNAL. We had no idea how that call go through. We rushed to Paraiso where there is 1 bar of signal (in some places) and called our driver to pick us up. He wasn't able to until later, but changed his schedule and got to Paraiso around 8 pm. He came right in time, as the rain picked up and the roads were getting worse and worse. Thank goodness for 4 wheel drive! For those that know what mudding is, that's how the road is getting to Paraiso! So we also helped another truck get unstuck, and got home [Neuland] late! We were so tired.
Sunday it rained and at 9 only Arnildo and us missionaries were at church, so we had to start with only 3 people! Nicacio and 2 of his daughters came around 9:15 and so we did have 6 people! I presided and directed and gave a talk, and directed music, and Elder McEwan did the rest! After Sacrament Meeting we watched General Conference talks so that they could learn some! Nicacio and Arnildo love learning! The rest of Sunday we went and said goodbye to all the members here. It's hard saying goodbye, as I was here 5 changes, but I'm excited for my new area! To save time and money, they notified me of my new area Sunday, and I will be going tooooooooooooooooooooooooo... LOMA PLATA! It's another town here in the Chaco where there is just a group of a few members and the missionaries just opened up the area 7 months ago (the same time as when I moved to Neuland)! It's part of the Filadelfia branch. My new companion will be Elder Garrett from Utah, who has 3 months more than me in the mission! I'm really excited; I really like being in the Chaco. For those who don't remember, the Chaco is a big desert area (where it NEVER rains, but when it does, it does a LOT) which consists of the northwestern half of Paraguay. There are 8 missionaries here full time (and sometimes 2 sister missionaries) and one District, named after the Paraguayan state of Boqueron. It's basically a really cool place, and I'll be able to keep seeing Elder McEwan and maybe some of the people I know from Neuland! I'd like to share a small saying with yall from a song (I think its from the movie Prince of Egypt.) "There can be miracles...when you believe!" I know that is true because I've seen it in Neuland and all throughout my mission. We need faith and actions of obedience, and God will always help us! I hope y'all have a great week! Thanks for the emails! It's always nice to know how everyone is doing!
Pictures:
1 Saying bye to Hno Claudelino.
2 Some breakfast...
3 ...In bed! Happy birthday Elder McEwan!
4 Welcome to Yacac'vash!
5 With Guillermo and his family.
6 We got up at 4:30 a.m. to take a rattler to Fili to get a few things for our trip. We took the opportunity to sleep.
7 40 km of biking and all we saw was a tractor. On that road a hat is much better than a helmet for your protection.
8 With a few people from Yacac'vash! They're such humble people and were sooooooooooooo happy to see us! Like literally!
9 We found Arthur's long lost ranch in Paraguay!
10 "You salty" takes on a whole new meaning.
11 MY MISSION CALL ADJUSTMENT NOTICE cred: Elder Hermansen.
12 A little bit of Red White and Blue to color up yalls week
13 Your average temperature on sunny days. On rainy days it isn't as hot, it's just really humid and we walk through deep mud all day!
14 Ostrich sighting.
15 Literally in the middle of nowhere.
16 Cool rainbow in Paraiso.
Have a good week!
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