Elder Olson's mission (Paraguay Asuncion North Mission): ELDER ALVARADO IS TRAINING

Mon., 9/17/2018

Alright well I already sent the big news for the week [Elder Alvarado is training] so here's the rest:

Monday we played some soccer with some investigators then taught some lessons.

Elder Alvarado and I were not stopped by the rains here; we ended the week totaling more lessons than any week in the last 12 weeks!

I got to give a talk this Sunday! We also got to church before 7:30 for Ward Council, only to find out that it got cancelled (church starts at 8:30) and it was dumping rain. Well everything happens for a reason. Turns out they had taken ALL of the chairs to the Stake Center for a Conference with the Relief Society and Young Women General Presidencies (1 sister from each Presidency). The people returning the chairs put them all in one place so we just distributed them all back to the classrooms! And just in time to start welcoming everyone to church!

It was pouring buckets and that's the CLASSIC excuse for people not showing up to church, and one of our members who is the uncle of an investigator wasn't going to go to church but his nephew Martin got him up and they went together! Martin should be getting baptized this change; he has all the lessons and his attendance, as well as his cousin John Fitzgerald! Soooooooooo hype

We learned how to make mbeju!

We ate asado (cookout) twice!

We had changes this week, I'll be leaving Bella Vista, which we had thought might happen, but it's all good because Elder Alvarado is training right out of his training, so I'll be getting a mission grandson on my last day! I'm so proud of him! Elder Morris is also training so technically I'll also be getting a mission great great grandson. That's goooooooooooood! Tomorrow I'll be with my new companion, his name is Elder Piriz from Uruguay. [For those that didn't get this humor, I went home having completed two years in Paraguay the day after/2 days after writing the email portrayed in this post, and Elder Piriz was the Elder assigned to be my companion for that last day hahaha!] He was in my first Zone in the mission, and will be going home at the same time as me.

So Saturday and Sunday we went to visit some of the dopest families here because I'll be getting changed out! [Because I came home. I didn't want to mention that, as I still had a couple of final visits to make and wanted to be focused]

Tonight we have a Family Home Evening where we will try to find a rat. If we get it out, the family will return to activity and the Hermana said she'll never miss a Sunday again! Maybe a slight exaggeration, but nonetheless hopefully they'll come back to church! Also I'm going to try to carry chipa in my baggage so y'all can try it!

Thanks for all the support and all y'all have done for me, have a great week!

Pictures:

1 ¿Flat screen in the bathroom?

2 My boy Zeke

3 Jesus loves you (all of you)!

4 GDTBATH!

5 Inside of a colectivo

6 The Bella Vista squad

7 Colectivo roof was too low

8 One of the less active members here fishes a lot; here's a Pirana!

9 Service with Catalino, building his house!

10 Some ype lapacho flowers

11 Color parade

12 With our investigators Martin and Nayeli. Nayeli's parents won't let her get baptized yet, but Martin is super close! He cooked some asado since I'm going home