I love you all so much i want you to know that.
So i thought i would start off by talking about Paraguay a little bit more.
Members heard on the news that Paraguay is the most corrupt country in SA and possibly the world! I believe it... haha this place is nuts. So if you could check that out for me and let me know.
Heres some interesting stuff. People here burn their trash...so everywhere we walk there is trash burning. i remember flying in and seeing fires all over the place, so it makes sense now. There are dogs everywhere... and i mean everywhere! Just nasty dirty dogs with flees and sores... you name it. Cows are everywhere. They roam the streets i got some pics on our way over here. Milk comes in bags:( Some streets are paved others are dirt and others are rocks in the dirt. I walk down pathways all the time that are in open fields.
Fútbol is huge here soccer balls everywhere. Every kid plays and there are fields on every corner. They also love vollyball so thats legit. I wear my boots on the rainydays and my coat too. I lost my hood though:( i think i lost it at the mtc in a hole on the top of the dresser! What else ... there is cow poop everywhere haha. and caden i havn´t done the deed yet. but dont worry i bet it will come soon. There are some girls here that look at us really weird when we walk by. The elders here call them snakes cuz some of them you say adios and they say adios-s-s-s-s like a snake haha. Oh adios does not mean bye here its just what you say when you pass someone.
We clap at homes and never knock. If we knocked their door might either break or well their door is a sheet so we cant. There are very poor people here and also rich people here but they always are kind enough to give us anything they have. I love the food and it wont really make me sick until i have some of the grosser stuff. In limpio most food is normal though. Mom, look up empanadas they are my favorite... ham and cheese (jamon y queeso). Get the receipe and make em. Tell gma Carpenter too. She asked in my letter.
Ok so moving on ... story time. Yesterday we were walking and a drunk guy started yelling at us to come over to him and his friend. Elder Hakes was on the phone and so i was the lone soldier. I asked him what was up and he said he had our books. I asked if he had ever shared with missionaries before and he said yes. I asked if he went to church and he said ya and aked if he liked it yes. Then he showed us his house and said he wants to meet with us again. Hakes hung up and we found out he was a member. His friend was super drunk and kept trying to give us hugs it was AWK ... WARD (zach) well we told them we would share with them if they werent drunk and said we would come by tomorrow and that if they were drunk we would leave ... so we will see what happens. Now here is the funny part of the story. Before we went out i prayed out loud with Hakes and i asked that people would be put in our path that we could find. Then i asked that people would come find us. .... So after we left those guys elder hakes says.. "well you got what you wanted ... maybe you should be a little more specific next time" haha we were laughing so hard. But that was my prayer all last week and we were able to find a lot of people and also many people wanted to talk to us so it was really sweet.
I want you all to know i love it here. This place is so awesome. The spanish is so hard... please pray for me. I am doing literally everything i can do to learn this language. I can understand the people when the spirit is strong, But it is so hard to understand people half the time. I am learning so much faster but my progression seems really slow. This is definately the hardest thing i have ever done but what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger haha. I have changed so much on my mission. I look back and am so happy that i am at the place i am now. I study so hard, i work hard, i wake up early and DO WORK ALL DAY SIEMPRE! I am so thankful for the temple and being able to work there all summer. If i hadnt done that i prolly wouldnt have the testimony i have. I would def have a testimony, but the temple really pumped me up for my mission.
So we were at our lunch appt at bishops house, and a missionary from the south mission showed up. He was with his parents and was leaving to go home the next week. It was so legit. He baptised the bishops maid and then she moved to limpio so he came up to see her and say bye. He gave here a framed picture of the temple and his mom gave her a necklace. (His parents didnt understand anything haha.) She then told her conversion story to us 5 missionaries, bishop, and his parents at the house. He then translated for his parents. It was so awesome. She then brought him her book of mormon triple, and he read her the letter he had writtin inside a year before. The spirit was so strong, his mom was crying haha it reminded me of mom. She hadnt a clue what they were saying but she was proud of her son. I saw this whole thing and all i could think about was ... when i am getting ready to leave my mission i want to be able to see a few of my close converts, and i want to be able to hopefully go to the temple with at least one family. I could tell this elder loves the people and i cant wait till i can start having experiences like that! It was so cool haha it got me so pumped!
well i am going to take the rest of the time to write president and upload some photos so ... I love you all. Work hard. Be happy. Pray. Study the Gospel. Listen to mom and dad haha. Christmas is coming up! Which reminds me mom im on my fifth day of christmas! i love those cards you sent me todays was my mission scripture and a picture of and angel. I am writing all about it in my journal so some day you will see all the details haha. I know this church is true. I know the temple work going on is true. The gathering of israel is taking place. Do family history and get excited about the spirit of elijah. " hearts of the children will turn to their fathers" or something like that. I am not perfect haha i dont know everything about the gospel. Through Jesus Christ we can have so much. I know my savior lives and loves me and you. BoM is the bomb! read it.
Love you all PEACE! and joy,
¡Elder Carpenter!
