Email 12/31/12

Ollo…

This week has been a little bit of a rough one for us. We worked pretty good on Tuesday. I went on divisions to an area called Lucerito. I was with an Elder Shelley. He is a super cool guy from Mesa. We just kept on working and tried our hardest to just stay focused especially on Christmas. We got a super super good lomito arabe (a type of tenderloin) when we got home. It was probably the best one that I have eaten in the entire mission. It’s a little hard sometimes because we have a zone that is sooooo huge. We have to do divisions with missionaries in the zone maybe twice or three times a week. I usually get back to my area dead tired because in all those areas all we do all day is just look for new people to teach. It’s very very draining, but I know that I just need to keep moving forward. I was sent here for a reason and we are going to get things moving in the zone. Other than divisions this week we really haven´t been up to much. We have some really super cool investigators that we are teaching but a lot of the them its super super hard to find them in the their houses because of the crazy schedule that they have during Christmas time. We just kept a smiley face on and worked our butts off. We had a little bit of a rough week because we were both sick a little. I had a really high fever and large headache and my comp was suffering with stomach pains and diarrhea but we just kept going and kept working as best as we could and in the end the Lord blessed us.

We woke up on Sunday and it was raining. Really here in Paraguay the rain is what makes people really just not want to do anything. During the week even if it rains a little, kids won´t go to school, just because it’s raining. So can you imagine what happens when it rains and people need to go to church? Yeah, they really don´t take it as a priority. So we were a little frustrated because we had so many people planned to come to church and our chances of getting them there was very very slim. But we decided to keep our heads up and to go out and do all that we could do to get someone in church. The Lord blessed us. As we walked into church we looked and one of our investigators had come and she had brought all of her kids as well. Our member had kept her commitment and had brought the investigator. Ahh I had to offer a prayer of thanks to our Heavenly Father. Really I have come to realize that He loves us so much that even the little tiny things that will make us happy He is willing to give us. Imagine how much more willing He is to bless us with something that is actually important. It all depends on our faith and if we are willing to keep doing the things that we know that we should do. As we do them the Lord will bless us. I have had hundreds of experiences that confirm that promise and I am sure that He will continue to keep that promise.

We had an interesting run in with a pastor this week and really it just got me thinking about how blessed I am to be one the chosen sons of God; to have been born in the gospel. I have been given the key to knowing the truth and I wouldn´t give it up for anything. It makes me sad sometimes seeing how much people suffer because of false doctrine and how Satan can have a hold so strong on people and their actions, but usually that feeling of stress and failure is followed by a beautiful spiritual confirmation of my calling as a missionary. That that is the purpose why I am here and I am to be the Lord’s mouth and hands here upon the earth to help His sons and daughters reach that level of understand and peace that can only come through living the truth gospel of Christ, which is a gospel of repentance.

I know that God is real. He is a person that has such an intimate love for every single person that I can´t even begin to describe it. I am gaining that love. One act of service at a time and one act of submission to the Lord at a time. I love you all and hope you have a happy new year. Think of the future, make goals, and act. ¨Our destiny is determined by our decisions.¨ Pres Monson. It is not chance, or fate that controls our destiny. WE CONTROL IT!

ROHAYHU PARAGUAY, HA CHE FAMILIA AVEI
Elder Beatty

Email 12-17-12

Hello all I have a lot of news to give but I just wanted to answer a few questions so that I could get my brain working again.
1. Are there any traditional foods that the Paraguans like to eat at Christmas time? Special treats, candies? I Think I talked about this last time. Here around Christmas time they all like to eat Fruit Salads. Because it’s super super super hot. They can´t really go for anything food wise because it raises your body temperature and that really is no fun at all. As far as candy goes…. Not really. What they do for the little kids is that on all the little stores on all the corners, they sell little fireworks. All the kids beg their parents to be able to give them a little money so that they can set something on fire and blow it up. It gets a little scary at times knowing that you have a handful of firecrackers in the hands of a 3 year old but I am not their parents. We have to sometimes avoid the teenagers when they get on fireworks or else they will throw them at us. Not cool! There are some pretty big ones that make some pretty large explosions. Kinda weird seeing little kids playing games to see who can hold it in their hand the longest. hahaha

2. What is the tradition that the children follow as far as Santa Claus goes?
Well as far as presents, they believe in Santa Clause but he isn´t the dude that they get many presents from. They mostly believe in the three kings that came. I guess 3 days after Christmas that’s when the kings come to the houses and drop off all the gifts. Its kind of cool because it makes it more of a religious thing but still they don´t focus too much on Christ here during Christmas. Really, here in Paraguay, Christmas is all about getting all of the family together. It doesn´t matter how far away you live or if you hate your family. You HAVE to come home for Christmas. Usually they have a huge dinner and party. It’s cool because it’s like the only time in the year when all the family gets together.

3. Tell us about a service that you provided for someone this week. Do you get many chances to give service?
This last week we helped a family move from one of their houses to the next. It was super super tough because it was super super hot and they had us lifting all the super super heavy things. I can´t lie but I have lost a ton of muscle here and I’m mister skinny now. We usually have a service project planned out every single week. Its gonna get cool because people are gonna start painting their houses for Christmas so we will be able to have lots of work to do.

4. What type of jobs do most people have that live in your area? How do they provide for their families? What is the most common occupation?
Well in CDE everyone works down in the central of where are the Brazilians come in. They sell stuff. All the Brazilians come in with their money and they buy lots of stuff at a super super super cheap price and then they take it back to Brazil or take it to other countries to sell at a higher price and make lots and lots of money. That is the most common occupation, that you just working in selling stuff.

Ok so what has gone down this last week? Really it’s been one of the most tiring weeks of my entire mission. I have never worked so hard and talked and called so many people in my entire life. Every night usually while we were in our last lesson I would be falling asleep and then while we were planning I could barely stay awake. I really feel that this last week I have given it my all and I was on the verge of death practically. I was transferred. I was sent out of CDE and now I was resent back into one of my old Zones. Nemby. Really this zone is struggling a ton right now. There are about 26 missionaries in the zone and they aren´t having practically any success at all. President wrote me in my email and told me that he wants me to get things moving here in the zone. I got here on Wednesday and my new comp is Elder Hugie from Logan Utah. He is an awesome missionary and just finished his first change as a zone leader. I got here in the zone and we could see right off the bat that the missionaries weren´t working with any of the members and their attitudes really aren´t what they should be. We did divisions my second day and I went to part of my old area because it got divided. I was able to work super super super hard in that area because I already knew the members and the area. We taught a good amount of lessons and talked to tons of people and there were a few people who looked like they had the chance to progress. The missionaries have all heard that here in Zone 3 its super super hard. We are going to change that attitude and make this zone the highest baptizing zone in the mission. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of stuff to change But I know if we just keep working hard and keep trying to be obedient the Lord is going to bless us in our efforts.

We also got here in the area and really there weren´t any investigators and the members hadn´t been utilized so their whole attitude was really kickback and relaxed. We called them and we left with them and we worked. Really I felt like I had to use all of my capabilities and talents and my whole being just to keep moving and working because that’s what I want to do here. I want to make a change. We saw a ton of miracles though. I want to tell you a few of them.

My first day we went and got a reference from a member and as we went to contact it, we talked to the dad and he was an awesome guy. We taught him lesson one and gave him a baptismal date. He said that he would read and pray. So we were super super pumped to come back on Saturday and meet his wife. They have 4 kids. We came back on Saturday with the member that gave us the reference. The dad wasn´t there and so we couldn´t stay but the member was able to stay. We talked to that member on Sunday and she said that the wife is super super prepared. She hasn´t been baptized in any church and is looking for the true church. Whooohooo We had a hardcore miracle with that. So we are going to work with that family this week. Also another miracle that we had was on Saturday. We had taught and clapped and gotten references from like 50 people and we were starting to get a little disappointed. We talked to this guy who was just taking some beer into his house to start drinking. His wife let us in and we talked about lesson 1 and the family. Wow. It was a huge miracle. We asked the mom if she would like to know if the message was true. She said that she already knew that it was true. We were a little startled from that response and so we asked her how she knew it was true. She said that she just felt it was true and didn´t know why. WHOOOOOOOO I would have to say that that lesson was probably one of the most spiritual lessons that I have had on my mission. After talking about the restoration and the first vision, I just started testifying of what a huge blessing it was for them and their family to have 2 representatives of Christ in their home and that the gospel was going to be a huge blessing to their family so that they can someday live forever again. They were speechless. The spirit was palpable. We just left it in silence after me testifying and really I knew and could see that they had more light in their eyes and they were smiling. It was such an awesome and fortifying experience for me and my companion. We are going to keep looking for miracles like these families and we are going to have many many more baptisms.

We are starting to meet with the new district leaders to make sure that they are talking with all their missionaries so that we can just keep working together as a team. We are super super pumped to be together this change Elder Hugie and I. We know we are going to be consecrated missionaries and help the whole zone and this ward just take off and reach the potential that God wants it to be. It’s funny because we have been hassling the members here a ton about leaving with us and so it leaves an impression that we are super super serious missionaries. They ask me how much time I have and I tell them that I only have about 5 months left and then they freak out as to why I don´t slow down and just relax a little bit to end my mission. Then it’s sweet because I can bear my testimony to them about how much I love the Lord and my Heavenly Father and that They do everything so that I can be happy. And They haven´t asked me to ¨slow down¨ So I’m going to work with all my heart, might, mind and soul. Its soo sweet to see the look in their eyes. Some of them get scared but a lot of them really can feel the importance of the missionary work here in the area. I just would like to say that I love the mission. I wish that every single person in the world could go through an experience like this. Yes it is very very hard. You get rejected and you are stressed and you have trials. But its all true isn´t it? So what else matters? I love you all and hope you have an awesome Christmas season, because I´m going to have the best one in my entire lifetime, here in Paraguay teaching the gospel. What could be a greater blessing?

Rohayhu Paraguay ha rohayhu familia

Elder Beatty

Email 12-10-12

Hello all,

Sorry that I didn´t get off an email the last week. We were in the mission office and we were trying to write really fast so that we could get off to CDE fast. I forgot to tell you guys about the baptism of Pamela. It turned out to be a sweet baptism. A lot of members didn´t come because there was so much rain. That usually is a sign that really people aren´t going to come. We did have some members come though. Juan Carlos her step dad that we baptized about 2 months ago was able to baptize her. They had to do it twice because the very tippy tip of her hand didn´t go in the water. The whole family is now baptized and united. It was a super awesome experience for them and I know that the Lord is very content with their actions and desires. Now they can start preparing to go to the temple in 1 year. I was talking with Juan Carlos while he was changing his clothes. He had such a hard time talking without getting very emotional. He said that really he felt so good and felt so much loved performing that ordinance. I know that he is going to be able to lead his family now as the head of the house and prepare to receive the higher priesthood order as well. We were super super pumped and very happy for that especially because we really didn´t have to do anything to help Pamela. Plus my companion was sick so I couldn´t leave the house to go and teach her. She kept reading her BOM and kept going to church without us even having to invite her. That is faith. Knowing you should do something so you just do it without being told.

Other Crazy things that have happened this week was that we came back from Asuncion late Monday night and so we were super super tired on Tuesday and it’s just getting hotter and hotter so we really had to kick it into overdrive to just keep moving forward. Right now we are focused on teaching a family that we have been teaching for a while. They are the Britas Family. They are super super simple and have been to a lot of churches but at last they are starting to progress and understand all the stuff that we are teaching them. All of the Children are now coming to church. Really it was a huge miracle and felt awesome to walk into church. We decided that it was the time for a trial of their faith so we weren´t going to go look for them. We were going to let them come by themselves. We were sitting there in priesthood meeting and all of a sudden Gabriel walked in. Whooohooo. I love it when people come to church by themselves. So we were like ok at least Gabriel came to church. So we sat there and listened to the lesson and just were really content, we left the class and all of a sudden Clara the sister came out of the Young Women’s class. Woooohoooo.. yay! this day just keeps getting better and better. So we got into the next class we were pretty happy when a Member brought his other younger brother that isn´t a member. whoooohooooo yeah that’s what I’m talking about....... we helped them get all situated and ready in the class when all of a sudden our other investigator comes driving up on his motorcycle and was pumped to get into the class. Yeah I just love it on days like this because I feel that people are starting to let the doctrine of Christ motivate them to do and to act. I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for helping them realize and feel the need to come to church that day. Now it’s our turn to work super hard and help them build their faith even more so that they can continue to keep their commitments until they are baptized whoooo.

This week as been super super super crazy as far as the weather goes. So we leave the house around 10 and its super super super super hot. We walk around and we sweat and we teach and all that jazz. Then around 6 these huge rain clouds come and the wind picks up and we find ourselves in a huge storm and we get soaked because we didn´t bring jackets or umbrellas. It happened to us about 3 times this week. It was fun though just getting to walk around in the rain. Everyone was looking at us like we were crazy, but I wouldn´t like to think of it in that sense because we had places to go and people to baptized. The rain doesn´t stop the work.

I had another crazy run in with the super super old ward member lady that said I was going to be an apostle. We had been helping the Primary program as they prepare for their Sunday program and we were singing with them and helping them follow the words and I was playing the piano. She came up to me again and she said ¨When you’re an apostle and a General Authority, don´t forget about poor little Sista Vasquez down here in Paraguay.¨ When she said it again, it was just a normal thing I wasn´t too shocked. I love those great sisters that just work so diligently in the primary and nursery. They really are the ones that will inherit the celestial kingdom. Because they are humble and meek, willing to help all those that they meet. Being around so many children has probably helped them have a change of heart and become as they are.

A little funny story is that with the family that we are teaching right now, really they are just super super confused about all the religions and how they started and all that jazz because they have been as it says in Ephesians that they have been tossed to and fro as waves by the wind. They think that Jews are atheist and Catholics at the same time. We tried to help them understand that it wasn´t that way, but finally it came down to where we just had to show them that there is only 1 true church. Really whenever we teach that family it is an adventure because we never really know what they are gonna say or have huge discussions about. We leave sometimes just laughing at some of the crap that people hear nowadays about religions. It makes me that much more grateful that I was blessed enough to be born in the gospel and to have had parents and teachers and leaders that taught those spiritual truths. I will always be grateful for their example and love.

I asked him a few questions and here are his responses!

1. Are there any historical places near you?

As far as historical places I would have to think that near where I am is the largest electrical dam in the world It is HUGE. We can´t go see it but I have seen some pictures and it is huge. Also there is another huge waterfall called Monday. It was in my first area of Franco. But really as far as any historical places near us I can´t really say that there are. There are tons of stories and folktales that I am going to tell you when I get home don´t worry. A lot of them are super super super weird hahaha

2. Have you heard about an increase in missionaries coming into your mission due to the announcement from Pres. Monson?

Yes President made an announcement to the Zone leaders that we don´t know how many more missionaries we will be receiving. we know that we will be receiving 60 more sister missionaries in the mission and there is a possibility within a year that they may open up another mission here in Paraguay. But ya tons of missionaries heading our way!!!!!

3. Do the wards there have Christmas parties and programs like we do here?

Usually the wards do a dinner for the end of the year. Its a fun time for the members to socialize. we are trying to get a talent show all set up for during the dinner so that way it turns out to be a little more fun. Any more ideas for a church Christmas activity?

4. Tell us about some of the members that you have come to know and love in your area.

There are a few members that I have come to really really love here in this area. One is Called Juan Manuel, Griselda, and Jose. They are converts from Elder Richards when he was here in CDE. Juan Manuel is studying to be a lawyer, and Griselda is his wife. They are both around 23 and Jose is their son. He is 4. He is a super large handful. Whenever we come over he freaks out and always wants us to play with him. Juan Manuel may be studying to be a lawyer but that doesn´t mean he acts like one. In some senses he seems like a college kid because he jokes around with us all the time. We love teasing him about his hair because its very long and curly and whenever someone comes over he has to go in and fix it to make sure that it comes out perfect. We always joke around with Griselda and Juan that they need to buy us burger king. Then Juan will say that he can´t have Burger King but we can have Grisel King. hahaha Referring to his wife. We love them and they help us a lot as far as helping our investigators feel at home while they are at the church. They have plans to get sealed in the temple next January or the following month.

5. How far do you have to walk to do your grocery shopping and computer time?

Luckily we have a huge grocery store called Gran Via. It is about a half a block away. Its super nice because I have been in an area where you have to walk about 15 minutes carrying your groceries in your hand and it’s not fun at all. It makes me all the much more grateful for a car.

6. What is your favorite thing about Christmas time in Paraguay?

My favorite thing about Christmas in Paraguay would have to be all of the barbeques that they do. They are called Asados. When they do an asado here it’s not hamburgers or hotdogs like what we do. It’s a huge side of a cow that they put over a fire and they just cook away for hours and hours. It really turns into a large project that comes out very very tasty. They only bad thing is while they are waiting for their meat they are usually drinking and so we can´t really teach them anything but they are really nice in offering us pretty much anything that they have.

7. What are some of the Paraguan traditions surrounding the celebration of Christmas?

You have to remember that it is very very hot during Christmas time so the people here instead of staying in their house and staying warm and watching it’s a wonderful life or a Christmas story they are usually outside partying and dancing and drinking. At midnight Christmas eve, everyone will set off large fireworks that sound like a huge war. I really feel like I am in WW2 while all those fireworks are going off. Its definitely a different style of celebrating Christmas, but it’s the culture. hahaha the other thing that is huge around Christmas time here is the fruit salad. EVERYONE makes it and eats it. And if you’re not careful a lot of the people here put wine in their fruit salad. It’s called clerico. Sometimes missionaries on accident eat that type of fruit salad. Whooops. hahaha

 Well hope that this letter turned out to be something enjoyable for you all. I know the mission is true and that it is the best experience that one can have. I love my Savior, I love repentance, and I love you all.

Elder Beatty

Email 11/26/12

Hello all,

Well OLLLOO. Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope that you had a week full of lots of food and fun games and visiting with the family. I sure did have an interesting week more in the sense of things that I got done and things I couldn´t get done. So we found out on Wednesday that the medications that Elder Martinez was taking really weren´t doing anything for him and he needed to take stronger medications and rest even longer. When the doctor told me that he would have to rest for even more time, I was like. O no..........

It’s been a real struggle for me to really learn how to serve and love a companion. I really just wanted to get out and work and not have to worry about my companion. I think that the Lord has really given me a kick in the pants this last week in realizing that I need to treat all people as I would treat Him.

I was sitting there reading a book and I started to think about trying to picture as if Christ was lying on the bed and was suffering, what would I do to help Him? I had to answer myself that I would do anything that He asked me to do.

Then I started reading in the Bible about being called of God and I was reading in John 14 or 15 and it says that we should love each other as He has loved us. Wow. It was practically like a spear into my heart that I need to change my attitude and that I need to learn to just serve others out of the joy in knowing it would be what Christ would do.

I know that now is the time to learn to be humbled and work in the vineyard of the Lord. I love you all and I’m grateful for your prayers and for your love.  
Elder Beatty

Email 11/19/12

Hello everyone,

Really there is little to report this week that went by. There was a bit of an adventure that we had on Thursday. So Elder Martinez and I had to go to a religious convention while our Mission President was talking. We were going to act something like the APs so that he could have some help if he needed anything done. We got to the school and we set up a cool table with some materials about the church with lots of pictures about the family. It was actually looking to turn out super awesome. The main portion of the convention had just ended and now came the time when the people could go where they wanted to go and listen about a few of the presentations. There was us, One about the Coran, One about the Toran, One about the Bible, and another crazy set of scriptures that I had never even heard of. It was like some sort of flower child group that was based on God and the Nature of the earth. It was really weird. hahaha but when all the people started coming our way my comp just couldn’t take it anymore. He had had a slight fever with diarrhea and nausea. When all the people started walking our way my companion just started throwing up. He looked totally miserable. So what happened after that was that the president and I took my companion to a doctor’s office and we started figuring out what was wrong with him. To find out that he has Bronchitis. Well dang. The doctors said that he would have to rest for up to 4 days without any activity at all. Well that really isn´t what I as a missionary was wanting to hear. For the last 4 or 5 days I have been in the house reading my scriptures and Preach My Gospel, while taking care of Elder Martinez. A few days ago I was thinking that the Lord probably got him sick so that I would learn to love more and to give more service because right now my comp doesn´t even have the strength to get out of bed. It was a little rough for me at first because I am trying to make sure that our investigators can still keep progressing even though I am not visiting them and that they don´t lose their excitement to get baptized as well as I was trying to keep the Zone running by myself and make sure that we finish the month out strong with lots of baptisms. It was very very taxing on me emotionally. I learned that I can´t do it all by myself. I have to do all I can and then learn to rely on the Lord. So that’s what I did. I make phone calls to all our recent coverts and investigators to make sure that they went to church. We got 3 people in church and all of our recent converts went as well. Wow it was a huge miracle. I offered a very very long prayer of gratitude after hearing that they had gone. I know that it was a blessing of the Lord and that I needed to continue to show my faith through the small actions that I can do. I know that its the Lords work and that He will make up for what we can´t do physically if we have the faith to believe. Other than that I am doing good. Just lots of meditating and receiving of revelation as to what we can do to find more “news”. I love you all and hope you have a super awesome fantastic week.

rohaihu che familia

--
Elder Beatty

Email 11/12/12

Hello all,

Wow it just seems like the other day I was writing a letter and it seems like there is nothing new to talk about. Really we are just continuing in the work of the Lord and we are baptizing and teaching everyone we talk to. This week really was a huge test for us but we saw so many miracles. First off we came back from Asuncion on Monday night and we got home super super late because of traffic in Asuncion. We still had to get up the next day and do miracle diviones with our new district leader but we were both dead. I went to an area called barrio 4 that is super close to Franco, where I first started. We had an awesome day. We found 7 new people and we put them all with a baptismal date. Really and they were all pumped to go to church and to know if what we were sharing was true. It was a very very long day but it was full of miracles. The next day we went to a member’s house and we made some burritos. Wow those were so good. The member bought the pork that we were going to use and then during studies we slow cooked it in a sweet sauce that we made and then we took it to his house and ate it later. It tasted just like those burritos from Cafe Rio. The Barbecue Pork ones. It was lucky for us that the Paraguayans don´t really like sweet meat and so they didn´t want to eat much more and we got to take a ton home. AHHhh it was super nice hahaha

Really the whole week, we were working super super hard to just find some “news”. It’s starting to get really really hot here in Paraguay. Like it’s the kind of hot that makes you wonder what you’re doing in the sun. We kept diligent and asked references from everyone, we changed the way we were doing contacts, we asked references from the members, we used tons of new ways to try and find “news” but really nothing worked. We were super discouraged during the whole week because no matter what we did not even one person would let us in their house. I guess right now in CDE there is a huge crisis in the sense that there is no money. Before, what would happen was that all the Brazilians would come into CDE and spend all their money buying cheap goods and the Paraguayans would get the benefit. But now I guess that Brazil has put some huge strict border control and that the people have to pay a teriff on the goods that they bring into Brazil now so pretty much the whole city is becoming deserted and no one is working. I would think that this would allow a great opportunity to come for us in that it would wake up people´s thoughts about what is going to happen to their family in the future or what could they do to control what’s going on. Perfect pitch for the gospel right? But really this whole week I think we talked to over 1 thousand people just in the street and clapping their houses with no luck at all. We did have miracles when we found a few people though. When we found those people, really I would say a prayer of thanks to God for giving us that one person to teach.

After finding that one person I learned a lesson that really I don´t find the people, neither does my companion. It’s the Lord that guides us and He is the one that leads us to those people that are prepared. It took me a whole week of suffering in the sun and on my feet to come to realize that this isn´t my work. I could go for the rest of my mission not finding one single person because I would be trying to do it my way instead of the Lord´s way. I made a promise that I would have more faith in what the Lord can do in HIS work as long as I put in all of my part and try will all my might, mind, and strength to find people to share the gospel. I am truly grateful that I was able to learn this valuable lesson.

The whole week we were teaching our two diamond investigators Liz and Fulgencio. They were just sooooo awesome. The whole week we were calling members every single day and reminding them of the baptisms that we were going to have and trying to let the members all know Liz and Fulgencio. Saturday came and they both got baptized. Our ward mission leader who is a stud set up an awesome dvd presentation with a projector about baptism and had some videos about when Christ was baptized. While we were changing our clothes he had a talk going on by Elder Bednar about how really the journey is only beginning and that we need to continue on the path. We ended up having maybe about 35 members there. It was an awesome baptism and Fulgencio and Liz were sooooo happy. I baptized Fulgencio and another Member Baptized Liz. I am so grateful for the blessing that I have had to come to know them. Really they have shown me that all we need to have is a desire to become closer to Christ so that he can effect a great change within us. On Sunday they both got up and bore their testimonies. Fulgencio couldn´t even talk because he was so astounded by the spirit. After church he received the Priesthood and is going to receive a calling in the Sunday school presidency. Liz is going to receive a calling in the Primary. Wow, Isn´t being a missionary awesome. Just saving souls and making people happy. What could be better?

I know that Christ lives. We don´t have to see Him to know Him. All we have to do is take those little baby steps of obedience that will help us to come to know Him how He really is and really what His purpose is for us. I invite you all to try and be a little bit more obedient this week and see if you can tell the difference in your life. I promise you will be able to come to know our Savior more and that you will be able to feel peace that comes by the spirit. I love you all and hope you have a super awesome week.

Elder Beatty

Email 11/5/12

Wow it seems like just the other day I was writing an email about the same things that I have planned to write about but we will see how it goes. I know that sometimes these messages just get repetative but what can I do. It’s the mission hahaha. So I don´t think that I told you guys about changes really because we didn´t end up getting them till later on Monday. Elder Martinez and I ended up staying together here in CDE. Ya I’m alright with it. I guess that there must be something that I still have to learn from him so that I continue with my personal progression here in the mission and continue to prepare me to be the son of God that He wants me to be. Really in the whole zone there was only 1 change so it was super boring. It wasn´t anything special so we just kept working and kept trying to find new people. On Thursday we traveled out to a place called Santa Rita. It is a small city were pretty much everyone that is there speaks Portuguese. We went there so that we could do diviiones with the elders that are there. They are struggling really bad and so we wanted to go and see if there was anything that we could do to help them find some people to teach and have a little more progression in their area. Our diviiones went ok. We got a lot done and we taught lots of new people. But was a little sad to get the report at the end of the week and find out that really they didn´t teach much more after we left or find anyone else. Its moments like that when I have to ask myself what is really going on with those missionaries and what can I do to help them have the desire to just work and help others come unto Christ. Well we are going to keep praying and trying to receive revelation.

Other than that we have just been trying to find a whole bunch of “news” so that we can have more and more people to baptized. We have had two investigators and we have been working with them a ton to make sure that they get baptized. With them they are diamond investigators who come to church all by themselves and just love learning about the gospel and I know that they are going to make some awesome converts. We have their baptism all figured out for this weekend that is coming. We are going to try and get the whole church to come so that they can feel the support that the ward members have for them and that they are super pumped for their decision to get baptized. Really it’s so cool to see the difference that there is between someone who really wants to accept the gospel in their lives and people who really aren´t interested. The people who really want to come unto Christ and repent are like a sponge. they just seem to suck up every single little bit of information that they give you about how to get closer to Christ and how to repent while the people who really aren´t interested just kind of want you to convince them and show them new stuff but aren´t interested in changing anything.

Right now we are in Asuncion because we came to have a leadership meeting with President Agazzani. Really right now he is focused on changing a lot of the mission culture and so really we just sit and he tells us all the stuff he wants us to change and so we really haven´t had any super spiritual moments with the President in our meetings yet like how it was with President Callan, but I know that it’s ok. Change is good and you got to start somewhere if you want a change to come around. I´m just really tired because we had to stay up all night to catch our bus and we didn´t sleep and now I have to head back to CDE with a 7 hour bus ride that feels like a boat. It’s going to be loads of fun.

Really this last week I have had a huge change in my mission. I have really felt the powers of repentance working through me as I decided to more fully commit myself to becoming and doing what my Heavenly Father wants. I know that really it’s the change for the best that we can have and it’s the change that will allow us come unto Him someday and He will tell us good work and that our mission is done. I love you all and hope you have a super fantastic week. Sometimes there are some things that one should be the best at. I want to be the best at repenting.

Elder Beatty

Email 10/29/12

2012.Oct.29

Wow,

Really this week was incredible. We had a conference with Elder Bednar. We had to travel from Cuidad Del Este. We left at 11 o’clock at night and we got into Asuncion at like 3 in the morning and the conference would start at 7:30 so we had a good little sit down time that we waited and were able to get in. It was pretty cool because we waited for like 4 hours but we were able to sit on the very very front row and see the balls of sweat trickling down his face. Really it was such a huge and powerful meeting. He truly is an Apostle of the Lord. We met there with the entire mission and the other mission in Paraguay to listen to him and to be guided by his words. One thing that he talked about was the little silly Mormon culture that we have. That we have a lot of stupid, yes an apostle said stupid, ideas and ways of living that really make no sense at all. It was very very real to us that he knows us. He can relate to us and that he knows really what’s in our head instead of trying to pretend to be above us he really came down to our level to get into our hearts and our brains that really he knows us and that the Lord knows us.

First he started talking about how that we aren’t the teachers. That a person isn’t going to be converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ by some 19 year old that can barely speak the language and that doesn’t even have a family. We are not the reason why. The spirit is what converts people to the Lord. He says that if we think that we are the teachers we are truly mistaken and must repent. He talked about that we need to change the culture of the church. That there are lots of games that we try to play that don’t make any sense. Like when we are teaching we try to play... guess what’s in my head..... or try to confuse with knowledge.... These are habits and cultures that must be corrected. It was very impressive the way that he taught us. He said that he wasn’t going to stand up and talk to us for 4 hours like we had planned on him doing. That we would be conversing with him and showing him what we are learning and feeling. He said that if we read a scripture or said something it should be what the spirit tells us to do or say that we shouldn’t try to guess what he wanted us to say. He talked about faith. He talked about how we as people need to be agents and not objects. We have been blessed with the divine gift of agency and so we have become agents. Instead of learning by being objects and letting people give us all the answers and then not doing anything, we need to be agents and act. Use our faith and our ability to choose to act on those impressions that we receive from the spirit. He talked about how we as missionaries need to invite people to act. We can’t be the ones that just talk and talk and talk. We invite and allow the people to use what they know and feel and put it into action instead of us trying to force things upon them. Really it was a great conference in helping us learn the importance of trying to allow the spirit to be the teacher through using our agency to act with faith.

At the end we got to ask questions. Wow. It was probably the only time in my entire life that I will have to be able to ask an apostle a question. He told us that we shouldn’t ask stupid questions. Like where is the sword of Laban? He answered that one for us. He doesn’t know. And he said that he didn’t care. He told us also that he was going to be picking the questions by discernment. That he wasn’t going to be picking on the missionaries that he wanted to pick but the missionaries that the Lord wanted to pick. That was sweet. AND I GOT TO ASK HIM A QUESTION........ I asked him that if really it’s so important that we have the spirit that we need to be pure vessels so that the Lord can use us. I asked him how and when can we know with certainty that the Lord has forgiven us? He told me it was a good question. It was so amazing. I was having a conversation with an apostle. He was looking at me right in my eyes and I was looking at him. He asked me if I can remember some of my sins and I said yes. He said that it wouldn’t make sense if in Doctrine and Covenants it says that the Lord ...will remember the sins no more. That was revelation that wasn’t given to me or anyone else. Yes we can remember our sins. We remember them because it helps us in staying away from the pain, suffering and tears that it brought. He then began to explain that the spirit cannot enter into unclean temples. So he asked me if I have felt the spirit. I said yes. He said well then you know that at least there is some good in you and that the Lord hasn’t given up on you yet. He said that yes we aren’t perfect, that we cannot have the spirit every millisecond of every minute of every day until the end of time. But he said that we should feel the spirit a whole lot more than when we don’t feel it.

wow...........

Really I am so grateful for the blessing that I had to be able to go and listen to a servant of the Lord and learn not from his words but from the promptings of the spirit. I could feel within my heart that really he is a special witness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that really we all have faith and we should all be agents and USE IT. I love you and hope you have a good and awesome week, because I sure am going to...

Rohaihu

--
Elder Beatty

Email 10/22/12

Wow its crazy to think that it has already been a week since the last time that I wrote the family. I can´t even believe how fast the time seems to fly. Really all I focus on now is just trying to find people and get them to church and the Sundays just start flying by and I can´t slow them down hahaha. I know that it’s because I´m trying to stay focused and trying to help as many people as I can come unto Christ through his gospel. Well let’s see what the lowdown was for this week. On Tuesday we had a capacition where all the missionaries in the zone came to our church and we talked about the things that we had learned from President Agazzani. It went really well. We talked about planning and really that it’s all about showing our faith and putting down real names of real people and helping them through their own needs to come unto Christ. After that we started using our focus on how we looked at our areas. We have a lot of missionaries that just don’t have the faith that there are people in their areas ready to be baptized and that really they are just leaving the house to come back at the end of the day and say that they worked. We talked about John 4 35. We had them picture what a field looked like, a huge corn field. How did it look when there was nothing there and it was just dirt? We had them talk about their feelings and what hopes they had as they looked at an empty field. And then we showed them a picture of a field full of cotton and it seemed like a huge cloud and there was so much work to do. We asked them who would like to have an area full of investigators like this? Everyone raised their hand. Then we talked about how really the Lord wants every person to be able to partake of His salvation and so really our areas are full of people to be baptized we just need to work and show the Lord that we want to harvest all the fruit. It went really well and all the missionaries left super pumped to go out and baptize everyone. After that I went to Minga Guazu. They were going to have 6 baptisms and so I wanted to go out and make sure that those people were real and were going to get baptized si o si. The area is HUGE. We had to take buses everywhere so that we could talk to all their investigators. We had some sweet lessons with all of their investigators. It’s funny because I would just go and tell them that I heard that they were going to get baptized and so I wanted to come and congratulate them. They get all excited and happy after that. It’s funny... We got back at the end of the day and we were super tired from running around everywhere and just trying to visit all the people. That night I slept like a baby.

Yesterday on Sunday we had some sweet trials and sweet miracles. So the guy that we found on last Sunday, his name is Fulgencio. Si o si (yes o yes) he is going to be baptized. He is already a member practically. He knows so much and he loves how everything in the gospel just makes so much sense. He has already read the triple 4 times and knows it’s true. But he came to church walking in the rain yesterday. Wow, what faith. He doesn´t smoke or drink, and lives alone. Really he is practically a member already. Also Elder Martinez and I were walking in the rain before church just trying to find more people to get to church. We didn´t really have much success so finally we got back and we met a girl that was from our area. She said that she just got up and wanted to go to our church so she got ready and then walked in the rain to get there. Wow, Huge miracle. She is super nice and really intelligent and is going to get baptized si o si. Really church was filled with miracles for us especially while it was raining. In Paraguay the rain means that everything and everyone shut down. But I know that the Lord blessed us because we were trying to be diligent and showing our faith.

This last week I have been reading my journal from a year ago. It’s nice to see that I was writing in my journal every day. I really like being able to go back. But to me it is amazing the progress that I have seen. I knew that I really wasn´t that great of a missionary back last year but now I can see that I have taken the gospel and not only taught it correctly, but I have put it into my heart and applied it in my life so that I can be the missionary that the Lord wants me to be. I have been reading a lot of how my attitude was and I realize that my faith has grown a ton and now I have more love and hope for the people of Paraguay. I love them with all my heart. They have taught me so much and are going to continue to teach me a mountain of things.

This last week we were with a family and we were talking about faith and prayer. I couldn´t really think of an example of faith and prayer but later this week I was just walking in the hot sun and thinking about it. Then came to my mind that one time when mom took us to Snowflake and we got caught on Jacobs Lake in a huge snow storm. I remember that the car hit the guard rail because mom had lost control of the car. I remember that all of us as little kids we were super scared and didn’t know what to do. I remember that we said a prayer and then mom acted. She got out of the car to look for help. Then that one guy in his jeep stopped and helped us get to the top of the mountain. I know that the Lord sent us that divine help. He knew that we had showed our faith by praying and then acting on what we knew we could do. I know that the Lord is listening, but also that He doesn´t just expect us to sit and wait for the blessings of our prayers. I know that He expects us to act. To pray and then go out and do what we had prayed about. To show the Lord our confidence in Him and I know that He will guide our steps and place the people in our paths that will help us overcome our challenges and doubts.

We have been teaching another family called the Britas family. It’s been super hard for my companion because he wants to baptize them so bad. They are a super nice family and really are super humble. We know that they have felt the spirit when we are with them and that they are feeling the spirit when we are reading with them. The only problem is that they have gone through so many churches and so many religions that they just kinda mesh all of their teachings into one and kinda make their own religion. Ahhhh its super frustrating because they don´t really understand Spanish too well and I don´t speak Guaraní enough. Finally we got down to the point where we had to ask them who established their church that they go to. They said that really they didn´t know who did. Then we helped them understand why it would be important to know. We had read the scripture in 3 Nephi 27 about the church carrying the name of Christ, and then they said that their church was called Alpha and Omega another name of Christ. So we had to help them resolve that doubt and realize that it has to teach the gospel of Christ. So we asked them what was the doctrine of Christ according to their church and they didn’t know. Sometimes it’s a little frustrating here in Paraguay because people really don´t care about what the doctrine is in the church or what church they go to as long as they feel good while they go. Wow that is a huge sign that it’s the “true church”. It’s been a struggle for me to help people understand how important the doctrine is. But on the flipside it’s helped me not only to learn the doctrine but to really internalize it and to bare my testimony of it.

Well I’ve got to go. I know that this is the church of Christ, the same church that existed about 2000 years ago. Christ is driving this bus and we are all going to get into the celestial kingdom if we live the gospel and follow the basic principles taught by living prophets. I love you all, and I love the mission. Peace!

Rohaihu
--
Elder Beatty

Email 10/15/12

Como estan todos? Tranquilopa hahaha Well another week another day and another hour. The time just seems to keep clicking by slowly but surely. I have come to agree with Elder Nate Northcott in the sense that I’m super excited to come on P-day and write the family but then I get here and sit down and I find that I really don’t have anything to say or I don’t know where to begin. It’s quite the problem but I’m hoping that the Spirit will guide me so that I can say the things that I need to say in order to have a edifying letter of hope and faith to you all. This week we have had continued trials as a companionship. We did discover an area that has produced some great results. We are super excited to start working in that area to hopefully find someone who is ready to progress and accept the gospel in their lives.

The miracles of this week…

                      

So a few weeks ago we were in the terminal to receive a few missionaries that were coming from Asuncion where they had to go to sign some papers to stay in the country and we were there waiting at like 7 at night when a guy came up to my companion. I was off talking to another guy. I came over and realized that they were talking in English and so I joined the conversation. I guess that this guy was a member for over 30 years. He was baptized when he was a little kid and his mom and all his family were members. This guy is a super famous singer here in Paraguay and is known throughout Brazil and Argentina. We started to talk to him and he bought us some food and drinks. He was a super nice guy and spoke pretty good English. He said that he had learned English from the elders that he left with when he was a younger kid. We found out that he actually lived in our area and so we fixed some plans to go and visit him. We went and we found out that his wife is a super nice lady. She is a part Muslim but really likes the church. I guess the guy had been talking to her about the church and about the organization. We got them to come to General Conference which was a huge accomplishment because he hadn’t been to the church in 35 years and so it was good to see him overcome this obstacle. At the conference we watched a baptismal service and the women really liked it. The guy turned to us and said in English that he was going to baptized his wife hahaha it was super funny because his wife had no idea what he was saying. The wife really like the church and said that she wanted to come back every week. She wants to be baptized but she wants to know more. I thought it was pretty cool. I have never really taught a Muslim before. She is super nice and really likes the gospel of Christ. We are going to try and put a baptismal date with her this week so that she can take that step. It’s also good that we have been getting this member to come to church again. He is a good guy and all, but being famous for singing has really taken its toll on him.

Another miracle that happened yesterday... So really this week we have been struggling to find good people. We have a thing in the mission when we call people golden. In the sense that they are super awesome and are going to get baptized. I was talking to Elder Martinez about that and about how we are looking for golden people and then I was thinking, Hey I don’t want golden people. I want people that are like diamonds. hahaha So we just kinda shrugged it off and we kept looking. So what happened was that our appointments had all dropped and so we were making our way to go teach a family that we had taught a few weeks ago and I felt that we needed to go talk to a guy that I had contacted called Juan Carlos. We went and he was there. He let us in and we talked about lesson 1. Wow this guys he doesn’t look too intelligent but really he knows his stuff. We asked him how he became so smart about religious stuff and he said that he had read the bible a lot and another book called the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Wow…blew us away. So we asked him if he had it and so he brought it out. Sure enough he walked out with a triple combination. I guess that there was a girl that was living next to him and she had left to go work in Spain and left a bunch of books and he went through them and found the Triple Wow....... We started talking about the restoration of the church and gospel of Jesus Christ and you could just see in his eyes that a light went on. That he understood. We told him that the Book of Mormon was the evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet and we asked him if he believed the Book of Mormon was true. He looked at the book and he said that he knew without a doubt in his heart that it was true. So after that we read a scripture in DC 39 v 10 and with all the strength and power and authority that I possessed,  I looked at him straight in the eye and invited him to be baptized. He said yes. It was one of the moments when you hear the opera sound in the background. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH…. I just looked at my companion and he was all smiles. The awesome thing was that he told us right before we closed that for a few weeks he had been praying and asking God about the way that he should go to be able to give his life in service to others and then what happens? We show up.... MIRACLES....... It was like we were walking on clouds after. It was a great experience for me in the sense that the Lord is preparing people and if we follow the promptings of the spirit He will guide us. I just love it when stuff like this happens. It makes all the walking and all the sweat and all the tears and prayers worth it. IT’S THE MISSION!!!!!!!!!

Another funny story to end was that on Sunday night my companion and I needed to leave Cuidad Del Este to travel to the office in Asuncion for a meeting that we would have with all the other Zone leaders and President. So we set our alarm for 1200 so that we could get up, shower, eat and be waiting at the bus stop with plenty of time to get on and find a seat with the other Zone leaders. So we hit the sack. While I was sleeping I got a phone call and didn’t recognize the number. I answered and it was the zone leaders and they said. Hey we are leaving now we will be at your bus stop in 5 minutes… AHHHHHHHHHHHHH… I practically flew out of bed and started yelling at my companion to get up and get ready that the bus would be getting here and leaving in 5 minutes. I bet it would have been a funny sight to see. We were running all over the place just getting all our stuff together and getting dressed. I bet it would have looked like we were running around without any purpose. So finally we get down the stairs of our apartment and we runnn to the bus stop. We get there and 2 minutes later the bus comes and we get on. As we sit down ,I put on my tie and my jacket and reach down to do up my shoes only to find that I had forgotten socks. How in the world did I forget socks? hahahaha Everything went well and we had a good meeting with the president.

I love the mission. Really I hope that every person in the whole world serves because really it’s the thing that helps get the training we need to tackle life and take it by the reigns.

I love you all hope you have fantastic week.

Rohaihu

Les quiero--
Elder Beatty

Email 10/8/12

Wow I can´t even imagine how fast the time has seem to fly by. At first I have to ask forgiveness for not getting a letter off. I found myself in a stressful picturing sending situation and didn’t have time to write anything. I hope that right now I can get off enough material to satisfy you all and your hunger to know really what’s going down with Elder Beatty in Paraguay.

Wow wasn´t conference just super amazing. It was all topped off with the announcement by President Monson of the younger missionaries being able to serve. I thought that really it is a sign once again that this is a progressing church. It is not dead. We have living beings that can receive the guidance of heaven for the body of Christ here on earth. It truly marvels me to see the example of them and how they are patient in all things and rely on the Lord to direct His church. May we all have this same desire to look unto to Christ so that He can also guide our lives through the Holy Ghost. I loved looking at the faces of the young men in the audience and seeing how their mouths were wide open. Really it will be a great blessing for the world to have young people showing them how to follow christ in his gospel. I also liked the emphasis that the first presidency put on the misisonaries acutally being ready to go on a mission. Just because a young man turns 18 doesn´t mean that he has to just pack up his bags and head out. I would like to bear my testimony that mission preparation is something real. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A TESTIMONY BEFORE LEAVING. YOU HAVE TO LIVE THE GOSPEL OF REPENTANCE BEFORE LEAVING. YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK MORMON AND KNOW THAT IT IS TRUE BEFORE LEAVING. I will have to admit that I really wasn´t quite as ready as I should have been. I know that we really need to be immersed in the gospel as much as we can because the world is a totally different place than southern Utah. I wouldn´t want to say this to scare anyone. But I know that really as we strive to prepare BEFORE we will reap of the blessings DURING and AFTER.

I just loved in conference how they focused on saying a few keys words and makings sure that they said them practically every time. Things like True Repentance. What is true repentance? How can I know when I am truly repented? You will know when the Holy Ghost has born testimony to your soul that God remembers your sins no more. I loved how they talked about conversion. About having a testimony and then living it. Knowing that these things are true and then being true to those things. Really the gospel of Jesus Christ is what gives us the healing power to prepare our soul for eternity. I loved them talking about the family. It gave me great moments of reflection about how I have been blessed with my family and how that really I have had my parents as examples to me for longer than I can remember. It made me think about the principles that I would place into the walls of my home. The things that I would teach and the things that I would do. So that I and my family can become to be converted in Christ and form a home that is strong and founded upon the Rock.

I loved hearing from the Apostles and how their testimonies are so personal. How we can come to know Christ by living HIS gospel and following His ways. We don´t have to see Him. But some day we will. I was hearing from a few missionaries that they were a little tired of hearing the same stuff over and over and over again. That they wanted something new. That they wanted the prophet to gives us something that was fresh and that would expound our knowledge. I couldn´t help thinking to myself ¨You really want to be blessed with more commandments when you can´t even get up on time in the morning? ¨ It really helped me see that obedience is a heavenly law and that it will be the bases for our relationship with Christ. I loved seeing that even faith is related to reason. That we need both to being able to be flying stably on the plane of life. I loved the question by Elder Holland ¨DO YOU LOVE ME?¨ it helped me see that really some day we will answer that question and that we will have to answer the truth. What will you answer? I love general conference. It made me a little sad to walk into the main room on Saturday to see it empty but I know that someday every ear will hear and every eye will see the progress that the Lord´s church is making and the revelations that will bless our lives.

On other news I have learned that my convert in ybate Epifanio Ortiz this next week will be performing the baptisms of three people,  His dad and his two sons. I was super pumped to hear those announcements and we super excited to know that epifanio has fallen in love with the gospel. I know that he knows that the church is true. I heard from a missionary that had the chance to talk to him that before his baptism he really didn´t understand all the stuff he was learning and he really didn´t know if the church was the ONLY true church. But he said that when we invited him to be baptized he felt that it was the right thing to do and that he had to do it in this church. I am so glad to know now that he has formed his testimony and is sharing it with others. ¨How great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me¨ I love you all. I love this mission. Really this is the best mission in the world. Start preparing Austen and Naomi and even Larson. You guys are up next to bat in the field of missionary service. WHOOOOTTT

Elder Beatty

Email 10/1/12

Poor guy didn't have time to send us a letter this week.  He did send a note to his dad that said he is doing well & has a new companion. 
This is what I got from him today....
 

 

AHHHHHH i´m so upset. I spent this whole time trying to send pictures and I got them all uploaded and everything and then the sending doesn´t work. I¨m sorry but I don´t have time left love you all!

Email 9/24/12 Poem style

Sorry that I don´t have any new pictures but literally I have been spending the last 4 hours trying to find a computer to write and finally we found a place that is open. Sometimes here in Paraguay people just don´t feel like working and so everything just shuts down. I don´t like it. But you all will be graced in this moment with a poem slash story that is penned by the famous Elder Beatty

I am a missionary

Six thirty the alarm sounds off. I get onto my knees to pray,

I feel like I was just doing the same thing, but after a long, hard yesterday

The prayer is finished my day is looking to be great

Because I know the Lord and I have some miracles to make.

Next we have our exercises, they won´t end up being too rough

Until I look down and notice the large roundness of my gut.

I get out a good amount of pushups and a pathetic group of crunches

And I make the same promise I made before, to hold back on the munchies.

With the exercises done and my obedience complete

Now comes my favorite part, when the shower and I get to share a nice treat.

I turn on the water and wait for the steam to show

But it doesn’t come. It looks like the hot shower is a ´No Go´.

I jump in and out shivering and yelling like a girl

I think ´´someday I will have that hot shower even if I have to kill´´

In the end all is well and I am squeaky clean

I get dressed and put on my tie; a glimpse of how clean it used to be is but a dream.

Seven Fifty hits I got ten minutes to eat

I open up the fridge; It smells of old nasty rotten meat.

I go to scan the shelves on the door

It looks like a preboiled egg is the choice, I couldn´t ask for more.

I kneel down to pray to start my studies for the day

Because it’s the Spirit that will show me the Lord´s will and way.

I scan the scriptures, open Preach my Gospel, my heart and mind ready to learn.

I feast upon the words of Christ and my heart begins to burn.

I learn of powerful missionaries and how they came to be so,

Their examples and love have helped me so much to grow.

Nine comes & me and my comp begin to pray

Knowing that how we study the next hour will make or break our day.

We finish up our plans and do a practice or 2

Man I just never get tired of the restoration, don´t you too?

Ten o’clock hits, time to study some Spanish

Sometimes the words roll of my tongue more like a dead fish.

Ten thirty hits and finally it’s time to preach the gospel.

I think how lucky I am, I don’t have to ring a doorbell.

We trudge through the bright sunny streets

Talking to every child of God that we just happen to meet.

My Book of Mormon is worn and dirty, the cover is worn off,

But the words contained within are billions of times better than what Shakespeare could have ever thought.

We teach a few lessons here and there looking for the chosen children of God.

Some people try to hide, to lie, or even to dodge.

We continue working, testifying and praying,

Because there is someone out there who, for us, is waiting.

Finally we find them, those people God has prepared.

Those who are humble and have faith beyond compare.

We teach the gospel of the lamb, with power and authority we testify.

The spirit touches them and we see a light of hope come into their eyes.

We leave the lesson flying on a spiritual high

All we can do is smile as we leave the house saying goodbye.

We open up our agendas with a miracle to write,

In that moment the sun has never shined so bright.

We look at our schedule to see what’s next on our plate

Then with a feeling of horror we realize that we are late.

We begin to run, the people all around us staring in a gaze,

Ya I know I should run in the Olympics, but those were the good ol days

Ya I’m sure it is a strange sight to see

2 dudes in ties running as if they’ve got somewhere to be.

We got to where we needed to go

Huffing and puffing as if we just participated in a P90X workout show......

We clap the house our hopes high and our faith strong

When a little kid comes out and tells us that his parents aren´t home.

We realize that not everyone is prepared or ready, but will be someday

We turn, take a deep breath and then continue on our way.

The day is over and tiredly we crawl back to the house

Hoping that returning we don´t find our ¨pet¨mouse.

Returning to our knees we thank God for the miracles of that day

And again we ask the guidance of the Spirit to come our way.

We plan for the next day and close with a prayer

I can’t think of a word that rhymes with prayer.

I fill records and have 5 minutes to write the events of the day.

And then yet again I find myself on my knees ready to pray.

I crawl into the burning sheets and curl up into a ball

Some habits just don´t seem to go away at all.

Sleep overtakes reality, I dream of preaching the word.

The alarm goes off and again I enter into the world.

For some, the mission is the same, day after day

But for me, I like it. That’s how I want it to stay.

This is the Lord´s work I am His soldier faithful and strong

I know if I am an instrument in His hands nothing can go wrong.

The gospel is true it changes and prepares us spiritually

For that one day when we hear the master say ¨blessed are ye, come unto me¨

I hope that you all enjoyed this little story that I wrote. Really we can´t describe in words all the feelings and events that happen in the normal day of a missionary, but you can all be assured that they are feelings and experiences that not only change us as people, but help us prepare to be men and women for eternity. I love the mission. I really wouldn´t change this time for anything. I know why the Lord wants 19 year old boys to preach His gospel. I love the Lord, I love my Father in Heaven, and I love you all too. I hope this story touched you. I hope you all have a super fantastic week and just keep swimming. haha

Rohayhu PARAGUAY.......

--
Elder Beatty