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

Email 9-17-12

Hello everyone. Firt I have to ay that I am orry if you can´t read thi. My keyboard from outh america i borken and o there are a fe key that don´t ork. But i kno that really if you have a deire to read hat I am riting you ill have the tength to keep readying.

I didn't want you to have to read the entire letter like this so here is the "translated" version... (Kelli)

Hello everyone. First I have to say that I am sorry if you can´t read this. My keyboard from South America is broken and so there are a few keys that don´t work. But I know that really if you have a desire to read what I am writing you will have the strength to keep reading. This week was really really hard for us. We had a meeting as a Zone on Tuesday where we got to share with all the missionaries what our vision was as a zone and as well as what President Agazzani wants us to do and complete. It was super super good. We talked a lot about who we are and what we have to do as representatives of Jesus Christ by inviting everyone to repent and be baptized. The missionaries left way excited to work and invite everyone to be baptized. After the reunion that we had, me and my comp decided to go to a place called Zanta Rita. Its about 1 hour away from CDE. The missionaries are really struggling there and aren´t finding success and we feel like we need to do something. So we left our area without anybody to teach and we went and worked with those missionaries.

We got there and “oh my heavens” : Everyone only spoke Portuguese. ahhhhh it was so hard for me because we just kept talking to everyone and no one would let us in because we didn´t speak their language. But it was super cool because at about 5 o’clock me and another elder we said a prayer and asked the Lord to bless us in finding 3 families and to teach 6 lessons in 4 hours. We had the faith and so we set off working. We did it!!! We found 3 families and we invited them all to be baptized. It was a huge miracle and we were so happy to know that the Lord was watching out for us and really that He was guiding us to those people who were ready to accept the gospel. Side note... Those three families went to church on Sunday as well and are super pumped to get baptized whooooooohoooooo the only really sad rough part about when we went there was that there were only 2 beds and there were 4 missionaries, so me and my comp ended up sleeping on the floor. I made a vow to myself when I got up that I would never sleep on the floor again while I am here in Paraguay. hahahah It was terrible. hahaha

Other than that, really this week a just a huge week of tests and diligence. My comp and I work super super super hard every day getting references from everyone and being super persistent in trying to get into houses to teach but really no one lets us in. It was a little discouraging for us because we didn´t know why it was happening if we were working super hard and being obedient. But the Lord blessed us on Saturday. We found 5 families and found 19 people in total. We invited them all to be baptized and they all accepted. It was an awesome day and we knew that the Lord had blessed us and had given us the blessings after we had been diligent in working and finding people. I know now that really the Lord is ready to bless us in the moment if we continue being obedient and trying to complete our duty.

One thing that has really been bugging me here in Paraguay is that always people are talking about how they have faith to move mountains. They believe that really faith can move mountains. I was pondering about that this week. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that says that the Brother of Jared did move a mountain. But I was thinking that really there isn´t a need to move a mountain in my life. Then something popped into my head that maybe those mountains that we need to move are the trails and weaknesses that we have had as human beings. Maybe the Lord put those mountains within us to test our faith. It was really an inspirational moment for me that really I do have faith to move mountains because I am making those changes in my life. I am living the gospel and overcoming my weaknesses.

We were sharing with a guy this week and he said that he didn´t deny the existence of God but more or less he didn´t accept it either. It was interesting because he started talking about the more and more knowledge that we get the more and more that we feel inside that God doesn´t exist. hahah It just made me laugh when he said that. Really?? It’s because he doesn´t have a testimony. He can´t “study” to gain a testimony. Try to explain how you know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Try using logic to try and explain how you know. It’s impossible. Everything depends on if we are ready to receive an answer through the Spirit, that what we feel and know is true. Really I can testify that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I know through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you all to receive this same testimony instead of relying only on knowledge.

I love you all and hope you have a super awesome week

Rohyahu

Elder Beatty

Email 9-10-12

2012.Sept.10

HELLLLOOOO

Ahh I’m kinda mad at myself. I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to send to you all and I wrote it down so that I could type super fast, but guess what? Its back in the house and I’m super far away ahhhhh Its ok I´m gonna remember to bring it the next week si o si. hahah

This week has been a week of tests for me personally. Not only I had tests personally but as a companionship we feel that God is testing our diligence. We got back super super late from the conference that we had with the other zone leaders on Monday. It was fun traveling with the other zone leaders because we just messed around and took a ton of funny pictures but we sure felt it on Tuesday when we woke up and it felt like my head and feet weighed 20 tons. ahhhhhhh

The conference was super cool. We talked about what is our purpose as missionaries. Really who we are and what we should do as servants and representatives of Christ. We went on Tuesday to go to district meeting and then we did divisions with some other elders. I stayed in my area and we saw a huge miracle.

We were just walking along and we contacted a guy that was just sitting in the shade holding his little baby. We went up and shook his hand and he told us to sit down right away. We found out that he just got back from Argentina. He was Paraguayan but just got back from being in Argentina for 8 years. Wow. hahaha he talks with a funky Argentina accent hahaha We asked if we could share a message of Christ with him and his wife. His wife is from Argentina as well and she talked with a funky accent hehehe. We talked about the restoration with them and the blessings that come from living it as a family. We found out that the wife has never been baptized and almost got baptized on Sunday, but some complications came up and they couldn´t do it. We invited her to be baptized on the spot and she accepted. She has a ton of good questions about why there are tons of religions and how she can know which is correct. She is going to read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it’s true. It was crazy because she had never thought to ask God before.

Really this whole week it has just been getting hotter and hotter and hotter. I can´t imagine what it is going to be like in January if we are already feeling this kind of heat. I’m not too excited for it but I’m just going to keep moving forward. On Wednesday we were talking with a member who is a lawyer and we have an investigator who can´t get baptized because he needed to get permission from the government because he was on probation. We have been trying to get this permission for over 5 weeks. We talked to the lawyer and he told us that he didn´t understand what the problem was but now he did and could get us the permission the next day. Wow we thought it was a miracle. On Thursday he gave us a call and told us that he had the permission in his hand. We headed over to his house and called President Agazzani and asked him if the permission was valid. He said that it was and that we could baptized our investigator whoooooooooooohooooooooooooo We were so happy.

We got everything ready and on Saturday he got baptized with his 8 year old daughter. Wow it was just sooo coool to see the miracles that are willing and ready to come our way. We didn´t know on Wednesday if we would have a baptism or not and it looks like it was time for this guy to get dunked. We were super happy and grateful for this man. Juan Carlos gave up drinking, smoking, playing soccer on Sundays to get baptized. He has lived like a member without being a member for 4 weeks. It was something super special when he got baptized. He values his baptism and he just loves having the Holy Ghost hahahah.

I guess one little funny thing that happened after church yesterday was that We were getting ready to leave and we were shaking everyone’s hand and just saying goodbye when I shook the hand of this old lady. I´m telling you this lady if you looked at her you would think that she was a witch doctor or something crazy like that because the way she dresses looks and talks just says it all. She didn´t let my hand go, and she pulled me in real close and looked me straight in the eyes. She closed one of hers and she said that someday I was going to be an Apostle. hahahah “wow” !!!  I thought I was going to pee my pants. I thought she was going to kiss me or something worse. But wow I really feel like she is prophesying or something so I guess I better get ready. Apostle Beatty hahaha ya right!

This last week I was reading a little bit in James and I was reading the part right before James1 5 where Joseph Smith was inspired to ask God. But right before that part it talks about suffering our trials and challenges. It talks about how we have trials to help us learn how to be patient. I really do understand that after this week. We have just talked to so many blasted people. Our area is huge so we never talk to the same people twice but I feel that really no one wanted to accept us this week. The Lord is just testing our patience and diligence. I really feel that the Lord loves us. He wouldn´t give us any sort of test, trial, or affliction unless it was going to help us come closer to Him. I´m trying to help other missionaries come to understand that so that they can continue to push through their trials instead of just dying. I know the Lord will give us the strength that we need to push through our trials. I love you all and hope that you have a super fantastic week. The gospel is true, and because the gospel is true the church has to be true. Trust in the fruits of living the gospel and you will see. You are all in my prayers

Rohayhu

Elder Beatty