January 28, 2013
Hello all,
This week has really been an adventure of the whole zone because it has been
changes. It’s always a sweet adventure when we have new missionaries that come
and its always a sweet adventure to see what happens with them when they get in
their areas. We still have the biggest zone and it’s only gonna get bigger as
President sends more sister missionaries here in Nemby. AHHHHHH Sometimes I
feel like I am turning into my own mission President and that I’m gonna be able
to open up my little own mission down here in Nemby if he keeps sending us more
and more missionaries. hahahah No its good. It’s always great to be able to
meet more missionaries. I hope that they like it here in Nemby and just keep
going with their mentality towards baptism. So that is pretty sweet that Jesse Katzenbach
is gonna be coming down here. He lucked out in that he is going to come when
things are getting cold so that he doesn´t have to suffer very much. Tell him
that he is gonna be coming down to the best mission in the world. Where the
people are the “bomb” and just love being baptized. hahahaha
So me and my comp got separated. Ugh. I thought for once that I was going to be
able to stay with a companion for more than 2 changes that I actually got along
with. He got a call from President Agazzani to go to the office to work as the
missionary that is in charge of the records. Ya it was a huge surprise to him
and he was a little bummed to find out that he was going to leave. We had just
got the ward turned around and the zone baptizing and now he has to leave. It
was a little bit of a sad day on Wednesday when we went to the bus terminal and
had to say goodbye. I got my new companion there as well. Elder Velasquez. He
is a short stocky baseball kid from Guatemala. Yes they do play baseball there.
He is a cool guy. Funny story is that when I went out to CDE my first change he
was in the zone and I was his zone leader. We did divisions once and we learned
a lot together. I told him that he was probably going to be a District and zone
leader some day for his attitude towards the work and for his baptisms. And it
was funny when I learned that he was gonna be my comp and he was gonna be the
Zone leader with me. So I guess that I was just seeing the future when I told
him that. hahaha jk. Well this week has been one super super full of adventures
and awesome people.
So we headed out on Wednesday and we had decided and had set some goals as to
what we wanted to accomplish as a companionship this change. We decided that we
wanted to baptize every single week starting next week. Well ok it was fine by
me. We left our first day and we found 5 people that are super super cool. It
was a weird experience because when we started talking to those people they
really weren´t very interested and didn´t want to hear our message and when we
left their house they had a baptismal date and wanted to come to church. Ohhh
yeahh the spirit is the teacher. We had a sweet experience in that they
actually came to church as well. The two kids that came are Jose Maria, and his
little bro Lucas. Jose is on course to be drafted as a professional soccer player
in Paraguay. So that will be pretty sweet. He said that he has a lot of dreams
and wants to do lots of great things in his life. He said that we had helped
him see that if he doesn´t do what God wants him to, he is never going to
complete his dreams. It was sweet to see his faith. He had a bunch of soccer
training commitments that he had been given to do on Sunday but he decided to
come to church instead with his bro. He loved church and wants to come again.
He says that every single time that we come to teach him he feels super good
and he wants to get baptized super super bad. Ok sweet.
We also had a super sweet experience this week in finding a family. We are
starting to work in a part of our area that is super super far away from
everything. We had found some pretty sweet people out there when I was with
Elder Hugie so we decided to start putting in a bigger amount of time to work
there. We went out and one of the people that we had found dropped us. Their
dad said that we were liars and that he would get all beat up if he joined our
church. Wow, harsh. So we were a little sad because we lost a good
investigator. While we were deciding what to do I looked over and saw a guy
that looked pretty angry walk into his house. I decided to go over and see why
he was so angry and to see if I could help him. One thing is that with Paraguans
when they are angry or offended it is very very difficult to get them to leave
their houses so I knew that I couldn´t be the one that was gonna get this guy
to leave his house, it was gonna be the spirit. So we clapped the house and he
sent out his two kids to see what we wanted. We asked them to go get their dad.
So he didn´t want to let us in but somehow we got in and we started talking to
him. We talked to him about the family and about the restoration of the gospel.
Really it was such an awesome lesson. We started out just teaching him, and by
the time that we had finished the lesson there were six people there listening
to us. It was awesome. Really I had no idea how we did it. We invited them to
be baptized and they all accepted. At the end of the lesson when we were about
to leave the guy stopped us and said ¨hey right now thanks to you guys I feel
soo much better, I don´t know why, but I am super super glad that I let you
into my house to share with my family, when are you gonna come back.¨ Wow, we
told him that he was feeling that spirit and that he will be able to always
feel that with his family if they live what we will teach them. He was super
super pumped to share with us again. We haven´t been able to find the guy again
but I know they will get baptized. I know from that experience that it is the
spirit that will guide us and help people feel the truth of our message. We
need to teach them in such a manner that they can understand what we are
teaching and that they can understand the importance of what we are teaching.
That is why we can´t be lazy in our teaching. I know that if we follow the
prompting of the spirit He will guide us. He will let us know what to say in
the precise moment that we need it and He will guide us to the people that are
being prepared by the Lord to accept this grand gospel message. I love the
mission. I love this area. I love the work and I know that we are gonna have
great and large amounts of success in this area with my companion.
I love you all and hope that you have a super super deduper week. Love you all.
Elder Beatty
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Email 1/21/13
January 21, 2013
Wow this week has been crazy. I think that
I stepped foot in my area to work maybe two days but really this has been the
best week that we have had so far as far as the progress of our investigators
and teaching good new people. But before all that I got some questions to
answer.
1. Tell us about one baptismal challenge you made this week. Why was it special? So one crazy baptismal challenge that we had this week was that we were on divisions with some other elders and we were on fire. In less than 3 hours we had taught 4 people and had taught 3 lessons. We had found and taught this one family about the restoration of the gospel and they were super super interested and wanted to know about the true church. We invited them to pray and ask about it. They said they would. Then we began to talk about baptism and the reason why we are baptized. It was so amazing to see the light go into their eyes when they actually came to understand the doctrine of baptism. That they could be cleaned of their sins and enter into the path that will lead them into eternal life as a family. We read a scripture that is in Doctrine and Covenants section 35 verse 19 I think? Its the one were the Lord is inviting someone to be baptized. It says something like this. The hour of your freedom has come. Arise, Repent and be Baptized and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost which is the greatest gift that you have every come to know. Wow it was a sweet baptismal invite. The family was like ¨yes of course we will be baptized¨ It was a sweet lesson that helped the other missionary raise up his confidence.
2. Do you see many insects or bugs this time of year? Yes there are tons and tons and tons and tons of mosquitoes. Don´t worry mom I am using repellant. Right now is the season when people get something called dengue. It is a disease carried around by the mosquitoes. It’s called the bone crushing disease because when you have it, it feels like your bones are getting crushed. I hear that it is miserable. Pretty much all year around there are bugs because it’s always hot. There is a way cool grasshopper here that looks like an Indian warrior in the sense that it is all painted bright cool looking colors. I will try and get a picture of one. What is the pesky-est? I would have to say that the bug that is the worst would be the fruit flies. There are always always fruitflies all over our faces in our ears and they get super super annoying when I am trying to teach someone.
3. What is your favorite lesson to teach to investigators? I love teaching people lesson #1. It is the lesson about the restoration and then inviting them to be baptized. I love teaching them and asking questions to help them come to the conclusion for themselves that they need to be in the gospel to be saved. Also that they need to know if our message is true and that they need to be baptized again so that they can repent. We usually end up teaching lesson one about 3 or 4 times a day and so good thing it’s my favorite. I would have to say that my other favorite lesson is the Keeping the Sabbath day holy.
Wow so this week we had a huge conference with the zone. It is something that we have started doing when president Agazzani came to the mission. Hey I’m sorry I gotta bounce. We ran out of time because we got a call from the Assistants. I love you guys and hope you have an amazing week. I´m loving the mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
--
Elder Beatty
1. Tell us about one baptismal challenge you made this week. Why was it special? So one crazy baptismal challenge that we had this week was that we were on divisions with some other elders and we were on fire. In less than 3 hours we had taught 4 people and had taught 3 lessons. We had found and taught this one family about the restoration of the gospel and they were super super interested and wanted to know about the true church. We invited them to pray and ask about it. They said they would. Then we began to talk about baptism and the reason why we are baptized. It was so amazing to see the light go into their eyes when they actually came to understand the doctrine of baptism. That they could be cleaned of their sins and enter into the path that will lead them into eternal life as a family. We read a scripture that is in Doctrine and Covenants section 35 verse 19 I think? Its the one were the Lord is inviting someone to be baptized. It says something like this. The hour of your freedom has come. Arise, Repent and be Baptized and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost which is the greatest gift that you have every come to know. Wow it was a sweet baptismal invite. The family was like ¨yes of course we will be baptized¨ It was a sweet lesson that helped the other missionary raise up his confidence.
2. Do you see many insects or bugs this time of year? Yes there are tons and tons and tons and tons of mosquitoes. Don´t worry mom I am using repellant. Right now is the season when people get something called dengue. It is a disease carried around by the mosquitoes. It’s called the bone crushing disease because when you have it, it feels like your bones are getting crushed. I hear that it is miserable. Pretty much all year around there are bugs because it’s always hot. There is a way cool grasshopper here that looks like an Indian warrior in the sense that it is all painted bright cool looking colors. I will try and get a picture of one. What is the pesky-est? I would have to say that the bug that is the worst would be the fruit flies. There are always always fruitflies all over our faces in our ears and they get super super annoying when I am trying to teach someone.
3. What is your favorite lesson to teach to investigators? I love teaching people lesson #1. It is the lesson about the restoration and then inviting them to be baptized. I love teaching them and asking questions to help them come to the conclusion for themselves that they need to be in the gospel to be saved. Also that they need to know if our message is true and that they need to be baptized again so that they can repent. We usually end up teaching lesson one about 3 or 4 times a day and so good thing it’s my favorite. I would have to say that my other favorite lesson is the Keeping the Sabbath day holy.
Wow so this week we had a huge conference with the zone. It is something that we have started doing when president Agazzani came to the mission. Hey I’m sorry I gotta bounce. We ran out of time because we got a call from the Assistants. I love you guys and hope you have an amazing week. I´m loving the mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
--
Elder Beatty
Monday, January 14, 2013
Email 1/14/13
Wow what a week. I am still as exhausted
as ever but we are still chugging along. Sometimes I have to joke around with
my companion that I am getting so old and tired that he has to buy me a walker
to scoot around in. Really my companion and I are doing great. We have formed a
great bond of work and understanding. It’s been a great change from what I have
seen in the mission before. I feel that right now we are working as a great
team and we are going to get tons of things done. We have already accomplished
a ton as far as getting the zone moving. I know that we are going to continue
seeing a change as we continue pushing and getting things done according to the
revelation and goals that we receive and set.
As far as other stuff that has been going on this week. We had interviews on Tuesday. It was a super super crazy day. So we had district meeting from 10 thirty until noon. And then the interviews started at one and ended at eight. The whole time we had to be there and trying to keep the missionaries busy and focused. It’s crazy when you have 26 missionaries in your zone trying to keep them all focused on things that are important. We were able to share with them a few things and ideas that we have to help the zone get going. But I think in the end it was a great thing that we had the interviews with president. A lot of the missionaries came out and they were a lot more focused and felt better and ready to work harder. I just love president. He just has this type of attitude that is super super contagious. He can help pretty much anyone bring the best out of themselves. Finally at the end it came to me. I wanted Elder Hugie to go last but I am supposedly the Senior companion of the two so I had to go last. I had a really good talk with President. It’s been great to form this relationship with him. I feel that he really trusts my opinion and views on missionaries and how the zone is doing. He talked with me about some of the missionaries and what is going on with them so that we can help them have more success and then I was able to ask him a few questions. I asked him what was his purpose in sending me to zone 3. He told me that it looks like the Lord trusts me to be able to handle the largest zone in the mission and to get it baptizing again. It made me feel good to know that President, and the Lord trusts me enough to send me out here. A few other things that we talked about were that I am probably going to be ending my mission here in Nemby. President said that he is probably going to leave me here so that I can finish hard and finish strong without having to worry about going anywhere. It was a great talk that really helped me build my confidence and raise my spirit. I really just love this Argentinean man so much. He has so much love and fire in him.
So other things that have been going on in the zone is that we are starting to get things rolling as far as baptisms. So far in the month of January every district has been getting a baptism and until this point in January we are the zone with the highest amount of baptisms. We have lots of people in our plans to baptize the last few weeks of this month. We are going to keep getting the missionaries excited to keep on baptizing through this month.
One other thing that has really touched me this last week is that I have really been focusing on listening. I have decided that listening is one thing that I need to better before I end up coming home. Elder Hugie is helping me learn to listen more so that I can let the spirit guide me. Really Elder Hugie is a great missionary. He is focused and he loves the people. I have really enjoyed my time with him so far and hope that we can keep working together the next change. Well that is all I got folks I hope you have a great week. The gospel is true and I love preaching it.
Rohaihu mi familia
Elder Beatty
As far as other stuff that has been going on this week. We had interviews on Tuesday. It was a super super crazy day. So we had district meeting from 10 thirty until noon. And then the interviews started at one and ended at eight. The whole time we had to be there and trying to keep the missionaries busy and focused. It’s crazy when you have 26 missionaries in your zone trying to keep them all focused on things that are important. We were able to share with them a few things and ideas that we have to help the zone get going. But I think in the end it was a great thing that we had the interviews with president. A lot of the missionaries came out and they were a lot more focused and felt better and ready to work harder. I just love president. He just has this type of attitude that is super super contagious. He can help pretty much anyone bring the best out of themselves. Finally at the end it came to me. I wanted Elder Hugie to go last but I am supposedly the Senior companion of the two so I had to go last. I had a really good talk with President. It’s been great to form this relationship with him. I feel that he really trusts my opinion and views on missionaries and how the zone is doing. He talked with me about some of the missionaries and what is going on with them so that we can help them have more success and then I was able to ask him a few questions. I asked him what was his purpose in sending me to zone 3. He told me that it looks like the Lord trusts me to be able to handle the largest zone in the mission and to get it baptizing again. It made me feel good to know that President, and the Lord trusts me enough to send me out here. A few other things that we talked about were that I am probably going to be ending my mission here in Nemby. President said that he is probably going to leave me here so that I can finish hard and finish strong without having to worry about going anywhere. It was a great talk that really helped me build my confidence and raise my spirit. I really just love this Argentinean man so much. He has so much love and fire in him.
So other things that have been going on in the zone is that we are starting to get things rolling as far as baptisms. So far in the month of January every district has been getting a baptism and until this point in January we are the zone with the highest amount of baptisms. We have lots of people in our plans to baptize the last few weeks of this month. We are going to keep getting the missionaries excited to keep on baptizing through this month.
One other thing that has really touched me this last week is that I have really been focusing on listening. I have decided that listening is one thing that I need to better before I end up coming home. Elder Hugie is helping me learn to listen more so that I can let the spirit guide me. Really Elder Hugie is a great missionary. He is focused and he loves the people. I have really enjoyed my time with him so far and hope that we can keep working together the next change. Well that is all I got folks I hope you have a great week. The gospel is true and I love preaching it.
Rohaihu mi familia
Elder Beatty
Monday, January 7, 2013
Q & A 1/7/13
here are some
Q and A.
1. How frequently do you have a zone conference and what are your duties at those? We have zone conferences about every 3 or 2 months. It’s a time when all the missionaries in the zone can come together and get taught by us and the assistants and from the president and his wife. Really it’s been a huge difference in the attitude that I have towards those conferences. What I usually end up doing at those conferences is directing what is going on with the program and the practices that we will end up doing with the missionaries. A lot of them are coming from areas that are a little far away and so they are a little lagged from the traveling so we have to try and make sure and keep the attentive and alert during the meetings. Usually we think of some cool activity that is related to the practices or subject we will be talking about so that the missionaries can get out their sleep or wiggles. I really do love those conferences. They always turn out to be an experience very very spiritual. I know that President Agazzani receives tons of revelation on what we should do and the conferences are a way that he can guide and help us.
1. How frequently do you have a zone conference and what are your duties at those? We have zone conferences about every 3 or 2 months. It’s a time when all the missionaries in the zone can come together and get taught by us and the assistants and from the president and his wife. Really it’s been a huge difference in the attitude that I have towards those conferences. What I usually end up doing at those conferences is directing what is going on with the program and the practices that we will end up doing with the missionaries. A lot of them are coming from areas that are a little far away and so they are a little lagged from the traveling so we have to try and make sure and keep the attentive and alert during the meetings. Usually we think of some cool activity that is related to the practices or subject we will be talking about so that the missionaries can get out their sleep or wiggles. I really do love those conferences. They always turn out to be an experience very very spiritual. I know that President Agazzani receives tons of revelation on what we should do and the conferences are a way that he can guide and help us.
2.
How frequently do you eat with members? Well the game plan is that we eat with the members every single
day. I wouldn´t have to say that it’s the best thing for us. But really we
don´t go to the members house for the food. It’s not that big of a deal the
food. The reason why we go and eat with the members is so that we can gain
their confidence and help them do their own missionary work. Missionaries are
not the ones that are supposed to work. The members are called to work as well
and the missionaries are called to teach. We eat lunch with the members to help
animate them to share the gospel with their friends. Do you prefer that or
cooking on your own? Hmmmmm..... I
actually like eating with the members more. Not because I hate cooking or that
my food is terrible it’s more that the company is always better. We feel like
we are creating more bonds with the people as we go and share their culture. As
sketchy as the food can be you never want to offend a Paraguayan by not eating
it.
3.
What is it like there when it rains? When it rains here there aren´t any drains and so the roads
become rivers. The stone that they use here on the roads are already super
super slick, and once they get wet, it is super super easy to fall on them.
When it rains here during the summer like right now it’s always a super super
hot sticky rain. It’s like you’re walking around in the sun while it’s raining.
It really isn´t very fun at all because then your cloths stick to you super bad
and you have to deal with it all day. What we do if our books and stuff get wet
is that when we get home we bust out the iron and we iron our books to get all
the water out of the pages. People really just shut down. Schools, work,
everything. Nobody really likes the rain here, but they don´t like the heat
either. Really Paraguayans are a super super picky people. I can´t wait to
really show you and explain to you how they are some day.
4.
What was a funny thing that happened this week? hmmmmmmmm............ We were walking to an appointment and we
were going to meet a member there because there is no guy in the home. So we
were already late and we were flying down the road and we were going and all of
a sudden some guy jumps out behind and says, put your hands in the air- I have
a gun. I guess that when he said that I flew around and grabbed his stick that
he was using as a fake gun and threw it like 20 feet away. It was the guy that
was going to help us. It was more funny in the fact that he scared the crap out
of us but that I scared the crap out of him when he thought that I was gonna
kill him hahaha good times.
5. What quality or characteristic do you most admire
about your companion? ohhhhhh good one hahahahaha Nah I think that right now the
things that I like most about my companion would have to be that he is just
super chill and laughs at all my jokes. He is super good with all the other
missionaries and helps them know how to relax even when things aren´t going
super super well. He is really good at that kind of stuff.
Have a good week!
Elder Beatty
Email 1/7/13
Hello everyone, Wow
this week seemed to partially crawl by. I think it’s just because It is just
getting hot and hot and hot. Sometimes people tell me that when I am going to
go home that I am going to have to go through 2 summers. I just tell them not
really because It’s so hot here in comparison to where I will be that it will
be pretty much like winter hahaha
This last week was a little tough for me. Really the last few weeks I just have been exhausted from how much we are trying to get things going in the zone and in the ward here. It really has just taken it out of me. This last week I came down with a super super super huge migraine and fever. We needed to keep working and animating the missionaries. It was very very hard for me to seem happy and loving when my brain felt like it was going to explode. There were a few things that I was able to learn this last week. Really being happy is a choice, but that doesn´t mean you have to rely on yourself to be the source of happiness. If I try giving all my happiness to other people I will run out. I have to help people to go to the source of happiness and light which is God. It doesn´t mean that I am throwing people fishes all the time instead of teaching them how to fish, but hey who doesn´t like a free fish once in a while hahaha.
Also this last week I realized that thinking about things other than the mission don´t make my problems go away. When my head would start to pound and I would feel terrible, I would think of all the cool music that I´m gonna write when I get back thinking that would get rid of my pain and send my head somewhere else. FALSE. Being focused on the moment and completing with what the Lord has commanded me to do is the most important thing. I also learned one other lesson this week. The difference between suffering and being happy is always a choice. I don´t really buy much into the whole.. ¨ The Secret¨ and how the whole world revolves around me but I have come to realize one thing. Its not all about just being able to ¨Grin, and bear it.¨ I changed that phrase when I became a leader with Elder Martinez. Its called ¨Grin, and change it.¨ we don´t need to suffer things that we can change. We need to make a positive decision and go out with a smile and get things done. I always tell the missionaries not be scared when it comes to making decisions. I have learned that confidence can always be a good way of living life. I have also learned that the Atonement is real. Ya maybe I didn´t make the greatest decision, but I can change and I will. I will always try to be the best I can be and with the Atonement of Christ I can be. Step by step, decision by decision.
Really I just love being here in the mission. Despite how tired I am and how much I suffer sometimes, I truly do love it. Not for the ability to tell people that I did those things or that I know it could be worse, it’s because I love my Savior. Helping someone repent helps me remember what the Lord has done for me. That He hears my prayers and that He loves me. I hope that you all can look forward this year with that sort of faith. That it doesn´t matter what we do, we just need to be good boys and girls, honor our covenants, and repent and in the end everything will work out how it should. I love you all and hope you have a super fantastic week.
Rohaihu paraguay ha che familia
--
Elder Beatty
Monday, December 31, 2012
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
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
Monday, December 17, 2012
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
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
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