Semana 70!!!

Hola!

So wow...  I can´t even explain all I´m feeling right now. (haha) I can´t believe I´m gonna be home in less than two weeks! It´s the weirdest feeling honestly, but, hey yeah, it´s fine! 

Last week was great! We had Intercambios with the Hna Lideres on Wednesday, which was way fun. (haha) I was with a Hermana that has less time than me, which was interesting. She´s one of the few Hnas I didn´t know, so I was kinda nervous, but at the beginning of the day she was just like, ¨I just feel like this Intercambio's for me to learn from you!¨ I was kinda shocked, not gonna lie! (haha) I realized she was probably kinda nervous to be with me too, and after that we hit it off! She really helped us a lot in our area, and we were both able to learn from each other. That´s one of the cool things about the mission. It doesn´t matter how much time someone has or how much experience, you can always learn something new from other Hermanas, or missionaries in general. Anyways that was really fun, I also got to see Hna Bennett again which was great! I love her tons!

New Years!!! Okay, New Years Eve was SO CRAZY! We had dinner with a couple in our area! They can´t have kids, so they ask all the missionaries to call them Mama y Papa! They take SUCH good care of us! Anyways, Papa made us Asado de carne y pollo, y Chorizo. (Basically just a big BBQ with any meat you could want) It was SO good! So we ate and then came home and slept! (hahaha) So at like 12:30, I woke up and was SWEATING! I looked up, and our AC was off, so I grabbed the remote and tried to turn it back on...nothing, nada, zip, zilch... I looked outside and there wasn't a streetlight in sight lit up. NO ELECTRICITY!!! Oh my gosh, we were dying of heat! Can you guys imagine being hot right now? So, anyways, we´re laying there trying to sleep, sweating, and Hermana Nielsen jumps up all of a sudden and is like, ¨I´m going to bring up a fan, do you want one?¨ I sat up and said ¨Hermana. We don´t have ELECTRICITY!!¨ (HAHAHA) I said it kinda sassily but I was so fed up with the heat, I didn´t even realize. (hahaha) Whoops, guess I need to work on being more charitable... FYI the electricity came back at about 2... No biggie! 

So yeah, we've been working really hard to find nuevos but are not seeing fast progress, we´re seeing progress but not like I´d like... (haha) It´s kinda a pain, but I was sitting in Relief Society yesterday thinking about how we hadn't had investigators come to church, when a Hna started talking about her sister that needed extra help. All of the Hnas started offering support when Hna Patiño raised her hand and said, ¨I think we should go visit this hermana!¨ The Spirit just hit me so hard and I just thought, ¨Look what you've done, reactivating this family means so much to Heavenly Father. Don´t worry about the rest, leave it in his hands, he´s gonna take care of it!¨ Presidente Wilson said in a Leadership Council once that ¨A family Reactivated are like CONVERTS to the Lord!¨ I know without a doubt that´s true! The people that are lost are just as important as those who don´t know where to find the truth! 

So yeah!  It was a good week! Can´t BELIEVE this time next week I´ll be writing my last letter! AHH! Crazy! Love you all thanks for your prayers have a great week!!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!!  Moroni 9:6  (I´m too lazy to write it out... just go looke it up its great!)

Semana 69!!!

Hola!

Wow, this last week was great! Let me just say, Christmas in the mission is the best thing ever. It´s so much different in Paraguay, but it´s something I really love. On Christmas Eve, most people spend the night with their family. It´s really cool, 'cause they have a big dinner together, like asado (which is like a steak) pork, chicken, basically any type of meat you could want! After dinner, they wait together for midnight, light off fireworks, and that´s it. Bueno, everyone who's not part of the church spends the night drinking with their family (haha) but It was cool this year, 'cuase we had permission to stay out late and eat with a member, whereas last year we had to be home early. I loved it! It was such a relaxed Christmas, and I just remember thinking as I was eating dinner, that this is what Christmas is for. To spend time with family and be grateful for the birth of Christ. Because of him we have the opportunity to be with our families forever, and more than that because of him we are never alone. In the darkest moments he´s always there. The miracle of Christmas is the Atonement. I was reading and thinking in my study Christmas how happy of a day that was for the entire universe the day the Savior was born. It was a day that changed the course of all mankind. I love my Savior and am so grateful for all that he did for me! I know without a doubt that he lives, that he loves us, and that he´s always there to help us.  My testimony of him is one of many things that´s been cemented here on the mission, and something I am grateful I have.  

I love you all hope you had a great Christmas! (haha) Not much else happened last week, it was a good one but nothing super exciting! love you all, and Happy New Year!!!

Hermana Austin

Semana 68!!!

Whoa, I'm not even sure where I should begin!!! (haha) Last week was the best! Firstly, we had the Actividad de Navidad last week, which was so great! On Wednesday we traveled to Ita to just celebrate Christmas with the whole Mission!! (haha) It was so much different than last year 'cause I literally knew like EVERYONE!!! It was so fun! I got to see all my comps, basically, which was so great! (haha) Basically spent the day with Hna Ball, I've missed her so so much! She's the greatest. It was kinda hard too though, 'cause everyone and their dog was reminding me all day long that it's my last transfer! (haha) I said a lot of goodbyes too, 'cause I'm not gonna see most of them again... But, it's fine! (haha) All part of the experience I guess!

Also, we worked really hard this last week looking for new people! (haha) To be honest, we're not having much luck... It's kinda frustrating, 'cause I want to leave the area in good condition, but we're just hitting brick wall after brick wall, it feels like... But, I know it's all part of the plan. If there's one thing I've learned, God ALWAYS guides us to the people who are prepared. We just have to put our trust in him. If he wants us to have a lot of people these last few weeks, he's gonna guide us to them.  

The Flia Patino's really progressing! We're starting temple prep and they've been so cute about it! We went to eat lunch with them on Friday, and the mom was talking about the two girls they have getting baptized and she goes "Samira told her grandma she wants to get baptized!" (haha) Miracle! The grandma basically said that Samira can choose her own path and that she doesn't want to force Samira to be Catholic. It was such a miracle! The grandparents have been a worry factor for weeks but it sounds like they're gonna be okay with everything! Such a blessing!!! The two daughters have a baptismal date for Jan 2. Keep praying that it all works out!  

Anyways, that's all I have this week! Life's good, and I'm enjoying every second!!! I love you all, hope you have a great Christmas!!!

Love Hna Austin

PONDERIZE!!!!  John 3:16  Merry Christmas 

Semana 67!!!

Hola TODOS!!

So wow, this week was the BEST! We are working so hard! Monday and Tuesday were pretty interesting! (haha) It was the Día de la Virgen de Caacupé Tuesday, so we didn't work AT ALL Monday or Tuesday... (haha) They put us on house arrest! Up until about 6 o'clock on Monday it was fun, but then I was just BORED!!! (haha) I guess I'm just used to being busy all the time.  

Let's see, I guess I should tell you all the biggest miracle of the week, you all remember those less actives I talked about last week, right? Well, they came to church again yesterday! Miracle. We talked to our Branch President yesterday, and he said if they keep going strong they can go to the temple and get sealed right before I leave!!! That would be my dream! Also, we're working with their Hijas so they can get baptized sometime in the next few weeks! It's really been such a miracle, keep praying for them so that they can keep going strong and we can keep helping them progress...

Speaking of the Temple, remember Pedro who got baptized my first week here? Well, he left on a trip to the Temple this morning! (haha) It´s literally the best feeling ever to see your converts progressing. He's such a great kid! Speaking of converts, the mitaí (little kid) Juan Manuel, has a goal to serve a mission! He's also the greatest! All the converts are progressing and doing great!  

We've also been looking a lot for new people and found a few miracles!!  I´ll write a little more about them next week when they start progressing! (haha)

So yeah, it was a good one! We´re working really hard and are seeing the fruits! These next few weeks are gonna be great, I can feel it! Thanks for your prayers, love you all!!

Hermana Austin

Semana 66!!!

Wow, this last week was so great! (haha) So, to start things off, on Monday night Cesar got baptized!!! It was such a great day! (haha) Funny thing is we went like two hours before to fill the font up, and it got about two feet full, and STOPPED!! No water... (haha) We were so nervous, but Cesar showed up and he was like, "Igual Hermanas, voy a bautizarme hoy." (haha) He had to lay down completely to go all the way under, but it turned out good! He's so great. He came to church yesterday for his confirmacion and was in a white shirt and tie. He cut his hair and shaved. He looks like a completely new man! His baptism was a little crazy, but still the best! All the members are really excited and saying he's gonna be a leader in the Church! 

Let´s see! (haha) Oh yeah, so on Wednesday we had cambios and it was crazy 'cause Hermana Guardado and I didn't think we'd have them, but SUPRISE we did!!! (haha) Crazy! It was sad 'cause Hermana Guardado and I get along great and she really wanted to stay but yeah, so we went to the Terminal and I see Hna Ball and she's the greatest that's all... (haha) She was with another Hermana from my last district, Hermana Nielsen, waiting to see who Hna Nielsen's comp was... Firstly, Hermana Nielsen's so great! (haha) I was in her training when I was a Hna Líder and I got to do intercambios and studies with her a few times, so I knew her pretty well. So anyways, I was there talking with them and then an elder walked up and handed me a paper of my group. (I guess I was in charge of my group, haha) It had all of the companionships on it, I looked at it and immediately found my name it said, Hermana Austin (Sr) Hermana Nielsen (Jr)!!!! (haaha) I screamed and ran to Hna Nielsen and gave her a big hug! (hahaha) She was shocked! It was the best! We're already such good friends! It's been great! Crazy thing, is that was my last transfer before I go home... That's kinda been weird. (haha) Hna Nielsen's gonna kill me!  

Let's see, things have been kinda crazy this week 'cause there was a HUGE storm on Thursday night... We didn't have light until Friday night, and water until this morning! (haha) We didn't shower from Friday to Sunday... Finally, yesterday, I told Hna Nielsen I'd had it and we went to a members house and showered in water from their well... (haha) Good times! It's been really interesting 'cause like no one in the entire city's had water all week! We've just been camping, it's been great! So, if you could all pray our water starts working that'd be great. It's been kinda a pain. Also fun fact, tomorrow's el Día de la Virgen de Caacupe!!! (haha) It's a big holiday for all the Catholics. We're not gonna be leaving our house for the next few days. But it's cool, I love the culture here. It's a whole different world...it's crazy!

Other than that, things have been good. We had a family of less actives in church and that was great! When they came through the doors the Hermana said "Look Hna we made it, and we're gonna do all we can to come every week after this!" I was so happy, I wanted to cry! We've been working with them ever since I got here and finally this last week it clicked! They also have two daughters that are eight and nine that aren't baptized... So be praying they keep going strong so that we can help their daughters get baptized, and more importantly, get the entire family to the TEMPLE!!!!  

Anyways, that's about it! Life's good. I love the mission! Hope you all have a great week, thanks for all of your prayers!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!!

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, but the greatest of these is charity." 1Corintios13:13

Also if you have time go read Uchtdorf's talk from the Women's session last conference...  That's what inspired the Ponderize Scripture this week!!!

SEMANA 65!!!

Hola Todos!

Wow, so where to begin? This last week was CRAZY! (haha) It was so fun! Oh first things first... Remember Cesar? Well, he had his interview last Monday, AND he kinda forgot he can´t drink Coffee! (haha) He doesn't drink it on a normal basis, but it just so happens last Sunday his mom had made him a cup of coffee for breakfast! He drank without realizing... (haha) SO his baptism was postponed until tonight! Satan´s the worst.... But IGUAL NO MAS! He's still getting baptized, and thanks to that little experience he´s never gonna forget the Word of Wisdom! He's literally the greatest! He's so excited for his baptism tonight. Don´t worry, I´ll be sure to send you all a picture next week! 

Let´s see... Oh, Wednesday was the BEST! We had intercambios with the Hermana Lideres and I got to do an Intercambio with Hermana Bennett!! Wow! It was so fun to do an intercambio with my hija! We have both changed so so so much! We had a good time together. We bought some ice cream and some asaditos, and just worked our guts off!  

(hahaha) Two funny stories this week... So on Thursday, we were out in one of the more country parts of our area where there aren't very many people and all of a sudden I had to pee... (haha) We went to two less actives and they weren't home. I was pretty desperate. My companion was like, ¨Nobody´s around, just go behind that bush.¨ I thought about it and decided, ¨Why not?¨ (haha) So I popped a squat and went! (haha) Don´t remember the last time I did that.... I was probably hunting with Dad or Grandpa two years ago... But, hey! The mission´s always an adventure! (hahaha) The best part is the next day the EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED!! We were in the exact same spot and I had to go to the bathroom again... Luckily, (at least that´s what I thought) this time the less actives were home. (haha) We showed up and I asked to go to the restroom and the Hermana was like, ¨Sure, but it´s not your common bathroom...¨ I told her it was fine! Thinking nothing  could be worse than squatting in the woods, (haha) I was wrong! Their bathroom was a hole in the ground... There were two poles on both sides so you could brace yourself and squat... (haha) It was crazy, and a fun little adventure!  

Sorry... on a more spiritual note, remember those converts we found last week? They came to church again and their mom, Nilda is progressing poco a poco! She´s the greatest really! Her only problem is her husband! He´s a little duro, but that´s okay. We´re praying for miracles!  

Anyways, yeah, life´s good! (haha) Yesterday I had PIKE!  Which is like a teeny worm that buries itself into the skin on your foot and lays eggs and stuff! BUT, no worries the members have lived with that all their lives. They took it out and I´m good now! (haha) I love the mission, so many adventures! Love you guys thanks for your prayers have a great week!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE

DYC 6:36  ¨Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not¨ 

SEMANA 64!!!

Hola todos!!

So wow, this last week was crazy! We've been working so hard, and seeing miracles. First of all, remember Cesar? Well, he´s the greatest! He works SO MUCH, it´s kinda been a pain teaching him 'cause he doesn't have hardly any time to share with us! (haha) So, long story short, we didn't get to teach him all week last week 'til Saturday...  WE were pretty nervous 'cause he was supposed to get baptized this Saturday, the 28th, and we didn't really know how he was feeling... We sat down and started talking and we asked him if he remembered the day of his baptism. He did! (haha) He said he´s ready and for sure wants to get baptized this Saturday! He´s a miracle! We passed over the interview questions and he´s so prepared! Saturday, si o si!

We've also been looking for all of the members in our area, like I said last week! Let me tell you, God is helping us SO MUCH! He guides us every day to the people we´re looking for. We've found so many people, but some of the greatest have to be Christina and her mom, Nilda. Christina got baptized about a year ago, and is 11. Her mom isn't a member... yet! She´s basically a member seco! She only has to get married and ya esta! (it is done!) But really, her husband's a little arjel no mas but that's okay, we´re praying for a miracle so that we can start working with the entire family!

So yea, this week was really great...same old same old. We've been eating some pretty crazy crap. (haha) Gives me a nice stomach ache, but that's okay! Thanks  for all of your prayers! Love you guys!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!

So i realized I didnt´s tell you my scripture last week, but it was Alma 26:12

This week's is Luke 22:32  ¨But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.¨

SEMANA 63!!!

Hola Todos!!!

Wow this week was CRAZY!!! (haha) It´s so HOT! But luckily today we´re getting a little rain so it´s cooling off! So first of all, last week we had a Zone Conference! And guess who I got to see? Hermana Ball! (haha) She was there with all of the other Hermanas we worked with together! It was so great to see them all! She also got the chance to tell me about San Lorenzo and everything that´s happening there! I don´t know if you all remember the Flia Cáceres? I talked about them a little a few months back. They were a reference from a member. Anyways, their oldest daughter, Ivanna, was the one who was kinda interested so we had been working with her. Problem was, she didn't have hardly any time to share with us, I think we shared with her twice and then gave up 'cause she didn't want to make time to meet with us. ANYWAYS, Hermana Ball was telling me that Ivanna showed up at church ALONE a few weeks ago!!! CRAZY right? She said she had read 2 Nephi 31 and knows she needs to get baptized!! Hermana Ball said Ivanna's progressing and preparing for her baptism! What a MIRACLE!! I was so happy I almost cried. After all that Hermana Ball and I went through looking and looking and looking for the chosen ones, they´re gonna have another baptism there!  

She also updated me on Pablo and Wanilda and said they´re doing alright! They´re fighting every day to be strong... They sent me a letter and I loved it! I miss them so so much! They´re like my parents in Paraguay.

Also, I have a cool little story this week! So, one thing about the Campo is that it´s almost impossible to find people. We have a list of less actives we don´t know, and there are SO MANY! For their address it just says, Mbocayaty...  Which is basically like saying, Springville, or Mapleton! BAH! It´s ridiculous! So we were planning for the next day, Friday, and I was getting so frustrated. I knew we needed to find these people, but we didn't know how! I got so frustrated. I told Hermana Guardado, let´s plan in the morning, I can´t focus... Later that night, I was praying and telling God that I knew he wanted us to find these people, but I just didn't know how to do it. I was asking for help, then all of a sudden, I had the thought, almost a voice say, ¨I know where these people live. I´ll help you find them. Write their names in your planner tomorrow at the hour you´ll be looking, and be praying for my help and I´ll help you. Have faith, put your trust in me, and I´ll guide you to them.¨ Crazy right? The next day we did just that, put their names in our planner and left for the neighborhood where they lived... We had until 6:00 to find them and started knocking doors at 1:00 in the afternoon.  We were asking anyone and everyone if they knew these people. At 5:00, we hadn't found any of the three families we were looking for. It was hot, so we went and asked a less active member for some water. As we were talking to her, she mentioned one of the families we were looking for! Turns out she knew all the people on our list and showed us their houses right then! It was such a miracle! (haha) We worked so hard all day and in the end the Lord pulled through! He always pulls through!  

It was a good week! Cesar keeps on progressing! He´s for sure set to get baptized the 28th of November, if all goes well! He´s such a great guy! Thank you all for your prayers! I love you have a great week!

Hermana Austin

SEMANA 62!!!!!

Hola Todos!!

Wow, what a crazy week! This week was definitely a good one!!! (haha) We walked and worked SO MUCH! Funny thing about the country is for one, our areas HUGE! Another fun fact, is that Juan Manuel lives about an hour and a half walking/hiking from the central of ¨Ypacarai. We walked a LOT last week! (haha) We were preparing him for his baptism, so we had to visit him a lot! It was pretty exhausting walking in the Paraguayan heat! (haha) When the Elders came to do his interview, they were shocked at how far away it was! The pain was all worth it though, because he got baptized on Saturday, and it was so CUTE! He's the best little kid!  

Also, remember how I talked about Cesar last week? Well, he's GOLDEN!! (haha) He is like the best investigator ever! His biggest problem has been his work... He works so much, he hardly ever has time to do anything else! But last week, we passed by to teach him about the Día de Reposo (Sabbath Day). To make a long story short, he taught US the Día de Reposo! (haha) It was so great, and at the end he said, ¨Hermanas, I'm not gonna work Sunday morning! I'm going to church!¨ It was so great! He made the sacrifice and came! He's such a great guy, and is super excited for his baptism the 28th of November! He's such a miracle! (haha) He told us that when his girlfriend gets home from her mission, he wants to get married in the temple!  

So yeah! (haha) That´s about it this last week! We are working so hard and seeing miracles! I love missionary work! It's definitely the hardest work, but also the most rewarding! Hope you all have a great week!  Love you all, thanks for all your prayers!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!!

¨I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.¨ -Philippians 4:13

SEMANA 61!!!

Hola Todos!

Wow this week was GREAT!!! (haha) We are working our tails off and seeing SO many MIRACLES!! Wow, I don´t even know where to begin... Bueno (okay), remember that Mitai Juan Manuel that I told you all about last week!  Well He´s a miracle! We went to teach him on Saturday and the goal was to get permission from his parents to Baptize him. Earlier in the week, we had left his mom with the form she needs to sign so he can get baptized! She said she was going to talk to his dad and then sign it. She´s all for him getting baptized! (haha) So, when we showed up Saturday we asked his mom what his dad had said and she was like ¨He doesn't want Juan to get baptized.¨ Hermana Guardado and I just sat there in silence, super sad 'cause Juan´s like the best kid ever... After a few seconds his mom goes ¨Igual no mas voy a firmar solo necesita la firma de uno de los padres, ¿verdad?¨ ("Maybe not, but I'm going to sign. It only needs one signature, right?") She hopped up went and got the form and signed it! (haha) It was such a miracle, and Hermana Guardado and I were just dumbstruck! The best part, is that afterwards we went to leave and Juan Manuel started following us to our next cita (appointment)! (haha) He visited our next few appointments with us! By the end of the day, he had Hna Guardado´s name tag and everything! He even taught someone how to pray! He´s the greatest!  

Also, remember Milagros! So, she wants to get baptized really bad but we´re having trouble getting permission from her mom... Igual no mas...  con tiempo. The real miracle, is that she has an aunt named Nilsa that shared with us for the first time last week and told us she wants to get baptized and come to church! She´s AMAZING!! Came to church on Sunday and everything! Best part, is we´re gonna complete the family cause her husband's a member. They have two little kids that are the cutest! It was such a miracle, 'cause we went for Milagros but really God had another plan... (haha) Funny how that works! Only thing, is she needs to get married still... (haha) and we're not sure if her and her husband are gonna want to... (haha) So be praying for that!

Also, remember Pedro? Well he has a Sister in-law that´s also not a member! (haha) Her name´s Luz and she shared with us for the first time last week too! Without thinking, I gave her a Book of Mormon and marked 2 Nephi 31. Next time we passed by, I asked her if she had read and she said, "Yes!"  She didn't really share with us that time, but we invited her to church Sunday. And guess what? As we were sitting in church, she showed up with Pedro and his sister Elva!! (haha) I couldn't believe it! It was a pure miracle! We didn't really think she was all that interested, but I guess she is! Super crazy! We have plans to pass by and invite her to be baptized, so we´ll see how that goes! She´s also not married... (haha) So pray that she wants to be too!

So yeah, one more miracle for you guys! (haha) So on Friday, it rained, and rained, and rained! (haha) If rain's bad in the city, it's even worse out here in the campo. Everything's mud, and wet, and there're nasty frogs everywhere! (haha) But we were walking along and all of a sudden Hermana Guardado had the thought to pass by for an old investigator. I was up for the idea, since our plans were falling through left and right! (haha) So, we passed by for this guy named Cesar, who´s hardly ever home, but thanks to the rain he was! Little back story about him, about two weeks ago his Mormon girlfriend left on a mission. The Hermanas shared with him before she left and he hadn't really had very much interest! We get there and sit down and he´s like, ¨Hermanas, I've been thinking, I´m gonna get baptized and become a member.¨ (haha) We were SHOCKED!!! He´s the greatest! He's been investigating the church for forever but just recently made up his mind! He couldn't come to church on Sunday because of work but told us this Sunday he´s for sure coming even if he loses his job! (haha) Crazy stuff, he´s such a miracle!

To top things off, just thought I´d let you all know I used the NASTIEST bathroom I've ever used in my life this last week! (haha) It was a tiny little room without a roof, and I kid you not, a HOLE to use the bathroom... 5 thousand times worse than a port-a-potty... You just squat and go! (haha) It was hilarious, there wasn't even a door, and when I stood up to pull up my skirt I could see everything around me!! The members were laughing at me 'cause I´m so tall, I cleared the walls of the bathroom! (haha) It was an adventure!

ANYWAYS... that about sums up the week! It was a GREAT one! I love this place! (haha) Sorry for the extremely long email! Thanks for all your prayers! Love you guys!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!

¨For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday today, and forever, and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.¨ -2 Nephi 27:23

SEMANA 60!!!

Hola todos!!

Wow this last week was definitely super crazy! We had changes, and I left San Lorenzo and Hermana Ball! Can´t tell you how sad it was to leave her! We´d been together since June! I miss her so much! One of my very best friends! It was also way hard saying goodbye to Pablo and Wanilda and all the rest of the people there that I love but hey! That´s the mission!  

So crazy, Cambios! I´m no longer an Hermana Lider which is cool, lots more tranquilo! (haha) I´m gonna finish super tranquilo out here in the campo... Stress free! I do kinda miss it though... (haha) I loved working so close with the Hermanas. So, my new and probably last Area is Ypacarai! COUNTRY!!!! (haha) It´s the BEST!!! Complete opposite of San Lorenzo! I feel like I´m going on a hike every single day! One part of our area is so far away we have to take a bus for like 20 minutes and then we walk in the middle of no where for like 45 minutes and then finally we get there! It´s crazy the people drink their water out of a spring and are SUPER poor! And, the best part is they love missionaries! (haha) When we knock on a house they just let us in invite us to sit down and give us some water it´s the best! I love it here!! (haha) My companion´s name is Hna Guardado and she´s from Honduras! She´s great! Ha LATINA otra vez! We speak straight Spanish, which is good for me! (haha) It´s been too long since I've had to do that! And I like it, Spanish is great! She has been a little sick though... A few weeks ago, she was in the hospital for like a week straight, so that´s not fun. She still has to be careful. Don´t worry though, I´m taking care of her. Also, we had a baptism this last week!!! (haha) It was the greatest! I showed up and they already had everything ready to go. He was all prepared! His name´s Pedro, and he´s 15! He´s the greatest! It was such a great baptism!  

Also, we have two Mitai´s (little kids) that are gonna get baptized in the next few weeks!!! Milagros is probs gonna get baptized this Saturday and Juan Manuel next Saturday! They´re both the cutest! (haha) It´s the best, I love the CAMPO!!  

So yeah, life´s good! I´m excited to start this new and last chapter of my mission! I can feel that it´s gonna be great! I just want to go work my guts off these last few changes cause it´s the only smart thing to do, right?   Thank you all for all of your support and prayers! Love you all!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!

¨Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven¨ (Matt 5:16)

SEMANA 59!!!

Hola Todos!!

Wow, what a crazy, tiring, fun week! (haha) We spent the week running around like crazies! A whole lot happened this week! To start things off, we had District Meeting on Tuesday. Little thing about district meeting is that each companionship takes a turn talking about their investigators, then as a district we talk about how to solve their doubts and help them progress towards baptism. It's really great. Last week though, we stood up in front of our district and didn't put a single name up on the board. We humbled ourselves and said, ¨We don´t have anyone. If you have ideas on how to find the chosen people in our area we´re all ears.¨ They started sharing things when the Zone Leaders raised there hands and handed us a piece of paper. It was a mission call for the members. They told us they had this idea and thought it was a good thing we could apply, giving the members this call. We were super excited to have something new and got motivated to work better with the members!  

Later on in the week, on Thursday, we did our Weekly Planning Session and were thinking once again on how we could get more references... We sat for probably 5 minutes talking about how we could get better, then I went to Preach My Gospel. There was an activity listed to go back and ask the members about every reference we've received in the last few months again. We started going crazy, looking up all our references and ended up with a list of like 20 names, or better said, 20 potential investigators. That same day, Wanilda had the opportunity to go to the temple, which was such a blessing, she did a session while Pablo sat out in the waiting room. She got back and told us she had put our names on the prayer roll. After that day the miracles really started pouring in. With that list we made, and the Mission Call from the Elders, we truly have been receiving references ALL WEEK LONG!! It´s been such a blessing.

  

For example, we were sharing with a menos activo Friday, who has told us before she doesn't trust the missionaries teaching her daughter-in-law who's not a member. We kept passing by and have been focusing on establishing a good relationship with her. All of the sudden she jumps up in the middle of a lesson Friday and is like, ¨¡Vamos a ver mi nuera!¨ (Let's go see my daughter!" (haha) It was crazy! We went and shared with her daughter-in-law, and she´s GREAT!! She´s looking for the truth and WANTS to share with us! Best thing is, she´s not working. It was such a miracle. Her biggest thing is her husband. He´s VERY much against the church, but poco a poco va a pasar (gradually it will happen).

We also started teaching the Otter Pop people, Lara and her friend Veto. We don´t really know their situation all that well. They were living together but now they´re separated... It´s really weird, BUT God sent us at an opportune time. We saw Veto walking in the street crying and he told us they were splitting up. We passed by the next day and had a great lesson with both of them about the Atonement and the importance of baptism. Lara committed to a date right then! It was such a miracle!

Anyways, we also did a ton of intercambios/studies with the hermanas! It was great because they really needed us this last week! That´s one thing I love about being a Hermana Lider, because it doesn't matter what´s going on with us and our area, I get the opportunity every week to forget about myself and focus completely on what they need, and what their problems are. More often than not, I´m just a listening ear and a good friend, but I know that's what they need. Every time I finish helping one of them it´s almost like I can feel God´s approval. I feel that I´m really doing what he needs! I love it!  

Also, kind of sad thing, we have changes again this week! Crazy how fast time passes! We´re pretty sure one of us is going to change cause we've been together for so long... I´ll keep you all updated for next week! Thanks for all of your prayers! I love you all tons! Have a great week!

Hermana Austin

PONDERIZE!!!!  ¨Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you that by small and simple things are GREAT things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.  And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means doth the Lord counfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of MANY SOULS.¨ Alma 37:6-7 

SEMANA 58!!!

Hola!

Wow, this last week was a crazy week filled with Divisions, lots of missionary work, and LOTS and LOTS of rain! (haha) It´s been raining so much, it´s crazy! But, it´s probably a good thing...better than the heat! Also, I've picked up a habit of jumping in all the rain puddles with my nice rubber boots! I´m a child...but it´s pretty fun. 

Funny story, like I said it´s been raining a TON! When it rains like that all the giant toad frogs start coming out! That happens a lot more if you´re out of the city, but on Tuesday night we were walking along and along comes a FROG! (haha) We were pretty stoked, and started chasing it around like a couple of children... While we were running around, we had a thought... "Wanilda´s scared of frogs, and this is a frog, we should take it home and scare her with it!" (hahaha) Luckily, Hermana Ball is fearless. She picked it up, and we hauled it home. We got home and Wanilda wasn't home, but we showed Pablo and he started laughing and was like ¨She´s gonna kill you guys!¨ We put it in a bucket outside, and headed off to Ward Night in the church. When we got back we were talking with Pablo and Wanilda 'cause they were both home and showed Wanilda the frog... (hahaha) She screamed! It was pretty funny. Best part is it´s a story she´ll talk about for forever...I love frogs and Paraguay and Pablo and Wanilda.

(haha) Other than that, this week was full of rain and more rain. The great part is even though the weather was horrible we still saw tender mercies from the Lord. I saw my first MONKEY here! (haha) It was just tied up like a pet! I have pictures but I left my camera...Next week! On an especially hard day, we were out working in the rain when we stopped at a less-actives house to use the bathroom. When we finished we started getting up to leave and the Hermana goes ¨Are you guys hungry?¨ (haha) and without skipping a beat turned and ran into her kitchen and started making a snack! We looked at each other flabbergasted and sat down on her couch and started playing with the kids! She gave us some Cocido and tortillas, which is like hot chocolate here... (haha) It was such a blessing. We thanked her and she was like, ¨Yeah you both just looked really tired...I thought it was the least I could do to give you something to eat.¨ I am so thankful for the people here and all over the world that take care of the missionaries. Sometimes all you need as a missionary is a little reminder like that God´s mindful of us and knows what we need...Even when it´s something so little as a member making you a snack on a rainy day!

I love the mission! Can´t believe how fast it goes by! Thank you all for your support and your prayers! Love you all, and have a great week!

Hermana Austin

PS  Also we've started PONDERIZING our weekly scripture and I thought I´d add it into my emails!  Mine this week is Proverbs 3:5-6 ¨Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.¨ 

SEMANA 57!!!

Hola Todos!

Wow this last week was super crazy! (haha) Let´s just say the Conferencia General is the best in the mission! So many miracles happen with investigators and stuff! (haha) We wanted to take advantage of that so we made a list of all the people we wanted to invite to come. We spent the week passing by for all these people and mostly getting rejected... Whatever, it´s fine! (haha) We finally saw a miracle on Friday morning when we visited Gretel. (Our almost miracle baptism a couple months ago.) (haha) Her whole problem is she can´t come to church on Sunday! We took advantage of the Conferencia and invited her to come on Saturday! She said YES!!! (haha) We were so stoked! We passed by the next morning and she was asleep, but when she saw us she got ready and came to the Women´s Session and the Morning Session! MIRACLE!! She´s great and is progressing poco a poco! She´s gonna get baptized, si osi!  

But yeah, that´s about all that´s going on here in Paraguay! (haha) We got caught in a rain storm, and I got a nasty cold...so that´s been fun! But yeah, things are good! Pablo´s good, they´re working through their problems together so that´s good! (haha) Life´s good here in San Lorenzo!

Hermana Austin

SEMANA 56!!!

Hola Todos!

Wow what a crazy week!  This week was a lot better than last week! Partially because I wasn't sick, but also because we taught SO many more lessons! We taught ten more lessons this last week than we taught two weeks ago. We are finding people in their houses and are finally seeing some progress!  

(haha) It was a great week, but it started off with a little craziness... (haha) After we wrote our families on Monday, we were on our way to the church to play games with the other Missionaries in our district... We were REALLY late because our air conditioning has been broken and we had it fixed last Monday (Thank HEAVEN... it was so freaking hot last week) So anyways, we´re walking down the street on our way to catch the bus, and Hermana Ball conveniently remembers that we need to call a member to confirm family night that night, she starts rummaging through her bag to find our phone and steps RIGHT in a giant hole!! (hahahaa) She started screaming like she was dying, and running around like a chicken with her head cut off... I was just laughing cause I could see she obviously hadn't twisted it... she was just in a lot of pain. Turns out she has a nice cut on the back of her ankle. It looks pretty painful I guess, but not painful enough to get stitches. We went back to the house frustrated and I cleaned and bandaged the cut and we finally made it to our district activity. The crappy part about having a hurt companion is when one of you´s hurt you´re both hurt by fault... She´s been really great about it though, luckily! (haha) There are so many Hermanas that would want to stay home and rest but not us! We left that very night to our family night and have worked full days every day, she´s been in a lot of pain though, so we´re kinda taking it slow... Anyways, that´s not the end of the story... (haha) Remember how we got our air fixed? We got home Monday night and turned the air on, we planned and then I started cooking dinner. (Not really dinner just egg sandwiches) When all of a sudden the power goes out! No lights, and worse NO air conditioning... even worse than that, our little fans didn't work! It was SO HOT!! We were just like, "WE are NOT sleeping without Air AGAIN!" (haha) So we went and talked to our landlord who lives right below us and he called the electric company. He told us someone would come to fix it soon. (haha) Keep in mind at this point it´s like 9:55 and we need to be in bed by 10:30... so, we wait and wait and wait and no one showed up... finally at like 10:40 we decided we were going to have to sleep in the heat. True missionary style, we took one of our mattresses outside on our deck and set up camp on that. SLEEPOVER!!! (hah) but really it was the worst... We were just lying there half asleep dying... At about midnight, I rolled over and saw the LIGHTS ON IN the house!!! (haha) I scared Hermana Ball half to death waking her up and we both ran inside and slept in the nice AC! (haha) It was so funny! The mission´s the best! 

Really though, after Monday things were a lot better! The Lord kept sending us tender mercies all week! In the beginning of the week, we were walking around in the heat talking about how much we missed Otter Pops from the states and how great they were. Then, we were out doing contacts on Wednesday and it was blistering hot! We ended up contacting a couple who let us sit down and start sharing with them! When out of the blue, the lady gets up and brings us each two frozen Popsicles that look and taste just like otter pops! It was the greatest! We were both more than happy with the two, but she then goes and comes back with a box of 40 of them!! We were so stoked! We stuck 'em in our freezer and have been eating them all week long!!  

Also, I would like you all to know the four years of piano lessons I took without hardly ever practicing have NOT gone to waste! About a month ago, I found a simplified hymn book in the house of some of the Hermanas and have started playing a little on P-days, and while we wait for all the Paraguayos to get to their meetings in the church (they´re always late). We had a piano player in our ward, but he moved recently so last Sunday we sang without a piano... (haha) It was awful. Think 80 tone deaf people singing without a piano... It was pretty bad. So, after I told Rita (the Hermana that leads the music) I could probably play this last Sunday... She was like, ¨Sure it's always better with the Piano.¨ Thing is, I´m not really that good, but I really applied myself practiced Monday and for like 15 minutes before our meetings during the week, and when Sunday came around, I played the piano during sacrament meeting!!! Whod´ve thought I´d ever do that in my life... (haha) It was so funny! So mom, all those piano lessons weren't a waste... They prepared me to play piano here in Paraguay. :)

So yeah, that's a few of the things that happened last week! We're working so hard and finding tons of people! Also, Pablo´s doing a lot better! He went and talked to a psychiatrist last week and they told him he doesn't need to go to the clinic, he´s just gonna go talk to this councilor and work things out at home! It´s going to be such a great thing! He´s doing so much better. He´s gone eight whole days without a drop of alcohol! Thank you all so much for all of your prayers! I love the mission. It´s such a great experience! (haha) Can´t believe General Conference is next week! We´re so stoked, it´s like a holiday in the mission! Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Austin

SEMANA 55!!!

Hola todos!  

So, wow, this last week was crazy! (haha) First of all, to start off the week, I got super sick... (haha) Last Monday, I woke up with a horrible sore throat, chills, and a fever. I knew it was STREP! So much for going my whole mission without getting sick. (haha) So, we had leadership council that morning which is like, si o si, we have to be there, so I went and suffered through that, BUT that´s not really important, (ha) I just thought I´d let you all in on the fact that in Paraguay you don´t have to go to the doctor and get a prescription! (haha) It was the funniest thing, I diagnosed myself and we walked down to the pharmacy and bought Amoxicillin, and it was super cheap! I got on the antibiotic and was fine by Wednesday morning... So that was fun!  

Other than that the week was pretty rough, 'cause I was sick and had to stay in Monday and Tuesday, 'cause we didn't want to give everyone strep and all... When stuff like that happens it really kills the area. We spent most of this last week trying to find our investigators and failing. It was a good time. Also, Pablo´s had a bad relapse with his WoW problem, like so bad he´s going to go to a clinic for addicts on Thursday. Right now he´s just kind of waiting in limbo which is pretty crazy, and scary cause he could just go out and get drunk whenever he wants 'cause he´s no longer working. We've been pretty worried and stressed. On Saturday, I found a great quote about the atonement and grace of God. It basically says that with the help of the Savior we can overcome all of the challenges we have in life. Ahh, I wish I had it with me!! I forgot...anyways, it´s great. We decided to write it on a note card and slipped it under Pablo y Wanilda´s door before we left. We did that and then left... We then had this horrible day, we got rejected, and literally no one opened their doors for us. We taught one menos activo.  Seriously, one of the hardest days I´ve had in a long time. We were so sad and upset about it, and having a lot of negative thoughts about our day and our week in general. We got home and were sharing with Pablo and Wanilda, they asked us about our day, and we were just like ¨It was horrible nobody wants anything to do with us...¨ They both looked at us and then Pablo goes, ¨You know what Hermanas, your day wasn't a waste, it wasn't horrible.  That note you gave me today¨gave me the strength to  keep from leaving and going and getting drunk. So don´t say you had a bad day, you did what God wanted you to.¨ Talk about a humbling moment for the both of us. I wanted to cry I felt so loved and felt the spirit so strong. It was a testimony to me that this is the Lord´s work and we are here to do it in the way that he wants. We just have to be obedient and put our trust in him, and know that when we are doing that it doesn't matter how our day went. It was a day in God´s service, so it was a success.  

I love the mission, and I love being a missionary. It´s the hardest and most rewarding thing I've ever done. I've found that it´s in the hard times that I grow and learn the most. Funny how God works like that! It would be great if you all could be praying for the area, we really could use all the help we could get. Thank you all for your support and prayers, I do feel them every day! I love you all so much! Have a great week!  

Hermana Austin

SEMANA 54!!!

Hola todos!

So, first off, if you've been reading my emails at all, you know we had changes last week! (haha) Ccrazy thing is, I'm still here in San Lorenzo with Hermana Ball!!! (haha) It´s been so crazy! This is our third change together, which hardly ever happens and it also means I am going to be here in San Lorenzo for the next 6 weeks! (haha) It's gonna be the best! We´re like best friends, so no problems there!  

Let´s see, that´s about all from this week... (haha) It was pretty uneventful! It was actually really great, because we didn't have intercambios! (haha) We actually got to exercise in the mornings which was great! We've been leaving in the morning and playing bball for our half hour of exersise! (haha) It´s been so great to get out and run around! We never really get to exersise 'cause we always are traveling early in the morning, but its cool we just took advantage of our week ¨off. (haha) If you could call it that!  

But yeah things are going good. (haha) We´re just working really really hard. Thank you all for all your support and prayers, I feel them every day! Love you all, and have a great week!  

Hermana Austin

SEMANA 53!!!

Wow this week was crazy! (haha) It was pretty normal. We did a few exchanges, some studies with the hermanas, and worked in our area! (haha) Cool fun fact about this last week, we have been told that we had a rule change and can now drink Coke! (haha) I can´t tell you all how happy I was! I drank my first Coke in a YEAR last week!! (haha) It was so GOOD!  

Anyways, but yeah, this last week was great! We found SO many people this last week! And, are seeing so many miracles! One of the biggest has been an eight year old kid named Angel! He came to church last week with  a member, so Hermana Ball went and found his house in divisions. He lives with his grandma, and come to find out she wanted him to go to church so that he could be a better kid, BUT she said he can´t get baptized because he was already baptized in the Catholic church. So, anyways, he came to church yesterday and we went back in the night to visit him and his grandma. Weirdly enough, we start teaching and the abuela´s like, ¨He can get baptized if he wants.¨ We were just like, ¨WHAT?¨ (haha) Angel told us he wants to get baptized on September 11th! WHOOH!! (haha) He´s such a cute kid, and we´re hopin we can help the rest of his family eventually too! Pray for him.

Also, I got the chance to do intercambios this last week with Hermana McDougal. It was super fun to see her and work together for a day! She´s doing great! (hahaha) Funny story about this division, after lunch we had plans to pass by for a convert for her birthday... I kid you not, this lady has like 20 Cats! (haha) It was the most DISGUSTING house ever... Think cat hair and cat shivivi (diarrhea) everywhere, and TONS of dirty dishes. We walk in and Hermana McDougal had a couple of birthday presents for her. One was cat food, and the other was cake... (haha) This lady was so so so HAPPY to get cat food for her birthday... She says thanks and then she´s like, ¨I have something for you guys too.¨ She walked over to her fridge and pulled out LUNCH... It was the nastiest looking stuff I've ever seen, half cooked chicken with over cooked noodles... I looked at Hermana McDougal and her face is white. She turned to me and said in English, ¨NO Hermana! I swore I would never eat here again!¨ That´s when I really got nervous... So we sit down and start eating... (haha) When the Hermana left the room we decided it was not healthy to eat the half cooked chicken so we stuffed it in a plastic bag and hid it with our stuff... We slowly but surely started eatin the nooodles. (haha) Mind you, we´re eating this meal with like 20 cats and they´re jumping all over this Hermana to get her food! About half way through my meal one of the Cats jumped on ME!!! (haha) It was so crazy!! These cats were insane! Bueno, I´d like to say that I had the stomach to finish my meal but I really didn´t... I ended up giving some of my food to the cats and Hermana McDougal helped me finish... It was definitely a crazy mission experience to say the least...

Little update on Pablo ý Wanilda! They are doing SO GOOD!! (haha) It´s been so great. They moved into our appt building! Sometimes at night they bring us food and stuff! It´s the best! Also, Pablo got a promotion in his job which has been such a blessing!! The Lord truly is helping them so much! They´re the best!

Anyways, yeah... (haha) That´s about all that´s happened this last week! It was a good one! I love you guys, thank you all for your prayers! Also, ps, we have transfers again this week and there´s a chance I´ll be leaving San Lorenzo... Sad day. I love it here with Hermana Ball... But yeah, that´s all! Hope you all have a great week!  

Hermana Austin