Semana 12!!!

Hola Todos!

Wow what a week!  We had 3 more baptisms this week! Norma y Karol and the little girl named Elsi! It was great! The best part about this week wasn't the baptisms, Elsi and her family need a lot of help, and we took Hermana y Hermano Pando to their house to have a lesson and it was AMAZING! Elsi is 10 and she can´t read and she cant do math, I don´t remember if I told you all about her situation but her mom is taking care of her dying parents and they don´t have any money. But we passed by with the Famila Pando and we were both just amazed. They jumped right in to help! Hermano Pando is going to give her lessons for her reading and math, and the Hermana Pando gave them her hymn book right there! The members here are amazing and the Familia Pando is even more amazing! They're all just willing to do whatever they can to help us, we know that were having so much success because of all of the support.

Speaking of success, we got a phone call this morning from Presidente and Hermana Cheney is getting called up to the big leagues! He wants her to be a Hermana Lider which means she's like in charge of all the Hermanas in a certain area of the mission! Not gonna lie, I'm pretty sad... We were hoping we would have one more cambio (exchange) together, but the Lord has a different plan! So, yeah, I'll have a new comp next week! That's gonna be fun. (haha) Could be a Latina, who knows? Whoever it is, I'm excited, and were gonna keep working hard and having success like Hermana Cheney and I!  

Anyways, that's about it for this week! Sorry I know it's not much! Love you all! Hope your week goes by well!  

Hermana Amby Austin

Semana 11!!!

Familia y Amigas,

This week was great!! We had 3 baptisms! Nilda Yanina y Fernando Fleitas all got baptized this week! It was honestly one of the coolest baptisms I've had! Nilda is such an amazing person. They went to the temple with the Familia Pando this Saturday before their baptism, and we got the chance to talk to them about it afterwards, and Nilda just wants to go to the temple with her husband some day. We talked a lot about the blessings of the temple and told her that someday her husband would follow her example and be baptized. Their baptism was also AWESOME!! Anyways, Nilda´s awesome.  

We saw a lot of miracles this week but the biggest one has to be a contact we had on Wednesday. For some reason, this Wednesday, we were in a part of our area that we're almost never in, but we contacted this house and started to teach a grandma and her middle aged daughter named Maria about baptism Long story short, we found out that Maria is a inactive member and she has a daughter named Elsie who is 10 and hasn't been baptized! We met Elsie this last Saturday and she accepted a baptism date for thisupcoming Saturday! I don't know how we find these people and baptize them but WE DO!!! We are definitely guided by the spirit, that's for sure!

We also planned an awesome activity this week called a Capilla Abierta. We basically had a tour of the church and explained the stuff that we believe in. The senior missionaries put it on, but the other hermanas in our district and Hermana Cheney and I lead the tours. We did a practice run before, and I don't know what happened to me, but I couldn't speak Spanish, and I was super nervous...  It was pretty much horrible. But after the practice, I did a tour with Hermana Urie (Another hermana in our district) and it was WAY spiritual! My Spanish was almost perfect, and a few people were even crying; the spirit was so strong!  I've learned that if I can just think of the people and what they need, the Spanish comes...  Its INSANE but it works! If I just go by the Spirit, my Spanish is just fine, but the second I start to worry about it, I start to have problems.

After the Capilla Abierta we were talking with the elders, and our District Leader Elder Cortes was talking to me, and he said that I'm a lot different than I was when I first got here...  I didn't really understand what he meant, but Hermana Cheney told me after that I have really changed a lot. I'm a lot more confident in myself or something! Feels weird to have people tell you that, but I guess the mission really does change you!

Anyways, that's about it! Things are going great as always! We´re going to have 3 baptisms this Saturday which is awesome! Norma y Karol and Elsie! Life is good in the mission! Oh one more thing I'm reading this book Hna Cheney gave me titled Calling on The Powers of Heaven and it is awesome! Changing my life! Highly recommend it if anyone's interested...  :)  Love you all have an awesome week!

Love, Hna Austin

Semana 10!!!

Whoa, what a week! This week was super awesome, and we are still working our butts off! I don´t remember if I mentioned this or not, but we got WARD MISSIONARIES a few weeks ago, and it has been so awesome! We have a ward mission leader and four younger ward missionaries. Their names are: Leo Marcos Noelia and Marta. They are the coolest kids ever! They are about 17 or 18 years old, and are just so excited to help us and the Elders with the work! The cool part about this week was we had DIVISIONS with them on Saturday, which means Noelia and I went to work in one end of our area and Hermana Cheney and Marta went to the other! Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous because 1) Noelia doesn't speak English and 2) I was going to be in charge! (haha) But I didn't need to be worried 'cause it all worked out just great! I'm learning that I just need to be confident with my Spanish because I can speak really well! And our teaching was awesome! It was definitely a way fun day!

We are really starting to find a lot of new investigators which is GREAT! We have a baptism this Saturday, too! Their names are Nilda, Jenina, and Fernando! They are awesome. They are the neighbors of some members in the ward and have been to church a million times! Nilda, the mom, has wanted to get baptized for a long time but her husband wouldn't let her! She talked with him last week though and pretty much told him she's getting baptized! (haha) So we have a baptism this week! Nilda´s AMAZING!!! I actually thought she was a member the first time I met her! (haha) But she'll be a member by the end of the week!

We also have another investigator named Norma, and she is literally the best! She has been investigating different churches for a long time, and when we contacted her house she told us that she was just going to say no, but what really changed her mind was that we were both just really loving and charitable towards her. She decided to let us start teaching her, and she's literally awesome! She was going to come to church yesterday, but is sick...  She has been to church a bunch too, so she can get baptized this next Saturday! She's literally the golden investigator everyone dreams about!!!

(haha) Funny story... Apparently I talk in my sleep! You all knew that already but the cool thing is I talk SPANISH in my sleep now! (haha) I woke Hna Cheney up last night, apparently, and I said, "Estabamos buscando alguien en la calle..." (We were looking for someone in the street..." and started to tell this big long story! (haha) Cool part was, is she said it was pretty much fluid!! How cool is that? The Spanish is COMING people! Slowly but surely! (haha)

Anyways, That's about it this week! It was an awesome week! I love you all! Hope all is well at home!  Have a good week!

Hermana Amby Austin

Semana 9!!!

Familia y Amigas!  

WOW, WOW, WOW! What a week! (haha) We had a BAPTISM!!! Ruben, from the Familia Flor, got baptized yesterday, and it was so awesome! He´s 15 years old, and just an awesome kid. He's been coming to church for a LONG time, has like 6 asistencias (assists?), and we finally just had a really awesome lesson with him on Monday, and he accepted the baptism invitation! It was awesome!  

Speaking of the Familia Flor, they are doing great! We taught them about temples last night, and they really are just so eager to learn everything! Hermano Flor received the priesthood yesterday too! I can´t even believe how amazing and different this family is. He is a completely different person than before, and has changed so much. They are going to feed us dinner tomorrow, which is a huge sacrifice for them, but they want to help us because they understand that when they feed the missionaries they'll receive blessings! Last night Hermano Flor said the closing prayer, and it was literally AMAZING!! I can hardly believe how much he's grown. In the beginning, the way we taught them to pray was: we wrote 3 parts in a Book of Mormon, 1) Padre Celestial [Heavenly Father] 2)Te Doy Gracias... [I'm thankful...] 3)Te Pido... [I ask...] 4)En el nombre de Jesucristo Amen [In the name of Jesus Christ] Like that, and then where there are periods we tell them they can say stuff like, "I'm thankful for my family, my health, my job."  Little things, right?  It's like teaching a little kid to pray. But last night Hermano Flor gave the most amazing prayer. He said he was thankful for the opportunity he had to find the true church, and for the help he's received for his family, and for God's help in sending the missionaries. Hermana Cheney and I were literally almost crying. It was so amazing, and the spirit was so strong! THE GOSPÊL CHANGES LIVES PEOPLE!!!

Cool story this week I had to give a lesson in our district meeting. In Spanish, no less. I decided I was going to talk on goals and the importance of them in our lives. I prepared and prepared and decided I was going to talk a little about basketball and how our main goal was the State Championship, but we had smaller goals that we had to achieve each day to achieve our big goal. I related it to the mission. Hermana Cheney and I set a goal for this month to baptize five people and then we set smaller goals to help us achieve our big one, and it worked! Anyways that's not the point. The point is it was some really hard Spanish, but I prayed and prayed that I would be able to do it, and when I gave the lesson, my Spanish was almost perfect! Everyone in the district was amazed! My Spanish has really progressed a lot, and a lot of people are telling me that I don't even seem like I'm still in my training anymore! The gift of tongues is REAL!!

We also had intercambios (exchanges) again this week! This time, I stayed in our area while Hermana Cheney went to the area of the Hna Liders for a day! It was super cool! I was really nervous before, because I wasn't sure if I knew our area well enough and could teach the people well enough, but the day went by awesome! I was with Hermana Tanner, and she was amazed at how well it went! She told me my Spanish is awesome, and it doesn't even seem like I'm in my training anymore! It was so nice to get some feedback, and I really feel like now if Hermana Cheney gets transferred here in the next few weeks, I'll be just fine! I mean, obvs I'll miss her tons, but I'll live!  

Anyways that's what's been happening this week! It was an awesome week, and I'm having the time of my life here in Paraguay! I love ya all have an awesome week!

Love, Hermana Amby Austin

Semana 8!!!!

Familia y Amigas!

Hola todos (everyone)!  This week was great!  Easily the coolest part about this week was that we had interviews with Presidente!  He´s literally the coolest guy ever. He's from Argentina and he doesn't speak a lick of English, nada! (haha) My first interview with him when I got here we could barely even communicate, but this week was awesome 'cause we could! It was so cool to actually talk to him in Spanish and be able to understand. We talked a lot about how I´m going to end my training here in the next few weeks and I need to be prepared. We talked a lot about my potential and the things that I can accomplish if I´m diligent and work hard. It was super cool 'cause he told me exactly what I needed to hear. After this cambio (exchange) I'm not going to be a new missionary anymore, and I have to keep working hard to reach my potential!  

FUNNY STORY THIS WEEK!!!! (haha) So, we have these insanely big cockroaches here. They're so SICK! (haha) It's really not a big deal. Every time you see them here you just kill them and move on with life, but the other morning I was cooking breakfast while Hermana Cheney was in the shower, right? And she comes out and says "Hermana come look at what's in here." So, I walked over and looked, and on the ceiling there's one of these cockroaches. Hermana Cheney starts to laugh and says "I showered with that!" (haha) I just started laughing 'cause I'm not scared of the bugs at all. She went and got the broom to knock it down so we could kill it! She gets the broom and knocks it and it goes flying! Who knew cockroaches could fly, right? Well, here in Paraguay they CAN! (haha) So it goes flying and when it lands we don't know where it is. I bend over on the floor to look for it, and all of a sudden Hna Cheney gasps and says its on my BACK!!! (haha) I THOUGHT I wasn't scared of the roaches here. I screamed like I have never screamed in MY LIFE!!! "GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!!!!!" (haha) She got it off, and we killed it, and we both laughed for a solid 10 minutes... It was great! (haha) The adventures we have in Paraguay!  

The Familia Flor is doing great, todo tranquilo! (all quiet?) We are still working with the older boys, and they're making baby steps. I really believe all of them will be baptized by the end of this cambio. (exchange) We are praying that we can get one of them named Ruben to commit to be baptized this upcoming Saturday! He is coming to church consistently and really could be baptized any second! He's awesome! Also, the other cool thing is Hermano Flor can baptize him! How legit is that! We're going to have a Family Home Evening with them tonight and talk with him about it! Cross your fingers and toes! Sitting in church yesterday, Hna Cheney and I realized that our ward is really GROWING! It was so cool to see the Familia Flor, Gustavo, Marley, and Matias. Our ward is growing! It's awesome! So cool to see the fruits of your labors in the Church.  

Anyways that's about it for this week! I'm still working hard, and I'm super happy! Love you all, have an awesome week!

Hermana Amby Austin

Week 7!!! (Week 7 in Paraguay!!!)

Familia Y Amigas,

So this week was awesome! Hermano  y Hermana Flor were baptized on Saturday!!!!! It was probably the coolest thing ever! This family is literally amazing. Hermano Flor is one of the strongest people I know. He literally turned his life around. He takes this backpack to work every day, and before we started talking to him it was full of beer, and now he takes his Book of Mormon, True to the Faith, and the pamphlets we've been giving him. They pray together as a family, and when we stopped by their house after church today, they were reading the Book of Mormon together! It's amazing, the changes we've seen, and we are so blessed. Hermana Cheney was reading in Alma 26 the other day, and it is literally talking about our lives right now! We are having a lot of success in this area, and it's not because we're doing anything special, it's because we are relying on the Lord a lot, and PRAYING A LOT!!!! I can tell you all right now that the power of prayer is REAL! Heavenly Father wants to help all of you, and all you have to do is get on your knees and ask for it!  

Anyways, back on the Familia Flor. Now that the parents are baptized, we are working a lot with the older sons. I dunno if I've mentioned this or not, but they have 9 kids! and 5 of them have been baptized. They just have three older boys that haven't. Their names are Ruben, Juan, y Luis. The problem we're having with them is they don't exactly want us to teach them, because were American Sisters I think! (haha) But they all come to church and are reading and praying with their fam... anyways we are working on it, and I really think we can finish with this family before our next changes! The cool thing is, if we baptize the older boys, I CAN GO TO THE TEMPLE WITH THEM ALL IN A YEAR TO SEE THEM GET SEALED!!!!! Anyways I just love missionary work! (haha) It's the greatest thing ever....

Also, Hermana Cheney's birthday was on Saturday too! What could be better than a marriage and baptism for your birthday, right? I actually organized some cool things for her, too. The other sisters in our district wanted to help, so I gave them the spare keys to our apartment, and they heart attacked Hermana Cheney while we were getting ready for our baptism! (haha) It was so cool. There's this AWESOME ice cream place close to our house, and they surprised us with ICE CREAM!!! They left the spoons on the table, and then I opened the freezer to find ICE CREAM!!! I FREAKED out...jumping up and down, nearly crying of joy, and it wasn't even my birthday... (haha) It's always a good day in the mish when you can eat ice cream... I also cooked breakfast, and we had a party for lunch at a members house. It was awesome! I planned it all without Hermana Cheney knowing anything! And let me tell you, that's a feat in the mission when you're with someone for 24 hrs a day!

Anyways that's about it... This week was awesome! Thank you all for the support and letters! I love hearing from all of you! Have an awesome week!

Love,

Hermana Amby Austin

Week 6!!!!! (Week 6 in Paraguay!!!)

Familia Y Amigas,

WOW WOW WOW!!! (haha) What a week! This week has literally been AMAZING!!! First of all, we had two baptisms! Marly and Gustavo. They are siblings and are both really close to my age! Marly is 18, and she is the best! It's literally a miracle that they got baptized together, because Marly actually lives outside of our area. We had to jump through a whole lot of hoops to get her cleared to be baptized with her brother. The clearance had to go through the Mission President. There are other reasons why she had to get baptized here, but the point is, we said a lot of prayers, and Heavenly Father answered them!  

Answers to prayers were kind of the theme of this past week. We had a lot of experiences with answers to prayers this week, and I'm going to share a few of them. That one was the first. The second one is kind of silly. (haha) We had to go to the Mission Home this week to take my TRAINING TEST! Funny story. All of you think that I'm not in school, well joke's on you! (haha) I had to take my training test this week...anyways, we were leaving our apartment and we were LATE!!! It's an hour ride by bus to the mission home, and the thing about Paraguay is sometimes you can wait for a bus for 20 or 30 minutes. We said our prayers before we left, hurriedly, and in the prayer I specifically asked that we would catch our bus quickly. So, we left and were walking to the bus stop, and Hermana Cheney saw our bus at the stoplight in front of us...LITERALLY RAN TO THE BUS AND WALKED RIGHT ON IT!!!! (haha) When we sat down, Hermana Cheney leaned over and said... "Well your prayer worked..." (haha) It was the coolest experience ever!

Speaking of buses, funny story... We were on the bus another time this week and had to get off, so I walked to the front of the bus like we always do, and waited for the bus driver to stop... We were in the left lane and there was another bus in the right lane, stopped, so he slowed down a lot right next to this bus to wait... I was confused so I started to take a few steps closer to the door. He was yelling at us in rapid Spanish "Espere espere espere!!!" I thought he was telling us to get off, so I jumped, off of the bus, in moving traffic! (hahahah) Hermana Cheney just about died! It was the greatest thing ever! Apparently "espere" means WAIT! We had a good laugh about that one...

Back to the prayer miracles... I also lost my plaque this week in the calles (streets) of Paraguay at like 8:45 pm... Let me tell you nothing makes you more nervous as a missionary than to lose your plaque! It's like losing a drivers license or something! And, we were supposed to be home at 9. Needless to say, we didn't exactly have time to look for my plaque, but we walked around for a few minutes and tried to find it anyways. Finally Hermana Cheney decided we should say a prayer, and I kid you not, 30 seconds later we found it, MILAGROS!!!! (MIRACLE!!!) (haha) Heavenly Father listens and answers ALL of our Prayers. 

And last, but not least, the greatest prayer milagro (miracle) of all!!! ARE YOU READY? HERMANO (BROTHER) FLOR MADE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE WEEKEND WITHOUT DRINKING!!!!!!!!!!! Whooooooooooh! He is a completely different person! After conference on Saturday, we went to visit them real fast, and we were so nervous. Saturdays are his bad days. Before he started listening to us he would drink like 25 cans of beer a day. We were praying SO HARD FOR HIM THIS WEEK. I kid you not, I have never prayed so hard for something in my life. Anyways, we were so nervous to visit them but we rounded the corner to their house and knocked, and when we saw him he was completely sober! He's told us he's only going to drink leche (milk) from now on! HOW AWESOME! They are going to get married and baptized this Saturday! I am so happy and so excited! He's changed his life so much, and his family's so much happier! Let me just tell you, the Atonement is for everyone! Anyone can change their life! Thank you all for your prayers for him this week, I know they helped! Keep praying for him to keep it up this week, and the weeks to come!  

Anyways, there's a lot more that happened this week, but I don't have time to tell you all of the stuff... I love you all! Have a good week!  

Love, 

Hermana Amby Austin

PS Aliza Ann!!! I ran into Sarah Tomco last week in Asuncion! (haha) She says hello! Also, I think she'll be home soon, right? Either way it was way awesome to see someone from home!