July 17, 2009

'It has been a full week for Sister Callan and me. The highlight was the three days spent interviewing about a third of our missionaries. The opportunity to sit done with them one on one was wonderful. We are interviewing the missionaries who are serving here in Asuncion first and will finish those interviews this coming week. The following week will see us back out on the road to interview the remaining missionaries in the one stake and 5 districts outside of Asuncion. We have missionaries from all over Mexico, Central and South America serving in the mission as well as a few from Canada and the United States. We also have a missionary serving from Wales. He speaks Spanish with a British accent. It is hard to put into words the strength and faith of these missionaries. Many, especially those from Latin America, are the only member of the Church in their families. They have been members for a few years and here they are on missions. Many receive no support from home. Their fellow missionaries have become their family. They have few possessions other than their clothing donated by others but their hearts are filled with a love for the Lord, His work, and their fellowmen. It has been interesting to hear the variations in their way of speaking Spanish. I must admit that I have needed to ask a few to slow down a bit in speaking so I could understand them. They are so capable but also just young men and women still capable of doing dumb things. Their energy is boundless and if directed properly can accomplish amazing things. My love for them continues to grow. Sister Callan and I need to be on our toes with the missionaries. They come to interviews with many questions from their gospel study and missionary work.'
'I met again with my counselors in the mission presidency for our twice a month presidency meeting. I issued my first three callings this week and was so impressed with the immediate acceptance of these new callings to serve in the various districts of the mission. Tomorrow we invited my newly called mission counselors and my mission executive secretary to come over to the mission home for a dinner and also to be set apart. We invited their wives to join us along with any available children. One of my counselors wants to show us how to us the barbeque on the patio. He is bring the meat and we’ll supply the rest. Sunday morning we will drive out to Yaguaron for another branch conference. Tomorrow morning Sister Callan and I have been asked to speak to a youth group in one of the wards here in Asuncion. They are gathering for a youth missionary activity and the bishop called yesterday and invited us to share a message with them. It should be fun. The office missionaries prepared a map and wished us well on this solo venture outside of familiar surroundings. There are few street signs to help navigate around the city so the office elders prepared a google map and made sure we knew the directions. I’m sure we will be able to make it.'
'We went to lunch today with President Terry Wade and his wife Gina of the Paraguay North Mission. They are sweet people who have presided over their mission for about two years now. They lived in Farmington years ago and Cam Arrington was their bishop. They took us to a nice Chinese restaurant they knew and we had a great time discussing our lives here in Paraguay. We visited their home and the mission office. I can tell I will learn a lot from President Wade. He offered to share a computer program one of his office elders developed a few months ago that has really helped him keep track of all of the keys statistics of the mission and the missionaries. I am also in the process of converting all of the weekly letters from the missionaries to me from paper to email. I will be able to more quickly read the letters and respond to them if the missionaries email their letters to me each week.'
'Sandy and I will be heading back to Buenos Aires in a couple of weeks for a two day new president’s training with the Area Presidency. We also heard that in November Elder Bednar will conduct our Mission President’s training in a city yet to be announced. The temple in Buenos Aries will be closed in November so we will go to another city for the training. Attending a temple session is part of the training meetings. It will be great to see the other new presidents and their wives who were with us in the Provo MTC.'
'I finally got the exercise bike put together that we shipped down here and have been able to get in a few sessions. Sandy has a treadmill that she uses next to my bike out in the exercise room. It feels good to get the heart rate up a bit for reasons other than the mode of driving here. Well, I better get to bed. Please excuse any incoherent sentences or misspelled words. It has been a long day. We have to get up early to get out to the youth activity. We love you all very much and share our testimonies that the Hand of the Lord is moving the work forward in this choice country. We continue to pinch ourselves as we look around and realize that we are really here. Take care of yourselves and drop us a line now and then. We pray for you fervently. Reciba un abrazo virtual…..Mark and Sandy'